Brennan LaBrie:
You are about to compete in your first Olympics. How does it feel?
RACHAEL FLATT:
It’s incredibly exciting. I’m having the time of my life. I’m certainly looking forward to the competitions. Read more »
I talked with Olympic bronze medalist JR Celski in a little coffee shop on a rainy day in Vancouver, BC.
After winning the silver medal on February 18, snowboarder Hannah Teter (23) was presented with a check from Samsung for $30,000 for her charity, Hannah’s Gold, which is connected with the international organization World Vision. (ED: The World Vision headquarters is in Federal Way)
I got the chance to meet her on a sunny day in Yaletown, Vancouver, BC, where she told me more about the difference she wanted to make.
“I’m working with World Vision to sponsor a town …
WHISTLER, B.C. – Four years after being kicked out of the 2006 Games after testing positive for a banned substance, Zach Lund finally lived his Olympic dream Friday night at the Whistler Sliding Centre.
However, America’s top skeleton slider couldn’t overcome a poor first run and had to settle for fifth place, 0.52 seconds off the podium.
“I’m disappointed and happy at the same time,” Lund said. “… It’s been a hard, hard journey to get here and I’m so happy to finally get this accomplishment.”
Jon Montgomery, a Canadian auctioneer, won the gold by moving up from second on the final run when Latvia’s Martins Dukurs struggled to navigate the course’s final turns.
The crowd shouted its approval and waved Canadian flags when Dukurs finished in the silver medal position. Russia’s Alexander Tretyakov won bronze. Read more »
WHISTLER, B.C. – Skeleton slider Noelle Pikus-Pace would be retired by now if fate hadn’t forced her to sacrifice more than she ever wanted in order to pursue her Olympic dream.
The original plan called for Pikus-Pace to win a medal at the 2006 games then retire and raise a family.
That was before she and her plans were broadsided by a runaway bobsled.
In a freak accident in Calgary in ’05, just four months before the Games, Pikus-Pace was struck by a bobsled that failed to break in the finish area and she suffered a compound fracture in her right leg.
Her Olympic dream was supposed to be over, at least that’s what the doctors told her, but even with a titanium rod inserted in her leg she wasn’t about to relinquish a dream that finally came true Thursday afternoon.
Pikus-Pace, now 27, finally made her Olympic debut at the Whistler Sliding Centre finishing her two runs in fifth place, 0.55 seconds behind leader Amy Williams of Great Britain and 0.16 second out of the bronze medal spot. She’ll try to move on to the podium tonight with the final two runs of the Olympics and, she says, her career.
While the recovery from a nasty injury was brutal and the unplanned additional four years of training was grueling, those weren’t the toughest sacrifices Pikus-Pace made to be here.
Not even close. Read more »
WHISTLER, B.C. – In the rush to anoint Lindsey Vonn the greatest skier in Olympic history, most media and fans forgot about the skier whose been wearing the crown for years.
Julia Mancuso, who skis with a tiara painted on some of her helmets and wears a tiara after races, skied into the U.S. record books Thursday afternoon by winning a silver medal in the super combined.
Often overlooked since winning gold at the 2006 Games because of injuries and poor performances, Mancuso is now the only American woman to win three Olympic medals.
When she finished her slalom run and saw she’d locked up a medal she fell to the ground. She kicked her feet in the air, celebrating the moment.
“That was pure joy,” Mancuso said. “I was so stoked. Skiing a good downhill and having to follow it up with a good run of slalom, I mean, that’s tough. I didn’t think I could do it. … That’s a moment I won’t ever forget.”
She shared the podium with two of the world’s best skiers, but unlike Wednesday’s downhill when Vonn was beside her on the top step, Vonn, the world’s top-ranked super combined racer, was watching from the sideline. Read more »
The snow might have fallen from buckets dangling from helicopters rather than in buckets from the heavens, but it’s good enough for the U.S. freestyle team.
U.S. team released a statement raving about conditions. Whether or not they were encouraged to release this statement, we may never know.
Nevertheless, here’s the statement:
The reviews are in, and they’re raves. The 2010 U.S. Olympic Freestyle Team has found plenty of snow on Cypress Mountain as it dials its runs and jumps in training sessions Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, putting to bed concerns about the mountain’s readiness for the Games.
“The course is in beautiful shape,” said 2002 Olympic moguls silver medalist Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA). “As soon as it gets a little more skier traffic, it’s going to be perfect.”
Read more »
Whether its skiing at 90 mph, sledding on a refrigerated track or even figure skating, the Winter Olympics are packed with the possibility of danger. Many Olympians have been seriously injured and, in some cases, even killed.
As promised in Tuesday’s News Tribune, here’s some video that shows just how dangerous the winter games can be.
WARNING you may find the videos and picture below disturbing.
SCOTT MACARTNEY (’02 and ’06 Olympian) wiping out in a 2008 World Cup race.
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