Olympics – Page 34 – FasterSkier

General News Olympics Racing US Ski Team World Cup

First XC Races Set to Kick Off This Morning in Whistler

Topher SabotFebruary 15, 2010

The first cross-country races of the 2010 Olympics – the 10/15km individual start freestyle – may represent the best chance for medals – for both the US and Canada. Kris Freeman (USA) has twice finished 4th at the World Championships in this distance, and while he has had more success in classic, he has raised his skating to a similar level in recent years, and should be better positioned in the individual start format. While...

News Olympics Racing

Crazy Weather Means Crazy Days for the Techs

FasterSkierFebruary 15, 2010

Yesterday was a crazy day here. The weather once again played the leading role. Ladies Downhill training was supposed to have taken place this morning. Once again, it had to be canceled because of poor conditions. With the Biathlon Sprint competition of the men, everything seemed to point to a race with sunshine despite evidence of rain and snow squalls in the area on the radar. As Toko Nordic servicemen Jens and Björn conducted glide...

General News Nordic Combined Olympics Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Spillane Ends U.S. NoCo Quest With Silver

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 14, 20103

After Johnny Spillane won a silver medal Sunday afternoon—the first of any color in U.S. nordic combined history—his former coach, Tom Steitz, voiced the rhetorical question on every reporter’s mind here. “How do you boil up 86 years of emotion and frustration?” he asked. The answer? Todd Lodwick’s face. Struggling to explain himself and holding back tears after just missing out on the bronze, Lodwick quivered with feeling: fierce pride for his teammate and friend,...

Biathlon General News Olympics Racing World Cup

Snow Wreaks Havoc on Olympic Biathlon Races

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 14, 2010

American hopes for a medal in the men’s 10k biathlon sprint fell about as hard as the snow did in the middle of today’s race. 25 minutes into the event, the steady drizzle that came down throughout the morning morphed into a wild snow squall, slowing the skiing drastically and effectively squashing the chances of anyone still on course. The medalists in the race—France’s Vincent Jay, Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen, and Croatia’s Jakov Fak—all were...

Biathlon Olympics Racing

Burke Has First Chance fo Medal, Men’s Biathlon Starts Today

Topher SabotFebruary 14, 2010

Whistler, British Columbia – The men’s 1okm biathlon sprint starts in less than an hour at Whistler Olympic Park, providing American Tim Burke with his first chance of the 2010 Olympics to capture a medal. Burke has taken his game to a new level this year, finishing on the podium three times, and leading the overall World Cup on several occasions. Burke will battle tough conditions and tougher competition in the shortest biathlon event of...

Nordic Combined Olympics Racing US Ski Team

US Looking For Medals in Nordic Combined

Topher SabotFebruary 14, 2010

Whistler, British Columbia – The first of two individual Olympic nordic combined competitions will be held today at Whistler Olympic Park. The United States is in the unique position of having three medal hopefuls – Todd Lodwick, Billy Demong, and Johnny Spillane. While unlikely, a US sweep of the podium is not out of the question. The jumping portion of the competition will be held in under an hour at 10:00 at Whistler Olympic Park,...

General Interviews News Olympics Racing US Ski Team

Man vs. Wild: Zach Caldwell Takes On the 2010 Olympic Venue

FasterSkierFebruary 14, 2010

Editor’s Note: Portions of this article were removed at the request of the US Ski Team, which believed that sensitive information included in the piece could impact its medal chances. FasterSkier does not generally grant such requests and will not do so in the future, and we would not have done so if we believed the material in the article to be of critical import to the skiing community. While we did not agree that...

Biathlon General News Olympics Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Salt Could Be In Store for Whistler XC Races

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 14, 2010

Whistler Olympic Park, BC – Organizers of the cross country races here have been using a lot of salt recently. And it’s not because they’re hungry. With rain and above-freezing temperatures for the last few days, officials have been experimenting with ways to harden the courses. Today, FIS Cross Country Race Director Jurg Capol said, organizers tested salt on the portions of the courses that will be used for the 10/15k freestyle on Monday. And...

Biathlon General News Olympics Racing World Cup

Broken Bones Can’t Stop Slovakian Biathlete

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 13, 2010

Breaking two bones in your hand a month before the Olympic Games doesn’t sound like good preparation. But it sure didn’t hurt Anastasia Kuzmina. Shaking off an early miss, as well as the injury she suffered in early January, the Russian-turned-Slovakian won her country’s first Olympic medal in biathlon—and its first-ever gold in the Winter Games—on Saturday in the women’s 7.5k sprint. The announcers characterized Kuzmina’s win as a surprise, but her win comes after...

News Olympics

Olympic Tech Support

FasterSkierFebruary 13, 2010

Today is the day of the opening of the Games. Starting tomorrow, the biggest sporting event in the world begins. All athletes, trainers and coaches have worked four years for this event. The closer the day-X moves, the more clearly you can feel the excitement of all the protagonists. Today the weather varied. The morning was sunny and in the afternoon it rained at temperatures of +2 ° C. Tomorrow will be the first competition...

