Olympic Update: Two Into Large Hill Finals
ALPINE
Shiffrin Comes Up Short in Slalom
Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.), the defending slalom gold medalist from the 2014 Sochi Games, just missed the podium, finishing fourth, in Friday’s slalom at Yongpyong Alpine Centre.
“It’s not about the medals, it’s about how I feel on my skis,” Shiffrin said. “And today I didn’t feel like myself. Coming here today and skiing real conservative was a huge, huge disappointment.”
Shiffrin struggled to find her rhythm on her first run, finishing fourth almost a half-second off the pace set by Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener. She found her groove on the second run, only to make a costly mistake near the bottom of the course that cost her precious time.
“I know I have the best slalom turns in the world, but I didn’t put it out in the two runs where it mattered,” Shiffrin added. “Sometimes I feel like in slalom that the only one who can beat me in slalom is me. And I beat myself in the wrong way today.” … READ MORE / RESULTS
Vonn Running Bullet in Super-G
Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo) makes her first PyeongChang Olympic start, running bullet with bib 1, in women’s super-G Saturday, 11:00 a.m. KT / 9:00 p.m. EST Friday. Joining Vonn will be Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) and Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho).
START LIST
Women’s Super-G
Cochran-Siegle 14th in Super-G
Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) was the top finisher in 14th for Team USA in super-G Friday afternoon at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
"This was a good day, but having me be the top finisher and no athletes in the top 10 was kind of a bummer – especially when we have had so much success in the past at this event," Cochran-Siegle said. … READ MORE / RESULTS
FREESKI
Women’s Slopestyle Saturday
Freeskiing slopestyle kicks off Saturday with women’s qualifying at 10:00 a.m. KT / 8:00 p.m. EST Friday. The finals are scheduled for 1:00 p.m. KT / 11:00 p.m. EST Friday. Starting for Team USA are Caroline Claire (Manchester Center, Vt.) , Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.), Darian Stevens (Missoula, Mont.), Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.)
FREESTYLE
Olsen Goes Big in Medal Round
Madison Olsen (Park City, Utah) punched her ticket to the medal round in women’s aerials on Friday night. After advancing through the first and second round of finals with two lower degree of difficulty jumps, Olsen went for broke and attempted a full, double full for the first time on snow. She missed the landing, but finished an impressive sixth in her first Olympics. It was the best U.S. women’s performance Nikki Stone won in Calgary in 1998.
“That was my first time doing that jump on snow, so I was definitely really nervous,” said Olsen. “But, I figured, why not do it in the super final at the Olympics? I could have hit a little bit of a better take off. I got into my twist and when I came out to land, I was just a bit under rotated. I’ll get it next time! I was really just enjoying the moment. The adrenaline was just pumping through my body and I was just super excited to be out there jumping and having a good time. Each round I was just so excited to make it through and see what I could do.” … READ MORE / RESULTS
CROSS COUNTRY
Team USA Fired Up For 4x5k Relay
Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) will lead a strong Team USA lineup in the women's 4x5k cross country relay on Saturday. Team USA announced its team that will include Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) on the opening two classic technique legs followed by Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) and Diggins closing out on the freestyle technique spots.
Each of the four U.S. women has been on a World Cup podium in an individual event this season. "All four athletes are clearly in top shape and we feel this team is our best chance to bring home a medal for the USA," said Head Coach Chris Grover."Relays are my all-time favorite events and a medal would be the coolest thing because it shows the depth of our team," said Diggins. "You don’t get anywhere in life alone! We have a committed team of was staff giving me this awesome opportunity. I am fired up for the relay."
The relay is set for 6:30 p.m. KT / 4:30 a.m. EST Saturday.
Patterson 19th in 15k
Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska), competing in his first Olympic Winter Games, lead the way for Team USA, finishing 19th, in the men’s 15k freestyle Friday at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre.
Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) was 41st, Noah Hoffman (Aspen, Colo.) 48th, and , Tyler Kornfield (Anchorage, Alaska) 74th.
