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Katy
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Did anyone else notice the Finnish team coach knitting at the top of the snowboard pipe? Apparently their team is knitting a blanket for their president’s newborn!

 

That is too cool. I wonder if it also helps release some stress. ;)  Having to lead these snowboarders might be a tad stressful. 

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We watched the men's snowboarding last night, well until that one kid from Japan fell and it made my stomach lurch so we stopped watching for a bit. That was a BRUTAL fall, poor guy.

 

We've been fans of Shawn White for a while, he always puts down very impressive runs. I find him a bit cocky, but he's had a fantastic career and is probably in his last Olympics before he retires so..we forgave him a little obnoxiousness.

 

I was a bit disappointed we didn't have any Canadians in the finals, but it was still so great to watch.

 

I am rooting for some heavy Canadian presence in the Big Air Comp - that's our favourite event to watch.

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I was happy for White; then I read about his sexual harassment lawsuit this morning. I admit it tampered my enthusiasm a bit. I’m surprised we haven’t heard more about it. His run yesterday was unparalleled, though.

 

 

I didn't hear about it till now but I haven't been really paying attn ...

For anyone else interested, Time story about the sexual harassment suit he settled http://time.com/5156699/shaun-white-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-olympics/

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I didn't hear about it till now but I haven't been really paying attn ...

For anyone else interested, Time story about the sexual harassment suit he settled http://time.com/5156699/shaun-white-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-olympics/

The article I read also mentioned she stated she felt the harassment intensified after his poor performance/lack of a medal in the Sochi games.
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I had not read about his sexual harassment claims until this morning, either, but the Time article is the SFW version; there are plenty of NSFW stories out there that are more graphic.  I actually went looking to see if he'd been criticized for dragging the American flag on the ground (after kissing his snowboard, of course) and found, instead, details of disgusting sexual fetishes.  I don't know if this woman was really harassed or not (her original claim was just for unpaid wages, she added the harassment claims later, and several of the points, e.g., that he told her to wear sexier clothes, might make sense considering that she worked for him as a drummer in a rock band), but it seems that even the stuff that didn't rise to sexual harassment was pretty disgusting.  Anyway, at best, he seems really smarmy now. 

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I missed it! Speed skating was on and then the basketball game started that my husband wanted to watch. He could have watched on his iPad if I had known figure skating was on.

What? You haven't printed out the whole schedule, highlighted all the important bits, laminated it & hung it over the tv, then entered all the critical information into your google calendar and set all your reminders?  :laugh:

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So what is the deal with all of the wedgies during the ice skating? Or are the costumes designed that way? :eek:

 

I was wondering this myself, as a former ice skater. Ice skating costumes aren't really prone to bad wedgies the way gymnastics leotards can be (because, tights.) I am almost certain it's because of the throw twists and throw jumps in the pairs. I was watching a replay and the guy caught the woman after the twist and as he was setting her down her costume was so pulled up. I was like, that's it, there's the mega wedgie. And then of course you can't fix it until you're done.

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What? You haven't printed out the whole schedule, highlighted all the important bits, laminated it & hung it over the tv, then entered all the critical information into your google calendar and set all your reminders? :laugh:

Hahaha, no, I just watch what’s on and we only have one tv.
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What a tense ending to the pairs skate! Great competition. 

 

The tension was nearly palpable, even in my living room!  

 

And can I just add that the German woman in the winning pair is pretty amazing--four Olympics, and she's actually prettier than she was at her first?  

Edited by plansrme
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I just watched the German pairs skaters and was totally entranced. What an amazing skate!! Christopher Dean choreographed their program, and it really shows. Wonderful that he is still so highly involved in the sport. 

 

The silver medal Chinese pair were amazing to watch as well.  So many wonderful programs to enjoy! I very sad the pairs event is over so quickly. I think it's my favourite skating event. 

Edited by wintermom
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I missed that one. Was the athlete okay?

 

She was able to walk away, but was down for several minutes. The stadium was silent, and the camera showed her parents in the crowd.

 

https://www.denverpost.com/2018/02/13/emily-sweeney-luge-crash/

 

 

eta: realized that story is behind a paywall 

 

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/13/sport/olympics-sweeney-crash-trnd/index.html

Edited by JIN MOUSA
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Dd and I discovered a sport we did not know even existed....Nordic Combined Skiing.  Where on earth do they find these people?!?!  We are deep into the nordic ski world.  How could I not know this was a thing?

 

Cross-country skiing and ski jumping have been around for decades and decades, but they aren't very well-known in North America. Nordic combined is a really unique event in that it combines the extreme endurance event of cross-country skiing with the extreme mentally courageous event of ski jumping.

