Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating

[galaxygirl76]

For some reason I was thinking about how long I've been watching speed skating and came to the conclusion that I miss the outdoor tracks. I know things are much more equal now and obviously faster but there was charm to watching skaters outside with the barriers between the lanes made out of snow and sometimes a good old-fashioned snow storm. 

 

Back in the day Medeo was almost as fast as the indoor tracks.

[Quof]

Quote

Bloeman is setting himself up as closing ceremonies flag bearer right now.  

I was thinking Lawes and Morris (who is a Hottie); each with 2 gold in different events in different Olympics, and keeping with Canada's choice in the opening ceremony to have a male and female. But I doubt they will stick around to the closing ceremony.

[blackwing]

Great job by Bloemen!   A bit of a nice story for him, the Dutch said he wasn't good enough to be on the team in Sochi so he has since moved to his father's birth country.  Now he beats the esteemed Sven Kramer in the 10,000.  I think some commentators were saying this could finally be the year Kramer wins the 10,000.  But he faded and didn't even medal.

The games are barely halfway through, but I think other contenders for Canada closing flag bearer would be Duhamel/Radford (double medalists and historic), Alex Gough (double medalist, and historic), Mikael Kingsbury.

[Eyes High]

What happened to Kramer in the 10,000? Just ran out of gas?

Bloemen was fantastic, though.

 

22 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Great job by Bloemen!   A bit of a nice story for him, the Dutch said he wasn't good enough to be on the team in Sochi so he has since moved to his father's birth country.  Now he beats the esteemed Sven Kramer in the 10,000.  I think some commentators were saying this could finally be the year Kramer wins the 10,000.  But he faded and didn't even medal.

The games are barely halfway through, but I think other contenders for Canada closing flag bearer would be Duhamel/Radford (double medalists and historic), Alex Gough (double medalist, and historic), Mikael Kingsbury.

Couldn't disagree with any of those choices. 

[blackwing]

4 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

What happened to Kramer in the 10,000? Just ran out of gas?

Bloemen was fantastic, though.

 

Couldn't disagree with any of those choices. 

Yeah, just didn't have enough in the tank.  From looking at the detailed results, it looks like he was in contention at about the 5,000 meter mark (his specialty). He was only about 3 seconds off from Bloemen.  But whereas Bloemen and Bergsma keep their lap times consistent in the back half or even pour it on a little and do better, Kramer just faded.

[Mittengirl]

Yes! I really miss outdoor venues.  I am not old enough to remember hockey or figure skating outside, but definitely remember speed skating at Lake Placid.  You just don’t get a sense of place with indoor rinks.  Other than language on some signs, the arena could be in S. Korea or south Cleveland.

[Quickbeam]

Can someone help an old lady....who was the Dutch skater who ended up skating alone because his heat partner fell? Long blond hair, they did a piece on him about how he’s a model and lots of women etc etc. I just can’t remember his name and it bugs. 

[mtlchick]

7 hours ago, blackwing said:

The games are barely halfway through, but I think other contenders for Canada closing flag bearer would be Duhamel/Radford (double medalists and historic), Alex Gough (double medalist, and historic), Mikael Kingsbury

I think Bloemen may have the edge because of the Olympic record and if he is competing in the team pursuit and medal, he's a lock.  Your picks though are solid.  Out of the 3 you mentioned, Gough is the top contender.  We went to having no medals in luge to 2.  (And I'm upset that I didn't get to see any of them!) 

[galaxygirl76]

49 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

Can someone help an old lady....who was the Dutch skater who ended up skating alone because his heat partner fell? Long blond hair, they did a piece on him about how he’s a model and lots of women etc etc. I just can’t remember his name and it bugs. 

Koen Verweij?

[AshleyN]

10 hours ago, blackwing said:

Great job by Bloemen!   A bit of a nice story for him, the Dutch said he wasn't good enough to be on the team in Sochi so he has since moved to his father's birth country.  Now he beats the esteemed Sven Kramer in the 10,000.  I think some commentators were saying this could finally be the year Kramer wins the 10,000.  But he faded and didn't even medal.

The games are barely halfway through, but I think other contenders for Canada closing flag bearer would be Duhamel/Radford (double medalists and historic), Alex Gough (double medalist, and historic), Mikael Kingsbury.

 

2 hours ago, mtlchick said:

I think Bloemen may have the edge because of the Olympic record and if he is competing in the team pursuit and medal, he's a lock.  Your picks though are solid.  Out of the 3 you mentioned, Gough is the top contender.  We went to having no medals in luge to 2.  (And I'm upset that I didn't get to see any of them!) 

If we're talking about multiple medalists, I believe both Max Parrot and Mark McMorris (silver and bronze in Slopestyle) are among the favourites in Big Air as well. McMorris in particular would be a really strong candidate if he were to win it, given what he's come back from this year.

[SeanC]

10 hours ago, blackwing said:

The games are barely halfway through, but I think other contenders for Canada closing flag bearer would be Duhamel/Radford (double medalists and historic), Alex Gough (double medalist, and historic), Mikael Kingsbury.

I think it's unlikely they'd pick Duhamel/Radford just because Scott and Tessa did the opening ceremony, and they're also figure skaters.

[SeanC]

I somehow missed this when it happened, but apparently Charles Hamelin set an Olympic record in the 1000 m short track in the heat.

Short track is a legendarily unpredictable race, but if nothing else he's clearly still got the capacity.

[MyAimIsTrue]

11 hours ago, galaxygirl76 said:

Koen Verweij?

I can't decide if I think Koen is gorgeous or not as in some shots yes and others no.  He's like the episode of "Seinfeld" where Jerry's date only looked good in certain lighting.

[galaxygirl76]

First gold medal for a Dutch woman on the 5k since Yvonne van Gennep in Calgary! And she's still sooo young, 21, at the beginning of the season she wasn't even thinking about the olympics. 

[galaxygirl76]

Claudia Pechstein, almost 46 years old, said she wants to continue until Beijing. If she makes it it would be her EIGHT!! Olympics.

[Cindyluwho]

Go Canada! Gold and bronze this morning!

[SeanC]

Great result for Girard and Boutin.

The Hamelin/St-Gelais household must be very unhappy, but that's the volatility of short track for you.

[mtlchick]

14 minutes ago, SeanC said:

The Hamelin/St-Gelais household must be very unhappy, but that's the volatility of short track for you.

I always felt St-Gelais can never get it together in the individual events at the Games, but Hamelin not doing well is a bigger question mark.

 

Really happy for Boutin (clean race, Minjeong was taking absolutely no chances this time and maybe the haters will back off) and Girard did everything right in his final.  

 

And look!  USA found a medal!

Edited February 17, 2018 by mtlchick

[blackwing]

I watched the live feed and I'm still confused as to why St Gelais and Hamelin were both DQ'd in their semifinals.   It looked to me on replay that Kim Alang clearly shoved St Gelais, causing her crash, but St Gelais got the penalty?  I guess they said St Gelais was impeding?  Looked clean to me.  The feed announcer said that the Korean coaches looked grim, and suggested that Kim was going to get the penalty.  I don't understand.

With Hamelin, again, it looked to me that Seo pushed him.  Seo was way inside and brushed those lane markers.  But Hamelin gets a penalty?  Girard got advanced so are they saying that Hamelin impeded Girard and it had nothing to do with Seo?

Canada picks up two medals, just not from the vets I thought would do it, but still, good to get the medals.

[Dots And Stripes]

Leslie Jones watching short track with Maame Biney makes me happy.

[AshleyN]

5 hours ago, SeanC said:

Great result for Girard and Boutin.

The Hamelin/St-Gelais household must be very unhappy, but that's the volatility of short track for you.

I don't follow the sport closely, but these Games kind of feel like a passing of the torch for Canada, don't they?

[mtlchick]

17 minutes ago, AshleyN said:

but these Games kind of feel like a passing of the torch for Canada, don't they?

Ever since short track became a big sport, it certainly feels like that, mostly out of Quebec.  Most can probably make it to 3 Olympics and be done, 4 if you start early.  Hamelin is certainly winding down, so I'm hoping he can go all out in the relay.  

[SeanC]

4 hours ago, AshleyN said:

I don't follow the sport closely, but these Games kind of feel like a passing of the torch for Canada, don't they?

4 hours ago, mtlchick said:

Ever since short track became a big sport, it certainly feels like that, mostly out of Quebec.  Most can probably make it to 3 Olympics and be done, 4 if you start early.  Hamelin is certainly winding down, so I'm hoping he can go all out in the relay.  

Short track is a bit more forgiving of aging than some other winter sports where you're probably out of serious contention by your mid-to-late 20s, e.g., Hamelin is 33 and still in great shape, as shown by his ability to set an Olympic record in the heat.  He's not failing to medal because of lack of speed in these games, though of course he's not going to be at Beijing in four years.

Girard is 21 right now, so he could aim to do another three Olympics like Hamelin, if he wanted to.

[mtlchick]

1 hour ago, SeanC said:

Hamelin is 33 and still in great shape, as shown by his ability to set an Olympic record in the heat. 

I should have clarify: winding down in his racing career.  The fact he was able to set a record was a good sign (sad he got penalized later) but I hope it motivates him to go all out in the relay.

[galaxygirl76]

Nao Kodaira, who won the 500m today, is the first Japanese woman to win a gold medal in speed skating and I believe only the second Japanese speed skater ever to win gold. The winner of the last two Olympics, Lee from South Korea, got the silver. 

 

First, and until today only, was Hiroyashu Shimizu, who won the 500m in Nagano. He was the world record holder and I can't imagine the pressure that was on him to win that gold in his home country. 

Edited February 18, 2018 by galaxygirl76

[friendperidot]

I am watching for the starter to say "ready" for all the races. Something about the way he says it just makes me laugh with delight.

[galaxygirl76]

First Norwegian gold medal since Adne Sondral in 1998. If the dutch can't win, I'm happy Norway did. His coach is Jeremy Wotherspoon, who despite arguably being the greatest sprinter ever could never get it together to win Olympic gold. 

[Dots And Stripes]

U.S women are top 4 in the long track team pursuit! It sounds like gold or silver are very unlikely (it would require beating the Dutch head to head), but bronze remains a possibility. 

Edited February 19, 2018 by Dots And Stripes

[mtlchick]

So did Charles Hamelin run over someone's cat?  3 races, penalized in all of them.  And then the women's relay...woof.  First time they didn't medal since 1994!

 

Not the Games for our team this time, Girard and Boutin excluded.

[galaxygirl76]

The Dutch relay team winning the bronze is just wild! They didn't even qualify for the final but since two teams got disqualified they, as the winners of the b-final, moved up to bronze. To say they are ecstatic would be an understatement. 

 

eta I can watch the footage where they find out there were two disqualifications all day. 

Edited February 20, 2018 by galaxygirl76

[galaxygirl76]

I forgot but that crazy bronze medal means that Jorien ter Mors is the first ever winner of a short track and a long track medal at the same Olympics. 

[Daisy]

5 hours ago, mtlchick said:

So did Charles Hamelin run over someone's cat?  3 races, penalized in all of them.  And then the women's relay...woof.  First time they didn't medal since 1994!

 

Not the Games for our team this time, Girard and Boutin excluded.

 

St Gelais too. and this is on top of not having the best Sochi games. honestly, I hope Marianne can come back because honestly that 3000 meter result was stupid. 

[SeanC]

19 minutes ago, Daisy said:

St Gelais too. and this is on top of not having the best Sochi games. honestly, I hope Marianne can come back because honestly that 3000 meter result was stupid. 

St-Gelais got through the first heats of the 1000 m today, so that’s a start.  Now only three more rounds!

Edited February 20, 2018 by SeanC

[Daisy]

Just now, SeanC said:

St-Gelais got through the first heats of the 1000 m today, so that’s a start.  Now only three more rounds!

hehe that is true. i was half asleep through the heats, i forgot. 

[SeanC]

Hamelin, meanwhile, has one last bid for glory, the 5000 m relay final.

[blackwing]

I don't fully understand what happened to the women... I read that Boutin was skating around in the middle and some referee claimed she impeded two teams because her foot crossed the line?  I haven't watched yet, was it really that much of an issue?  It's kind of crap because why don't they paint the oval if they are being this picky, instead of just using those little blocks?  Is this payback for the supposed non-called impeding of Choi in the 500?

[greyhorse]

So Elise Christie DQ'd ending another disastrous Olympics.  I feel sorry for her, but I don't feel as sad for her as I did for Dan Jansen.  She says she hopes to compete in Beijing in 2022 at the age of 31, so maybe the third time is the charm.

[SeanC]

26 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

So Elise Christie DQ'd ending another disastrous Olympics.  I feel sorry for her, but I don't feel as sad for her as I did for Dan Jansen.  She says she hopes to compete in Beijing in 2022 at the age of 31, so maybe the third time is the charm.

Christie's a good example of why, if I were an athlete, I wouldn't do something like short track.  Way too many cases where years of work go out the window because somebody else wipes out and takes others with them.

[legaleagle53]

3 hours ago, SeanC said:

Christie's a good example of why, if I were an athlete, I wouldn't do something like short track.  Way too many cases where years of work go out the window because somebody else wipes out and takes others with them.

Well, as Apolo Anton Ohno famously observed years ago with a vocal shrug of the shoulders, "That's short-track!"

[galaxygirl76]

Did these commentators seriously suggest that the US team basically threw the semi final in the women's pursuit so they would be more rested for the bronze medal race? 

[mtlchick]

1 hour ago, galaxygirl76 said:

Did these commentators seriously suggest that the US team basically threw the semi final in the women's pursuit so they would be more rested for the bronze medal race? 

I didn't watch the races, but based on the times they posted in the semi and the final, I wouldn't disagree with that statement.  They "somehow" managed to lower their time by 8  seconds within that short of a period? I'd call B.S. on that too considering how much they underperformed this time.

[paulvdb]

I also didn't watch, but based on what I read it seems that the Americans were saving themselves for the bronze medal race.

[blackwing]

I thought the same thing, they figured there was no chance to beat the Dutch so why not save themselves for the bronze?

[KAOS Agent]

Pretty much that's what they did. With zero chance of beating the Dutch, they saved their best skater for the finals and had their fourth skater lead the entire race. They weren't even expected to compete in the pursuit (only got in because the Russians weren't allowed to compete) and they don't train at all as a team, so this whole thing was kind of thrown together at the Olympics. The other semifinal was raced after them and both the Canadian and Japanese teams backed off with the Canadians essentially giving way at the end to save energy too.

[selkie]

Mia Manganello grew up around here, here being the Florida panhandle, before her family moved to Utah so she could try to make the transition from rollerblade to ice, so I'm thrilled at a local girl coming away with an Olympic medal. 

[Dots And Stripes]

3 hours ago, KAOS Agent said:

Pretty much that's what they did. With zero chance of beating the Dutch, they saved their best skater for the finals and had their fourth skater lead the entire race. They weren't even expected to compete in the pursuit (only got in because the Russians weren't allowed to compete) and they don't train at all as a team, so this whole thing was kind of thrown together at the Olympics. The other semifinal was raced after them and both the Canadian and Japanese teams backed off with the Canadians essentially giving way at the end to save energy too.

I had forgotten how much fun the team pursuit is to watch. I like watching them change formations.

It was smart strategy. It also had the bonus effect of getting a medal for another skater, who apparently had been doing the team pursuit since the last Olympics. The U.S.'s biggest stars haven't done the team pursuit since Sochi (not saying they should have). It's nice that one of the skaters who helped the team qualify for this event was able to share in the glory and earn herself a medal.

I'm also just really happy that U.S. long track gets a medal. I'm sure it will be a great morale boost. 

Edited February 22, 2018 by Dots And Stripes

[Souris]

3 hours ago, KAOS Agent said:

Pretty much that's what they did. With zero chance of beating the Dutch, they saved their best skater for the finals and had their fourth skater lead the entire race. They weren't even expected to compete in the pursuit (only got in because the Russians weren't allowed to compete) and they don't train at all as a team, so this whole thing was kind of thrown together at the Olympics. The other semifinal was raced after them and both the Canadian and Japanese teams backed off with the Canadians essentially giving way at the end to save energy too.

Why weren't the Russians allowed to compete in team pursuit? Were skaters some of their banned athletes? Russia* was sure able to compete in the team event in figure skating (which I'm still salty about).

[KAOS Agent]

The top Russian skater declined the invitation to compete because her two teammates were not invited. Apparently, half the Russian national speed skating team was not invited. But they are all victims because they would never ever consider doping.

Edited February 22, 2018 by KAOS Agent

[SeanC]

Congratulations to Kim Boutin on a silver medal in the 1000m short track, her third of the games.  Possible closing flagbearer there.

[SeanC]

And the Canadian men’s relay team wins bronze, one last medal for Charles Hamelin.  Probably not the colour he was hoping for, but his career speaks for itself at this point.