The OFFICIAL 2014 Winter Olympics Thread

[Tender Branson]

The Austrian Olympic team and outfits (yesterday at the farewell tour with the President) - 1 traditional outfit ("Trachtenjanker"-style) and a Red-Black one with a badge in the colours of the Austrian flag:

[Hatman 🍁]

You sure like to show off how white your country is

[New_Conservative]

Beat those Canadian bastards

It's our game too!

[New_Conservative]

Gustav Nyquist is making a huge case to be an injury replacement on Sweden's national hockey team, as it looks like Johan Franzen is out with a concussion.

[Hatman 🍁]

It's our game too!

lolno. Stick to baseball.

[Tender Branson]

Belle Brockhoff, Snowboard Cross (openly lesbian, so everyone should cheer her on, yes?)

Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, the Austrian ski-jumper and Gold medalist at the 2011 Nordic Ski World Championships, is lesbian too and "married" her girlfriend last August ("married", because Austria has civil unions only, that are different to hetero marriage in several aspects):



But Sara Takanashi will likely win Gold at the Olympics, because Iraschko-Stolz had a foot injury and only ranked 8th to 15th in the competitions so far this year.

The ORF writes today that the lesbian Daniela Iraschko-Stolz might actually become the Austrian flag carrier at the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Of course nothing official yet.

I wonder if the Austrian Olympic Committee really has the guts to do this and point a big middle-finger towards Putin ...

http://orf.at/stories/2215271/2215270

No, they didn't have the guts:

Benjamin Raich (Alpine Skiier) will be the flag-carrier.

Turns out that Raich today refused to be the flag carrier for Austria, because he said he will focus exclusively on the Slalom and Giant Slalom and will therefore fly to Sochi a week later than all others, because of some home training.

That means Austria needs a new flag carrier ...

It's still unlikely though that the Austrian Olympic Committee picks the lesbian Iraschko-Stolz, because the President of the OC recently said: "We will definitely set examples at Sochi, but not with our flag carrier. We won't let us be instrumentalized."

Usually, an older athlete who has already accomplished a lot gets the honour, so I guess it will be Mario Stecher.

http://diepresse.com/home/sport/olympia/1557450/Benjamin-Raich-sagt-als-Fahnentraeger-ab

[Hatman 🍁]

Time to spam this thread with awesome

[Tender Branson]

A first plane-load of Austrian athletes has arrived in Sochi today and took some pictures from their apartments and rooms:



Apparently, the Russians missed to put wardrobes into the athlete rooms:



It seems we are next to the Czechs and Bulgarians (look at the flags):



Some fun:





And there's still some work done:

[Tender Branson]

Uh-oh:

Austrian athletes get Sochi Games kidnap threat letter

Austria's Olympic Committee has received a letter threatening to kidnap skier Marlies Schild and skeleton racer Janine Flock at the Sochi Winter Games that begin this week in Russia, Austrian media reported Tuesday.

Islamist militants have threatened attacks during the Games in Sochi, which lies on the western edge of the mainly Muslim North Caucasus.

"It is correct that we got a letter, it was in the mailbox yesterday. We immediately contacted the federal criminal bureau, which is investigating," Peter Mennel, secretary general of the Austrian Olympic Committee, told the Austria Press Agency.

"I have already spoken to Ms Flock. Janine is sitting here with me on the plane. She is not concerned and is placing her trust in our protection," he was quoted as saying from a charter flight on the way to Sochi with several athletes.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/02/04/22569800-report-austrian-athletes-get-sochi-games-kidnap-threat-letter

[NewYorkExpress]

Uh-oh:

Austrian athletes get Sochi Games kidnap threat letter

Austria's Olympic Committee has received a letter threatening to kidnap skier Marlies Schild and skeleton racer Janine Flock at the Sochi Winter Games that begin this week in Russia, Austrian media reported Tuesday.

Islamist militants have threatened attacks during the Games in Sochi, which lies on the western edge of the mainly Muslim North Caucasus.

"It is correct that we got a letter, it was in the mailbox yesterday. We immediately contacted the federal criminal bureau, which is investigating," Peter Mennel, secretary general of the Austrian Olympic Committee, told the Austria Press Agency.

"I have already spoken to Ms Flock. Janine is sitting here with me on the plane. She is not concerned and is placing her trust in our protection," he was quoted as saying from a charter flight on the way to Sochi with several athletes.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/02/04/22569800-report-austrian-athletes-get-sochi-games-kidnap-threat-letter

Given how specific it was... I'd treat it more like a deluded stalker... (What terrorist names specific athletes?)

[Tender Branson]

Given how specific it was... I'd treat it more like a deluded stalker... (What terrorist names specific athletes?)

Yeah, most likely some idiot - rather than actual terrorists.

[Tender Branson]

The downhill course is very tough but amazing, the athletes training there right now say:

http://sport.orf.at/stories/2200745/2200746

It lasts about 2 minutes and 20 seconds, but you need a lot of strength and endurance for the Gold Medal. After 1 minute the thighs are already "burning" ...

The track is considered as "icy".

This would be good news for Aksel-Lund Svindal (NOR) and Bode Miller (USA), who have shown that they are good at these conditions.