Bios Olympics

Brian McKeever

FasterSkierFebruary 13, 2010

Brian McKeever will make history at the 2010 Olympic Games by becoming the first winter sport athlete to compete at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. McKeever suffers from Stargardt’s disease, a degenerative vision condition that leaves the 30-year-old Canadian with only the use of his peripheral vision. A four-time gold medalist at the 2002 and 2006 Paralympic Games, McKeever, younger brother to Robin McKeever (1998 Canadian Olympic Team), was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease at...

Bios Olympics

Madeleine Williams

FasterSkierFebruary 13, 2010

A year ago at the 2009 World Cup in Whistler, Madeleine Williams had her best World Cup finish on the Olympic race course in the 15K pursuit. In a race that saw seven of her Canadian teammates place in the top 30, Williams took 22nd place. Now the 26-year-old athlete from Edmonton will try to replicate a similar result this season on those same trails at the Olympic Games. Williams opened her 2009-2010 season in...

Bios Olympics

Brent McMurtry

FasterSkierFebruary 13, 2010

Brent McMurtry, 23, notched his best World Cup result just one week before the Olympic Games with a 19th place finish in the classic sprint in Canmore. After placing a distant 66th the previous day in the 15K freestyle race, McMurtry qualified 25th in the classic sprint and skied through the heats well enough to move up to 19th place. “It was a very encouraging day and weekend for me,” McMurtry said on his website...

Bios Olympics

Stefan Kuhn

FasterSkierFebruary 13, 2010

In his first Olympics, Stefan Kuhn looks to build upon his already successful career, highlighted by his outstanding sprint results. At the Olympic Trials in December, Kuhn impressed with a first place finish in the classic sprint in Canmore, which should come as no surprise given his strong World Cup sprint results. Kuhn’s top World Cup result – a 15th place finish – came in 2008 in Kuusamo in the classic sprint. In 2010, Kuhn...

Bios Olympics

Gordon Jewett

FasterSkierFebruary 13, 2010

Veteran racer Gordon Jewett races in his first Olympics in Vancouver. Back injuries plagued Jewett for much of his early years of senior level racing, but perseverance paid off and Jewett found himself poised to qualify for his first Olympic Games after racing to his first national title in 2009 in the 50K freestyle race in March. Jewett placed fourth and was the top Canadian at the 15K freestyle race in Sovereign Lake in December...

Biathlon Olympics Racing

Whistler Olympic Park – Nordic Action Set to Start with Women’s Biathlon

Topher SabotFebruary 13, 2010

Whistler, British Columbia – The first Nordic medal event of the 2010 Olympic Games kicks off at 1:00PM local time. The women’s 7.5km biathlon sprint features 89 starters, with a maximum of four from any one nation. The US with four women at the Olympics will start a full contingent, Laura Spector, Haley Johnson, Sara Studebaker, and Lanny Barnes. The Canadians will also start four – Rosanna Crawford, Zina Kocher, Megan Imrie and Megan Tandy. ...

Biathlon General News Olympics Racing US Ski Team

For Athletes, An Agonizing Decision on Opening Ceremonies

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 13, 2010

While his Canadian teammates were out marching in front of their home crowd in Vancouver at the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Olympic Games, Devon Kershaw was alone, 60 miles away, watching them on a “fuzzy, little, little screen.” Kershaw got a small consolation prize, according to his Twitter feed—seeing his girlfriend, Chandra Crawford, a few times on that tiny television. But his decision to stay near Whistler was one faced by dozens of athletes...

Olympics Racing

Variable Conditions at Whistler Olympic Park

Topher SabotFebruary 12, 20104

Whistler, British Columbia – Conditions at Whistler Olympic Park – the venue for cross-country skiing, biathlon, nordic combined and ski jumping have been predictably unpredictable. The variable snow in Whistler has been a major topic of conversation among teams and service personnel over the last several years. The US invested significant resources into a program set up to prepare skis – both in terms of structure and wax – specifically for this venue. Last year...

General Interviews News Olympics Racing Training World Cup

“To Ski As Fast As Possible”: An Interview With Finnish Coach Magnar Dalen

Topher SabotFebruary 12, 2010

As far as coaching goes, Magnar Dalen has been around the block. Formerly the head coach of the Swedish team and head wax tech for the Norwegians, Dalen has been in charge of the Finnish program for the last four years. When Dalen took over Finland’s team in 2006, the women were already strong, with Virpi Kuitunen and Aino-Kaisa Saarinen finishing sixth and 12th in the World Cup overall the year before. But the men’s...

Bios Olympics

Drew Goldsack

FasterSkierFebruary 12, 2010

Four years ago in Torino, Drew Goldsack impressed with a 31st place finish in the freestyle sprint at the Games. 2007 brought a sixth place finish in the team sprint at the World Championships in Sapporo with Olympic teammate Devon Kershaw. In front of the home crowd in Canmore in 2008, Goldsack skied to a 12th place finish in the freestyle sprint, his best result in a World Cup. The 2009 season ended with a...

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