Julia Mancuso failed to ride the wave of momentum to another medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The American was coming off a bronze in the women's super combined, but wasn't able to reach the podium again in the downhill.
NBC Olympics provided word of Mancuso's latest result:
Mancuso entered the Olympics with a lack of hype despite her previous success at the Games. Her medal performances in both 2006 and 2010 showed the big stages always seems to bring the best out of her, at this year was no different at the outset.
She put together a tremendous downhill showing in the first part of the super combined event to take a sizable lead into the slalom. Even though her run in the second half was average at best, it was still enough to add a bronze medal to her collection.
The U.S. Olympic Team also noted it made her the country's first skier to land on the podium at three different Games:
When you combined her great run in the downhill half of the super combined with her experience, it was easy to see why she was one of the top contenders heading into the event.
Mancuso also sports plenty of self-belief. It's something she talked about after winning bronze in her first event, as passed along by Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post:
I've always just had that real belief that I can do it. For me, putting out these dreams and beliefs that I can come in here and have a medal, and everyone being a little skeptical and just knowing in my heart that I can do it, was kind of like crossing the finish line being like, 'See, it works! Believing in yourself really works!'
Given her Olympic success, it's hard to argue with her mantra.
Unfortunately for Mancuso, she wasn't able to capture another medal in the downhill. After putting everything on the line during the super combined, she just wasn't able to muster another elite performance to end up on the podium again.
It's a disappointing result given her downhill greatness during the super combined. That said, even if she leaves Sochi with just one medal around her neck that will be a success. So anything more from this point forward would be a bonus.
She has already added to her legacy of being one of the top American skiers in Winter Olympic history. Failing to medal in the downhill doesn't change that as she looks ahead to her remaining events.
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Showing posts with label Final. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Final. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Bode Miller Fails to Medal in Men's Downhill Final at Sochi 2014 Olympics
Bode Miller, who was one of the top contenders in the men's downhill event, failed to earn a place on the podium Sunday. The American's eighth-place finish was a major disappointment on Day 2 of the 2014 Olympics after he saw so much success four years ago.
Making his fifth Olympic appearance for the United States, the 36-year-old was coming off his best Games after winning three medals, including a gold, in Vancouver.
He was confident about his chances in 2014. Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post provided comments from the skier ahead of the competition. Miller felt his preparation was putting him in a position to succeed:
I'd say I have a lot more experience. I know what the process is. It's easy for guys who are so excitable to push too hard, to do too much too early. I definitely know that winning a training run doesn't matter much. I've done that so many times. I think I have a good process for how to build into a race.
Unfortunately for Miller, things didn't play out as he hoped. Coming up short of the podium amid such high expectations is shades of 2006, when he arrived to Turin, Italy, with plenty of hype but failed to win a single medal.
Make no mistake: The Sochi course was providing a formidable test for the skiers. Miller had solid training runs, though, and appeared poised to bring home another medal.
A lack of regular competition over the past couple of years due to a knee injury could have been a factor. He hasn't needed that extra gear as often as he would have probably liked in between Olympics, but he arrived to Sochi healthy and ready to go.
In the end, it simply didn't translate into success in the downhill, the first Alpine skiing event of the Games. It shows that the margin for error, even for the top athletes in any discipline, is extremely thin on the Olympic stage.
The failure to medal in the downhill event will put extra pressure on Miller for the rest of the Olympics, but as Charles Robinson of Yahoo! notes, his best opportunities to medal are in front of him:
If he can bounce back, the event will become an afterthought. If not, it will get viewed as the start of another frustrating Games for the American.
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Making his fifth Olympic appearance for the United States, the 36-year-old was coming off his best Games after winning three medals, including a gold, in Vancouver.
He was confident about his chances in 2014. Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post provided comments from the skier ahead of the competition. Miller felt his preparation was putting him in a position to succeed:
I'd say I have a lot more experience. I know what the process is. It's easy for guys who are so excitable to push too hard, to do too much too early. I definitely know that winning a training run doesn't matter much. I've done that so many times. I think I have a good process for how to build into a race.
Unfortunately for Miller, things didn't play out as he hoped. Coming up short of the podium amid such high expectations is shades of 2006, when he arrived to Turin, Italy, with plenty of hype but failed to win a single medal.
Make no mistake: The Sochi course was providing a formidable test for the skiers. Miller had solid training runs, though, and appeared poised to bring home another medal.
