Recently one of my students asked me which Winter Olympic event was my favorite. I really didn't have an answer. After giving it some thought, and watching a lot of Universal Sports, I realized that I enjoy nordic combined as much as any other event. That peculiar mix of ski jump and cross country that has been such a fickle mistress for American athletes. The champions need a combination of quickness for the jump and endurance for the 10 kilometer cross country. Since the Gundersen method of staggering the start times of the cross country was introduced to the Olympics in 1988, the first man across the line wins, providing the opportunity for thrilling finishes.
The United States has only won two medals in the history of Nordic Skiing in the Olympics, Bill Koch's cross country silver in 1976 and the 1924 ski jump bronze awarded to Anders Haugen after a calculation error was discovered 50 years later. Now the Americans will enter Vancouver with a team consisting of three world champions in nordic combined.
Johnny Spillane won his world championship in 2003, and has recently won a World Cup race in Oberhof. Spillane is one of the stronger cross country skiers in the field, but doesn';t have the spring at the finish to match some of his competitors. He has a number of fourth place finishes this season and his sole victory was a breakaway by about 30 seconds. Look for Spillane to push the pace with about 3 or 4 kilometers left in the race.
Todd Lodwick came out of retirement in 2009 to capture two gold medals at the World Championships. He has a second and third place finish this season,even though he has skipped several event in an effort to peak in Vancouver.
Bill Demong won a gold and bronze medal at last year's Worlds.. He won a very tough event in Val di Femme last month and has been consistently in the top ten all season.
However, there are many more contenders than just the Americans. On the World Cup curcuit, eleven different men have won events and sixteen have reached the podium.
Jason Lamy-Chappius, FRA - The Word Cup leader since day one, Lamy-Chappius has won five events. One of the best jumpers, if he can jump well and stay with the lead pack, he can usually sprint well over the last 200 meters.
Felix Gottwald, AUT - Sprint gold and individual silver in Torino, Gottwald has come out of retirement and is second in the World Cup, Gottwald is the second fasteest runenr in the field. If he has a decent jump, everyopne else will have to look over their shoulders for him.
Eric Frenzel, GER - One of the most consistent skiiers on the World Cup, Frenzel has reached the podium seven times.
Magnus Moan, NOR - The fastest runner in the field, Moan can make upwards of 90 seconds in the cross country. Two weeks ago he beat Lamy-Chappius in both races in France, trailing by over a minute in each. He already owns a sprint silver and individual bronze from Torino.
Tino Edelmann, GER - Edelmann was hot early in the season, winning in Lillehammer in early December. He hasn't been to the podium since then.
Mario Stecher, AUT - Stecher has been rounding into form nicely as of late, making the podium in three of the last four races, including a win in the final pre-Olympic World Cup in Seefeld.
Pavel Churavy, CZE - A strong jumper, Churavy is often in contention when the field bunches up and he can ski in the pack. His only podium finish was a second two weeks ago.
Bjorn Kircheisen, GER - He had a win in Ramsau the week before Christmas.
Alessandro Pittin, ITA - An inconsistent jumper, he can contend when he jumps well. Has had three third place finishes this season, including two of the last three races.
Anssi Koivuranta, FIN - A strong jumper who has to look over his back in the cross country.
Petter Tande, NOR - A silver in Lillehammer in December is his lone appearance on the podium this season.
Hannu Manninen, FIN - He came out of retirement and finished second and first on the opening weekend in Kuusamo. He has raced sparingly this season, but when he does he is at or near the top of the leaderboard. Manninen was a team gold medalist in 2002 and the 2007 large hill World Champion.
Akita Watanabe, JPN - A third place in Seefeld in the penultimate pre-Olympic race, Watanbe leads a Japanese team that has been improving throughout the season. One of the stronger jumpers, he must be out front to have a medal chance.
The Japanese are the defending World Champions in the team event, and even though they have rarely place individual athletes on the podium the last few years, they have four very consistent performers and the team should challenge for a medal.
TUNE IN:
NBC should show the nordic combined events live, especially with American interests:
Sunday, February 14th
Normal Hill Jump/10KM
Jump @ 1pm EST, 10K @ 4:45pm EST.
Predictions:
Gold: Lamy-Chappius, FRA
Silver: Moan, NOR
Bronze: Manninen, FIN
Tuesday, February 23rd
Team Event
Jump @ 1pm EST, 4x5KM relay @ 4pm EST
Predicitions:
Gold: Germany
Silver: Austria
Bronze: United States
Thursday, February 25th
Large Hill Jump/10KM Relay
Jump @ 1pm EST, 10KM @ 4pm EST
Predicitions:
Gold: Gottwald, AUT
Silver: Lamy-Chappius, FRA
Bronze: Frenzel, GER
In both individual events, I think anyone listed above has a good chance at a medal. The Americans will be right in the thick of things, will being in North America be an advantage over the Europeans?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Who Will Light the Torch in Vancouver?
At every Olympic Games in recent memory the identity of the final bearer of the Olympic torch is always shrouded in secrecy. Each organizing committee attempts to top the torch lighting of the previous games in the climax to a ceremony witnessed by hundreds of millions across the globe. Paavo Nurmi handing off to Hannes Kolehmainen in Helsinki in 1952; the young athlete Yoshinori Sakai, born in Hiroshima on the day of the atomic bombing in 1964; the noble figure of Rafer Johnson in 1984; paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo in Barcelona in 1992; the iconic Muhammad Ali in Atlanta in 1996; Cathy Freeman in 2000; and the entire 1980 U.S. Hockey team in Salt Lake City in 2002.