RESULTS
Men’s 15k freestyle
SKI JUMPING
Two Into Large Hill Finals
Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill.) and Norge Ski Club teammate Michael Glasder (Cary, Ill.) soared into Saturday’s large hill medal round in Friday night’s qualifying.
Bickner soared 122.5 meters to finish 35th. Glasder was 38th going 222.5m.
" My trial round gives me the confidence to be an underdog tomorrow in the medal round,” said Bickner.
Will Rhoads (Park City, Utah) missed finals by a mere two-tenths of a point. Casey Larson (Barrington, Ill.) was also just outside the qualification mark.
The large hill finals get underway at 9:30 p.m. KT / 7:30 a.m. EST Saturday.
SNOWBOARD
Jacobellis Just Misses SBX Medal
Lindsey Jacobellis (Roxbury, Conn.) finished fourth in women's snowboardcross Friday afternoon at Phoenix Park.
Jacobellis, the only American rider to survive the quarterfinals, took the early lead in the big final, but was overtaken on the bottom third of the course before a rider fell in front of her near the finish, which may have been the difference between fourth and a spot on the podium.
“On this course, you really don’t want to have the holeshot because someone is going to draft you,” Jacobellis said. “But that is kind of the risk you take because you don’t want to be stuck in traffic. I tried to stay in the mix and look for opportunities to pass back again. But it just didn’t pan out because we just kind of ran out of course.” … READ MORE / RESULTS
HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST
FRIDAY, FEB 16
NBC
3:00-5:00 p.m. - Men's 15k freestyle cross country, men's large hill ski jumping
8:00-12:00 p.m. - Women's super-G (live), women's aerials finals
NBCSN
10:45 a.m.-2:00 p.m. - Men's large hill ski jumping
Olympic Channel: Home Of Team USA
12:00-12:30 p.m. - Winter Olympics Daily with Jimmy Roberts
NBCOlympics.com - Live Streaming
8:00-9:40 p.m. - Women's slopestyle skiing qualifying (Saturday)
9:00-10:55 p.m.- Women's super-G (Saturday)
11:00-12:35 a.m. - Women's slopestyle skiing finals (Saturday)
SATURDAY, FEB. 17
NBC
3:00-6:00 p.m. - Men's freestyle aerials, women's 4x5k relay.
8:00-11:00 p.m. - Men's giant slalom first run (live), men's ski jumping large hill
11:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. - Men's giant slalom second run (live), men's slopestyle skiing finals
NBCSN
7:10-10:30 a.m. - Men's freestyle aerials
10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. - Women's 4x5k cross country relay
1:30-5:30 p.m. - Men's large hill ski jumping
7:00-10:10 p.m.- Men's slopestyle skiing (live)
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
4:30-5:45 a.m. - Women's 4x5k relay
6:00 - 7:15 a.m. Men’s aerials qualifying
7:30-9:15 a.m. - Men's large hill jump
8:00-10:05 p.m. - Men's slopestyle skiing qualifying (Sunday)
8:15-10:20 p.m. - Men's giant slalom first run (Sunday)
11:15 p.m.-12:50 a.m. - Men's slopestyle skiing finals (Sunday)
11:45 p.m.-1:45 a.m. - Men's giant slalom second run (Sunday)
SUNDAY, FEB. 18
NBC
3:00-6:00 p.m. - Men's freestyle aerials finals
7:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. - Women's halfpipe skiing (live), men's 4x10k cross country relay
12:35-2:00 a.m. - Women's big air snowboarding
NBCSN
10:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m. - Men's freestyle aerials finals
1:00-5:00 p.m. - Men's 4x10k cross country relay
NBCOlympics.com - Live Streaming
1:15-3:10 a.m. - Men's 4x10k relay
6:00-7:10 a.m. - Men's aerials finals
7:30-10:25 p.m. - Women's big air snowboarding qualifying (Monday)
8:00-9:25 p.m. - Women's halfpipe skiing qualifying (Monday)