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The race to the Vancouver Olympics: Recap of last week (11/2- 11/8)
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Shani Davis: 500 m winner (AP: Markus Schreiber)
This past week was the official kickoff to the Vancouver Olympics, as the exciting “100-Days-To-Go” milestone was reached on November 4. Numerous countries held special events to commemorate this day, and several sponsors got a piece of this action (McDonald’s, Ralph Lauren). And NBC began itspre-Olympic coverageby broadcasting from Rockefeller Square where several invited U.S. athletes met with the press and public.
The Vancouver Olympics torch relay headed far north – to the town of Churchill, Manitoba which sits on the frigid Arctic Ocean shoreline.
While the festivities were unfolding, several Olympic qualifying, World Cup events were held. The International Skating Union conducted three major competitions this past weekend.
Figure Skating
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Nagano, Japan (1998 Winter Olympics host) featured many of the top singles, pairs, and ice dancers in the world. Team USA landed on the podium in each of these disciplines. Ice Dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White dominated all other partner teams with a convincing victory.
The flamboyant Johnny Weir edged two other competitors to take the Silver. Whereas, Ashley Wagner (in first place after the short program) faltered on her long program jumps, and captured the bronze.
Last, the veteran team of Rene Inoue and John Baldwin also earned the bronze in the Pairs event’
Speed Skating
Another ISU-managed competition was held in Berlin, Germany this weekend where long track speed skaters converged for the Essent ISU World Cup. The top USA skater, Shani Davis, won both the 1000 and 1500 meter races by breaking the track record in each. As the current world record holder in both distances, he is proving his readiness for Vancouver. Tucker Fredericks also won the second 500 meter sprint. In contrast, a few USA women broke into the top 10 finishers (Heather Richardon – 8th in the 1000).
Rounding-out the ISU weekend, athletes in the sister sport of short track speed skating raced in Montreal, Canada at another World Cup outing. In this wild sport, the U.S. team competed well against skaters from Canada, Korea, and China.
The infamous Apolo Ohno, Mr. Short Track himself, won the 500 event, and settled for fourth in the 1000 race. Jeff Simon and Simon Cho also broke into the top six of the 500 sprint, and contributed to the team’s fourth place Team Relay finish.
On the women’s side, Katherine Reutter surprised all by taking the gold in the 1500, and grabbing fourth in the 1000. She also paved the way in the Team Relay where Team USA won the silver.
Ice Hockey
At the Four Nations Cup in Finland, the USA Women’s Hockey team swept the competition in the preliminary round by beating Finland, Sweden, and Canada. However, their streak ended in the Finals where they were slapped silly by the Canadians in a 5-1 rout. Overall, Natalie Darwitz led the Americans with three goals during this mini tournament.
Also-Rans (USA)
Kevin Pearce, an X Games silver medalist, finished 12th in a World Cup Snowboarding half pipe event in Sass Fe, Switzerland.
JR Celski, a short-tracker who is recovering from a brutal leg injury in September, attended the “100-Days-To-Go” USOC celebration in New York City. He expects to return to competition soon.
That’s all for now! Check back next Sunday for another round of highlights, stories, etc
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