In two previous Olympics as host, Canada has gone with unknown youths. Teenagers Stephane Prefontaine and Sandra Henderson in Montreal and a 12 year old figure skater Robyn Perry in 1988. Will the Vancouver organizers go with the obvious and familiar or something off the beaten path? Here are some possibilites:
- Wayne Gretzky. "The Great One" is an obvious choice as Canada's greatest and most popular athlete. However, his only participation in the Games was as a member of the disappointing fourth place team at the 1998 Olympics. Gretzky was the manager of the 2002 Canadian hockey team that won the gold medal. Others have added names like Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux to the mix. Lemieux would add a French/English dynamic to the torch lighting and he was the captain of the 2002 team.
- Betty Fox. The 72 year-old mother of Terry Fox who gained international fame in his attempt to run across Canada despite having lost a leg to cancer. Fox's odyssey took place in 1980, but he never crossed the entire country as he fell victim to another bout with cancer that would eventually take his life. Her cause has gained momentum through a group on Facebook.
- Nancy Greene. The 1968 giant slalom gold medalist was also the winner of the first two women's World Cup titles. Greene was hugely popular in Canada in her day and is currently a senator from British Columbia. She was voted as the outstanding Canadian female athlete of the century. Being a political figure may hamper her chances as the organizing committee may want to avoid any appearance of political interest.
- Gaetan Boucher. The speed skater was at one time Canada's most successful Olympian, Boucher won a silver behind Eric Heiden in 1980 and then took two golds and a silver in 1984.
- I am going to go for an unusual choice. In 1998, curling was a medal sport for the first time. Sandra Schmirler had already been the skip on three world championship teams for Canada. The sport that is hugely popular in Canada, Schmirler gained national celebrity by winning the gold medal in Nagano. In 2000, Schmirler died after a year-long battle with cancer. Her funeral was televised live on two different Canadian television stations and the entire country mourned her loss. I could see her daughters Sara, 13, and Jenny, 10, lighting the torch with Schmirler's teammates.
In two previous Olympics as host, Canada has gone with unknown youths. Teenagers Stephane Prefontaine and Sandra Henderson in Montreal and a 12 year old figure skater Robyn Perry in 1988. Will the Vancouver organizers go with the obvious and familiar or something off the beaten path? Here are some possibilites:
- Wayne Gretzky. "The Great One" is an obvious choice as Canada's greatest and most popular athlete. However, his only participation in the Games was as a member of the disappointing fourth place team at the 1998 Olympics. Gretzky was the manager of the 2002 Canadian hockey team that won the gold medal. Others have added names like Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux to the mix. Lemieux would add a French/English dynamic to the torch lighting and he was the captain of the 2002 team.
- Betty Fox. The 72 year-old mother of Terry Fox who gained international fame in his attempt to run across Canada despite having lost a leg to cancer. Fox's odyssey took place in 1980, but he never crossed the entire country as he fell victim to another bout with cancer that would eventually take his life. Her cause has gained momentum through a group on Facebook.
- Nancy Greene. The 1968 giant slalom gold medalist was also the winner of the first two women's World Cup titles. Greene was hugely popular in Canada in her day and is currently a senator from British Columbia. She was voted as the outstanding Canadian female athlete of the century. Being a political figure may hamper her chances as the organizing committee may want to avoid any appearance of political interest.
- Gaetan Boucher. The speed skater was at one time Canada's most successful Olympian, Boucher won a silver behind Eric Heiden in 1980 and then took two golds and a silver in 1984.
- I am going to go for an unusual choice. In 1998, curling was a medal sport for the first time. Sandra Schmirler had already been the skip on three world championship teams for Canada. The sport that is hugely popular in Canada, Schmirler gained national celebrity by winning the gold medal in Nagano. In 2000, Schmirler died after a year-long battle with cancer. Her funeral was televised live on two different Canadian television stations and the entire country mourned her loss. I could see her daughters Sara, 13, and Jenny, 10, lighting the torch with Schmirler's teammates.
Welcome to My Olympic Blog
Just 13 days to go until the Vancouver Olympic opening ceremony. As a life-long fan of the Olympics, I follow many of these sports between Games. A member of the International Society of Olympic Historians, I will be updating this blog daily (twice daily during the Games) on Olympic matters, past and present.
One particular aspect of these Games that I am excited about, especially from an American perspective, is that the U.S. will be competitive in nearly every sport in these Olympics with the exception of ski jumping. The flip side of this coin is the concern that NBC will focus too much of their coverage on the Americans, and may lose sight of the great athletes from other countries. I am looking forward to the high level of competition in events such as the individual nordic combineds and the men's 500 meter speed skating.
The upcoming Games will be more than just Apolo Ohno, Lindsay Vonn and Shaun White. There will be wonderful stories about athletes you have never heard of; American and international. Vancouver will feature two weeks of intense competition, overjoyed winners and devastated losers. The stories have yet to be written, and there are certain to be surprises in many events. I prefer to watch the Games with an open mind, tune in and enjoy the international panorama of athleticism. Join me for the ride...
One particular aspect of these Games that I am excited about, especially from an American perspective, is that the U.S. will be competitive in nearly every sport in these Olympics with the exception of ski jumping. The flip side of this coin is the concern that NBC will focus too much of their coverage on the Americans, and may lose sight of the great athletes from other countries. I am looking forward to the high level of competition in events such as the individual nordic combineds and the men's 500 meter speed skating.
The upcoming Games will be more than just Apolo Ohno, Lindsay Vonn and Shaun White. There will be wonderful stories about athletes you have never heard of; American and international. Vancouver will feature two weeks of intense competition, overjoyed winners and devastated losers. The stories have yet to be written, and there are certain to be surprises in many events. I prefer to watch the Games with an open mind, tune in and enjoy the international panorama of athleticism. Join me for the ride...
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