Too bad Hannes Reichelt had his back problems with surgery a week ago, just after winning the Kitzbühel downhill ...

On the woman's side, this would most likely help Elisabeth Görgl (AUT) and Maria Höfl-Riesch.

[Tender Branson]

Anyway, I predict 4 Gold medals for Austria, 5 Silver and 3 Bronze.

[Tender Branson]

Also, the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park is extremely tough and accident-prone:

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — It was a harrowing trip across the finish line, a rag-doll maneuver of somersaults and twisted limbs and a face-plant into the snow. “Finish,” the tall plastic marker read, with the skier’s body wrapped around its base.



Nicole Parks, a moguls skier from Australia, was the latest athlete to face a violent introduction to the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park at the Sochi Olympics, where medical officials have had an alarming amount of work before the Games begin. Parks, in the photographs above, crashed near the end of her training run Tuesday night and, surprising spectators, quickly popped up and skied away.

(...)

The snowboarder Torstein Horgmo of Norway, a medal contender in slopestyle, dropped out of the Games on Monday after crashing and breaking his collarbone. Course builders made changes to some of the jumps overnight, but the course remained perilous.

“It’s intimidating,” the American Shaun White said after his training run Tuesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/sports/olympics/so-far-extreme-park-is-proving-extremely-perilous.html

[Tender Branson]

Countries with the most athletes (only those with more than 100 shown):

230 USA
225 Russia (hosts)
220 Canada
168 Switzerland
153 Germany
134 Norway
130 Austria
113 Italy
113 Japan
106 Sweden
105 France
103 Finland

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

[Hatman 🍁]

Anyway, I predict 4 Gold medals for Austria, 5 Silver and 3 Bronze.

I predict 20-30 medals for Canada and #4th in medals.

[NewYorkExpress]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/olympicsnow/la-sp-sn-shaun-white-withdraws-from-slopestyle-event-at-olympics-20140205,0,2956074.story#axzz2sT6Mu8tk

Shaun White has withdrawn from the slopestyle snowboarding event, citing concerns about the course.

[NewYorkExpress]

http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/jamaican-bobsledders-arrive-in-sochi-without-equipment-luggage-020514

The Jamaican bobsled team has made it Sochi, unfortunately their luggage and equipment got lost somewhere along the way...

[Hatman 🍁]

First event begins in just over an hour

[Tender Branson]

First event begins in just over an hour

Yeah, the Men's Snowboard Slopestyle Qualification (just ended):

There are 12 slots for the final, 8 have qualified already today while on Saturday another 4 will have to qualify.

Out of the 8 qualified today, 2 are from Canada, 2 from Norway, 2 from Finland, 1 from Sweden and 1 from the UK.

[Tender Branson]

Turns out that Raich today refused to be the flag carrier for Austria, because he said he will focus exclusively on the Slalom and Giant Slalom and will therefore fly to Sochi a week later than all others, because of some home training.

That means Austria needs a new flag carrier ...

Usually, an older athlete who has already accomplished a lot gets the honour, so I guess it will be Mario Stecher.

http://diepresse.com/home/sport/olympia/1557450/Benjamin-Raich-sagt-als-Fahnentraeger-ab

It was officially confirmed today that it will be Mario Stecher.

[Tender Branson]

Anna Gasser has won the most points today in the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle qualification (even ahead of Torah Bright) !



Gasser is so far the only woman on Earth to complete a so called "Cab Double Cork 900" without falling to the ground:

http://www.fis-ski.com/news-multimedia/videos/video=anna-gasser.html

She has said she will try that trick once again in the Finals. If she completes it, she will basically win the Gold medal !

I didn't even know before today that we had a chance for a Gold medal in Slopestyle ...

Anyway, the 3 Austrian Slopestyle men have to go into the additional Saturday qualification round for 4 open Final slots.

[Gass3268]

Anna Gasser has won the most points today in the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle qualification (even ahead of Torah Bright) !



Gasser is so far the only woman on Earth to complete a so called "Cab Double Cork 900" without falling to the ground:

http://www.fis-ski.com/news-multimedia/videos/video=anna-gasser.html

She has said she will try that trick once again in the Finals. If she completes it, she will basically win the Gold medal !

I didn't even know before today that we had a chance for a Gold medal in Slopestyle ...

Anyway, the 3 Austrian Slopestyle men have to go into the additional Saturday qualification round for 4 open Final slots.

OMG! A fellow Gasser! Go Anna!

[Tender Branson]

Anna Gasser has won the most points today in the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle qualification (even ahead of Torah Bright) !



Gasser is so far the only woman on Earth to complete a so called "Cab Double Cork 900" without falling to the ground:

http://www.fis-ski.com/news-multimedia/videos/video=anna-gasser.html

She has said she will try that trick once again in the Finals. If she completes it, she will basically win the Gold medal !

I didn't even know before today that we had a chance for a Gold medal in Slopestyle ...

Anyway, the 3 Austrian Slopestyle men have to go into the additional Saturday qualification round for 4 open Final slots.

OMG! A fellow Gasser! Go Anna!

Is your real last name Gasser too ?

[Hatman 🍁]

According this graphic Canada will have the most Olympic coverage of any country: