It was a an thrilling day in the team sprint with crashes, broken poles and most of all fast ski racing. Here are a few photos from the semis with more to come.
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Every skier’s dream. Cross country skiing on it’s biggest stage.
Aside from a few small clusters in New England and New Zealand, millions of people glued to TV screens around the world were all asking the same question at the beginning of Saturday’s 30k pursuit: “Who is that guy?” That guy was Ben Koons, a former Dartmouth College skier and Maine resident competing for the Kiwis at the Games. Not even one kilometer from the start, Koons had slid into the track in the lead,...
What a day for America! Bode Miller won the Men’s Alpine Combined. What a great story the Olympics write. After Bode was no longer in the National team last year, he was allowed to return only on condition of coming into the team if he is completely at the service of the team and really part of the team. This he has done and has been rewarded now even with a complete set of medals....
Neuner Comes Back for Second Gold, Third Medal of Games
FasterSkierFebruary 21, 2010
Whistler, British Columbia – Magdalena Neuner (GER) claimed her second gold of the Olympics, overcoming two penalties to stage a come-from-behind win over Olga Zaitseva (RUS) and teammate Simone Hauswald. Neuner, with a miss on each the first prone stage and the first standing stage, cleaned during the last shooting round, shooting quickly, and left the range just 7 seconds behind Zaitseva. After three shooting stages, Russia controlled the race, with Olga Medvedtseva joining Zaitseva...
Whistler, British Columbia – Evgeny Ustyugov (RUS) won the first biathlon Olympic men’s gold for Russia in 16 years, skiing away from bronze medalist Paval Hurajt (SVK) in the final lap. Martin Fourcade (FRA) overcame three misses, including two in the first prone stage to take the silver. Emil Svendsen (NOR) and Simon Eder (AUT) set the pace early, leading the pack that still numbered 16 strong after the first shooting stage. Fourcade was not...
Burke’s Medal Hopes Fade After 18th in Mass Start
Nathaniel HerzFebruary 21, 2010
With three rough outings at the Olympics already under his belt, Tim Burke (USA) had little to lose in Sunday’s 15k mass start race. And in the words of Per Nilsson, Burke’s coach, he “went for it.” Halfway through the race, Burke was still right in the thick of things, shooting clean, skiing aggressively and sitting at the front. But on his third trip to the range, it all unraveled again, as three misses effectively...
One of the most exciting and anticipated cross country races in the Games just ended. The 30 km Men’s Pursuit race which involves 15 km in the classical technique followed by 15 km in the skating technique to see who is the most complete cross country skier racer. This is a mass start race with a running clock during the transition. With similar weather conditions to yesterday, the Swede Johan Olsson came out of the...
The expanded result sheet says it all. At 11.25 kilometers, Kris Freeman was in 23rd place, in the lead pack, 10.9 seconds behind Lukas Bauer (CZE). At the next time check, 1.35 kilometers later, Freeman was 47th, just under three minutes off the pace. Freeman crashed, but not in the usual way. “I went from feeling fine and relaxed to ‘oh this is hard’, to not standing, in three minutes,” Freeman told FasterSkier. And just...
With temperatures at Whistler Olympic Park over 50 degrees on Saturday, it was easily warm enough for a bike race. And that was basically what spectators got, as the racing, the strategy, and the cast of characters in the men’s 30 k pursuit could have been lifted straight out of a Tour de France stage. On the shoulders of his Swedish teammates, Marcus Hellner played the role of Lance Armstrong, outkicking a four-strong bunch in...
Southam, the only American other than Kris Freeman to start the 30km pursuit, skied to a solid 34th place finish. This result is on par with his performance at the World Championships in Liberec last year. Despite this consistency, Southam was not entirely pleased with his race. “The classic didn’t go as planned. I never felt quite in rhythm classic skiing out there.” He was skiing right around 30th place when he fell, not long...
