Olympic Update: White Leads Four Americans Into Halfpipe Finals
ALPINE
Ligety Fifth In Alpine Combined
Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) finished fifth in the men's alpine combined to lead Team USA at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre Tuesday afternoon at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
In the first-run downhill, Ligety finished 26th, 2.12 seconds off the lead, which proved to be too large of a margin to overcome to land on the podium, despite skiing the fourth-fastest time in the second-run slalom.
“I was happy with how I did today,” said Ligety, who won the 2006 alpine combined gold medal at the Torino Games. “To battle from a disadvantage against some of the best slalom skiers in the world isn’t really the formula for a medal, but I’m happy with how I skied both runs.” ... READ MORE / RESULTS
Shiffrin Opens Olympics With Slalom Wednesday
The women’s slalom is scheduled for Wednesday, with a first run start time of 10:15 a.m. KT / 8:15 p.m. EST Tuesday. The second run is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. KT / 11:45 p.m. EST Tuesday. Starting for Team USA are Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.), Resi Stiegler (Jackson Hole, Wyo.), Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) and Megan McJames (Park City, Utah.).
START LIST
Women’s slalom
CROSS COUNTRY
Diggins Sixth In Classic Sprint
Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) skied with guts and determination, challenging for a medal in the Olympic classic sprint but falling just short in sixth. Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) was eighth on a windy night at the Alpensia Cross Country Centre.
The men's gold went to Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo - his first Olympic medal, with Sweden's Stina Nilsson taking gold for the women in a hard fought battle with defending Sochi Olympic champion Maiken Caspersen Falla.
Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) led the U.S. men finishing 20th after a quarterfinal crash that sent him to the back of the pack. Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) was 25th. Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.), who went out in a fast quarterfinal heat, was 12th. It was the first time the USA has ever placed three athletes into the top 12 in an Olympic cross country event.
While a medal eluded Team USA, it was a classic race outcome few could have predicted just a few years earlier. "For me, just making the final has been a huge step forward," said Diggins. "If you had told me a year ago that I would make the Olympic classic finals, I never would have believed you. We had really competitive skis today and we have such a deep and strong women’s team so I’m really stoked. I’m really, really proud of this race today, it was a good one for me and I think it shows some good things to come." ... READ MORE / RESULTS
NORDIC COMBINED
Nordic Combined Kicks Off Wednesday
Nordic combined gets underway Wednesday with a blend of Olympic veterans and rookies for Team USA. Veterans Bryan and Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) will join first timers Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, Colo.). Competition starts Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. KT / 1:00 a.m. EST.
START LIST
Nordic Combined Individual Gundersen NH/10k
SNOWBOARD
Chloe Gold - Arielle Bronze
Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.) made her long-awaited Olympic halfpipe debut and rode away with a gold medal.
On her first run of the three-run final, Kim opened up with a 93.75 to take the lead over China’s Jiayu Lui, who scored an 89.75 on her second run to give her silver. On her third-run victory lap, Kim nailed back-to-back 1080s – the first in Olympic history – to score a 98.25.
Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) nailed her final run to take the bronze medal with a score of 85.75, bumping three-time Olympic medalist Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, Vt.) into fourth with a score of 83.50.
With the gold medal in her pocket, Kim still wanted more out of her third and final run. "I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied taking the gold and knowing that I hadn’t put down my best," she said. "That third run was for me - to put down the best run I could do."
Kim, whose Korean roots had made her a national sport hero, was visibly moved by the accomplishment. "Standing on the podium was insane - just realizing how far I’ve come as a person and an athlete," she said. … READ MORE / RESULTS
Team USA Qualifies All Four For Halfpipe Finals
Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.) led four Team USA riders in qualifying to advance to the final round of men's snowboard halfpipe Tuesday at Phoenix Snow Park.
The leader after the first run with a 93.25, White answered a challenge by Australian Scotty James and added more than five points to his second run score.
“Today was all about just getting into finals,” White said. “ I was stoked to put that first run down and it took the pressure right off. Then I saw everyone putting amazing runs down and I figured I would step it up and send it on my last one. I knew I had it in me and all the other riders just fired me up."
Ben Ferguson (Bend, Ore.) finished fourth, while Chase Josey (Hailey, Idaho) and Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo.) were seventh and eighth, respectively.
The men's halfpipe finals are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. KT Wednesday / 8:30 p.m. EST Tuesday.
START LIST
Men’s halfpipe Finals
HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST.
TUESDAY, FEB. 13
NBC
3:00-5:00 p.m. - Men's and women's classic sprint finals
8:00 p.m.-11:30 p.m. - Women's alpine slalom first run (live), men's halfpipe snowboarding finals (live)
12:05 a.m.-1:30 a.m. - Women's slalom second run (live)
NBCSN
9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. - Men's and women's classic sprint finals
Olympic Channel: Home Of Team USA
12:00-12:30 p.m. - Winter Olympics Daily with Jimmy Roberts
NBCOlympics.com - Live Streaming
8:15-9:50 p.m. - Women's alpine slalom first run (Wednesday)
8:30-10:10 p.m. - Men's halfpipe snowboarding final (Wednesday)
11:45 p.m.-1:25 a.m. - Women's alpine slalom second run (Wednesday)
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 14
NBC
3:00-5:00 p.m. - Nordic combined 10k cross country
8:00-11:30 p.m. - Men's downhill (live)
12:05-1:30 a.m. - Men's snowboardcross finals (live)
NBCSN
2:30-6:30 a.m. - Nordic combined 10k cross country (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
11:45 p.m.-1:25 a.m. - Women's slalom second run
1:00-1:55 a.m. - Nordic combined jump
3:45-4:45 a.m. - Nordic combined cross country
7:30-9:00 p.m. - Women's giant slalom first run (Thursday)
9:00-11:05 p.m. - Men's downhill
9:00-10:35 p.m. - Men's snowboardcross seeding round (Thursday)
11:15 p.m. -12:15 a.m. - Women's giant slalom second run (Thursday)
11:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m. - Men's snowboardcross finals (Thursday)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15
NBC
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Women's 10k freestyle cross country
8:00 p.m.-12:30 a.m. - Women's snowboardcross finals (live), women's freestyle aerials, women's 10k freestyle cross country.
NBCSN
5:00-7:10 a.m. - Women's 10k freestyle cross country
11:00 p.m.-2:40 a.m. - Men's 15k freestyle cross country (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
11:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m. - Men's snowboardcross finals
1:30-3:15 a.m. - Women's 10k freestyle
6:00-7:15 a.m. - Women's aerials qualifying
8:00-9:25 p.m. - Women's snowboardcross seeding
9:00-11:10 p.m. - Men's alpine super-G (Friday)
10:15-11:15 p.m. - Women's snowboardcross finals
1:00-2:50 a.m. - Men's 15k freestyle cross country (Friday)