# 2026 Winter Olympics - follow along and discussion thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** olympic-sports\ **Created:** [January 11, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575 "2026-01-11T22:27:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/301 "2026-02-22T17:44:03Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > The women’s 50km XC ski was also held on Feb 22, wonder if NBC will show ANY of it (not sure even I would want to see all of it) NBC showed the last run of 4 man bobsled, and is showing Half Pipe. Since events are shown out of order, there are some things to see B4 the closing ceremony. I followed all these events live because I’m in the same timezone as Italy, and all of them had been finished before the hockey final started. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/302 "2026-02-22T18:15:03Z")
Figured as much. I’m at US Central (UTC -6) NBC is showing the Women’s 50km XC now Brian ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/303 "2026-02-22T19:24:15Z")
Pretty close race for Bronze in the 50k. Jessie Diggins came in 5th. NBC showed more than I expected. And quite a few collapsed, and this race is a mass start. Brian ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/304 "2026-02-22T19:43:49Z")
There was a curious incident in the 50k: most skiers change their skis mid-race, and one Russian skier (starting as a neutral athlete of course) confused the changing box with that of German skier Katharina Hennig Dotzler and took her skis. Hennig Dotzler was supposed to change her skis 20 minutes later, so the German ski technicians, who were already on their lunch break, had to rearrange their workshop on the service truck, as they had already everything packed because their work was done for these Olympics, and prepare and wax another pair of skis for her in a hurry. They were ready only seconds before she needed them. Unfortunately, in that hurry there was still a piece of tape left under one ski which she had to remove mid-race, and that slowed her down so much that she lost contact to the group she was skiing in. Notably, she finished 9th nonetheless. The Russian skier got disqualified. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/305 "2026-02-22T20:43:05Z")
Despite when they happened the 50k medals are awarded during the closing ceremony. Similar to marathon in summer games. Brian ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/306 "2026-02-22T21:56:13Z")
That reminds me of something I realized the other day; I didn’t see any medal ceremonies this year. Admittedly the only events I watch are the figure skating, so it’s possible that medal ceremonies for other events were broadcast. But my recollection from past Olympics was seeing medal ceremonies after most events, but this year, none. ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/307 "2026-02-22T22:45:22Z")
Klaebo won individual golds at the sprint (\<1 mile) and the 50k (31 miles). That’s almost like Usain Bolt winning the 100m and the 5,000m. Impressive. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/308 "2026-02-23T00:06:27Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > _I didn’t see any medal ceremonies this year._ My wife and I noticed that too. There may have been short clips here and there, but not many. Wonder why? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/309 "2026-02-23T00:10:10Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > My wife and I noticed that too. There may have been short clips here and there, but not many. Wonder why?. I had to seek out most of them on Youtube later. I did see the American hockey teams get their medals, though. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/310 "2026-02-23T00:33:02Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > > [@LurkMeister](#): > > > > _I didn’t see any medal ceremonies this year._ > > My wife and I noticed that too. There may have been short clips here and there, but not many. Wonder why? It’s probably how you watched the Games. I mostly watched by streaming an individual event. Those always show the medal ceremony. Perhaps other channels made different choices. ---
**Author:** ![lum\_s\_husband](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lum_s_husband/32/3698_2.png) [@lum\_s\_husband](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lum_s_husband)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/311 "2026-02-23T00:47:37Z")
Showing medal ceremonies gets in the way of moar curling. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/312 "2026-03-11T15:41:15Z")
A post was merged into an existing topic: [Nonobaddog cornfielded posts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonobaddog-cornfielded-posts/1028367/44) ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/313 "2026-02-23T15:37:42Z")
Wow, welcome back after 15 years! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/314 "2026-02-24T05:09:34Z")
Hear, hear - and on quite a global occasion, too! ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/315 "2026-02-25T05:06:00Z")
All right, got about 190 recordings worth of not-figure skating to keep me busy for a while (and I am in _no_ hurry to get to Dimestore Ice Capades Night), so I’ll keep reporting on anything interesting I see. Should go a lot faster than Paris because I plan to zap past most of the hockey and curling. I was frankly unsettled by _how much_ time hockey and curling ate up, not to mention utterly mystified by how these sports are apparently enormously popular in America right now. I could see pickleball, but _that?_ (I wanted more ski mountaineering, dangit. 🙁) Saw the first round of ski jump. Mmm, not really interesting as a spectator sport because everyone does exactly the same thing and the winner is just the one who’s slightly more thingly exacting than the rest, so I don’t think I’ll be spending much time on this. I did find it interesting that this the only event that gives the individual judges’ scores by nationality. Figure skating ended this a _long_ time ago, and neither skiing nor snowboarding ever had it. My guess is that these scores don’t count enough to really swing the results, thus preventing any raging firestorms, so they don’t mind standing by their scores. Also saw Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo win the 20K…pardon, “10K + 10K” (🙄) skiathlon. Would’ve _really_ liked it if USA 1. showed the whole thing instead of the last 1 1/2 legs and 2. freaking EXPLAINED the difference between “traditional” and “freestyle”. 😠 Much like the clip here, he eased up a lot at the end, which I’m guessing is a courtesy move to not embarrass the field, which he absolutely could’ve done. I’m really looking forward to watching his golden journey, mainly because I’m frankly baffled as to how a human being can win **six** events in a sport that’s essentially a death march in really crappy weather in a span of **two weeks**. It’s like that Special Olympics episode of South Park except Eric is actually good. Oh, and since no one brought it up…that curling nonsense between Sweden and Canada. Here’s all I’ll say about it: If a sport built on “gentlemen’s agreements” starts introducing all kinds of bush league gamesmanship bullcrap and/or profanity-laced tirades, that’s when it has to **grow up, cut the crap** , and **become a real sport**. That means officials with real authority, video review, _accountability_ for all players and officials, and REAL PENALTIES for stepping out of line. Look, I know it was fun when you were this maverick weirdo sport, and you didn’t _need_ tons of rules and fancy-schmancy equipment and nagging governing bodies and everything just _worked._ But now you’ve seen what that _always_ leads to. Marc Kennedy was the warning shot. Now either you crack down on this BS **hard** or watch as others follow in his wake and your beloved sport devolves into a hideous, grotesque joke. Do as you will; I’m just a passive observer here. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/316 "2026-02-25T06:32:25Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > I did find it interesting that this the only event that gives the individual judges’ scores by nationality. I thought that happened in the various artistic/technical ski/snowboard ‘style’/jump events too? I might be misremembering. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/317 "2026-02-25T17:37:12Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > I was frankly unsettled by _how much_ time hockey and curling ate up, not to mention utterly mystified by how these sports are apparently enormously popular in America right now. Pistols at dawn, sir! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/318 "2026-02-25T18:30:59Z")
Pro-Tips: Never shoot against someone with a Robot Arm or play pinball with a guy with a key to the machine. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/319 "2026-02-25T20:59:21Z")
What if you’re a deaf, dumb, and blind kid? ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575/320 "2026-02-25T21:17:40Z")
Depends. How supple are your wrists? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-winter-olympics-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/1026575.md?page=17)