Sochi Olympics 2014 Highlights

The Sochi Winter Olympic games have come to a close and I must say they were quite successful despite the built-up heavy criticism it received. The past two weeks I did my best to watch every night of NBC's Prime Time coverage. From the ceremonies, to the games, the medal standing, the athletes' stories, and the general spirit. It's the one time I pay attention to these lesser known sports, like speed-skating, figure-skating, ski jumping, snowboard racing, etc. This is their time to shine on the world stage for ultimate glory. The Olympics are an incredible tradition that allows the world to put politics and indifference aside to share in one anothers' culture through games.

It's no surprise of course that there were many skeptics and critics of Vladmir Putin's iron-fist games. The security was tripled unlike anything before, and it's said these were the most expensive games yet. However considering how far Russia has come since it's 1990 Soviet Union collapse, I think this was necessary precautions to avoid any controversies on the world stage. I think Putin and the entire country of Russia succeeded in showing the world that they are once again a force to be reckoned with. So the story of the Sochi Winter games, is not so much about Sochi, (where the weather was alot warmer than here) yet about the games and the athletes, and that's just the way it should be! So here's a recap of my favorite highlights from the games.

 

Ceremonies of Russian Culture

Its always interesting to watch the opening and closing ceremonies of these Olympic games, because they are more-or-less a presentation of the host's culture to the world. In this case we were demonstrated Russia's current culture as well as their past history. I've always found Russian Culture to be one of the most intriguing cultures in the world, especially their music, history, and literature. I made a post about it several years back ( Russian Culture ). In these opening and closing ceremonies Russia displayed their present day culture through a unique style of modern music, dancing, and fashion. I thought it was all a bit on the strange side, however I guess this is understandable coming from a distant American perspective.

The Games (Highlights)

I'm just going to give a highlight of the events and results I followed, as well as the athletes I was inspired by. There's nothing here about hockey, curling, or several other events that I simply did not pay attention to.

• Alpine Skiing: There's 5 events for men and women in the alpine skiing (Downhill, Super G, Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Combined) Ted Liggety and Mikaela Shiffrin walked away with American gold, Andrew Weibrecht got silver, and ski stars Bode Miller and Julia Mancuso got the bronze.  
• BobSleigh: The Russian men's team went on to win gold in the 4 and 2-man events, led by their veteran Alexander Zubkov. The Americans won bronze in both events led by Steven Holcomb. The American women won silver, yet LoLo Jones once again came up short for a Olympic medal.
• Speedskating: There are 6 events in the speedskating and the Dutch dominated them with contributions from Michael and Ronald Mulder, Sven Kramer, Ireen Wust, and Jorien ter Mors to name a few. (500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m, 10000m, and Team Pursuit). American superstar Shauni Davis came up short.
• Snowboarding: I care least about the extreme snowboarding events, and would hardly consider it an Olympic sport. Nonetheless I was curious to see if American superstar Shaun White, would repeat as a three time gold-medalist. Unfortunately the "flying tomato" pulled out of the slope-style and came up short in the half-pipe, finishing in 4th place. However the snowboard cross races were fun to watch, with their unpredictable wipe-outs.
  
• Skeleton: I did have my eyes on this event because of an inspiring American athlete, Noelle Pikus Pace, a mother of two in her 30s. I heard her story through the NBC commercials and features and came to like her great drive and personality. She went on to win silver.  
• Short Track skating: One of the most exciting sports to watch in the winter Olympics, that brought fame to Apollo Ohno has four events (The 500m, 1000m, 1500m, and 5000m relay) This event was dominated by the Russian/Korean native Viktor Ahn. The team relay was a total bust, as half the field wiped out on the first lap and Russia went on to easily win gold, while USA got the silver.  
• Figure Skating: I was most inspired by the figure skating event (as you can see here; Women's Finals) and consider this the main event of the winter Olympics. I watched all five events (The team skate, men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing) Russia looked in best form as they went on to win gold in the team skate, ladies skate (Adelina Sotnikova), and pairs (Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov) Superstars Evegni Plushenko and Yulia Lipnitskaya got gold medals in the team event yet both came up short in the single events. Since Plushenko was out of the running, the young Japaense star, Yuzuru Hanya, went on to win gold in the singles event with a free-spirited performance. Americans also got their taste of medal with gold in the ice dancing thanks to veterans Meryl Davis and Charlie White, as well as bronze in the team event.   

The American Stars

Several of the well known stars came up short this time in Sochi (Shaun White and Shauni Davis) while new ones were able to emerge.  

• Julia Mancuso: I saw a feature on this alpine veteran, 29 year old free-spirit from California. She won medals in Turin '06 and Vancouver '10. She was one of the big names who delivered at these games as she went on to win bronze in the Combined event. 
• Noelle Pikus Pace: This skeleton racer and mother of two was no doubt one of the most inspiring American darlings of these games. She was featured in several stories and commercial endorsements. She came with the back-story, the looks, the personality, the support, and came through at Sochi with a silver-medal performance. The media loved her and she deserved it all. 
• Bode Miller: This top name in alpine skiing came through in one of his five events, as he won the bronze in the Giant Slalom. This was his 6th medal, collected from Salt Lake 02, Turin 06, and Vancouver 10, making him one of the most decorated American alpine skiers of all time. 
• Ted Ligety: He went on to win his 2nd gold in the Giant Slalom. He collected his first gold at Turin 06 in the Combined event. He was featured in several commercial endorsements this year.
• Steven Holcomb: His 4-man team won gold in Vancouver 10, and he went on to collect two bronzes at Sochi. 
• Meryl Davis/Charlie White: This pair had a great time at Sochi as they went on to win the gold in ice-dancing as well as a bronze in the team skating against their arch-rival Canadians. What's especially interesting about these two is that they have been skating together for 17 years. It was a well deserved gold medal for them.

