The OFFICIAL 2014 Winter Olympics Thread

[Tender Branson]

The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics, are scheduled to take place from 6 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi, Russia, with some events held in the resort town of Krasnaya Polyana.

98 events in 15 winter sports will be held. Both the Olympics and 2014 Winter Paralympics are being organized by the Sochi Organizing Committee (SOC).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Winter_Olympics

...

Post all related stuff here.

[Tender Branson]

As for Austria, we are already in good shape in the following disciplines:

* Alpine Skiing (especially men's Slalom & Giant Slalom and women's Slalom and Super-G)
* Ski Jumping (Diethart won the 4-Hills, plus 3-4 other good jumpers)
* Biathlon (the Team defeated Germany yesterday for 1st place, the first team win since 2009)
* Ski-Cross (Andi Matt is currently in 2nd in the rankings, not far behind 1st place)
* Nordic Combined (Willy Denifl just won a race a few days ago)
* Cross-Country (always good for a top-3 finish)

Outside chances in luge and snowboarding, but in luge the Germans are currently dominating and in snowboarding the US and Canadians are quite strong.

[Tender Branson]

Sochi 2014: Without Lindsey Vonn, U.S. Olympic team in search of stars

Lindsey Vonn’s announcement that she is pulling out of the Sochi Olympics because of her injured right knee robbed the Winter Games of arguably its biggest star and left television partners and sponsors scrambling to answer the question: What marquee names actually will be competing for the United States?

Snowboarder Shaun White is arguably the public face of the U.S. team, but precious few others could make a case for that mantle now that Vonn, the gold medalist skier with the runway-ready looks, has joined a list of marketable American winter athletes either injured, retired or not in top form.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/sochi-2014-without-lindsey-vonn-us-olympic-team-in-search-of-stars/2014/01/07/7af85dd0-77b6-11e3-af7f-13bf0e9965f6_story.html

Mikaela Shiffrin looks like a Gold-Medal candidate for the US ...

Bode Miller, not so much.

[Tender Branson]

Olympic response team: Security firm ready in wings

A private crisis-response firm assisting the U.S. ski and snowboard teams for the Winter Olympic Games in Russia has up to five aircraft on standby in the event that medical or security emergencies require an evacuation from Sochi.

The extraordinary preparations a month before the games begin are in response to what Global Rescue CEO Dan Richards describes as the "unique challenge'' represented in part by Olympic venues located in the shadow of a terrorist battleground.

"This environment is unique,'' said Richards, whose Boston-based firm has worked for the teams since the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. "You just don't have competitions in places like Sochi with any frequency. … In the last 10 years, there has been nothing like it.''

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/07/private-crisis-response-olympics/4359093

[Tender Branson]

2010 Vancouver Olympics Medal Table (sorted by Gold):

[Tender Branson]

Let's break down the top contenders for a medal by discipline:

MEN ALPINE SKIING -> Downhill

Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)

Erik Guay (CAN)

Hannes Reichelt (AUT)

MEN ALPINE SKIING -> Super-G

Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)

Patrick Küng (ITA)

Jan Hudec (CAN)

MEN ALPINE SKIING -> Giant Slalom

Marcel Hirscher (AUT)

Ted Ligety (USA)

Alexis Pinturault (FRA)

MEN ALPINE SKIING -> Slalom

Mario Matt (AUT)

Marcel Hirscher (AUT)

Matthias Hargin (SWE)

Felix Neureuther (GER)


...


WOMEN ALPINE SKIING -> Downhill

Maria Höfl-Riesch (GER)

Tina Weirather (LIE)

Anna Fenninger (AUT)

Lara Gut (SUI)

WOMEN ALPINE SKIING -> Super-G

Lara Gut (SUI)

Anna Fenninger (AUT)

Tina Weirather (LIE)

WOMEN ALPINE SKIING -> Giant Slalom

Jessica Lindell-Vikarby (SWE)

Maria Pietilä-Holmner (SWE)

Tina Weirather (LIE)

Anna Fenninger (AUT)

Kathrin Zettel (AUT)

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)

WOMEN ALPINE SKIING -> Slalom

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)

Marlies Schild (AUT)

Marie-Michele Gagnon (CAN)

Frida Hansdotter (SWE)

Maria Höfl-Riesch (GER)

[Tender Branson]

Can anyone of the Canadian/US posters please do an overview of Ice Hockey, because I'm no expert with this ... ?

Thx.