 

I think the athletes who can excel at both are unbelievable! I don't understand how they have the time to train both, It's similar to biathlon, where they train equally hard at skiing as the skiing-only athletes, but also add in all the riffle shooting training. 

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Cross-country skiing and ski jumping have been around for decades and decades, but they aren't very well-known in North America. Nordic combined is a really unique event in that it combines the extreme endurance event of cross-country skiing with the extreme mentally courageous event of ski jumping.

 

I think the athletes who can excel at both are unbelievable! I don't understand how they have the time to train both, It's similar to biathlon, where they train equally hard at skiing as the skiing-only athletes, but also add in all the riffle shooting training. 

 

We are surrounded by biathlon people so that seems completely normal to me:)  It is the flinging one's self off of a jump that just doesn't fit the personality profile of the nordic skiers in my life.  I really hope it did not give my nordic skiing dd any ideas!  

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We are surrounded by biathlon people so that seems completely normal to me:)  It is the flinging one's self off of a jump that just doesn't fit the personality profile of the nordic skiers in my life.  I really hope it did not give my nordic skiing dd any ideas!  

 

I lived in Norway for 4 years. Norwegians do everything on skis; cross-country ski, alpine ski, jump, tour, etc. I had one pair of skis while living there and did absolutely everything with these "tour" skis. I used them on the alpine ski centres as Telemark skis, went on multi-day ski tours, skied across a glacier, and tried out low-level ski jumps. It was so much fun!

 

I did borrow a pair of proper cross-country skis when I skied the actual Birkebeiner. That was a thrill. It's actually over a mountain pass, finishing in Lillehammer. 

Edited by wintermom
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 but it seems that even the stuff that didn't rise to sexual harassment was pretty disgusting.  Anyway, at best, he seems really smarmy now. 

 

Just another lesson that people are people and not to put anyone up on a pedestal (metaphorical, not literal, since, Olympics after all!)  Appreciate their skill, or their acting, or their singing, or their boarding... but don't think that means anything as a person necessarily.

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I love it. I think it's my Finnish side that loves hockey, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, biathlon, and Nordic combined, though. 

 

In my experience, the Norwegians have a playful approach to skiing, while the Fins have a ferocious approach to skiing. They do it with amazing intensity. 

Edited by wintermom
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What a tense ending to the pairs skate! Great competition. 

 

I'm watching the full replay now, with the British woman commentating (so not Tara and Johnny), and I enjoyed her enjoyment of the Russian athlete having a kiss and cry jacket. It was the pair that skated to La La Land, and he had a costume jacket to go with their outfits, that he only wore for the kiss and cry.

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In my experience, the Norwegians have a playful approach to skiing, while the Fins have a ferocious approach to skiing. They do it with amazing intensity. 

 

Dd asked her coach about nordic combined tonight and discovered there is a team within two hours of us that does this!  So, I guess now I know where they find these people after all.  

 

There is also currently a movement on her team to "Klaebo" up hills.  It is driving the coaches bonkers.  

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There was another snowboarder a few days ago who was whooping at the bottom and dropped the F bomb on live tv. 

 

The same one from a few days ago apparently overslept the day of the competition (cause he was watching Brooklyn 99 late at night), didn't have all his gear, and had to borrow another teammate's jacket.  

 

I love snowboarders.

 

My fave yesterday was the Swiss Pat Burgener who I've since learned also has a singing gig and released some songs. He was dancing on top of the hill while waiting his turn & he has sweet moves. Also, he has proper boarder hair.  I have strong feelings about the hair.  

 

 

Me, too! I love listening to them talk at the top of the run. They're such a cool little community.

 

The language cracked me up. Um, hello, it's SNOWBOARDERS. Your finger should be ON THE BUTTON. (but personally, I don't care that it slipped through)

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Dd asked her coach about nordic combined tonight and discovered there is a team within two hours of us that does this!  So, I guess now I know where they find these people after all.  

 

There is also currently a movement on her team to "Klaebo" up hills.  It is driving the coaches bonkers.  