A lack of regular competition over the past couple of years due to a knee injury could have been a factor. He hasn't needed that extra gear as often as he would have probably liked in between Olympics, but he arrived to Sochi healthy and ready to go.
In the end, it simply didn't translate into success in the downhill, the first Alpine skiing event of the Games. It shows that the margin for error, even for the top athletes in any discipline, is extremely thin on the Olympic stage.
The failure to medal in the downhill event will put extra pressure on Miller for the rest of the Olympics, but as Charles Robinson of Yahoo! notes, his best opportunities to medal are in front of him:
If he can bounce back, the event will become an afterthought. If not, it will get viewed as the start of another frustrating Games for the American.
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Olympic Men's Downhill Final Results 2014: Alpine Skiing Medal Winners and Times
Austrian Matthias Mayer stormed to Olympic gold in the men's downhill skiing as he held off Christof Innerhofer and Kjetil Jansrud.
But pre-race favourites Bode Miller and Aksel Lund Svindal could not live up to expectations as they finished down the field.
Mayer, making his Olympic bow, was joined on the podium by Italian Innerhofer in silver and Norwegian Jansrud in bronze, as indicated by WSJ Sports:
Sochi 2014 provided this photo of the crowd as they took in Mayer's performance:
And the super-G specialist joins his father Helmut Mayer, who won silver in Calgary in 1988, in winning an Olympic medal.
Mayer had been an outside bet for a medal after winning the second downhill training run on Friday, and the Austrian continued his excellent form as he set the early pace with 2.06.23, shaving one-tenth of a second off Jansrud's time.
Men's downhill skiing top 10
1. Matthias Mayer Austria 2:06.23
2. Christof Innerhofer Italy 2:06.29
3. Kjetil Jansrud Norway 2:06.33
4. Aksel Lund Svindal Norway 2:06.52
5. Travis Ganong USA 2:06.64
6. Carlo Janka Switzerland 2:06.71
7. Peter Fill Italy 2:06.72
8. Bode Miller USA 2:06.75
9. Max Franz Austria 2:07.03
10. Erik Guay Canada 2:07.04
www.sfgate.com
American legend Miller led by 0.31 seconds going following the second split, but the bronze medalist from Vancouver hit a couple of gates and could not recover as he finished outside the medals. The New York Times' Sports provides his take on the slip-up:
Mayer continued to see off the pre-competition favourites as Svindal finished 0.29 seconds behind the Austrian. The Norwegian skier was the big favourite going into Sochi and was bidding to become the first Norwegian to prevail in the men's downhill.
Innerhofer almost snatched the lead from Mayer as he stormed down the slope to get within 0.6 seconds of the Austrian. Innerhofer had been ahead following the first three splits, but he screamed with delight as he went through the finish line in silver-medal position.
Gero Breloer/Associated Press
A devastated Bode Miller reflects after his run
Reigning champion and the oldest man in the field, Didier Defago, was ahead going through the second split, but again it was the middle split that proved to be the biggest challenge as he slipped back down the field.
Defago would prove to be the final challenger to the young pretender, as Mayer was crowned men's downhill champion on his Olympic debut.
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But pre-race favourites Bode Miller and Aksel Lund Svindal could not live up to expectations as they finished down the field.
Mayer, making his Olympic bow, was joined on the podium by Italian Innerhofer in silver and Norwegian Jansrud in bronze, as indicated by WSJ Sports:
Sochi 2014 provided this photo of the crowd as they took in Mayer's performance:
And the super-G specialist joins his father Helmut Mayer, who won silver in Calgary in 1988, in winning an Olympic medal.
Mayer had been an outside bet for a medal after winning the second downhill training run on Friday, and the Austrian continued his excellent form as he set the early pace with 2.06.23, shaving one-tenth of a second off Jansrud's time.
Men's downhill skiing top 10
1. Matthias Mayer Austria 2:06.23
2. Christof Innerhofer Italy 2:06.29
3. Kjetil Jansrud Norway 2:06.33
4. Aksel Lund Svindal Norway 2:06.52
5. Travis Ganong USA 2:06.64
6. Carlo Janka Switzerland 2:06.71
7. Peter Fill Italy 2:06.72
8. Bode Miller USA 2:06.75
9. Max Franz Austria 2:07.03
10. Erik Guay Canada 2:07.04
www.sfgate.com
American legend Miller led by 0.31 seconds going following the second split, but the bronze medalist from Vancouver hit a couple of gates and could not recover as he finished outside the medals. The New York Times' Sports provides his take on the slip-up:
Mayer continued to see off the pre-competition favourites as Svindal finished 0.29 seconds behind the Austrian. The Norwegian skier was the big favourite going into Sochi and was bidding to become the first Norwegian to prevail in the men's downhill.
