Sasha Cohen has a solid lead in the U.S. Championships after the short program. Behind Cohen are Emily Hughes and Bebe Liang. Liang, in third, is a surprise contender for the third place on the Olympic team. The person who wins third may be moot, as far as a place on the Olympic team is concerned, if Michelle Kwan wins her bid for the third spot. Whoever wins, it will be the first time in the past eight years that Michelle Kwan has not been the National Champion.
I could not believe this story when I saw it. Now, I think anyone who competes in luge is really brave, or a bit crazy. But a woman in her 50s will be competing in her 6th Olympics if she raises the funding to make it the Turin Olympics next month. Anne Abernathy, or Grandma Luge, as she’s known to fellow competitors has qualified for her 6th consecutive Olympics berth in the sport of luge.
If that isn’t remarkable enough, before the Salt Lake City Olympics, she suffered what could have been a career-ending accident. Suffering severe head trauma, Abernathy underwent a new treatment that involved using video games to retrain the brain.
Look for Grandma Luge at the upcoming Olympics in Turin.
Rhona Martin was a hero when she lead her team to gold in curling at the Salt Lake City Olympics. But in the last year, after losing her home and her marriage, she seriously considered leaving the sport.
Her children encouraged her to reconsider. And so, one game away from being completely eliminated from any hope of competing the Olympics, Martin decided to fight for a place onthe team. Next month, she will compete in the Turin Olympics.
Six years ago, Kris Freeman was told he would have to leave the sport that he had loved since he was a child. Freeman was diagnosed with diabetes and told that he would have to quit cross country skiing. He rejected that recommendation and has been skiing competitively the whole time since his diagnosis. He placed 14th in one-day pursuit and helped the U.S. team finish 5th, overall.
Next month, he will again be representing the United States in the Turin Olympics. If he medals, it will be the first time since 1976.
In addition to pursuing training as a world class athlete, Freeman has become a national spokesperson for diabetes awareness.
In all my Olympics readings, I keep seeing articles about a Scottish band, the Porridge Men. “Porridge Men,” I say to myself, “What does that have to do with the Olympics?” So, after a bit of research I can tell you what the Porridge Men and the 2006 Turin Olympics have in common.
Sinead and John Kerr, British ice dancers, have chosen to use a song called Planet Porridge by the Porridge Men for their ice dancing routine which they will perform in Turin. I’m not sure why this is so newsworthy, but since I keep seeing it come up, I must conclude that there is cultural significance to Scottish ice dancers choosing to skate to music from a Scottish Celtic band at the Olympics.
Let the Olympic controversy begin!
The U.S. Olympic Figure Skating team was named last night. Many of the names will come as no surprise, as they are the top finishers at Nationals.
Sasha Cohen and Kimmie Meissner took gold and silver at Nationals, assuring themselves of a spot on the Olympic team. Emily Hughes (yes, she is Sarah’s sister) came in third but, in a move that is sure to prove controversial, the Olympic team placed her in an alternate position in order to allow Michelle Kwan the third place on the team. Kwan was not at Nationals due to an injury. Also placed in an alternate position was Katy Taylor, a relative unknown.
The men’s team was a little more straightforward. Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek and Matt Savoie took gold, silver, and bronze and all three will be attending the Olympics. It will be the first time since 1976 that three newcomers will be representing the United States at an Olympics. Weir is already stirring things up after using a drug reference in an analogy comparing his performace to that of a competitor.
Rena Inoue and John Baldwin will lead the pairs figure skating team in Turin, after completing the world’s first throw triple axel. They are still considered longshots at next month’s Olympics. Inoe is a two-time Olympian in singles and pairs for Japan. They will be joined by Marcy Hinzmann and Aaron Parchem.
Tanith Belbin, who was granted U.S. citizenship to allow her to attend the Olympics, and her partner, Ben Agosto were the top ice dancers. Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov and Jamie Silverstein and Ryan O’Meara will round out the ice dancing team.
Melissa Gregory and Denis Pethkhov are a nice story. Petukhov was born in Russian but came to the United States to skate with Gregory, who is now his wife. He became an American citizen last February. His mother, Luba, was with them at nationals, one of the few times she’s seen her son and daughter-in-law skate. I particularly like this story because when I was growing up I thought all pairs skaters and ice dancers were married. Torville and Dean? Married. Tai and Randy? Married. So, it’s nice to know that, for once, my romantic ideal matches up with reality.
So, let us know what you think about the U.S. Olympic figure skating team. Thrilled about Michelle Kwan attending? Outraged? Think Tanith Belbin should have had to wait? Think Johnny Weir ought to wear less flamboyant costumes? Leave us a comment and let us know what you’re thinking.
Wondering what the closing ceremonies will be like? It looks like viewers can expect a Fellini-inspired extraveganza. Clowns, acrobats, and highwire acts are some of the activities we can expect to see. There will also be aspects of Italy’s Winter Carnival.
It sounds like a lot of fun. I hope you all plan to be watching.
