Some XC ski events are mass start – I’ll have to watch and see if the collapsing after finishing is less in those.
Brian
Oh wow, he was amazing!
I mentioned that in another thread within the last month or so; maybe that’s where you read it.
It’s not something I’ve heard or read, just my own conjecture of why cross-country skiers, in some events at least, push themselves to the limit all the way to the finish line, and then collapse to catch their breath. It does make sense for races that are against the clock. You don’t how fast the racers behind you will go, so push yourself for every fraction of a second you can get.
I’ve been dealing with a really weird hip flexor injury since Jan 1, and everything I watch in these games makes me cringe so hard. So much thigh work from everyone, my god! Even the curling. With my current injury I wouldn’t be able to get back up from their sliding position. The sled events I guess don’t use much thigh (except push off) but I’ve also got a weak neck so I’d be fucked there too.
I guess this is my first Olympics as an old broken person 
Anyway thanks for the link to that Sprint video. That dude was wild. Can’t believe he slowed down so much at the end!
Oh they will. There are world cup races available on youtube. The ones I’ve seen are Norwegian broadcasts and I’m sure the pro Norway chatter is as relentless as the obnoxious pro USA bias on the USA broadcasts. But hey, I don’t understand Norwegian. 
That clip is the fist vid I’ve seen of the Olympics. That they would reduce the image of the competition to show someone’s mom in the stands astounds me.
I curled last night and was fine. Then my knee gave a few little twinges while I was cleaning the ice afterwards.
The years take their toll.
Remember that the broadcast is not about sport or competition, but about entertainment value, fluff pieces, and of course pro-America jingoism.
Mildly off-topic, but while watching one of the figure skating events where the skater fell, essentially killing their chance at a medal, I had a thought. Has a skater ever had a fall (or multiple falls) and realizing that their score was so badly affected decided that there was no point in continuing with their routine just quit? I suspect that this would effectively end their future participation in the Olympics.
On a related note, has any figure skater been severely injured during their routine?
Under the old (really old) scoring rules, I vaguely recall that Janet Lynn once fell during her routine and still received at least one perfect 6.0 score.
Not quit but in 1998 Surya Bonaly didn’t have a good short program and was realistically out of medal contention. I think she might have fallen in the early part of the long program. But she knew she was out of medal contention and had a pretty contentuous relationship with biased judging against her over the years, so she did a backflip which was a banned move. She took the deduction, all part of an F you to the judging establishment.
I don’t know if that has never happened but I’m of the impression that in the world of figure skating, to give up would violate a perhaps-unspoken protocol: No matter what, you finish your routine and hold your head high. Quitting=humiliation. I’ve seen many a skater essentially blow it within the first 15 seconds and plug on the to end, to their credit, I think.
Of course, in the case of an injury that would prevent a skater from continuing, that would hardly apply.
Great Britain win their first medal of these games and it’s a gold. Matt Weston in the skeleton bob. Apparently he is the first male GB champion at the Winter Olympics since Chris Dean (with Jayne Torvill) in 1984!
Ah - skeleton – for those who think the luge is too easy – lets do mostly the same thing, but head first!
Brian
I could never be a skating judge (besides the fact I don’t know much about skating) – I’d feel bad about marking folks down for oopsies, even though marking down is likely mandatory. (might be slightly easier if there is a fixed deduction per oops which I think is at least partially true*)
Brian
* told you I don’t know much.
Well, poor Kevin Fiala. He got tied up with Tom Wilson along the boards and his leg folded in a way it was not designed to. That was painful to watch.
U. S. beat Canada in women’s curling for the first time at any Olympics. Rachel Homan’s team is one of the best in the world. I think Team Peterson were 1-12 against them before today.
Yeah, that was a very surprising loss for Homan. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it was an aberration and she’ll go on and win gold.
USA women’s hockey broke their streak of 5-0 wins…and won 6-0.
They are in the semifinal.
I wonder if there’s a video of her available anywhere online. I’d love to see it, along with any commentary.