[Gass3268]

Can anyone of the Canadian/US posters please do an overview of Ice Hockey, because I'm no expert with this ... ?

Thx.

Here is a good SI article that grades the rosters of the top teams (Canada, Russia, Sweden and the United States):

http://nhl.si.com/2014/01/08/grading-the-rosters-of-the-sochi-olympic-gold-medal-contenders/

Canada is the heavy favorite to repeat, but the other three top teams will be competative. This is the sport that I am the most excited to watch as there are 4 former Wisconsin Badgers on the US team and a guy from Madison that unfortunately went to Minnesota. Also Chicago Blackhawks Forward Patrick Kane likes to party in Madison, so I'll claim him to!

Also Jessie Vetter, the US Women's goalie, is from my hometown in Wisconsin!

[Tender Branson]

After crashing badly just 2 weeks ago, then placing 2nd in the 4-Hills Tournament a few days ago, Thomas Morgenstern today crashed badly again, suffering a serious head (but not life-threatening) injury and lung contusion. He was flown to the Salzburg University clinic, where he'll be in emergency care for the next 3 days.



You can watch his crash here:

http://iptv.orf.at/stories/2213538

Morgenstern is an Austrian Gold medal candidate in ski jumping.

[Tender Branson]

US Alpine Skiing profiles of TOP medal candidates:

Mikaela Shiffrin (18 years, Colorado)



Ted Ligety (29 years, Utah)



Julia Mancuso (29 years, Nevada/California)



Bode Miller (36 years, New Hampshire)

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Let's go USA HOCKEY!!!  Especially these three proud Americans!

[Tender Branson]

Austrian Alpine Skiing profiles of TOP medal candidates:

Marcel Hirscher (here with girlfriend Laura, 24 years, Salzburg)



Anna Fenninger (24 years, Salzburg)



Hannes Reichelt (34 years, Salzburg)



Marlies Schild (32 years, Salzburg)



Mario Matt (34 years, Tyrol)



Kathrin Zettel (27 years, Lower Austria)



Honorable mentions:

Benjamin Raich (with his girlfriend Marlies Schild, 35 years, Tyrol)



Michaela Kirchgasser (28 years, Salzburg)



Bernadette Schild (sister of Marlies, 24 years, Salzburg)

[Tender Branson]

Liechtenstein Alpine Skiing profiles of TOP medal candidates:

Tina Weirather (24 years, Liechtenstein)



BTW: She has Austrian citizenship as well (via her mum). Her parents were both extremely good skiers as well back in the 70s and 80s.

[Tender Branson]

Swedish Alpine Skiing profiles of TOP medal candidates:

Frida Hansdotter (on the right, 28 years, Västerås)



Maria Pietilä-Holmner (27 years, Umeå)



Matthias Hargin (28 years, Stockholm)



Jessica Lindell-Vikarby (29 years, Huddinge)

[Gass3268]

Let's go USA HOCKEY!!!  Especially these three proud Americans!

Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan are both former Badgers!

[Tender Branson]

Various other Alpine Skiing profiles of TOP medal candidates:

Felix Neureuther (29 years, Bayern ... ehh ... Germany)



Maria Höfl-Riesch  (29 years, Bayern ... ehh ... Germany)



...

Nastasia Noens (25 years, Nizza (France)



Erik Guay (32 years, Montreal (Canada)



Tina Maze (30 years, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia)



Aksel Lund Svindal (with his ex-girlfriend/now-again girlfriend (?) Julia Mancuso, 31 years, Lørenskog, Norway)



Lara Gut (22 years, Sorengo, Switzerland)

[Tender Branson]

I wonder if Michael Williams (Jamaica) will also be at the Olympics:



At the World Championships in Schladming he was (didn't qualify though for an actual race):

[Tender Branson]

Apparently he's at least trying to qualify:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://mpora.com/articles/going-for-gold-6-athletes-unusual-routes-to-sochi/4

This would be great. A Jamaican Alpine Skier at the Olympics. Cool Runnings 2.0 !

[Tender Branson]

Felix Neureuther (Germany, see above) has won the Adelboden (Switzerland) Giant-Slalom today, the first German to win a GS in over 40 years !

Thomas Fanara (FRA) was 2nd, Marcel Hirscher (AUT) was 3rd.

Ted Ligety (USA) had a mistake in the 2nd run and did not finish.

...

Elisabeth Görgl (Austria) won the downhill race in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee (Austria) today.

Anna Fenninger (AUT) was 2nd, Maria Höfl-Riesch (GER) 3rd.