The Olympic flame today detoured through the canals of Venice today to avoid protesters. The protests had nothing to do with the Olympics. They were protesting a plan to save the city from sinking.
The flame is due to arrive in Turin in time for the Olympic opening ceremonies.
Now, onto an interesting geography fact about Italy— Venice, in particular. This summer I watched a History show with my 12 year old about Venice, Italy. I never realized that it is essentially a series of islands in a saltwater marsh. Just thought I’d share that little piece of trivia, not that it has anything to do with the Olympics.
Think all luge competitors are a bit crazy? How about the skeleton athletes (you know, the sport kind of like the luge, except you go head first, instead of feet first because when you’re going down a mountain at 75 miles per hour, you want to see it)? It seems that a lot of athletes who compete in the thrill-seeking Olympic sports seek their thrills outside their given sports, as well. I just read this really interesting article about Olympians who also bridge jump, mountain bike, and even golf. Golf? Well, you’ll just have to read the article for yourself.
Have you ever wondered what the luge is? How about the Nordic combined? The truth is—I don’t really know, either. So, now that I’ve finished my series on Olympic comebacks, I thought I’d start a new series called “What’s that Olympic sport?” It’s always a lot more interesting to watch a sport in the Olympics when you know what it is. So, check back daily for exciting entries like “What is the luge?” and “What is curling?”
No, it’s not the answer to a question on your anatomy quiz. Well, at least in this post it’s not. Skeleton is the least known Olympic sport probably because it’s only been in three Olympics. That’s right. Before the 2002 Olympics, the last time skeleton was in the Olympics was 1948.
But what exactly is skeleton? Skeleton is an individual sledding event where the athlete (known as a slider) goes down a mountain track on a small, stripped down sled. In some places, it is called tobogganing. A skeleton rider reaches up to 80 miles per hour. And, on a skeleton, there are no brakes. That’s right, skeleton involves going down a mountain at 80 mph, head first, with no brakes. Yikes. I have a three year old daredevil, and this sounds like it would be right up his alley. Good thing we live nowhere near mountains or snow.
For more on the skeleton, including some pictures and info on how you, too, can try skeleton, visit this website of a recreational skelton slider.
Yes, we know how to spell. Yes, we know that you’re seeing Torino on the NBC ads leading up to the Olympics. So, why does this site say Turin? Which one is correct?
Well, the truth is both are correct. Turin is the “translation” of Torino. If I were writing about Rome, I would say “Rome”, not “Roma”. For the same reasons, we chose to stick with Turin. Yes, it’s a bit confusing. I was confused, myself, when I started looking up information. The media is even a bit confused. But for this Olympics, if you like to say Turin, say Turin. If Torino Olympics sounds just too Italian to pass up, go ahead.
Curling does not sound like it ought to be a sport. But it’s actually quite interesting to watch. I saw curling for the first time, recently, on The Amazing Race, actually.
Curling is similar to bocce balls, in that it is a precision game. Of course, it’s played on ice, so that’s a major difference.
Curling has only been a part of the Olympics since 1998 (that’s probably why I’d never heard of it until recently).
The basic jist of the sport is that you push a 44 lb. puck (called a rock or a stone) down narrow lane and try to land in one of the concentric rings. It’s more complicated than that, though, as it’s actually played in teams. There is sweeping involved. And then there’s the “hammer”, or final stone.
Here’s my best attempt at a simple summary.
There are 8 or 10 ends (like innings). Each team has four players. Curling teams are identified by the last name of the team captain (the “Skip”). The sheet of ice (playing surface) is 15’71/2” wide and 146 feet long, set up to accommodate play in both directions. In an end each team member shoots two rocks, alternating with the team members of the competing team. So, that makes a total of 8 rocks per team per end.
Play begin with the “Lead” player. The “Second” shoots next followed by the “Vice Skip”. The Skip shoots the last rocks and directs the play of the others. The skip decides on shot selection and signals the players.
They are shooting at a 12-foot circle (the house), which is the scoring area. For each stone closer to the center of the circles than any of the opponent’s stones, one point is scored. The team that scores shoots first in the next end, giving the opponent the “hammer”, or last shot of that end.
As the stone proceeds down the ice, it curls (curves). While one player shoots, two sweep to control the curl and the speed. Why do they sweep? Sweeping melts the ice slightly, causing the stone to curl less and slide farther.
Noteable Americans are sisters Cassie and Jamie Johnson. The rest of Team Johnson consists of Jessica Schultz, Maureen Brunt and Courtney George. They are coached by Neil Doese.
If you’re interested in more specifics of how the sport is played and what different terms mean, I recommend curlingbasics.com. You can also watch some video at the site of the Kansas City Curling Club.
Sasha Cohen was on the Tonight Show last night. I watched a little bit, saw her talk about sitting next to George Bush at the last Olympics opening ceremony, and then I fell asleep. Anyone watch the rest? Was there anything earth-shattering to report?
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