Sweden won both the women's and men's relays at the Olympics for the first time since 1972 and the men defended their 2010 title with a miraculous first leg from Lars Nelson and dominant performances from Daniel Richardsson, Johan Olsson, and Marcus Hellner, respectively.
When Andy Newell collapsed during the first leg of today's Olympic relay, the U.S. team had to switch their perspective. No problem, said Noah Hoffman: "you have to be ready to roll with anything and take what’s given to you." The Americans ultimately finished 11th, one spot ahead of a Canadian team that had benched Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey.
Andy Newell skied fast and relaxed through eight kilometers of the Olympic relay's scramble leg, but suffered a figurative collapse in the final meters and lost over a minute of time. After tagging off to Erik Bjornsen, he more literally collapsed and was brought immediately back to the athlete village by team doctor Larry Gall. Here's what we know so far about his condition.
The U.S. biathlon team grinds their skis in Sochi in a ramshackle orange shipping container cluttered with machinery and coiled extension cords—with a couple of full beer cans propping up their jury-rigged waxing bench.
Photos from a bright and warm day at the Laura cross-country venue, where Sweden picked up a sensational win and a strong and spirited cheering section helped the U.S. women through a tough race.
Both Susan Dunklee and Megan Imrie turned 28 years old this week - but how do you celebrate a birthday at the Olympics, when you are still training and recovering for a few of the most important races of your life, maybe even one that night? With a little creativity, and help from your friends.
Medal hopefuls to start the day, the U.S. women had to reconcile with ninth place in Saturday's Olympic 4 x 5 k relay, a result they said didn't reflect their best day but one which indicated they were still very much a team, united in success as well as on off-days.
As Norway blew the wax and muddled their way through their worst women's relay in recent memory, Sweden was making a different kind of history. Charlotte Kalla took over as anchor leg with a 25 second deficit to the two leaders, but skied a sensational race to win the team's first gold since 1960.
Disappointed with her sprint result and frustrated to sit out the pursuit, Hannah Dreissigacker "made a plan" and executed to achieve the best finish of her career, by 30 places -- at the Olympics, no less. The first-time Olympian led all North Americans with a 23rd-place finish. Megan Imrie of Canada placed 30th.
Dasha Domracheva relied on super-fast skiing and the confidence of a gold medal already in the bag to earn her second of these Olympics -- a first for Belarus in any Winter Games. Selina Gasparin shot clean for the first time in her career to take home Switzerland's first biathlon medal with silver, and Belarus had an unprecedented two on the podium with Nadezhda Skardino in third.
Today's Olympic 15 k saw a podium made of exclusively of skiers that had suffered injuries over the past year, led by Switzerland's Dario Cologna, just three months removed from ankle surgery.
Reactions from the U.S. men's team after a hot and slushy 15 k classic race at the Olympics. Noah Hoffman: "I mean, I love hanging out in this weather, it feels like springtime." But for racing!?
Petter Northug of Norway, who was a World Champion last season over the same distance, will not start today's 15 k individual race - and neither will Alexander Legkov and Maxim Vylegzhanin of Russia, Johannes Duerr of Austria, or Maurice Manificat of France. Norwegian and Russian coaches chat about the reasoning.
On Thursday, two days after a disappointing result in the Olympic sprint, U.S. skier Kikkan Randall talked about how she'd been buoyed by her fans, her attitude in the days after the race, and her preparation for the rest of the events at the games.
Two days after running a ski down to a Russia's Anton Gafarov, Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth joked that he'll think twice about doing the same in the future after the gesture prompted a significant amount of media attention.
American Biathlete Lowell Bailey skied and shot his way to eighth place at the Olympics on Thursday, relying on the calm and poise that he had been missing earlier this week. The result was the best-ever Olympic finish in biathlon for the U.S.
Martin Fourcade used his blazing ski speed to win his second biathlon gold of the Games. But silver medalist Erik Lesser did something more personal: he repaid his grandfather Axel, a cross-country skier, who was in second place in the 1976 Olympics before colliding with a spectator and withdrawing from the race. Evgeniy Garanichev of Russia, meanwhile, became the first athlete to win a medal on their birthday when he took bronze.
Torin Tucker, a 20-year-old Dartmouth junior, was skiing in the lead pack in the Craftsbury 50 kilometer on February 1st when he collapsed on a long climb up Sam’s Run. Despite the extraordinary efforts of other racers and emergency responders, no one was able to revive Torin, who died on the trail at the 42 k mark.
Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk was crying at the finish line of Thursday's Olympic 10 k, though it was unclear if they were tears of joy, or of pain. The 31-year-old had won a clear victory over Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla and Norway’s Therese Johaug.
Sadie Bjornsen quickly realized that today's 10 k classic wasn't going to have any easy sections, as temperatures soared into the mid-50s and the snow softened and slowed down. She thought of the Eagle glacier and pushed through to 18th - just a few seconds from the top 15. Her teammates packed in from 32nd to 35th.