Bob Sledding
We watch the Olympics throughout the day so you don’t have to.
During the Summer and Winter Olympics, I always copy an MP3 audio file of the Olympics theme to my computer Desktop so that I can start the day with it. But it slipped though the cracks until now, when I realized my oversight. It's been corrected, and I figured I should make it available here for anyone who wants the Olympics morning boost.
The luge competition began on Saturday. I’m not quite sure why they need both it and the bobsled (let alone two-person and four-person bobsled). I know they’re different – one is somewhat like “driving,” the other is like hurtling blind down a winding mountain unprotected – but I’m not complaining, I like them both. Because of the curving track, they’re a bit difficult to follow in full, but the twists and turns are core to the excitement. I wonder if, at some point, they’ll find that the races can be covered from above with a camera on a drone. With this in mind, a week ago, Saturday Night Live had an “Olympics promo” sketch that was great. In fact, it’s a wonderful companion piece to the show’s classic piece (with Harry Shearer, Martin Short and Christopher Guest) that shredded Synchronized Swimming. This one touched on the luge, with Jane Wickline in what I think is the best thing the show has given her to do since she joined the cast last year.
The broadcast last night had a report on Lindsey Vonn’s current status for the Downhill. The fact that there is “a status” is bewildering enough to me. I can’t get over that Lindsey Vonn not only is competing in the Downhill just days after she had a bad injury on a run that ruptured her ACL – but will be doing so on Sunday. It’s one of the more amazing Olympics stories. But she’s already had two days of training runs. Her basic comeback is stunning enough – years after retiring and almost countless injuries, she began training again and at 41 years old, she took to the skiing circuit again. That’s remarkable in any sport. But – the Downhill? An unbelievably dangerous sport. Skiers generally average around 70 MPH, but can reach speeds of up to 95 MPH. And Lindsey Vonn is coming back to…that!! And now, add in that she tore her ACL days ago. That she’s merely up and walking without crutches already stuns me. If I didn’t know it was true, I’d probably think it was a joke story from The Onion that she’d be throwing herself down a mountain at 95 MPH.
During the late-night broadcast, they ran a wonderful ad by FIGS (which is direct-to-consumer clothing brand that “celebrates, empowers and serves healthcare professionals”) that was so moving, not only for seeing an ad honoring medical professionals, but did so using footage of what Lindsey Vonn has gone through in her recovery and comeback which sets one admiration and awe even higher.
A name to keep an ear open for during the Games is Johannes Klaebo of Norway. He’s a cross-country skier, so it’s not likely most people will be watching his events. But today he won his third Olympic Gold Medal, which is only three away from the all-time record for the Winter Olympics. And he has five more events that he’s competing in for these Games.
The Team Figure Skating competition continued. My TV's program showed that the pairs free skate would be on, but it lied to me -- it was ice dancing, so I turned it off. I mean, if you can't trust your program guide... The ladies' free skate did go, and what leaped out to me was the Italian competitor skating to the music of "Jaws"! I have to admit, I didn't have "Jaws" on my bingo card. Almost more surprising, though, was U.S. National Champion Amber Glenn making a couple of small, but damaging mistakes early on in her program, though she recovered and the rest of her skate was excellent. But in the end, she finished third in her discipline, leaving the door open for the Japanese legend Kaori Sakamoto to move Japan into a first-place tie with the U.S., leading up to the men's final. Though the three-time U.S. National Champion, this was Glenn's first Olympics, and one wonders if she was tight because of that. If so, it's good to get that out of the way before the singles competition later. And to her credit, she gave a thoughtful, honest and insightful interview afterwards about what she didn't do well, why and what she can take from it for the singles competition in nine days.
For the men's freestyle, which the Gold Medal came down to, Ilia Malinin decided to compete in the long program, as well as the short program earlier. The freestyle is Malinin's specialty, notably for his expanse of quads that no one else in the world does as many -- in fact, he does some jumps that no one else in the world even attempts. He made on slight mistake landing a quad, but for everything else he was superb and laid down a high standard for Japan's Shun Sato to pass. Malinin scored 200.3 points -- Sato had never gotten 200 points in a freestyle skate. And he was absolutely wonderful, flawless. But he still didn't exceed 200, getting close, finishing with 194.86 points. And so the U.S. team won the Gold Medal, for the second Olympics in a row.
And now, a report on the Downhill skiing race. For anyone who doesn’t want to know anything about the event until you’ve watched it, stop here. More on the Olympics tomorrow…
Conditions for the Downhill race were magnificent. Yesterday, the mountain was enveloped in in flurries that visibility was a challenge. Today, it was 35-degrees, crystal clear and sunny. Near perfect for the race.
The Downhill is one pass down the mountain. For the slalom, you get two runs. This is one chance.
There were 30 skiers competing. Lindsey Vonn went #13. And deeply unfortunately, not only did she finish out of medal contention, and worse, she fell only 12 seconds into her race after clipping a flag when flying from a leap, but she actually crashed, was unmoving and could be heard crying out, and had to be airlifted out by helicopter. The U.S. ski team later released a note that said she’s recovering and is being treated by American and Italian doctors. At the time I write this, I don’t know any more.
It was a gut-wrenching moment. It’s impossible to not feel heartbroken for her, after all the medical issues and training she’s gone through, coming out of retirement after years at age 41 and having a very success competitive season – and then crashing about a week ago and tearing her ACL, and recovering enough to compete. And then have this happen, and just 12 seconds into the race.
But there was a race. And it had it’s own impressive story. Right before the last Olympics, American skier Breezy Johnson had a major crash on this very same mountain, which knocked her out of the 2022 Games. She said she had to learn to love this mountain again. And she appears to have done that. Skating sixth, he had a great run that put her into first place. And had to sit there, knowing she had to watch up to the next 24 competitors to see if any of them would pass her. And with just to one skier remaining, no one had. And that last skier, by just .4 of a second didn’t pass her either. And so Breezy Johnson became only the second American woman to win a Gold Medal in the Downhill. The other being Lindsey Vonn, in 2010. (Picabo Street also won a Gold Medal in Alpine skiing, the Super-G, which is a giant slalom event, in 1998.)
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