 

I'm not completely up on the current Norwegian skiers, so I did a little search on Klaebo and found this, which perfectly illustrates the playfulness of Norwegians on skis.  :lol:

 

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I'm not completely up on the current Norwegian skiers, so I did a little search on Klaebo and found this, which perfectly illustrates the playfulness of Norwegians on skis.  :lol:

 

 

I didn't understand anything they were saying, but sumo skiing obviously transcends language barriers.  :lol:

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I didn't understand anything they were saying, but sumo skiing obviously transcends language barriers.  :lol:

 

I took my level 1 ski instructor training in Norway. The book we used was called "Skileik for Barn" which means ski games for children. The Norwegian philosophy is to help children develop of love of playing on skis. We played tag games, built little ski jumps and obstacle courses out of snow or using ski poles, incorporated biathlon with snowballs, etc. Then they build on this foundation of love of playing on skis, and develop and nurture athletes in all the skiing disciplines. But they never lose sight of the fun of the activity. 

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Wow, I didn't know that Aksel Lund Svindal was still competing in alpine skiing. He's 35 now. Pretty amazing to still be out there racing and winning the gold medal in the downhill. 

 

It seems to be a trend for athletes to stay in sports longer - into their 30s and for some pro athletes into their 40s.  There was a Canadian swimmer at the last summer olympics who had competed in her first olympics before some of her teammates were born. 

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I just found this interesting article about the Norwegian alpine ski team. I think they have a wonderful team philosophy! The article is titled, :Norway shares secret to skiing success: No jerks

 

I love their taco Friday rule, too. ;)

 

https://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics/2018/02/15/norway-shares-secret-to-skiing-success-no-jerks.html

Edited by wintermom
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I took my level 1 ski instructor training in Norway. The book we used was called "Skileik for Barn" which means ski games for children. The Norwegian philosophy is to help children develop of love of playing on skis. We played tag games, built little ski jumps and obstacle courses out of snow or using ski poles, incorporated biathlon with snowballs, etc. Then they build on this foundation of love of playing on skis, and develop and nurture athletes in all the skiing disciplines. But they never lose sight of the fun of the activity. 

 

This is true of the training in my neck of the woods too.  Dd's team was jumping through hula hoops down hills and clocking each other with swim noodles from the time they could stand on skis.  As high schoolers they still incorporate play into every practice.  I'm a little jealous, actually.  Winter sports are very important in my community.  Most kids do not even remember the first time they were on skis (snowshoes/skates/etc....).  My family of three currently owns 20+ pairs of skis, 5 pairs of snowshoes, and no idea how many pairs of skates and sleds.  You either embrace the climate here or move ASAP.

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This is true of the training in my neck of the woods too.  Dd's team was jumping through hula hoops down hills and clocking each other with swim noodles from the time they could stand on skis.  As high schoolers they still incorporate play into every practice.  I'm a little jealous, actually.  Winter sports are very important in my community.  Most kids do not even remember the first time they were on skis (snowshoes/skates/etc....).  My family of three currently owns 20+ pairs of skis, 5 pairs of snowshoes, and no idea how many pairs of skates and sleds.  You either embrace the climate here or move ASAP.

 

That is awesome! We have a van-load of skis, snowshoes and sleds. It's all for fun.  One pair of skis is for ds 13's biathlon, and they are provided by the cadet program. 

 

Actually, if I added in the hockey gear, we'd need a bigger van to haul all the stuff.  :laugh:

 

Winter sports is a way of life for the dc and myself. My dh opts out of most of it because he was too old when he moved to Canada. He was 6 years old and supposedly missed the boat on enjoying skating and skiing.  :lol:

Edited by wintermom
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I had to stay up last night to watch the men's figure skating long program. It was totally worthy it! I remember when Kurt Browning landed his quad in competition years ago, making history, and now the men are landing many quads and some with combination. Unbelievable!  That top Japanese skater is so exciting and fun to watch. What a showman. He looks so adorable, too, just like an animated character from Avatar. He is an ice-bender, for sure.   And bravo to the Spanish skater as well for achieving his goal to get a medal before retirement. 


 


The Canadian commentator mentioned the Patrick Chan came out of semi-retirement to help Canada win a medal in the team event, and he certainly did. He is a pleasure to watch.  The commentator, who is in fact Kurt Browning, also pointed out that Brian Orser is the coach of both the gold and bronze medal men skaters.  Remember the Brian Orser and Brian Boitano rivalry back in the day? It's so great that these former skaters are still contributing to the sport. 


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Who is watching tonight?

 

Nathan Chen's FIVE landed quads were AMAZING!!! I know it's a long shot for him to medal after his performance in the short program, but he sure did redeem himself tonight!

It’s sad that he did so poorly in his short program. His free skate was fantastic.

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More funny playfulness from Norway (and Sweden).  I never get tired of this one:

 

 

 

That is hysterical!

 

This video came up next. *Channeling Jim Halpert* And that's what I'll be working on the rest of the day! (Looking for more videos like these two!)

 

 

Edited by Angie in VA
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