• USA Biathlon Women’s 12.5 km Mass Start
• USA Bobsledding Two-Man
• USA Figure Skating Mixed Ice Dancing
• USA Freestyle Skiing Men’s Aerials
• USA Ski Jumping Men’s Team, Large Hill
• USA Snowboarding Men’s Boarder-Cross

• Biathlon Women’s 12.5 km Mass Start
• Bobsledding Two-Man
• Figure Skating Mixed Ice Dancing
• Freestyle Skiing Men’s Aerials
• Ski Jumping Men’s Team, Large Hill
• Snowboarding Men’s Boarder-Cross

The middle Saturday of the Sochi Olympics saw a fundamental change to the points table. Since Day 1 Norway have led, usually with a sizeable lead, but today Russian speed skaters and skeleton sliders teamed up to push the host country into a 13 point lead. Positions 3 to 6 are now separated by only 2 points with the USA hanging in there ahead of Germany, Canada and the Netherlands. Despite winning their 1st gold of 2014, Sweden dropped out of the top ten.

The scoring table is as follows;
1st 8 points
2nd 7
3rd 6
4th 5
5th 4
6th 3
7th 2
8th 1
If countries are level on points their single best result is the tiebreak

[table]
Rank, Nation,Points,Tie breaker
1, RUS, 181,
2, NOR, 168,
3, USA, 150,
4, GER, 141,
5, CAN, 136,
6, NED, 130,
7, CHN, 95,
8, SUI, 87,
9, AUT, 83,
10, ITA, 80,
11, SWE, 78,
12, JPN, 76,
13, FRA, 57,
14, SLO, 46,
15, CZE, 44,
16, POL, 42,
17, FIN, 33,
18, KOR, 32,
19, BLR, 30,
20, AUS, 29,
21, GBR, 27,
22, LAT, 24,
23, KAZ, 19,
24, SVK, 15,
25, UKR, 13,
26, CRO, 7,
27, BEL, 5, 4th
27, ESP, 5, 4th
29, HUN, 2,
[/table]

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]

• Alpine Skiing Men’s Super-G
• Biathlon Men’s 15 km Mass Start
• Cross-Country Skiing Men’s Relay
• Snowboarding Women’s Boarder-Cross
• Speed Skating Women’s 1500 metres

• USA Alpine Skiing Men’s Super-G
• USA Biathlon Men’s 15K
• USA Cross-Country Skiing Men’s Relay
• USA Snowboarding Men’s Boarder-Cross
• USA Speed Skating Women’s 1500 metres

At the end of day 7 Norway’s lead over Russia closes again in what was a relatively quiet day for all of the top six nations. China and Switzerland leap up the table whilst Croatia and Spain are new to the list.

The scoring table is as follows;
1st 8 points
2nd 7
3rd 6
4th 5
5th 4
6th 3
7th 2
8th 1
If countries are level on points their single best result is the tiebreak

[table]
Rank, Nation,Points,Tie breaker
1, NOR, 156,
2, RUS, 140,
3, USA, 136,
4, CAN, 124,
5, GER, 120,
6, NED, 108,
7, CHN, 78,
8, SUI, 77,
9, ITA, 73,
10, SWE, 70,
11, JPN, 69,
12, AUT, 66,
13, FRA, 52,
14, CZE, 44,
15, SLO, 36,
16, BLR, 30,
17, AUS, 29,
18, GBR, 26, 1st
19, FIN, 26, 2nd
20, POL, 24,
21, KOR, 22,
22, KAZ, 19,
23, SVK, 15,
24, UKR, 13,
25, LAT, 12,
26, CRO, 7,
27, BEL, 5, 4th
28, ESP, 5, 4th
29, HUN, 2,
[/table]

With thanx to NBC Olympic Talk’s Nick Zaccardi who sent me off on this database query, let’s look at which brothers and sisters have won the most medals at the Olympic Games. Nick came up with this wondering about Ivica Kostelić (CRO), competing in the men’s Alpine super combined today, and going for his 4^th Olympic medal. His sister, Janica, has 6 so that would give them 10. Nick was wondering how this stood on the all-time sibling medal list, with both siblings winning medals.

