USA Yesterday at the Olympics

• Erin Hamlin won the first medal in a singles luge event for the USA, men or women. Hamlin placed second behind Britain’s Elizabeth Yarnold, earning a silver medal. USA slider Katie Uhlaender finished 4^th, only 0.04 out of a bronze medal.
• Hamlin’s bronze medal was the 13^th for the United States in Sochi, which moved the USA into a tie for 1^st in the medal standings, with Norway. Both have 4 golds, 3 silvers, and 6 bronzes to date. This uses the North American of ranking by, in order, total medals, golds, silvers, and bronzes.
• Bode Miller finished 6^th in the men’s super-combined. It was not the medal he was looking for, but it was Miller’s 9^th top 10 finish in Olympic Alpine Skiing. This extends his US record, and ties him for 2^nd among all Alpine skiiers, with 9, equalling Norway’s Lasse Kjus. Kjetil André Aamodt holds the Olympic best with 13.

USA Today at the Olympics

• Alpine Skiing – Women’s Super G – The USA has won 2 gold medals in this event – Dianne Roffe in 1994 and Picabo Street in 1998, and a 3rd medal – Lindsey Vonn’s bronze in 2010. The USA ranks 3rd in the medal table in the event, behind Austria’s 6 medals and 3 golds, and Italy’s 4 medals and 2 golds. Julia Mancuso was 9th in 2010 and 11th in 2006. The event started at the Winter Olympics in 1988.
• Cross-Country Skiing – Women’s Relay – The USA’s best finish is 7th, in both 1980 and 1984. The other top 10s were 8th in 1988, 9th in 1976, and 1994.
• Short-Track Speed Skating – Men’s 1,000 metres – The USA has won 3 medals, all by Apolo Anton Ohno – silver/bronze/bronze in 2002/2006/2010 respectively. J. R. Celski was 8th in 2010. The USA is 3rd on the national medal list with 3, trailing Korea’s 9 and Canada’s 4.
• Men’s Skeleton – The USA has won 4 medals, although 3 of them were in 1928 and 1948, on the Cresta Run at Saint Moritz. These were by the Heaton brothers, with Jack winning silvers in both 1928 and 1948, and Jennison winning gold in 1928. The other medal was a gold in 2002 by Jim Shea, Jr. Shea’s father skied cross-country for the USA at the 1964 Winter Olympics and his grandfather, Jack Shea, won 2 gold medals in speed skating (500, 1500) at the 1932 Winter Olympics. Jack Shea died a few weeks before the 2002 Winter Olympics when he was hit and killed by a drunk driver in his native Lake Placid. Jim Shea won the 2002 skeleton gold medal with a picture of his grandfather inside his helmet.
• Ski Jumping – Men’s Large Hill – The best USA finish has been 4th by Jeff Hastings in 1984, with our only other top 10 an 8th by Jim Denney in 1980.
• Speed Skating – Men’s 1500 metres – The USA has won 3 gold medals and 7 medals in this event, with the gold medals by Jack Shea in 1932, Eric Heiden in 1980, and Derek Parra in 2002. The USA is 4th on the national medal list in this event, well behind Norway’s 23 medals and 8 golds. Shani Davis won silver medals in both 2006 and 2010. In 2006 the USA won silver/bronze with Chad Hedrick taking bronze. Our other medal was a silver in 1988 by Eric Flaim. Flaim competed in speed skating in 1988 and 1992, and then turned to short-track and competed at the Winter Olympics in short-track in 1994 and 1998. In 1994 he won a silver medal in the short-track relay and is the only Olympian to have won Olympic medals in both long-track and short-track speed skating.
• Ice Hockey – Men – USA vs Russia – The USA and Russia have played 3 times at the Winter Olympics, splitting the series as follows:

[table]

Year,Phase,Result,Score,Date

2002,Semi-Finals,USA d. RUS,3-2,Feb 22

2002,D Pool,USA tied RUS,2-2,Feb 16

2006,B Pool,RUS d. USA,5-4,Feb 21

[/table]

Against the former Soviet Union, the USA played 8 Olympic matches, losing 6. The two wins were quite dramatic, defeating them 3-2 in the 1960 Final Round en route to the gold medal, and again in 1980, winning 4-3 in the Final Round, the famed “Miracle on Ice,” before winning the gold medal by defeating Finland in the final match.

[table]

Year,Phase,Result,Score,Date

1956,Final Round,URS d USA,4-0,3 Feb

1960,Final Round,USA d URS,3-2,27 Feb

1964,Final Round,URS d USA,5-1,29 Jan

1968,Final Round,URS d USA,10-2,9 Feb

1972,Final Round,URS d USA,7-2,9 Feb

1976,Final Round,URS d USA,6-2,6 Feb

1980,Final Round,USA d URS,4-3,22 Feb

1988,Group B,URS d USA,7-5,17 Feb

[/table]

In 1992 the USA also played the Unified Team, an amalgam of former Soviet Republics formed after the break-up of the Soviet Union, losing 5-2 in the semi-finals.