Entering these 2010 Olympic Games, the top result by a Canadian man was a 14th by the legendary Pierre Harvey in 1988. Ivan Babikov bettered that with an 8th place in the 15km, but the best was yet to come. Pierre Harvey’s son, Alex topped his father’s result, finishing 9th today. And he was the just the third Canadian across the line. Babikov set yet another new record, finishing 5th, and in medal contention until...
Hot Day for the Men’s Olympic Pursuit
Topher SabotFebruary 20, 2010
The cross-country men will have a difficult time matching the women in today’s 30km pursuit. An exciting fast paced race featuring a photo finish for third highlighted another beautiful day at Whistler Olympic Park. The men’s race will most likely remain tightly packed, with a lead group of 20+ for much of the race. While the Whistler course features several large climbs, there is significant rest after each. This coupled with flat rolling terrain will...
In the 15 km Pursuit Women’s Cross-country competition, Marit Björgen of Norway was able to repeat her Olympic victory in the sprint. She had received super material “under her feet” from her serviceman Perry Olsson. There is an interesting story. Perry is responsible not only Marit but also for the skis of superstar Petter Northug. After Marit had won bronze in the first race the Norwegian media expected a victory from Petter in the afternoon....
Renner Gets Redemption With Tenth in Pursuit
Nathaniel HerzFebruary 20, 2010
After being “screwed by the jury” in Wednesday’s sprint, according to one of her teammates, Canada’s Sara Renner had some unfinished business to take care of. In the sprint, Renner was impeded when a skier in the track in front of her wouldn’t move—causing her to miss out on the heats in the same event in which she took third just two weeks ago in Canmore. But today, in the 15k pursuit, she got a...
Two days after winning the 100th gold medal in Norway’s Winter Olympic history, Marit Bjoergen wasn’t ready to stop. She added to that tally Friday, skiing to an impressive victory in the women’s 15km Pursuit at Whistler Olympic Park. Bjoergen put on a powerful move on the second-to-last climb of the race, leaving her competition in the dust. She was able to celebrate down the finish stretch in front of the cheering crowd while the...
Peak Performance Still Eludes Americans In Pursuit
Nathaniel HerzFebruary 19, 2010
The silver lining is out there somewhere, but time is running out for the Americans to find it in Whistler. Despite a beautiful day of sunny skies and spring-like conditions, the U.S. mood was somber after its third day of dismal results at the 2010 Olympics. Only one American woman, Morgan Arritola, cracked the top-forty in the 15k pursuit Friday, finishing 38th. The other three—Caitlin Compton, Holly Brooks, and Liz Stephen—were far back in 43rd,...
The Whistler weather continues to surprise – in a good way. For the third consecutive day the sky is clear and the sun strong. Temperatures are climbing rapidly and will be well above freezing at race time. The women’s 15km “pursuit” is set to start at 1:00PM local time with a field of 68. Waxing for the classic portion should be relatively straightforward klister, and by the time the skate leg roles around, the course...
From the Tech’s Point of View
FasterSkierFebruary 19, 2010
Yesterday everything went smoothly both in terms of the conditions for the racers as well as the weather. Those who followed the Olympics on TV, saw that we were treated to a radiantly beautiful winter day. The combination of the Alpine women’s competition was held under ideal conditions. Fortunately, the Rennläuferinnen were spared from bad falls this time. It is noteworthy to mention that Anja Persson, who had a bad fall yesterday on the descent,...
Anyone watching knew that it was going to be close. When Sergey Novikov (BLR) left the range after his final round of shooting in the 20k individual start, he led Norwegians Emil Hegle Svendsen and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen by seven and 26 seconds, respectively. But Novikov’s lead was due to good shooting, not fast skiing, and the question was whether he could hold on. For the two Norwegians, who had already finished racing, the nine...
Jean Phillipe LeGuellec (CAN) is making the most of Canada’s first home Olympics in 22 years. With his 13th place finish today, he has now finished 6th, 11th and 13th on winter sports biggest stage. He once again thrilled the home crowd with his strong skiing and solid shooting, finishing 2:24 behind winner Emil Svendsen of Norway. LeGuellec overcame a slow third lap to finish strong. “I slowed down a little and focused on my...