Olympic Update: Shiffrin To Skip Downhill For Alpine Combined
With the announced move of the Olympic alpine combined event from Friday to Thursday, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) will not start in Wednesday’s Olympic downhill in order to focus on the combined.
“As much as I wanted to compete in the Olympic downhill, with the schedule change it’s important for me to focus my energy on preparing for the combined,” said Shiffrin. “I’m looking forward to cheering on our girls racing in the downhill and to compete myself in Thursday’s combined.
“This track is incredible and it has been so fun to ski these last few days. As with every downhill I have skied this year I am learning so much with each run. Each time I get to the finish I just want to go back to the top and do it again!”
Shiffrin had always planned to compete in the giant slalom, slalom and the alpine combined, with decisions to be made at games time relative to her participation in both the super-G and the downhill.
On Monday evening, organizers announced a move of the alpine combined from Friday to Thursday due to projected weather, including high winds. The men’s slalom will remain on Thursday.
The new start time for women’s alpine combined is 11:30 a.m. KT Thursday / 9:30 p.m. EST Wednesday. Men's slalom still will be held on Friday, but now will start at 10:00 a.m. KT / 8:00 p.m. EST Thursday.
Vonn Third in Second DH Training Run
Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) finished third in Monday’s second downhill training run at Jeongseon Alpine Centre. Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) was ninth, followed by Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho) in 12th; Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) 16th; Laurenne Ross (Bend. Ore.) 19th; Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) 34th; and Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.) 38th.
Team USA will announce its starting lineup on Tuesday for the women’s downhill, scheduled to start Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. KT / 9:00 p.m. EST Tuesday.
RESULTS
Women’s downhill training run 2
START LIST
Women’s downhill training run 3
FREESKI
Sigourney, Drew Bowman Advance to Medal Round
Brita Sigourney (Carmel, Calif.), Annalisa Drew (Andover, Mass.) and Maddie Bowman (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) will compete in the ski halfpipe medal round, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday KT / 8:30 p.m. EST Monday.
Sigourney was the top American, laying down a pair of consistent runs to finish third in qualifying Monday at Phoenix Snow Park.
“In Sochi I was coming off a couple surgeries, not to mention I’m older, I have more experience and I listen to my body,” Sigourney said. “I know when to push it and I know when to take a break. Things are a bit different this time around.”
Canada's Cassie Sharpe was the top qualifier, followed by France's Marie Martinod. Drew was fourth, while Bowman was sixth.
Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) finished 15th with a score of 71.60 on her first run and did not advance to the final.
RESULTS
Women’s freeski halfpipe qualifying
START LIST
Women’s freeski halfpipe finals
Men’s Halfpipe Qualifying Tuesday
David Wise (Reno. Nev.), the defending ski halfpipe gold medalist, kicks off qualifying on Tuesday at Phoenix Snow Park, 1:15 p.m. KT / 11:15 p.m. EST Monday. Joining Wise on Team USA are Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.), Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.), and Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, Colo.)
START LIST
Men’s halfpipe qualifying
NORDIC COMBINED
Four Americans Competing in Large Hill
The second Olympic nordic combined event, the Gundersen LH HS140/10k, is set for Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. KT / 5:00 a.m. EST. Starting for Team USA are Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.), Ben Berend (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.).
SNOWBOARD
Anderson, Marino, Jenson Advance To Big AIr Medal Round
Three Team USA riders advanced to the medal round of women's big air competition after qualifying runs Monday morning at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Center. Big air is making its Olympic debut at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
Jamie Anderson (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.), Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.) and Jessika Jenson (Rigby, Idaho) advanced to the finals, which are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday KT / 7:30 p.m. EST Thursday.
Anderson, the two-time Olympic champion in women's snowboard slopestyle, led the way for the Americans, placing sixth. Marino was ninth, while Jenson was 12th. Hailey Langland (San Clemente, Calif.) just missed advancing, placing 14th.
Anna Gasser of Austria was the top qualifier, as Japan's Yuka Fujimori was second.
RESULTS
Women’s big air qualifying
START LIST
Women’s big air finals
Men’s Big Air Qualifying Wednesday
Starting for Team USA in the inaugural Olympic big air event are Redmond Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo), Chris Corning, (Silverthorne, Colo.), Kyle Mack, (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Ryan Stassel, (Anchorage, Alaska). Qualifying starts at 9:30 a.m. KT Wednesday / 7:30 p.m. EST Tuesday.
HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST.
MONDAY, FEB. 19
NBC
3:00-5:00 p.m. - Men's large hill team ski jumping finals
8:00-11:30 p.m.- Women's halfpipe skiing finals (live)
12:05-1:00 a.m. - Men's halfpipe skiing qualifying (live)
NBCSN
7:10-11:00 a.m. - Men's large hill team ski jumping final
Olympic Channel: Home Of Team USA
12:00-12:30 p.m. - Winter Olympics Daily with Jimmy Roberts
NBCOlympics.com - Live Streaming
8:30-9:55 p.m. - Women's halfpipe skiing finals (Tuesday)
11:00 p.m.-12:45 a.m. - Men's halfpipe skiing qualifying (Tuesday)
TUESDAY, FEB. 20
NBC
3:00-5:00 p.m. - Nordic combined 10k
8 p.m.-12:30 a.m. - Women's downhill (live), men's big air snowboarding qualifying (live)
NBCSN
9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - Nordic combined jump
12:00-5:00 p.m. - Nordic combined 10k cross country
Olympic Channel: Home Of Team USA
5:00-7:00 a.m. - Medal Ceremony (live)
12:00-12:30 p.m. - Winter Olympics Daily with Jimmy Roberts
NBCOlympics.com - Live Streaming
5:00-5:55 a.m. - Nordic combined jump
7:45-8:45 a.m - Nordic combined 10k cross country
7:30-10:45 p.m. - Men's big air snowboarding qualifying (Wednesday)
9:00-10:50 p.m. - Women's downhill (Wednesday)