This Day at the Olympics

404 Olympians were born

61 Olympians died

100 Olympic events were held

53 Years Ago Today

On 15 February 1961, the United States figure skating team was traveling to the World Championships to be held in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Their flight, Sabena 548, was to make a stopover in Brussels, Belgium. While preparing to land, the pilots aborted the landing and circled the runway, but never made it back, crashing in a marshy area near a farm. The plane burst into flames and all 72 people aboard died, including 18 members of the US figure skating team and 16 family members, coaches, and officials. The World Championships were cancelled.

Prior to the loss of the US team in Belgium, they had been dominant at the Winter Olympics and World Championships over the past decade. American men had won the Olympics in 1948-60, and the World Championships from 1948-59. American women won Olympic gold in 1956 and 1960, and World Championships in 1953 and 1955-60. The team struggled to even field an Olympic figure skating team at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, with many members of the team very young teenagers forced into senior level competition almost before their time. One of these skaters was Peggy Fleming, who finished 6^th in Innsbruck, but would rise to the top and win a gold medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics.

Six members of the 1961 World Championship team had competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley: Ray Hadley, Jr and his sister, Ila Ray Hadley, Laurie Owen and her sister, Maribel Owen, and Dudley Richards and Maribel Vinson. All honor to their memory on this day.

USA Olympians Births and Death on this Day

Born

[table]

Date,Name,Sport,Years

15 Feb 1866,Cormic Cosgrove,FTB,1904

15 Feb 1866,Charles Hennemann,ATH,1904

15 Feb 1873,Mary Wesselhoeft,ART,1932

15 Feb 1874,Henry Hering,ART,1932

15 Feb 1884,A. C. Gilbert,ATH,1908

15 Feb 1892,Nickolas Muray,FEN,1928-32

15 Feb 1895,Herb Vollmer,WAP,1920-24

15 Feb 1896,William Gaehler,CAN,1936

15 Feb 1898,Allen Woodring,ATH,1920

15 Feb 1899,Bob Crawford,ATH,1920

15 Feb 1908,Eddie Genung,ATH,1932

15 Feb 1914,John Paulsen,SWI,1932

15 Feb 1935,Marvin Melville,ASK,1956-60

15 Feb 1936,Joseph Poglajen,BSB,1956

15 Feb 1939,Mark Moore,ROW,1960

15 Feb 1940,Buddy Friedrichs,SAI,1968

15 Feb 1940,William Hollrock III,BOB,1976

15 Feb 1944,Joe Dube,WLT,1968

15 Feb 1954,Pam Greene,ATH,1972

15 Feb 1956,Kip Sundgaard,SKJ,1976

15 Feb 1957,Cindy Greiner,ATH,1984-92

15 Feb 1962,Jeff Klaiber,SSK,1988-92

15 Feb 1963,Sarah Gengler,ROW,1988-92

15 Feb 1968,Paige Zemina,SWI,1988

15 Feb 1970,Nathaniel Mills,SSK,1992-98

15 Feb 1971,Jim Butler,TTN,1992-96

15 Feb 1972,Ken Popejoy,ATH,1996

15 Feb 1973,Amy Van Dyken,SWI,1996-00

15 Feb 1984,Nate Schierholtz,BSB,2008

15 Feb 1988,Brooke Abel,SYN,2008

[/table]

Died

[table]

Date,Name,Sport,Years

15 Feb 1946,Corny Johnson,ATH,1932-36

15 Feb 1956,Charles Downing Lay,ART,1936

15 Feb 1961,Ila Ray Hadley,FSK,1960

15 Feb 1961,Ray Hadley Jr.,FSK,1960

15 Feb 1961,Laurie Owen,FSK,1960

15 Feb 1961,Maribel Owen,FSK,1960

15 Feb 1961,Dudley Richards,FSK,1960

15 Feb 1961,Maribel Vinson,FSK,1928-36

15 Feb 1962,Josiah McCracken,ATH,1900

15 Feb 1970,Carl Johnson,FTB,1924

[/table]

Previous USA Olympic Medalists on this Day

[table]

Medalist,Sport,X,Event,Medal,Date

Beatrix Loughran,FSK,F,Singles,Bronze,15 Feb 1928

USA Team,BOB,M,Four,Gold,15 Feb 1932

USA Team,BOB,M,Four,Silver,15 Feb 1932

USA Team,BOB,M,Two,Gold,15 Feb 1936

USA Team,BOB,M,Two,Bronze,15 Feb 1936

USA Team,BOB,M,Two,Silver,15 Feb 1952

Eric Heiden,SSK,M,500 m,Gold,15 Feb 1980

Leah Poulos-Mueller,SSK,F,500 m,Silver,15 Feb 1980

Hilary Lindh,ASK,F,Downhill,Silver,15 Feb 1992

Paul Wylie,FSK,M,Singles,Silver,15 Feb 1992

Diann Roffe-Steinrotter,ASK,F,Super G,Gold,15 Feb 1994

USA Team,LUG,M,Doubles,Silver,15 Feb 2002

USA Team,LUG,M,Doubles,Bronze,15 Feb 2002

Chris Klug,SNB,M,Parallel GS,Bronze,15 Feb 2002

Toby Dawson,FRS,M,Moguls,Bronze,15 Feb 2006

Bode Miller,ASK,M,Downhill,Bronze,15 Feb 2010

[/table]