Well, oddly, the Winter record is held by the same guy (and his brother) who has the most Winter Olympic medals – Norway’s Ole Einard Bjørndalen. He has 12, equal to his countryman Bjørn Dæhlie, but Ole Einar’s brother, Dag, has one Olympic medal, so that gives them 13.

That is equal 3^rd all-time behind the Mangiarotti’s, Italian fencing brothers with 16, and the Katos, Japanese gymnastic brothers with 14. The 2^nd best at the Winter Olympics is 10 by brother/sister Di Centa.

Manuela and Giorgio Di Centa hold the record for a brother/sister pair at the Winter Olympics with their 10 medals, which the Kostelićs could equal today. Only Shirley and Jack Babashoff, with 11, have more brother/sister medals at the Summer Olympics.

And who has the most among sisters at the Olympics? You might not think it, but it’s the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, in tennis, with 8 medals. And most sisters medals at the Winter Olympics? It’s a 3-way tie with 5 medals (not in the list below) – Marielle & Christine Goitschel (FRA-ASK), Ann Elen Skjelbreid & Liv Grete Skjelbreid-Poirée (NOR-BIA), and Manuela & Andrea Henkel (GER-CCS/BIA).

Here’s all the Olympic siblings with 6 or more medals, with both siblings winning a medal.

 

[table]

SibTotal,Siblings,Pair,Ssn,NOC,Sport

16,Edoardo & Dario Mangiarotti,Bros,S,ITA,FEN

14,Sawao & Takeshi Kato,Bros,S,JPN,GYM

13,Vilhelm & Eric Carlberg,Bros,S,SWE,SHO

13,Ole Einar & Dag Bjørndalen,Bros,W,NOR,BIA

12,Raimondo & Piero D’Inzeo,Bros,S,ITA,EQU

11,Shirley & Jack Babashoff,Bro/Sis,S,USA,SWI

10,Nedo & Aldo Nadi,Bros,S,ITA,FEN

10,Manuela & Giorgio Di Centa,Bro/Sis,W,ITA,CCS

9,Janica & Ivica Kostelić,Bro/Sis,W,CRO,ASK

8,Géo & Gustave Buchard,Bros,S,FRA,FEN

8,Pavol & Peter Hochschorner,Bros,S,SVK,CAN

8,Serena & Venus Williams,Sisters,S,USA,TEN

7,Reggie & Laurie Doherty,Bros,S,GBR,TEN

7,Torben & Lars Grael,Bros,S,BRA,SAI

7,Jackie & Al Joyner-Kersee,Bro/Sis,S,USA,ATH

6,Sergey & Aleksandr Belov,Bros,S,URS,BAS

6,Alwin & Paul Schockemöhle,Bros,S,FRG/GER,EQU

6,Daniel & Axel Norling,Bros,S,SWE,EQU/GYM

6,Bernd & Jörg Landvoigt,Bros,S,GDR,ROW

6,Agostino & Carmine Abbagnale,Bros,S,ITA,ROW

6,Andreas & Wolfgang Linger,Bros,W,AUT,LUG

6,Doina Liliana & Anişoara Snep-Bălan,Sisters,S,ROU,ROW

6,Gérard & Maurice Blitz,Bros,S,BEL,SWI/WAP

6,Artur & Tymur Taymazov,Bros,S,UZB-EUN/UKR,WRE/WLT

6,Tamara & Irina Press,Sisters,S,URS,ATH

6,Giorgio & Bice Vanzetta,Bro/Sis,W,ITA,CCS

6,Saku & Mikko Koivu,Bros,W,FIN,ICH

6,Eric & Beth Heiden,Bro/Sis,W,USA,SSK

6,Duke & Sam Kahanamoku,Bros,S,USA,SWI

6,Arne & Åke Borg,Bros,S,SWE,SWI

[/table]

• Alpine Skiing Women’s SuperG
• Cross-Country Skiing Women’s Relay
• Men’s Skeleton
• Short-Track Speed Skating Men’s 1000 metres
• Ski Jumping Men’s Large Hill
• Speed Skating Men’s 1500 metres

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 3^rd 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 3^rd 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 8^th, 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]