• Nick Goepper: Although the gold medal American star of the men's slopestyle halfpipe was Josh Christensen, I have to give a shout-out to this fellow Hoosier for his bronze performance. It's nice to see a Midwestern represented at these winter games for a change instead of the usual Coloradans/Californians. 
• Ashley Wagner: I knew nothing of the winter athletes until I saw the features and endorsements, and Wagner was another one of the likable ones. She had a provocative style about her and won me over when she danced to Pink Floyd. Although she did not medal in the singles event, she went on to collect bronze for her contribution to the American team's short program. 
• Gracie Gold: Another new comer to the world stage, and left as one of the ultimate darlings of the games. She came with the look, the personality, even the most fitting name for a figure-skater. She skated a great singles performance, however just fell short of the podium finishing 4th. She however came home with a bronze for her contribution to the American team's long program. She will most likely become a household name, as she makes another run for Pyeongchang in 2018.

The World Stars

• Tina Maze: This Slovenian alpine skier became a superstar of her country when she won two silvers at the Vancouver games. She took a step further at these Sochi games by winning two gold medals in the Downhill and the Super-G. Thanks to her skiing success she has embarked on a musical career and become a pop culture icon of Slovenia. 
• Alexandr Zubkov: This 39 year Russian vet had quite the homecoming at the Sochi games as he collected two more gold medals in the 4 and 2-man events, to add to his silver and bronze medals from Turin 06 and Vancouver 10. 

• Viktor Ahn: The short track superstar caused an uproar when he changed his citizenship from Korean to Russian. His explanation was that he wanted to train in a better environment. He won 3 golds and 1 bronze in Turin 06, was unable to compete in Vancouver due to an injury. He went on to win 3 more golds an 1 bronze for his new country of Russia at Sochi. He is now tied with Apollo Ohno as the most decorated winter Olympic athlete.  
• Charles Hamelin: This Canadian superstar has been a top competitor in short track skating since Turin 06. He won silver at Turin 06, two golds at Vancouver 10, and brought Gold once again for Canada at the Sochi games in the 1500m.
• Yuzuru Hanyu: This 19 year old Japanese skater, took advantage of the men's single skating event when Plushenko dropped out. He skated with power, precision, and a wild free-spirit style that won him a indisputable gold medal. 
• Adelina Sotnikova: The 17 year old figure-skater was suppose to be an alternate for the superstar Yulia, however shocked the country and the world when she went on to skate two magnificent performances to win gold at the ladies single event. 
• Yuna Kim: This 23 year old Korean is without question the queen of the ice. She skates with such incredible grace and ease that is stimulating to the eye. (2nd only to Yulia however) She won the gold at Vancouver 10 and came very close to repeating at Sochi, however was slightly edged by Adelina. Although the judge's decision was criticized by some, I think a silver was the right choice for Yuna. She's still a queen and has another chance at her homecoming in Pyenogchang 2018.   

• Tatiana Volosozhar/ Maxim Trankov: This Russian pair had incredible chemistry on the ice. They skated with perfect harmony and emotion far superior than the competition. They won two golds in the pair event as well as contributing for the Russian team event. 
• Carolina Kostner: The 27 year old Italian star, finally got her taste of Olympic medal after her third attempt. She came short in Turin and Vancouver, however decided to persist and won bronze. Her short program to Ave Maria and her long program to Bolero were perfectly executed.
• Evegni Plushenko: This was the 4th Olympics and homecoming for this Russian figure skating superstar. He won gold in Turin 06 and silver in Salt Lake City 02 and Vancouver 10. He skates with a very confident power, nailing each of his jumps with precision. He was unfortunately able to compete in the singles event with a bad knee, however still went on to win gold in the team event for his contributions to the single short and long programs.   
• Yulia Lipnitskaya: This was my favorite figure skater to watch, and perhaps my favorite athlete of the Olympic games. She skated with such intensity, speed, flexibility, precision, and seduction. Unfortunately she fell twice in her single's performances however went on to win gold for her contributions to the Russian team event. She is only 15 and will surely be back to the world stage at Pyeongchang 2018.   

Final Medal Standing

Rank	NOC	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Russia (RUS)*	13	11	9	33
2	Norway (NOR)	11	5	10	26
3	Canada (CAN)	10	10	5	25
4	United States (USA)	9	7	12	28
5	Netherlands (NED)	8	7	9	24
6	Germany (GER)	8	6	5	19
7	Switzerland (SUI)	6	3	2	11
8	Belarus (BLR)	5	0	1	6
9	Austria (AUT)	4	8	5	17
10	France (FRA)	4	4	7	15
11–26	Remaining NOCs	21	36	34	91
Total (26 NOCs)		99	97	99	295

   

On to Pyeongchang 2018

So the Winter Olympics are over, and it's always tough to let go of a special united world event like this. It has has a fantasy-like quality to it; two weeks of games and cultural exchange. However thankfully its a tradition that is constantly cycling. I think the fact that it happens only once every four years makes it all the more special. Also to add to this cycle of big world events are the World Cup (Brasil 2014), Euro Cup (France 2016), and Summer Olympics (2016). In 2018 the Winter Olympics torch will pass on to Pyeongchang, South Korea. And although I won't die of anticipation, I'll surely do my best to tune in each and every night to watch the world come together once again.