This was the first Austrian double-victory in a downhill race since 2007.

[ElectionsGuy]

Why is this page so huge?

[Tender Branson]

Why is this page so huge?

Corrected the picture that was blowing up the page ...

[Hatman 🍁]

I'll review curling, since only myself and ZuWo are capable of doing so. And he's a dirty Swiss ( ) so, he's obviously biased. Don't let the neutrality fool you!

Obviously, Canada is the best and should medal in both men's and women's. Nothing short of gold will suffice.

Men's:
Canada's team will be represented by the young and brash Brad Jacobs rink from Northern Ontario. They won the Canadian championship (the Brier) back in March, and then won the Olympic Trials in December. They knocked off some of the best teams in the world to do so in both events. At the World Championships, they won a silver medal.



Sweden won the Gold at the Worlds, but they are really hit and miss. Norway never wins gold, but they should medal too. Switzerland won the European Championships in December, so they could medal as well.  The US will likely finish in the bottom 3, with Germany and Russia.


Women

Canada will be represented by the Jennifer Jones rink from Winnipeg. She is a four time Canadian champion, and has been the most consistent women's teams in the world over the last 8 or so years. However, this is her first Olympics. She's also a former world champion, winning in 2008.  She doesn't have the best international record, with just 2 medals in 4 appearances, so she may not do well.



Women's curling is a lot more unpredictable, as their skill levels are more evenly matched. One of the best teams in the world right now is the Eve Muirhead rink from Scotland. They won the Worlds last year, and will be representing Great Britain at the Olympics. However, they lost the European Championships to Sweden, who will also be one the top teams in Sochi. Switzerland is also one of the top teams, and the Russians could be the dark horses, but are inconsistent. Same with China. Again, the US will likely be in the bottom 3 with Korea and Japan.

[ZuWo]

I more or less agree with Hatman's predictions. I would be very surprised if the Canadian men didn't win the gold medal. (Almost) everything is possible for most other teams, though. Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark will definitely compete for the medals, but I wouldn't count out the Chinese or the Russians either.
It's even harder to make a prediction for the women's tournament. The Canadian women's team isn't as dominant as the men's team so Sweden, Scotland, Switzerland, China and Russia are strong contenders for gold as well.

[Hatman 🍁]

I more or less agree with Hatman's predictions. I would be very surprised if the Canadian men didn't win the gold medal. (Almost) everything is possible for most other teams, though. Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark will definitely compete for the medals, but I wouldn't count out the Chinese or the Russians either.
It's even harder to make a prediction for the women's tournament. The Canadian women's team isn't as dominant as the men's team so Sweden, Scotland, Switzerland, China and Russia are strong contenders for gold as well.

One problem with the Jacobs rink is that they are inconsistent, and untested, really. They had a really good run at the Brier and at the Trials, but haven't done anything else on the Tour.

Brad Jacobs is 7th on the WCT money list, which is higher than any of the other national teams, but by this measure, his rink is clearly not the best in the world. But, perhaps good enough for gold anyways.

WCT money list
7) Jacobs (Canada)
Liu (China)
9) Ulsrud (Norway)
12) Michel (Switzerland)
14) Edin (Sweden)
30) Brewster (Great Britain) [Murdoch is the skip though, but he's listed separately for some reason, in 111th]
36) Stjerne (Denmark)
45) Shuster (USA)
116) Drozdov (Russia)
159) Jahr (Germany)


Women's list
1) Jones (Canada
5) Muirhead (Great Britain
6) Ott (Switzerland)
7) Wang (China)
Sidorova (Russia)
15) Sigfridsson (Sweden)
17) Kim (Korea)
30) Ogasawara (Japan)
51) Brown (USA)
NR) Nielsen (Denmark) - why don't they tour?

From this comparison, the women's field is much more evenly matched than the men's, which makes sense. Interestingly, in the top 6, there are more Swiss teams (3) than Canadian teams (2). Ott is the third ranked Swiss team!

A big caveat with looking at the money rankings is a lot of teams are still good, but don't do much touring. Europe has their own tour, but there isn't much money in it, so a lot of Euro teams aren't that high. Asian teams like to tour Canada, so their rankings are often inflated, as Canada is where they big curling money is.

[Zanas]

I remember watching women's curling quite thoroughly while high in the Hague four years ago... Some Scandinavian games were quite aesthetic to watch...

If anybody cares, I can do a review on biathlon in the next days, since I am a HUGE fan and follow it very thoroughly.