USA Yesterday at the Olympics
- American men swept the medals in the men’s freestyle slopestyle event, an event new to the Winter Olympics. Joss Christensen won gold, Gus Kenworthy took silver, and Nick Goepper won the bronze medal. This was the 3rd medal sweep by the United States at the Winter Olympics, after the 1956 men’s figure skating, won by Hayes Alan Jenkins, followed by Ronnie Robertson and Jenkins’ brother, David; and the 2002 men’s snowboarding halfpipe, won by Ross Powers, with Danny Kass second, and JJ Thomas third.
- The USA has swept the medals 150 times at the Summer Olympics, by way of contrast.
- This was the 3rd medal sweep of the 2014 Winter Olympics, after the Dutch men speed skaters swept the 500 and 5,000 metres
- In men’s biathlon 20 km, Lowell Bailey placed 8th, the best finish by an American biathlete at the Winter Olympics, male or female.
USA Today at the Olympics
- Alpine Skiing Men Combined – USA has 2 wins – Bode Miller (2010) and Ted Ligety (2006), and 3 medals – Miller also winning silver in 2002. Other top 10s: Ligety (5th-2010), Will Brandenburg (10th-2010), Tommy Moe (5th-1994), Dick Durrance (10th-1936). USA 2 golds medals is equal most ever for an NOC, equal with Austria and Norway. USA ranks 4th all-time with 3 medals, trailing, in order, Austria (6), Norway (5), Switzerland (3). Durrance later became one of the key developers of Aspen as a ski resort, and he then moved to Alta, Utah and developed that ski resort.
- Biathlon Women 15 km – best finish ever 14th by Joan Smith in 1994. Other top 20 finish was 17th by Jan Guetschow in 1994.
- Cross-Country Skiing Men 15 km – best finish ever 6th by Bill Koch in 1976. Next best finish 12th by John Bauer in 2002. Other top 20 finishes: Sigurd Overby (19th-1924) (18 km), Bill Koch (16th-1980), Dan Simoneau (18th-1984), Patrick Weaver (16th-2002).
- Figure Skating Men Singles – USA has 15 medals in this event, 3rd best event ever for USA at Winter Olympics, trailing men’s speedskating 500 metres (16), and women’s figure skating singles (23). USA has 7 gold medals in the event, most of any event for USA at Winter Olympics, equal to the same 2 events as above. USA leads medal table in this event both for gold medals and total medals. Dick Button won 2 gold medals in the event in 1948 and 1952. David Jenkins also won 2 medals, a bronze in 1956 and gold in 1960. Jenkins’ brother, Hayes Alan Jenkins, also won gold in 1956. Hayes Alan Jenkins later married Carol Heiss, 1960 women’s gold medalist. Heiss is also known for her starring role in the movie “Snow White and the Three Stooges.”
- Freestyle Skiing Women Aerials – USA has one medal in this event, a gold by Nikki Stone in 1998. Other top 10 finishes: Tracy Evans (7th-1994), Lacy Schnoor (9th-2010), Ashley Caldwell (10th-2010).
- Skeleton Women – Katie Uhlaender will be competing in her 3rd WOG (2002/2006/2014), equalling the record of Maya Pedersen (SUI) for most appearances in women’s skeleton. USA has won 2 medals, both in 2002, a gold by Tristan Gale and a silver by Lea Ann Parsley. Uhlaender’s father, Ted, played 8 seasons of Major League Baseball from 1965-72 with the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds.
This Day at the Olympics
400 Olympians were born
64 Olympians died
99 Olympic events were held
USA Births and Death on this Day at the Olympics
Born
[table]
Date,Name,Sport,Years
14 Feb 1873,Allan Briggs,SHO,1912
14 Feb 1874,Lou Handley,SWI/WAP,1904
14 Feb 1885,John Jackson,SHO,1912
14 Feb 1898,Walter Whalen,ATH,1920
14 Feb 1899,Francis Chapin,ART,1932
14 Feb 1905,Frank Hussey,ATH,1924
14 Feb 1908,Gordon Smith,ICH,1932-36
14 Feb 1910,Willard Schmidt,BAS,1936
14 Feb 1912,Jimmy Urso,BOX,1936
14 Feb 1915,Paul Austin,ROW,1936
14 Feb 1929,Harry Sindle,SAI,1960
14 Feb 1932,Pete Blair,WRE,1956
14 Feb 1932,Karol Kennedy,FSK,1948-52
14 Feb 1933,John Mashburn,ATH,1956
14 Feb 1941,Earl Young,ATH,1960
14 Feb 1942,Mike Manley,ATH,1972
14 Feb 1947,David Higgins,ROW,1968
14 Feb 1949,Joel Glucksman,FEN,1984
14 Feb 1951,JoJo Starbuck,FSK,1968-72
14 Feb 1952,James Busceme,BOX,1972
14 Feb 1956,Howard Davis Jr.,BOX,1976
14 Feb 1956,Valerie McClain-Ward,ROW,1984
14 Feb 1959,John Frackelton,ROW,1988
14 Feb 1961,Mark Whitehead,CYC,1984
14 Feb 1963,John Marzano,BSB,1984
14 Feb 1964,John Riley Jr.,ROW,1992
14 Feb 1970,Sean Hill,ICH,1992
14 Feb 1970,Elaine Youngs,BVO/VOL,1996-08
14 Feb 1973,Deena Drossin-Kastor,ATH,2000-08
14 Feb 1981,Kara Lawson,BAS,2008
14 Feb 1982,Steve Kasprzyk,ROW,2012
14 Feb 1983,Chris Estrada,TMP,2008
14 Feb 1983,Sada Jacobson,FEN,2004-08
14 Feb 1989,Callan Chythlook-Sifsof,SNB,2010
[/table]
Died
[table]
Date,Name,Sport,Years
14 Feb 1929,Tom Burke,ATH,1896
14 Feb 1943,Oscar Friede,TOW,1904
14 Feb 1944,Ted Kara,BOX,1936
14 Feb 1980,Frank Holmes,ATH,1908
14 Feb 1989,Duncan Gregg,ROW,1932
14 Feb 1992,Gene Venzke,ATH,1936
14 Feb 1999,Raymond Thompson,SWI,1932
14 Feb 2003,Fritz Pollard,ATH,1936
[/table]
Previous USA Olympic Medalists on This Day
[table]
Medalist,Sport,X,Event,Medal,Date
Andi Mead-Lawrence,ASK,F,GS,Gold,14 Feb 1952
Terry McDermott,SSK,M,500 m,Silver,14 Feb 1968
Bonnie Blair,SSK,F,1000 m,Gold,14 Feb 1992
Timothy Goebel,FSK,M,Singles,Bronze,14 Feb 2002
Ted Ligety,ASK,M,Combined,Gold,14 Feb 2006
Bryon Wilson,FRS,M,Moguls,Bronze,14 Feb 2010
Johnny Spillane,NCO,M,Normal,Silver,14 Feb 2010
[/table]
Medal Standings after Day #7
[table]
Day #8 – 13 Feb 2014,G,S,B,Total,Rank (US)
Nation,G,S,B,TM
Norway,4,3,6,13,1
Netherlands,4,3,5,12,2
United States,4,2,6,12,3
Russia,2,5,4,11,4
Germany,7,2,1,10,5
Canada,4,4,2,10,6
Austria,1,4,-,5,7
Sweden,-,4,1,5,8
Switzerland,3,-,1,4,9
France,2,-,2,4,10
Slovenia,1,1,2,4,11
China,2,1,-,3,12
Czech Republic,-,2,1,3,=13
Japan,-,2,1,3,=13
Italy,-,2,1,3,=13
Poland,2,-,-,2,16
Korea,1,-,1,2,17
Latvia,-,-,2,2,18
Belarus,1,-,-,1,=19
Slovakia,1,-,-,1,=19
Finland,-,1,-,1,=21
Australia,-,1,-,1,=21
Great Britain,-,-,1,1,=23
Ukraine,-,-,1,1,=23
Totals (38 events),39,37,38,114
[/table]
[table]
Day #7 – 18 Feb 2010,G,S,B,Total,Rank (US)
United States,6,5,7,18,1
Germany,4,4,3,11,2
Norway,3,3,2,8,3
Canada,3,3,1,7,4
France,2,1,4,7,5
Korea,3,2,-,5,6
Austria,1,2,2,5,7
Switzerland,3,-,1,4,8
China,2,1,1,4,9
Russia,1,2,1,4,10
Italy,-,1,3,4,11
Sweden,2,-,1,3,12
Netherlands,1,1,1,3,13
Japan,-,1,2,3,14
Australia,1,1,-,2,=15
Slovakia,1,1,-,2,=15
Czech Republic,1,-,1,2,17
Poland,-,2,-,2,18
Belarus,-,1,1,2,19
Estonia,-,1,-,1,=20
Finland,-,1,-,1,=20
Kazakhstan,-,1,-,1,=20
Latvia,-,1,-,1,=20
Croatia,-,-,1,1,=24
Slovenia,-,-,1,1,=24
Totals (34 events),34,35,33,102
[/table]
[table]
Day #7 – 16 Feb 2006,G,S,B,Total,Rank (US)
Norway,1,6,6,13,1
Russia,5,2,4,11,2
Germany,5,4,1,10,3
United States,6,2,1,9,4
Canada,1,3,4,8,5
Austria,3,2,1,6,6
China,1,2,3,6,7
Italy,2,-,3,5,8
Finland,-,2,3,5,9
Sweden,2,1,1,4,10
France,2,-,2,4,11
Netherlands,1,2,1,4,=12
Switzerland,1,2,1,4,=12
Korea,1,1,1,3,14
Estonia,2,-,-,2,15
Australia,1,-,-,1,16
Bulgaria,-,1,-,1,=17
Croatia,-,1,-,1,=17
Czech Republic,-,1,-,1,=17
Great Britain,-,1,-,1,=17
Slovakia,-,1,-,1,=17
Latvia,-,-,1,1,=22
Ukraine,-,-,1,1,=22
Totals (34 events),34,34,34,102
[/table]
[table]
Day #7 – 14 Feb 2002,G,S,B,Total,Rank (US)
Germany,4,7,4,15,1
Norway,7,3,1,11,2
United States,3,5,3,11,3
Austria,2,2,6,10,4
Russia,2,2,2,6,5
Finland,2,1,1,4,=6
Italy,2,1,1,4,=6
Switzerland,2,-,1,3,8
France,1,1,1,3,9
Sweden,-,-,3,3,10
Korea,1,1,-,2,=11
Netherlands,1,1,-,2,=11
Canada,1,-,1,2,=13
Estonia,1,-,1,2,=13
Japan,-,1,1,2,=15
Poland,-,1,1,2,=15
Croatia,1,-,-,1,17
Czech Republic,-,1,-,1,18
Bulgaria,-,-,1,1,=19
China,-,-,1,1,=19
Totals (28 events),30,27,29,86
[/table]
[table]
Day #7 – 13 Feb 1998,G,S,B,Total,Rank (US)
Germany,5,4,4,13,1
Norway,4,6,3,13,2
Austria,1,2,6,9,3
Russia,4,3,-,7,4
United States,2,1,3,6,5
Finland,2,1,2,5,6
Netherlands,1,2,1,4,7
Italy,-,3,1,4,8
Japan,2,1,-,3,9
Canada,1,1,1,3,10
France,2,-,-,2,11
Switzerland,1,-,1,2,12
Czech Republic,-,1,1,2,13
Bulgaria,1,-,-,1,14
Ukraine,-,1,-,1,15
Belgium,-,-,1,1,=16
Belarus,-,-,1,1,=16
Kazakhstan,-,-,1,1,=16
Totals (26 events),26,26,26,78
[/table]