2006 Turin Winter Olympics Blog

The oddsmakers have given their numbers for the Turin Olympics. The total U.S. medal count has been set at 28. Germany is expected to have the highest medal count. Germany is also expected to win the most gold medals.

But which U.S. athletes will bring home Olympic gold? Bode Miller talks a lot, but has he been distracted by all the recent controversy? With five shots at winning, Chad Hedrick seems like a lock for at least one gold, but there’s no such thing as an Olympic lock on a medal. Sasha Cohen and Michelle Kwan could be fighting each other for the gold, or they could both come home empty-handed.

Of course, it’s always possible that a relative unknown will win gold. Did anyone know the names Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto before Congress had to pass a law to allow her to become a citizen in time for the Olympics? Will Cassie and Jamie Johnson bring home an unlikely gold in curling?

The next couple of weeks will bring many surprises, some disappointments and some happy moments that are exactly what everyone expected. Who do you think is most likely to bring home the gold?

What do Chad Hedrick, Derek Parra and Jennifer Rodriguez have in common, other than a place on the 2006 U.S. Winter Olympic Speedskating team? They are all former standouts off the ice. Before switching to speed skating, each had earned recognition as an inline skater. Because there is no inline Olympic event, many inline skaters are making the decision to leave the concrete behind and transfer their talents for inline skating to the ice.

And they’re doing quite well. Hedrick may actually tie Eric Heiden’s record of five gold medals when he skates in Turin. Rodriguez is a three-time Olympian. Parra won a gold in Salt Lake City and hopes to repeat in Turin.

The results are in for our last poll— “should Olympic athletes be allowed to blog during the Games”? 68% of you thought Olympic athletes should be allowed to blog, while 15% of you were opposed. 17% weren’t sure. So, to the 15% who are opposed— why? What is your concern about Olympic athletes blogging?

If you homeschool, and you’re looking for Olympics lesson plans, check out Texas Home Educators. The webmistress there has put up links to several different sites with materials of interest to homeschoolers or anyone with kids who wants to add something to the little ones’ Olympic experience.

Kristina Koznic updated her personal website on Saturday with a note to friends and family that she has partially torn her ACL and may have to miss the Olympics. Because the ACL is only partially torn, she is hoping to stay in Europe and rehab the injury, with hopes of competing in Turin on February 22nd. She asks for prayers as she rehabs and makes the difficult decision about what to do.

She could be the second woman from the U.S. Ski Team member to miss the Turin Olympics because of a knee injury that came during World Cup training. Last month, Caroline Lalive was injured in downhill practice at Cortina d’Ampezzo when she landed awkwardly after a jump.

Scott Baird is a curler from Minnesota, and before the Turin Olympics even start, he has set a record. At 54 and 282 days, Baird will be the oldest person to every compete in a Winter Olympics. The previous record was held by men’s skeleton slider James Coates, who placed seventh in 1948 at 53 years, 328 days old.

This weekend, the Science Channel ran a two-part special on the trials and tribulations of getting ready for the Olympics. Titled Building the Olympics, this series has one more episode that will air this week. The first two episodes followed engineers preparing a giant arch, building a ski jump, and constructing the ice rinks, among other things.

Watching this made me say, “Wow.” And not because I was amazed at the skill of the engineers. If I heard one more engineering firm, say, “Well, we’ve never really built anything like this before…” I was going to scream. It made me a little nervous about whether everything in Turin will actually stand up.

I don’t know that I’d go too near that arch. After it was raised, and everyone was congratulating the engineer with “It will stay there,” he offered a very unenthusiastic “I think it’s going to stay.” Perhaps this is just European restraint, but it didn’t exactly inspire confidence in this viewer.

On the serious side, it was an interesting show and if you have a chance to catch episode 3 this week, I think it’s well worth your while.

The opening ceremonies are this Friday. They will be aired from 8 p.m. to midnight (EST). NBC will reair the opening ceremonies from 2:39-6 a.m.

Ski jumping is a pretty easy concept to grasp. You strap on some skis and go down a big hill with a ramp at the end and fly into the air. If you’ve ever seen the Wide World of Sports “agony of defeat,” you’ve seen ski jumping (poorly executed ski jumping, but ski jumping, nonetheless).

This is a sport that I have a hard time picturing how it got started. Who decided that flying through the air with skis on was a good idea? However it started, as an Olympic sport ski jumping has been around since the first Winter Olympics in 1924. There are three ski jumping events in the Olympics: individual normal hill, individual large hill, and team event.

The main difference between the individual events is the size of the hill. Large hill has a k-point of over 100 meters. In both events, there are two jumps (first and final round), and the athlete with the highest total score is declared the winner. After a qualification round, there are 50 athletes participating in the first round. In the final round the field is reduced to 30 athletes.

The team event usually competes on the large hill. There are four members on each team, and there are two jumps (first and final round). In the first round all teams start. In the final round the field is reduced on the eight best teams. The team with the highest total score over the eight jumps is declared the winner.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, then it’s time for the Olympics. Have you marked your calendars?

I would think that part of the fun of going to the Olympics would be staying in the Olympic Village. But, apparently, the Turin Olympic Village is too noisy, too crowded, too competitive, and just plain too uncomfortable for many athletes. Athletes like Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves have decided to stay elsewhere (in their cases— motor homes). Johnny Weir was staying in the Olympic Village but complained of the dust.

One of our readers sent us this cool map. Click on the snowflakes to see what sport is competing in that area. Whether you’re attending the Olympics or just want to see where the places discussed on television are located, this map is an invaluable resource.

Although they have marched together at two summer Olympics, the Turin Olympics will be the first Winter Olympics where North and South Korean athletes will march together under the unification flag at the Opening Ceremonies. Because North Korea did not participate in the Salt Lake City Olympics, it was not an issue in the 2002 Winter Olympics. North and South Korea first marched together in 2000 at the Sydney Summer Olympics. They marched together again in 2004 in Athens.

I just don’t know what to think of this news. Cheerleaders? For the Olympics? Are they expecting the Olympics to be that boring that the crowds need cheerleaders to pump them up?

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