Olympic Ski Jumping 2014: Men's Large Hill Medal Winners and Results

Kamil Stoch won his second gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics thanks to a fantastic performance in the ski jumping large-hill event.

The Polish star won the normal-hill competition earlier in the week and then built up a big lead in this event thanks to a score of 143.4 with his first jump. However, Japan's Noriaki Kasai kept the pressure on with two top-three jumps of his own.

Still, the judges gave Stoch just enough points to stay ahead of his opponent and take home another gold medal.

Peter Prevc who earned a silver medal in the normal hill had the best second jump in the competition and earned bronze.

Here is a look at the top 10, courtesy of Sochi2014.com:

Men's Ski Jumping Large Hill Results
Rank Name                Country Score
1 Kamil Stoch                 Poland 278.7
2 Noriaki Kasai                   Japan 277.4
3 Peter Prevc               Slovenia 274.8
4 Severin Freund       Germany 272.2
5 Anders Fannemel       Norway 264.3
6 Marinus Kraus              Germany 257.4
7 Gregor Schlierenzauer Austria 255.2
8 Michael Hayboeck         Austria 254.7
9 Daiki Ito                           Japan 252.5
10 Reruhi Shimizu                   Japan 252.2
via Sochi2014.com

This competition featured two medalists from the 2010 Vancouver Games, including four-time gold medalist Simon Ammann. However, the Austrian simply did not have it in him, finishing in 23rd place. Two-time individual bronze medalist Gregor Schlierenzauer only managed a seventh-place finish.



It seemed like no one was going to beat Stoch unless he somehow struggled, which clearly did not happen on Saturday.

Interestingly, the World Cup winner had dealt with multiple problems during his time at Sochi when he was not competing.

He was sick during the day before winning the gold medal in the normal hill. According to The Associated Press (h/t ESPN), he explained, "When I woke up I felt a headache and I had a high temperature, but the doctors did everything they could do (sic) bring me to life and they did. They did a good job, so thanks to them."

The Polish star then dealt with a bad crash during training for the large hill but shook off his injuries. He told Rosa Khutor of Reuters, "I feel very good and my jumps were also good. My elbow is hurting slightly but it's not a big problem."

Fortunately, he had no such problems once the competition started, as he was able to finish with his second gold medal of these Games. He was also carried off the course yet again by his teammates:

The United States did have three athletes qualify for the first jump, although expectations were not too high based on recent history:

Things certainly did not get off to a good start when Anders Johnson was disqualified for having an illegal suit, according to Douglas Gelevan of CBC:

Nicholas Alexander finished in 48th place while Nicholas Fairall ended in 35th, neither man qualifying for the final round.

Still, the big man of the day is Stoch, who proved in Sochi that he is truly the best ski jumper in the world. Kasai put forth a great effort to get to the top of the podium, but the 41-year-old veteran will have to settle for a silver.

Of course, this result has a big effect on the world of ski jumping. Stoch has now won two Olympic events, the World Cup and the most recent world championships in Val di Fiemme. It is clear that he is just entering his prime at 26 years old and will likely win many more awards in the future.

Then again, the young challenger Prevc is still improving and showed he is capable of some big results, as described by Greg Ferraro of NBC Olympics:

It remains to be seen if the 21-year-old Slovenian can win gold in the future, but he is certain to provide plenty of competition going forward.

For more ski jumping action, tune into the men's team competition Feb. 17 at 12:15 ET.

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Cross Country Skiing Medal Results and Times from Olympic 2014 Men's Skiathlon

Switzerland's Dario Cologna overcame his bothersome ankle to take top spot in the standings, winning a gold medal ahead of second-placed Marcus Hellner of Sweden, and Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby.
Cologna finished after 1:08:15:4 after the 30km cross-country ski; pipping Hellner to the post by 0.4 of a second.

Moments after the race, the Olympic Games and FIS Cross Country tweeted photos of Cologna's victory as well as the medalists:


Sundby finished just 0.1 of a second ahead of fourth-placed Russian Maxim Vylegzhanin to take bronze for his country, as the chasing pack then fell by the wayside of the top-four.

However, controversy marred the finish, as Russia lodged an official protest, via R Sport, after claiming that Vylegzhanin was deliberately impeded on the final sprint, costing him the bronze medal.

International Ski Competition Rules forbid any racer from deviating from their racing line:

Rule 343.9 of its International Ski Competition Rules states that: "In all competitions obstruction is not allowed. This behavior is defined as deliberately impeding, blocking (by not following best line), charging or pushing any competitor with any part of the body or ski equipment."

2014 Winter Olympics Cross-Country Men's Skiathlon
Rank Competitor (Country) Time Behind
1 Dario COLOGNA (Switzerland) 1:08:15.4 0.0
2 Marcus HELLNER (Sweden) 1:08:15.8 +0.4
3 Martin Johnsrud SUNDBY (Norway) 1:08:16.8 +1.4
4 Maxim VYLEGZHANIN (Russia) 1:008:16.9 +1.5
5 Ilia CHERNOUSOV (Russia) 1:08:29.0 +13.6
6 Jean Marc GAILLARD (France) 1:08:29.8 +14.4
7 Daniel RICHARDSSON (Sweden) 1:08:31.7 +16.3
8 Johannes DUERR (Austria) 1:08:32.0 +16.6
9 Maurice MANIFICAT (France) 1:08:33.6 +18.2
10 Lars NELSON (Sweden) 1:08:37.7 +22.3
Sochi2014.com

The 68 riders started the cross-country ski at 2 p.m. in Sochi, in an event that sees long periods of distance skiing, while overcoming varied terrain as competitors race to the finish.