Medal Standings after Day #8

[table]

Day #8 – 14 Feb 2014,Gold,Silver,Bronze,Total,Rank (US)

United States,4,3,6,13,=1

Norway,4,3,6,13,=1

Netherlands,4,3,5,12,3

Russia,2,5,5,12,4

Canada,4,5,2,11,5

Germany,7,2,1,10,6

Switzerland,5,1,1,7,7

Sweden,-,5,2,7,8

Austria,1,4,-,5,9

Belarus,3,-,1,4,10

China,2,2,-,4,11

France,2,-,2,4,12

Japan,1,2,1,4,13

Slovenia,1,1,2,4,14

Italy,-,2,2,4,15

Czech Republic,-,2,1,3,16

Poland,2,-,-,2,17

Korea,1,-,1,2,=18

Great Britain,1,-,1,2,=18

Australia,-,1,1,2,20

Latvia,-,-,2,2,21

Slovakia,1,-,-,1,22

Croatia,-,1,-,1,=23

Finland,-,1,-,1,=23

Kazakhstan,-,-,1,1,=25

Ukraine,-,-,1,1,=25

Total (44 events),45,43,44,132

[/table]

[table]

Day #8 – 19 Feb 2010,Gold,Silver,Bronze,Total,Rank (US)

United States,6,6,8,20,1

Germany,4,5,4,13,2

Norway,5,3,2,10,3

Canada,4,3,1,8,4

France,2,1,4,7,5

Republic of Korea,3,2,-,5,6

Austria,1,2,2,5,=7

Russian Federation,1,2,2,5,=7

Switzerland,3,-,1,4,9

China,2,1,1,4,=10

Sweden,2,1,1,4,=10

Italy,-,1,3,4,12

The Netherlands,1,1,1,3,13

Poland,-,2,1,3,14

Japan,-,1,2,3,15

Australia,1,1,-,2,=16

Slovakia,1,1,-,2,=16

Czech Republic,1,-,1,2,18

Latvia,-,2,-,2,19

Belarus,-,1,1,2,20

Great Britain,1,-,-,1,21

Estonia,-,1,-,1,=22

Finland,-,1,-,1,=22

Kazakhstan,-,1,-,1,=22

Croatia,-,-,1,1,=25

Slovenia,-,-,1,1,=25

Totals (38 events),38,39,37,114

[/table]

[table]

Day #8 – 17 Feb 2006,Gold,Silver,Bronze,Total,Rank (US)

Norway,1,6,6,13,1

Germany,5,4,2,11,2

Russian Federation,5,2,4,11,3

Canada,2,4,5,11,4

United States,6,3,1,10,5

Austria,3,2,1,6,6

Switzerland,2,2,2,6,7

China,1,2,3,6,8

Italy,2,-,3,5,9

Finland,-,2,3,5,10

Sweden,2,1,1,4,11

France,2,-,2,4,12

The Netherlands,1,2,1,4,13

Estonia,3,-,-,3,14

Republic of Korea,1,1,1,3,15

Czech Republic,-,2,-,2,16

Australia,1,-,-,1,17

Bulgaria,-,1,-,1,=18

Croatia,-,1,-,1,=18

Great Britain,-,1,-,1,=18

Slovakia,-,1,-,1,=18

Latvia,-,-,1,1,=22

Ukraine,-,-,1,1,=22

Totals (37 events),37,37,37,111

[/table]

[table]

Day #8 – 15 Feb 2002,Gold,Silver,Bronze,Total,Rank (US)

Germany,5,7,5,17,1

United States,3,6,5,14,2

Norway,7,3,1,11,3

Austria,2,2,6,10,4

Russian Federation,2,2,2,6,5

France,2,2,1,5,6

Italy,2,1,2,5,7

Switzerland,3,-,1,4,8

Finland,2,1,1,4,9

Sweden,-,1,3,4,10

Canada,2,-,1,3,11

Republic of Korea,1,1,-,2,=12

The Netherlands,1,1,-,2,=12

Estonia,1,-,1,2,14

Czech Republic,-,2,-,2,15

Japan,-,1,1,2,=16

Poland,-,1,1,2,=16

Croatia,1,-,-,1,18

Bulgaria,-,-,1,1,=19

China,-,-,1,1,=19

Totals (32 events),34,31,33,98

[/table]

[table]

Day #8 – 14 Feb 1998,Gold,Silver,Bronze,Total,Rank (US)

Norway,5,6,3,14,1

Germany,5,4,4,13,2

Russian Federation,5,3,1,9,3

Austria,1,2,6,9,4

Canada,2,3,1,6,5

Finland,2,2,2,6,6

United States,2,1,3,6,7

Japan,2,1,1,4,8

The Netherlands,1,2,1,4,9

Italy,-,3,1,4,10

France,2,-,1,3,11

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 (29 events),29,29,29,87

[/table]