Run, Karla, Run!

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–I’m back at the Richmond Olympic Oval for the final day of long track speed skating competition. The women and men of Team USA will be battling for gold in the Team Pursuit.

First up will be the women’s semifinals where the U.S. will go head to head with Germany for a spot in the gold medal final later today. The women’s team, comprised of Catherine Raney-Norman, Jennifer Rodriguez, Jilleanne Rookard and Nancy Swider-Peltz, Jr., already upset the Canadian favorites with a win in the quarterfinals by .05 seconds.

“I had no idea where we were in the race,” Jilleanne Rookard said. “I heard a lot of cheering for the Canadians so I thought they were ahead by a long shot.”

The Team Pursuit is unique in Olympic racing in that it’s not a relay, but a team skate much like a team ride in cycling. Three skaters work together, drafting off of each other, to get all three members across the finish line first.

“As little as we skate together we have to focus on being in sync with one another,” said Nancy Swider-Peltz, Jr. “This was the one race where we actually pulled it together quite well.”

After the ladies, the American men will face off with Canada in the gold medal final. The U.S. team, comprised of Chad Hedrick, Brian Hansen, Jonathan Kuck and Trevor Marsicano, are guaranteed a medal. The only question is: what color will it be? Read the rest of this entry →

U.S. Nordic Combined makes Olympic history again, winning a silver medal in the team competition.

Coming into the Vancouver games, the U.S. had never won an Olympic Nordic combined medal in 86 years of competition. But now, they’ve got two: first Johnny Spillane took silver in the Individual Normal Hill/10km Cross-Country pursuit. And now, Spillane along with Brett Camerota, Todd Lodwick and Billy Demong won silver in the Team/4×5 km relay at Whistler Olympic Park. Austria won gold; Germany took bronze.

“We’ve been dreaming about this day for four years,” said Lodwick of Steamboat Springs, Colo., who came out of retirement “to get some hardware.” Read the rest of this entry →

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Short track speed skating is famously unpredictable, often full contact and, above all, fast.

I’m here at Pacific Coliseum watching the men’s 1500 meter. The competition started off with a bang. Right out of the gates in Heat 1, Olivier Jean of Canada set a new Olympic record. In Heat 2, the USA’s Jordan Malone was disqualified. And in Heat 3, Jung-Su Lee of South Korea set yet another Olympic Record and Team USA’s J.R. Celski qualified for the semi-finals. Now, Heat 4 is underway.

But we’re waiting for the legendary Apolo Anton Ohno to take the ice. He’s going for his sixth Olympic medal. If he succeeds, he’ll break the record for most medals won by an American man in the Winter Olympics.

Will he or won’t he? Stay tuned! Read the rest of this entry →