Swedish defending champion Hellner started the race alongside Cologna, who has missed part of the season with an ankle injury, with Britain's Callum Smith also on the starting grid.

And as the race wore on, it was clear that Cologna was the man to beat, as he went head-to-head with the Swede for the gold medal birth.

However, a moment of genius from the Swiss gave him breathing space from four fellow skiers at the top of the final uphill section, allowing him to pull clear of Hellner on the final straight to win just after an hour.

27-year-old Cologna was congraulated by Dr Boris Gojanovic, Head of Sports Medicine at the Swiss Olympic Medical Center after the race, tweeting:

Great Britain's Smith finished in 62nd place in the standings, with Australian Callum Watson just two places ahead of him.

Unfortunately for Team Korea, their competitor, Jun-Ho Hwang, was lapped during the race and finished last.

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Olympic Alpine Skiing 2014: Live Men's Downhill Medal Results and Analysis

The winner of the Olympic men's downhill race was not a favorite going in, but he became a household name afterward.

Austria's Matthias Mayer was the 11th racer on the course at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center and he would prove to be the best of the 50 competitors with a time of 2:06.23.

Mayer, who has not finished higher than fifth in a World Cup downhill race, took the skiing world by surprise as the favorites slipped up in the middle of the course.

Mayer was close to being taken out of the lead by Italy's Christof Innerhofer, but the Austrian survived by six-hundredths of a second to keep the gold.

Innerhofer finished in second place with a time of 2:06.29, while Kjetil Jansrud of Norway earned the bronze by racing a 2:06.33.

Bode Miller of the United States came in as the gold-medal favorite, but he failed to place anywhere close to the podium in eighth after he lost plenty of time in the middle of the course.

The same section of the course caused problems for two other medal hopefuls, Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway and Didier Defago of Switzerland. Svindal finished fourth and Defago ended up in 14th.

The highest-placing American was Travis Ganong, who finished in fifth place with a time of 2:06.64.

Gold: Matthias Mayer (Austria): 2:06.23
Silver: Christof Innerhofer (Italy): 2:06.29
Bronze: Kjetil Jansrud (Norway): 2:06.33

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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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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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Alpine Skiing Downhill Olympics 2014: Complete Men's and Women's Schedule

Some of the most indelible images from the Winter Olympics often come from the Alpine skiing events. The altitude, speed and grace at which these athletes perform is amazing.
In Sochi, fans should expect more memorable moments and performances from the world's best.
Here's a look at the full men's and women's schedule. All television coverage will come via NBC and the NBC Sports network.

Schedule
(Per NBCOlympics.com)
Feb. 9: Men’s downhill, 3 a.m. EST
Feb. 10: Women’s super combined, 3 a.m. EST
Feb. 12: Women’s downhill, 3 a.m. EST
Feb. 14: Men’s super combined, 3 a.m. EST
Feb. 15: Women’s super-G, 3 a.m. EST
Feb. 16: Men’s super-G, 3 a.m. EST
Feb. 18: Women’s giant slalom, 3 a.m. EST
Feb. 19: Men’s giant slalom, 3 a.m. EST
Feb. 21: Women’s slalom, 7:45 a.m. EST
Feb. 22: Men’s slalom, 7:45 a.m. EST

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Olympic Snowboarding 2014: Men's Slopestyle Semifinals Results and Scores

Day 1 action for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, got off to a great start with the semifinals for men's snowboard slopestyle.
Only four spots for the final were up for grabs, as eight riders had previously booked their places during Thursday's qualification. That meant there was a ton of pressure heaped upon the 21 participants. With the tiniest slip-up, their Olympic dreams could go up in flames.
This is the first year in which snowboard slopestyle is an Olympic event, so those who don't regularly watch the Winter X Games were treated to new stars in what is an exciting event.
Here are the results from the semifinals of Saturday's snowboard slopestyle at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Results Pos. Name Nation Score Qualified 1 Billy Morgan Great Britain 90.75 Q 2 Sage Kotsenburg United States 90.50 Q 3 Mark McMorris Canada 89.25 Q 4 Yuki Kadono Japan 84.75 Q 5 Seppe Smits Belgium 84.50 6 Ryan Stassel United States 83.25 7 Chas Guldemond United States 79.25 8 Scotty James Australia 77.25 9 Seamus O'Connor Ireland 70.25 10 Janne Korpi Finland 68.50 11 Jan Scherrer Switzerland 64.25 12 Alexey Sobolev Russia 57.50 13 Emil Andre Ulsletten Norway 56.75 14 Charles Reid Canada 46.25 15 Niklas Mattsson Sweden 44.75 16 Torgeir Bergrem Norway 37.50 17 Clemens Schattschneider Austria 29.50 18 Mathias Weissenbacher Austria 28.50 19 Ville Paumola Finland 25.25 20 Lucien Koch Switzerland 20.75 21 Adrian Krainer Austria DNS NBCOlympics.com

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