Innerhofer almost snatched the lead from Mayer as he stormed down the slope to get within 0.6 seconds of the Austrian. Innerhofer had been ahead following the first three splits, but he screamed with delight as he went through the finish line in silver-medal position.
Gero Breloer/Associated Press
A devastated Bode Miller reflects after his run
Reigning champion and the oldest man in the field, Didier Defago, was ahead going through the second split, but again it was the middle split that proved to be the biggest challenge as he slipped back down the field.
Defago would prove to be the final challenger to the young pretender, as Mayer was crowned men's downhill champion on his Olympic debut.
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Sunday, February 9, 2014
Women's Snowboarding Slopestyle Olympics 2014: Medal Winners and Final Results
USA's Jamie Anderson took gold in the Women's Snowboarding Slopestyle in the first ever event in this format.
Enni Rukajarvi was placed in silver position after two runs on the slopes, with Great Britain's Jenny Jones grabbing all of the headlines.
Jones, who has taken her first ever Olympic medal, also earned her country's first 2014 Winter Olympic medal with bronze, in event that had twists, turns and plenty of tumbles at every slope.
Ollie Williams of Frontier Sports, reporting on the Games for the BBC, capped his feelings as Jones picked up bronze, tweeting:
2014 Winter Olympics Women's Snowboarding Slopestyle
Rank Competitor (Country) Run 1 Score Run 2 Score Best Score
1 Jamie ANDERSON (USA) 80.75 95.25 95.25
2 Enni RUKAJARVI (Finland) 73.75 92.50 92.50
3 Jenny JONES (Great Britain) 73.00 87.25 87.25
4 Sina CANDRIAN (Switzerland) 7.25 87.00 87.00
5 Sarka PANCOCHOVA (Czech Republic) 86.25 20.00 86.25
6 Karly SHORR (USA) 39.00 75.00 75.00
7 Torah BRIGHT (Australia) 64.75 66.25 66.25
8 Isabel DERUNGS (Switzerland) 58.50 15.25 58.50
9 Elena KOENZ (Switzerland) 24.50 54.50 54.50
10 Anna GASSER (Austria) 49.00 51.75 51.75
11 Silje NORENDAL (Norway) 49.50 32.00 49.50
12 Spencer O'BRIEN (Canada) 30.00 35.00 35.00
The first run proved fruitful for Czech Republic's Sarka Pancochova, who sat top of the rankings after her first run score of 86.25, with USA's Jamie Anderson continuing her fine form in this year's Winter Games with a fine score of 80.75 - leapfrogging Switzerland's Sina Candrian and Finland's Enni Rukajarvi in third and fourth respectively.
Great Britain's Jenny Jones then scored 73.00 on her first run; a good score from the 33-year-old, who is still searching for her first Olympic medal.
Francis Keogh of BBC tweeted of Jones' chances to make history for her country on snow in the Winter Olympics:
Elena Koenz of Switzerland was left to languish at the bottom of the table with 24.50, after a tumble saw her lose her chance at sitting at the upper echelons of the grid after the first run, along with Canadian Spencer O'Brien and USA's Karly Shorr, who made up the bottom three.
Crowds surrounded the slopes as the final run was set to get underway; plenty of new fans to the new format at the Winter Olympics.
Norway's Silje Norendal began the final run with a score of 32, which held her position in the middle of the final ladder and out of challenging position for any medals, followed by Jenny Jones, whose run showed pace and passion as she looked to breach the top-five.
Her mammoth score of 87.25 sparked jubilant celebrations from Jones and her onlooking British fans, with tally that looked set to place her with at least a bronze medal at the end of the event, but also within an excellent chance of taking top spot.
However, it looks a short-lived victory for Candrian, looked to have grabbed her board on two occasions to seal a big score, but was awarded just 87, keeping Jones at the summit of the leaderboard with the chasing pack all yet to run.
Drama then unfolded as Pancochova barrel-rolled down the slopes, with fear amongst commentators that the catapult of snow had left her with a concussion, but thankfully, she rose to her feet to walk from the track.
CBC Olympics correspondent Kate Pettersen captured the moment of Pancochova's fall, noting the importance of wearing headgear in this event, tweeting:
This fall ended any chance of re-claiming top-spot for Sarka, who was awarded just 20 by the judges, however her first run could still see her placed with a bronze medal at Sochi, but ultimately, her health still intact, as highlighted through Buzzfeed UK's Alan White's Vine and Agence France-Presse's tweet:
Top-spot then had a new occupant, following Rukajarvi's second run, as she scored 92.50 to push Jones and Candrian back into second and third respectively, and ended Pancochova's slim hopes of leaving this event with a medal.
USA's Karly Shorr returned to the slopes with two grabs and perfectly-executed landings showing her air of confidence in the new format; however could do only score 75 to leave her 10 points short of a medal birth.
O'Brien's second run proved as fruitful as her first, scoring 35 to keep her at the foot of the table, with last-placed Koenz returning to the slopes to find 54.5.
Norway's Norendal then failed to improve on her opening score of 49.5, leaving her also to be content with a mid-table finish as four competitors remained, but still all to play for at the top of the ladder.
Then came a second run for Australia's Torah Bright, who improved on her opening score with 66.25, but ended her chances of a medal in this event.
Jamie Anderson landed a beautiful, technical run with aplomb as she looked to break into the top three, in a run that oozed experience and confidence from the offset. And with a tally of 95.25, Anderson had done enough to take the lead at the late, late stage in proceedings.
Jones still sat in third place, as Great Britain looked for their first ever Winter Olympic medal, and as Switzerland's Isabel Derungs hit 58.50, leaving her in the lower-half of the final standings.
Williams provided a statement from Jones' teammate, Aimee Fuller, discussing the historical importance:
With one ride to go from Austria's Anna Gasser, it looked likely that Anderson would take gold, and Jones would make her own history in Sochi. These feats were then realised as Gasser slipped onto her backside during the run, sealing a momentous performance for British snowboarding.
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Enni Rukajarvi was placed in silver position after two runs on the slopes, with Great Britain's Jenny Jones grabbing all of the headlines.
Jones, who has taken her first ever Olympic medal, also earned her country's first 2014 Winter Olympic medal with bronze, in event that had twists, turns and plenty of tumbles at every slope.
Ollie Williams of Frontier Sports, reporting on the Games for the BBC, capped his feelings as Jones picked up bronze, tweeting:
2014 Winter Olympics Women's Snowboarding Slopestyle
Rank Competitor (Country) Run 1 Score Run 2 Score Best Score
1 Jamie ANDERSON (USA) 80.75 95.25 95.25
2 Enni RUKAJARVI (Finland) 73.75 92.50 92.50
3 Jenny JONES (Great Britain) 73.00 87.25 87.25
4 Sina CANDRIAN (Switzerland) 7.25 87.00 87.00
5 Sarka PANCOCHOVA (Czech Republic) 86.25 20.00 86.25
6 Karly SHORR (USA) 39.00 75.00 75.00
7 Torah BRIGHT (Australia) 64.75 66.25 66.25
8 Isabel DERUNGS (Switzerland) 58.50 15.25 58.50
9 Elena KOENZ (Switzerland) 24.50 54.50 54.50
10 Anna GASSER (Austria) 49.00 51.75 51.75
11 Silje NORENDAL (Norway) 49.50 32.00 49.50
12 Spencer O'BRIEN (Canada) 30.00 35.00 35.00
The first run proved fruitful for Czech Republic's Sarka Pancochova, who sat top of the rankings after her first run score of 86.25, with USA's Jamie Anderson continuing her fine form in this year's Winter Games with a fine score of 80.75 - leapfrogging Switzerland's Sina Candrian and Finland's Enni Rukajarvi in third and fourth respectively.
Great Britain's Jenny Jones then scored 73.00 on her first run; a good score from the 33-year-old, who is still searching for her first Olympic medal.
Francis Keogh of BBC tweeted of Jones' chances to make history for her country on snow in the Winter Olympics:
Elena Koenz of Switzerland was left to languish at the bottom of the table with 24.50, after a tumble saw her lose her chance at sitting at the upper echelons of the grid after the first run, along with Canadian Spencer O'Brien and USA's Karly Shorr, who made up the bottom three.
Crowds surrounded the slopes as the final run was set to get underway; plenty of new fans to the new format at the Winter Olympics.
Norway's Silje Norendal began the final run with a score of 32, which held her position in the middle of the final ladder and out of challenging position for any medals, followed by Jenny Jones, whose run showed pace and passion as she looked to breach the top-five.
Her mammoth score of 87.25 sparked jubilant celebrations from Jones and her onlooking British fans, with tally that looked set to place her with at least a bronze medal at the end of the event, but also within an excellent chance of taking top spot.
However, it looks a short-lived victory for Candrian, looked to have grabbed her board on two occasions to seal a big score, but was awarded just 87, keeping Jones at the summit of the leaderboard with the chasing pack all yet to run.
Drama then unfolded as Pancochova barrel-rolled down the slopes, with fear amongst commentators that the catapult of snow had left her with a concussion, but thankfully, she rose to her feet to walk from the track.
CBC Olympics correspondent Kate Pettersen captured the moment of Pancochova's fall, noting the importance of wearing headgear in this event, tweeting:
This fall ended any chance of re-claiming top-spot for Sarka, who was awarded just 20 by the judges, however her first run could still see her placed with a bronze medal at Sochi, but ultimately, her health still intact, as highlighted through Buzzfeed UK's Alan White's Vine and Agence France-Presse's tweet:
Top-spot then had a new occupant, following Rukajarvi's second run, as she scored 92.50 to push Jones and Candrian back into second and third respectively, and ended Pancochova's slim hopes of leaving this event with a medal.
USA's Karly Shorr returned to the slopes with two grabs and perfectly-executed landings showing her air of confidence in the new format; however could do only score 75 to leave her 10 points short of a medal birth.
O'Brien's second run proved as fruitful as her first, scoring 35 to keep her at the foot of the table, with last-placed Koenz returning to the slopes to find 54.5.
Norway's Norendal then failed to improve on her opening score of 49.5, leaving her also to be content with a mid-table finish as four competitors remained, but still all to play for at the top of the ladder.
Then came a second run for Australia's Torah Bright, who improved on her opening score with 66.25, but ended her chances of a medal in this event.
Jamie Anderson landed a beautiful, technical run with aplomb as she looked to break into the top three, in a run that oozed experience and confidence from the offset. And with a tally of 95.25, Anderson had done enough to take the lead at the late, late stage in proceedings.
Jones still sat in third place, as Great Britain looked for their first ever Winter Olympic medal, and as Switzerland's Isabel Derungs hit 58.50, leaving her in the lower-half of the final standings.
Williams provided a statement from Jones' teammate, Aimee Fuller, discussing the historical importance:
With one ride to go from Austria's Anna Gasser, it looked likely that Anderson would take gold, and Jones would make her own history in Sochi. These feats were then realised as Gasser slipped onto her backside during the run, sealing a momentous performance for British snowboarding.
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Friday, February 7, 2014
Aaron Craft and Ohio State Making Final Stand After Crucial Road Win over Iowa
After picking up a huge 76-69 victory over Iowa on Tuesday night, it would appear we wrote off Aaron Craft and the Ohio State Buckeyes far too soon.
When the Midseason Top 25 was announced for the Wooden Award in late January, it was just the latest time that Craft was given the benefit of the doubt. In the four games prior to the announcement, Craft had committed 19 turnovers while tallying just 19 assists. Ohio State lost all four games.
Yet there he was, allegedly one of the 25 players most deserving of eventually being crowned the best in the country.
Even his biggest fan knew people would argue he didn't belong.
Get your shots in now on Aaron Craft..and most of you have..lotta season left.. Any coach would take he and Yogi Ferrell
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When the Midseason Top 25 was announced for the Wooden Award in late January, it was just the latest time that Craft was given the benefit of the doubt. In the four games prior to the announcement, Craft had committed 19 turnovers while tallying just 19 assists. Ohio State lost all four games.
Yet there he was, allegedly one of the 25 players most deserving of eventually being crowned the best in the country.
Even his biggest fan knew people would argue he didn't belong.
Get your shots in now on Aaron Craft..and most of you have..lotta season left.. Any coach would take he and Yogi Ferrell
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