Freestyle, Ski Jumping, and Alpine Skiing

[Athena]

Your vertical ski sports thread!

Threads can be split if demand is there.

[selkie]

Olympic gold medalist Julia Mancuso's hip never healed right after Sochi despite two surgeries so she's headed to Korea in the broadcast booth instead. One of the great clutch performers of her era and one of the noteworthy free spirits in her sport, she was given a retirement run in Italy today even though she's not  in competition shape (and still isn't quite walking right) and like always, she did things here way. For those with a USA IP address, video here:

 

http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2018/01/19/julia-mancuso-retire-last-race-video/

[Daisy]

that' a shame about Julia. :(

[blackwing]

Is there a list somewhere of who skis what alpine discipline?   I gather that Shiffrin is doing everything, and I saw that Vonn is doing 3.  But what about Ted Ligety?  Giant slalom for sure, but what about Super G and Combined?

[Mumbles]

Are these Scandinavian moustaches sincere or ironic?

[galaxygirl76]

I'm reading that it may be too windy for the downhill tomorrow. I hope the weather will get better because the downhill is one of my favorite events and I'm actually off tomorrow.

[MostlyC]

I heard that it was too cold and windy to hold some events today.  I wonder what it will be like on Monday (or Tuesday)?  The time difference is mixing me up.

Saw on the news that skiers are putting tape on their noses to help ward against frost bite.  Is this a normal thing, or some new invention because of the cold here?

[galaxygirl76]

The giant slalom is canceled, slope style is postponed for now.

[mtlchick]

I had a feeling that alpine, one of the marquee events for USA and NBC, was going to get postponed at least 3 times in the first week.  So they're probably be racing in overnight hours in North America. 

 

Aside:  women's freestyle skiing was nuts as always.  

[mtlchick]

Mikael Kingsbury finally got the job done.  WOOOOOT!

[galaxygirl76]

Going to have to give ski jumping a huge nope. Just looking at the normal hill makes me want to hide and I can't imagine anyone going down those things voluntarily lol. I really like watching it though.

[mtlchick]

So we finally have alpine going except the course has been modified, it's still pretty damn cold and still windy. I feel we're going to get more falls.  That terrain does not look good. 

[twoods]

I had to stop watching the super combined downhill. They were coming down so fast that I thought there would be a lot more falls than there were. How terrifying to be a family member watching that.

[meep.meep]

Are they not going to hold a men's downhill at this Olympics?  The combined is not the same.  I didn't even watch the slalom component.

[Daisy]

I truly don't understand how Canada can skii down a hill with moguls... but they can't alpine ski. or like jump.
what's with the bumps that makes us so awesome?

[mtlchick]

Another day, another wind delay.  I would like to see some of it.  I'm wondering if they may have to hold it after the Games at this rate!

[NUguy514]

I mean...is there any reason to think it will ever not be too windy on that mountain?  Jesus, at this rate, it feels like they'll be lucky to complete all the alpine events before March.

[biakbiak]

12 hours ago, meep.meep said:

Are they not going to hold a men's downhill at this Olympics?  The combined is not the same.  I didn't even watch the slalom component.

Downhill normally comes after the combined.

[meep.meep]

They kept talking about it like they were doing it instead of the downhill.  I'm easily confused.

[Souris]

There's actual alpine happening?!? About time!

[KenyaJ]

Yay! So happy for Mikaela Shiffrin after that long ass wait to start her events.

[Dots And Stripes]

Who is happier right now, Mikaela or NBC? 

[voiceover]

WOW.  Wow, wow!!

Hooray for Mikaela!!  All the postponing; the "hurry up & wait"-ness  of it all...

I felt exhausted on her behalf -- and when she collapsed on the snow after the final times were in, I was like, Right there with ya, sister!

[galaxygirl76]

I has no idea that Norway had never won gold on the men's downhill!

[Souris]

I was SO tense both final runs!

[Dots And Stripes]

Lindsay Vonn and Mikaela have both been NBC favorites, but I find Mikaela way more likable. 

On an unrelated note, the Norwegian skier’s name sounds like Rocky and Bullwinkle. 

[Souris]

Wow, Shiffrin has a Phelpsian schedule lined up.

What does this new team event entail?

[kittykat]

12 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

I has no idea that Norway had never won gold on the men's downhill!

Yeah I thought for sure Kjetil Andre Aamodt or Lasse Kjus locked that down but not in downhill apparently.  Congrats Aksel!

[selkie]

3 minutes ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Lindsay Vonn and Mikaela have both been NBC favorites, but I find Mikaela way more likable. 

On an unrelated note, the Norwegian skier’s name sounds like Rocky and Bullwinkle. 

 

Vonn's gotten introspective in recent years, probably due to how much time she's had to kill while in injury rehab. And has put some thought into her legacy and her sport and is doing things like paying expenses for teammates who don't have big endorsement deals of their own (Jackie Wiles, IIRC out with injury right now, is sponsored by Vonn) because she wants to see the next generation of US women in a position to do well. 

So I'm finding Vonn a lot more likeable than she used to be. And she's enjoying the moments more when they happen because they don't come as easily as they used to. It's fun watching her and Sofia Goggia crack each other up when they share a podium because they seem to have become such great friends outside of competition

[greyhorse]

Hooray for Mikaela!  What an exciting race and it's great to see her start off with a gold.

Wasn't Julia Mancuso also supposed to be part of NBC's broadcast team?  I like Bode as well, but I would have thought that they would have Julia do the women's events.

Somebody who is familiar with ski racing.  I saw a tweet I think on ESPN after the first run that the second run would be starting at 11:45 PM EST, and they said that Mikaela would be the 29th skier down the hill, with the then leader skiing at #30.  There was a comment that 67 of 81 skiers made it cleanly through the first run.  I know that for the second run, the skiers always race in reverse order of the first run finish, so the leader has the advantage of going last.  So when Mikaela shredded it and the first run leader skied right after her and didn't beat her, they immediately declared Shiffrin the winner and also named the silver and bronze finishers.  So what happens to the other 37 of the 67 who finished the first run?  Do they not get to race?  And if they do, are they doing so just for posterity?  Are they so far behind that there is no possible way they can get on the podium?  If that's the case, why not just only let the top 30 race after the first run?  I'm assuming that they don't want the medal hopefuls to have to wait through 60+ riders before getting their chance, given that mountain conditions could get worse, etc.

[KAOS Agent]

Only the top 30 skiers get to compete in the second run. 

Edited February 15, 2018 by KAOS Agent

[Garden Wafers]

1 hour ago, greyhorse said:

So what happens to the other 37 of the 67 who finished the first run?  Do they not get to race?  And if they do, are they doing so just for posterity?  Are they so far behind that there is no possible way they can get on the podium?  If that's the case, why not just only let the top 30 race after the first run?  I'm assuming that they don't want the medal hopefuls to have to wait through 60+ riders before getting their chance, given that mountain conditions could get worse, etc.

I checked the official Olympic website, and based on the start list, it looks like all 67 women were allowed to complete their second run. The first 30 competitors went down the hill in reverse order, and then it went back to normal with the skiers ranked 31-67. And based on the results list, they were mainly skating for posterity and national pride - Estelle Alphand had the fastest time of the day with her 2nd run at 1:08.99, but even that wasn't enough to make up for her first run time of 1:14.23 (ranked 26th). 

[NUguy514]

So thrilled for Mikaela and my forever Winter Olympics husband Aksel!!!  Get that gold, baby!

[mwamondwe]

6 hours ago, greyhorse said:

Hooray for Mikaela!  What an exciting race and it's great to see her start off with a gold.

Wasn't Julia Mancuso also supposed to be part of NBC's broadcast team?  I like Bode as well, but I would have thought that they would have Julia do the women's events.

Somebody who is familiar with ski racing.  I saw a tweet I think on ESPN after the first run that the second run would be starting at 11:45 PM EST, and they said that Mikaela would be the 29th skier down the hill, with the then leader skiing at #30.  There was a comment that 67 of 81 skiers made it cleanly through the first run.  I know that for the second run, the skiers always race in reverse order of the first run finish, so the leader has the advantage of going last.  So when Mikaela shredded it and the first run leader skied right after her and didn't beat her, they immediately declared Shiffrin the winner and also named the silver and bronze finishers.  So what happens to the other 37 of the 67 who finished the first run?  Do they not get to race?  And if they do, are they doing so just for posterity?  Are they so far behind that there is no possible way they can get on the podium?  If that's the case, why not just only let the top 30 race after the first run?  I'm assuming that they don't want the medal hopefuls to have to wait through 60+ riders before getting their chance, given that mountain conditions could get worse, etc.

FYI the leader of first run goes last on the second run not to give them an advantage but to create suspense. On the first run, the world cup points leaders get the advantage of going first (random bib draw 1-7), because fresh snow is much faster and consistent. The later skiers are typically slower because of the ruts that develop in the course over time as more and more skiers go down.

On the WC circuit, only the top 30 get to race a second run, but I'm assuming they let everything race in the Olympics after the top 30 go...well, just because it's the Olympics and they want to let everyone have their Olympic moment and complete an entire race of 2 runs.

[galaxygirl76]

7 hours ago, kittykat said:

Yeah I thought for sure Kjetil Andre Aamodt or Lasse Kjus locked that down but not in downhill apparently.  Congrats Aksel!

Yeah me too, Kjetil must have won on all the other events because that man was an Alpine beast.

[Dandesun]

12 hours ago, voiceover said:

WOW.  Wow, wow!!

Hooray for Mikaela!!  All the postponing; the "hurry up & wait"-ness  of it all...

I felt exhausted on her behalf -- and when she collapsed on the snow after the final times were in, I was like, Right there with ya, sister!

She killed it. Absolutely killed it. The only thing I'm kind of sad about is that she's not wearing the awesome Captain Marvel suit that you see her in whenever NBC throws up a graphic of her. Those suits give me LIFE!! (Also, I dig Lindsay Vonn wearing a Captain America suit sometimes because that's kick-ass.)

 

12 hours ago, galaxygirl76 said:

I has no idea that Norway had never won gold on the men's downhill!

That surprised me, too. Norway has been an Alpine powerhouse since '92. I was a mere 19 years old at the time and my mother wanted me to marry Kjetl Andre Aamodt. I think the main reason was because his last name is the same as her maiden name. And, also, skiing. Now that I think back on it. Aamodt got a silver in the downhill that Olympics and I think he followed it up with another silver in Lillehammer. But I know he took home more than a few golds.

 

12 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

On an unrelated note, the Norwegian skier’s name sounds like Rocky and Bullwinkle. 

I thought the exact same thing. I was like 'What?!' and then by the end of her excellent run I was just referring to her as Bullwinkle.

4 hours ago, galaxygirl76 said:

Yeah me too, Kjetil must have won on all the other events because that man was an Alpine beast.

Yes, he was. I know that Norway had been building up an alpine department in order to have a good showing when Lillehammer came around but I'm not sure anyone was expecting a) them to bust out early in '92 and b) to be that damn good. Norway has really developed into an alpine powerhouse. Woo!

ETA: My bad: It was the Super-G that Aamodt won in '92. And then he got the bronze in '94. And then he won it in '02 and '06. And then Svindal won it in '10 and then Jansrud won it in '14. Aamodt got the silver in downhill in '94 and Kjus got the silver in '98 and '02. Svindal got the silver in '10 and Jansrud got the bronze in '14. When you take a look at what Norway has accomplished in the last 25 years in alpine... it's pretty impressive.

Edited February 15, 2018 by Dandesun

[blackwing]

WTF NBC?!?!?  Three skiers away from Ted Ligety in the Super G and they cut away to show other things, because "no one else will challenge for the gold".   I don't get it.  1). He's American and 2) He has two gold medals.   I don't care if he might not contend in Super G.  Still would be nice to see his run.  

[Indy]

21 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

 

On an unrelated note, the Norwegian skier’s name sounds like Rocky and Bullwinkle. 

I read your post yesterday before hearing that skiers name said and was like, WTF that’s odd...but then tonight I heard it and damned if that’s not what the announcer just said. Now I need to figure out what her name really is! 

 

ETA... it’s Ragnhild Mowinckel...

Edited February 16, 2018 by Indy

[greyhorse]

1 AM PST and not a single post about Mikaela not winning the slalom?

I'm sad and shocked that she didn't even medal.  Bode was spot on, she had the one mistake that cost her a bunch of speed and she just didn't attack the course enough.  I'm impressed with her post-race interview and her maturity.  There's always another race and hopefully she'll be able to perform well.

I posted up above about what Julia Mancuso's role was going to be on the broadcasting team.  Well, if tonight's comments were any indication, I hope she doesn't have much of a role.  Bode clearly is the better analyst.  He notices differences in lines, style, etc. which he points out and is helpful for the viewers.  All Julia tonight said about the slalom was that it is "hard" and that there are "60 chances to screw up" and the key to success is to "not screw up".  Gee, thanks Julia.

[Quickbeam]

I’ve been very impressed by Bode as an analyst. I never liked him as a competitor but he brings a keen assessment to the table as well as easy to understand explanations. 

[Dandesun]

I should go back and listen to what Bode had to say about the men's downhill because the live feed was kind of hilarious on not knowing what Svindal did. "He didn't have a clean ski... and Jansrud was ahead of him until the very end. We don't know what tweak Svindal made during the latter half of the course but, obviously, it worked."

[walnutqueen]

On 2/14/2018 at 9:55 PM, Dots And Stripes said:

Lindsay Vonn and Mikaela have both been NBC favorites, but I find Mikaela way more likable. 

I'll have to reserve judgement until I see something about Mikaelas's pets.  Right now, Lindsey Vonn is WINNING with her adorable doggies.  ;-)

[SeanC]

Women's slopestyle skiing is imminent.  Canada won gold and bronze last time, both medalists returning, but it's probably going to be a challenge for Dara Howell to defend the title, given how much she struggled in the intervening four years.  But best of luck to all three Canadians.

[QuinnInND]

Coverage barely starting, and the tongue bathing of Lindsey Vonn has started. Ugh. 

[Quickbeam]

Ok, just watched the aerials and...I just can’t. I’m a rehabilitation nurse and I don’t know how they are all not paralyzed. But the worst part was whoever that was on NBC shoving a mike in Olsen’s (US) face saying “what would your dead father think?”. I just hate crap like that. 

Edited February 17, 2018 by Quickbeam

[galaxygirl76]

Watching the ski slope style and while I think the sliding on the rails looks way more awkward than the snowboarders did, the jump tricks look much more fun to me.

[AshleyN]

8 hours ago, Dandesun said:

I should go back and listen to what Bode had to say about the men's downhill because the live feed was kind of hilarious on not knowing what Svindal did. "He didn't have a clean ski... and Jansrud was ahead of him until the very end. We don't know what tweak Svindal made during the latter half of the course but, obviously, it worked."

For what it's worth the Canadian commentators seemed similarly baffled at what happened there. All throughout the race they were pointing out Svindal's mistakes, and when he finished and his time came up it sounded like they more or less threw up their hands and were like "Welp, that's Aksel". The conclusion seemed to be that only he could win a downhill in that fashion.

 And yeah, it was pretty funny there too.

[blackwing]

1 hour ago, QuinnInND said:

Coverage barely starting, and the tongue bathing of Lindsey Vonn has started. Ugh. 

I can't help it, it doesn't bother me.  I like her a lot.  She's the elder statesman of the US women's ski team, these are possibly her last Olympics.  I want her to do well.  I like Mikaela too, it doesn't have to be one or the other.  

I thought the piece about her grandfather was particularly touching.  It's obvious there was a lot of love there.  

[Peace 47]

1 hour ago, Quickbeam said:

Ok, just watched the aerials and...I just can’t. I’m a rehabilitation nurse and I don’t know how they are all not paralyzed. But the worst part was whoever that was on NBC shoving a mike in Olsen’s (US) face saying “what would your dead father think?”. I just hate crap like that. 

I genuinely don’t understand the physics of how they avoid blowing out their knees on the landings.  How is it possible to fall from such a height in one piece?  I fell literally two feet a few months ago and dislocated my kneecap and tore my meniscus (freak accident, but still, how????).

[Mittengirl]

Peace 47,  me too!  And I was just standing on solid ground, pushing a snowblower and managed to find the one patch of ice in the driveway.  My knee is achy and puffy in sympathy for ski/snowboarders knees.