The waiting was the hardest part.
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Not only was the Day 5 coverage of the official competition out of South Korea the worst that NBC has done for these Games but also it was down from both Sochi 2014 and Vancouver 2010.
Canada clinched the top spot in pool play by beating the United States 2-1 in what could be a preview of the gold-medal game.
Mikaela Shiffrin finishes her run in the women’s giant slalom at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 on February 15, 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
A large portion of the fans at Thursday’s GS were decked out in Yankee attire as they cheered on the Olympics’ biggest star in the first race of her second Winter Games.
With her victory on Thursday, Shiffrin is now the third American skier in history to win two Olympic golds, joining Andrea Mead Lawrence and Ted Ligety. Marit Bjorgen moves into a tie for the most Olympic medals in cross-country skiing with 12 all-time.
“She can do what she does in training on the course”.
Mölgg, who was vying to be the oldest Olympic gold medalist in the women’s giant slalom, couldn’t match the 22-year-old.
With the parents who raised her just for this moment watching, Shiffrin put on the kind of run that only the greats can manage to sometimes pull off. Shiffrin, 22, wasted no time seizing the lead and maintaining it to the bottom.
Watch as five-time world champion Lindsey Jacobellis races for her first Olympic gold medal. That’s a grueling ask for a skier, especially one who is still hoping to compete in the downhill and combined events next week.
Shiffrin described it as a love-hate relationship.
She said, “I do it on every race”.
The best news is, there is more to come. I need to train it a lot.
Those feelings manifested themselves at the start of the second run in the afternoon. He says he wants to go out and enjoy his two runs tomorrow because he doesn’t know if he’ll ever get another run in the Olympic again. “She has to have a day off”.
“True champions are able to produce that whenever it’s needed”, he said. Federica Brignone of Italy took bronze, 0.46 behind Shiffrins combined time of 2 minutes, 20.02 seconds. “That’s my goal”, Shiffrin said. “Everybody is skiing to win”. Shiffrin attacked the course right out of the gate, and by the time she crossed the finish line it was all but over. Shiffrin described it as her 15 seconds to let out the emotions. We’re not even doing the same events, for Pete’s sake.
She collected Team USA’s fifth gold on Thursday and is clear favorite to win her third Olympic gold on Friday.
Don’t compare her to that other well-known blonde female skier. In her six World Cup giant slalom wins, Shiffrin had never trailed to overtake the leader. First one race was postponed.
She acknowledged mental fatigue and took a couple of days off. “And now we’ve been race-ready for the past, basically, five days in a row”.
Resi Stiegler, Mikaela Shiffrin and the rest of the women’s giant slalom field had prepared to race since Monday (Sunday MST).
Shiffrin has battled with nerves and has been close to vomiting before races in the past. Moelgg ended up having a poor second run and finishing off the podium.
But her next gear is a move that, right now, nearly no other skier in the world can make.
“Our differences might be big and they might be important, but that doesn’t mean we can’t also be together sometimes”, said Alley.
Shiffrin rebooted after the World Cup blunder, and it showed Thursday. I had moments when I was nervous, I had moments when I felt pressure. She stood in the middle and smiled, putting her arms around her two fellow medal winners. “I’ve had a little bit of issues with the snow”.
First up is the slalom.
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Jorien ter Mors won the women’s 1,000m speed skating, extending the Netherlands’ ideal record in the competition so far, and Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt defended their title in the men’s doubles luge. A start Saturday in the super-G has been crossed off her list.
