Olympic Snowboarding 2014: Schedule, TV Info, Team Medal Predictions for Day 4

Day 4 of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi brings one of the most exciting events of the Winter Games—men's halfpipe. This is one event in which the United States is certainly looking for a gold medal, as snowboard sensation Shaun White will be in action.

However, White will not be without stiff competition, as up-and-coming Japanese snowboarder Ayumu Hirano will look to give him a run for his money. Also, American Danny Davis will look to keep his hot streak alive, as he won the 2014 Winter X Games while White and Hirano missed the event.


This event is must-see TV, so let's break down when each round will be taking place on Tuesday to ensure that none of the action will be missed.



Viewing Information

What: Men's Halfpipe

When: Tuesday, Feb. 11

Where: Rosa Khutor Extreme Park


TV Times

Qualification Round: 5 a.m. ET

Semifinals: 10 a.m. ET

Finals: 12:30 p.m. ET

Channel: NBC

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com


Medal Prediction

White of Team USA figures to be the name to watch during this event. White pulled out of the men's slopestyle event in Sochi so he could fully focus on the halfpipe.

He has found a great amount of success in this event in the past, as he won gold medals in the 2006 Olympics in Turin and again in 2010 in Vancouver. Despite being on the snowboard scene for over a decade, White continues to push himself with each contest, seemingly remaining one step ahead of his competition.

White will look to become the first American male to earn a gold medal in three consecutive Winter Games.

White will not only have to battle his competition, but the course conditions as well. During an interview with Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today, he explained that the conditions in Sochi weren't perfect:

The first day, the walls were a little over-[vertical], so everybody was doing airs, and then landing like pretty flat. Today, they made the walls better so everybody lands [correctly], but in the flat bottom, where they cut it, it's like a bump, so everyone is riding along and then hits the bump, and that's really not very good.

Hirano became the youngest medalist in the history of the Winter X Games earlier this year, when he took home the silver medal at the age of 14. Now at 15 years old, Hirano continues to nip at White's heels with some impressive air in this event.

In snowboard circles, Hirano is considered by many to be White's heir apparent. It will be interesting to see how close of a competition we will get from this youngster from Japan.

Of course, American Danny Davis cannot be counted out of this conversation. Davis has been on a hot streak lately, as he finished in first place earlier this year in the 2014 Winter X Games' superpipe event in Aspen.

Davis is back in action after a brutal injury suffered back in 2010 which cost him a spot on the Olympic team in Vancouver. During an interview with Rachel Axon of USA Today, Davis is excited about his opportunity in this year's Olympics:

I wasn't ready to be done. Like I've always said, to have the chance to go to Russia, to have the chance to be on an Olympic team, I'm psyched. It wouldn't have killed me if I didn't make it, but I'm very happy that I did and I'm very excited for the opportunity.

Davis will look to continue to ride his hot hand in order to finally claim some Olympic glory of his own.

Gold: Shaun White

Silver: Ayumu Hirano

Bronze: Danny Davis

This blog is sponsored by: http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks

Jamie Anderson Completes Rise to Snowboarding Superstardom with Slopestyle Gold

The debut of snowboarding slopestyle at the Winter Olympics turned out to be an all-American affair.

A day after Sage Kotsenburg shocked the world with his gold in the men's competition, his compatriot, Jamie Anderson, rode her way to victory for the women, giving Team USA an event sweep.


Like Kotsenburg, Anderson is laid-back, fun-loving and very popular among her peers. Unlike Kotsenburg, her victory wasn't a surprise—she was the favorite to top the podium.

In fact, the 23-year-old Anderson has been the face of her sport for years, and with four golds from the X Games and 20 top-two finishes in her last 24 events, this was very much her event to lose.

Even though she's young, her Olympic debut has been a long time coming.

Anderson has loved the Games since she was a kid, though according to a Q&A from NBCOlympics.com, it was gymnastics that first drew her in. She got into snowboarding after receiving a hand-me-down board from her older sister and never thought she would turn pro. But once she did, the Olympic dream loomed large again.

Andy Wong/Associated Press
Anderson tried to qualify for the team in 2010 in halfpipe, but she didn't make it. Rachel Axon of USA Today reports that she went to the Vancouver Olympics anyway, just as a spectator, and had the time of her life. This year, with her signature event slopestyle in the competition for the first time, it was her time to shine.

After a dominating season on the circuit, she finally was able to book her trip to Sochi—this time as a competitor and gold-medal favorite.

Still, the self-proclaimed hippie who has a passion for saving the environment has trouble reconciling the sports she loves with the bad things the Olympics stand for. She talked about this struggle with Devon O'Neil of ESPN X Games prior to the Games:

I've always been so excited to go to the Olympics, and it's a little sad that now it's finally happening and there's so much negative stuff going on in Russia between the terrorist attacks, the gay law and all the craziness. I want to compete in the Olympics, but I also want them to respect the environment, the athletes, everything -- and not make it all about McDonald's.

But despite her reservations, Anderson was able to shut out all of the negativity and noise surrounding the Games and simply focus on what she does best: effortlessly powerful and creative snowboarding.

Staying focused and zen is something that's a high priority for Anderson, who is famous for hugging a tree and meditating before each competition. She keeps centered through yoga, reflection and positive thinking. And when all else fails, the fifth-oldest child of eight siblings calls her mother for some perspective.

She talked to Natalie Langmann of Huck magazine about this practice back in 2012:

If it’s not fun, I’m not doing it. If I ever do find myself complaining, I make a little gratitude list and call my mom – who runs her own lawn care business in South Lake Tahoe. She’s a huge inspiration and her high spirit puts me in a good place. Sometimes I do get a little stressed and overwhelmed, so I tell myself to stay in a joyful place.

Headed into the second run of the slopestyle final, Anderson was out of medal contention, so she knew she needed to pull out something spectacular. When she landed two 720s in a row to score a 95.25, there was nothing but joy emitting from her.

With that, she leapt to her usual spot atop the leaderboard above silver medalist Enni Rukajarvi from Finland and bronze medalist Jenny Jones from Great Britain. Once every rider had completed her run, she knew she had successfully captured the gold.

To celebrate, Anderson hugged her coach and her competitors and then went to find her family. Along with her parents, six of her seven siblings made the trip to Sochi, per Axon.


After basking in the glow for a few minutes, she made her way over to talk to the media.

Anderson has been a formidable force in the snowboarding community since she made the X Games podium when she was only 15, but now that she's had her Olympic moment, her celebrity status is about to skyrocket.

In the history books, Jamie Anderson will forever be the first female Olympic snowboarding slopestyle champion. It might not have been a surprise, but that doesn't make the victory any less sweet.

This blog is powered by: http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks/

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.

This blog is powered by: http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks

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

This blog is powered by: http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks