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Post by Admin on Feb 3, 2014 22:55:12 GMT
Mikaela Shiffrin is the runaway leader in the slalom World Cup standings. (USATSI) Normally, an 18-year-old skier making an Olympic team would be coming in under the radar, with older, experienced teammates there to attract the attention and deflect pressure and expectations. But not for Mikaela Shiffrin, the teen sensation from Eagle-Vail, Colo., who heads to the Sochi Olympics as the reigning world champion and World Cup title-holder in slalom and also a medal contender in giant slalom. "I'm going to Sochi with such a positive feeling," she said. "I'm coming off a pretty good season. All I know is positive. I'm excited to go and race my heart out and see if I can go for the gold. Of course, it's a really big bummer that Lindsey is not going to be there. We're all going to really miss her a lot. But I'm also really excited. I'm not really seeing pressure as a negative." Pressure situations haven't bothered her so far in her meteoric rise to the top of the women's ski world. She won gold at the world championships last February and later became the youngest American skier to win a World Cup season title when she clinched the slalom globe with a come-from-behind victory in the last race of the season. Shiffrin, in five World Cup slalom races this season, has won three times and finished second once, so she will be a solid favorite in Sochi. She is also advancing fast in the giant slalom, posting a second and third in five races. She said Monday she's confident in both disciplines. "My slalom is at a high level and I'm really excited to keep taking it up a notch," she said. "I'm really excited for GS in Sochi. It comes first (in the schedule). I'm really feeling solid in the GS. Every day, I do something better. I'm getting faster. I really feel like my first win is at the tip of my fingers." Mikaela Shiffrin smiles while standing on the podium after the women's World Cup giant slalom skiing event in Beaver Creek, Colo. The 18-year-old Shiffrin could very well be the face of the Sochi Olympics, especially now that Lindsey Vonn is out with a knee injury.
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Post by Admin on Feb 4, 2014 14:52:28 GMT
In the inaugural Olympic team figure skating event, the United States plans to lead with its veteran, two-time national champion Ashley Wagner, in the women's short program Saturday night. Gracie Gold, the 2014 national champion, will skate the long program Sunday night, according to multiple people, barring any last-minute changes or injuries. The pressure will be on the 22-year-old Wagner to deliver a clean short program in her first outing since a shaky short program at the national championships in Boston, followed by two falls in her long program. Although Wagner did not skate well at last month's national championships, finishing fourth, she was placed on the U.S. Olympic team due to the strength of her international resume, which included being team leader at last year's world team event, which was won by the Americans. Ashley Wagner on the podium after the Ladies Free Skate at the TD Garden. Asked at the nationals if the United States should be considered a strong medal favorite in the team event, Wagner didn't hesitate. "Absolutely," she said. "The United States is a very strong team. Absolutely hands down, I think the U.S. is one of the front-runners for a medal in the team event." Canada and Russia are also favored to win medals in the 10-country event. Countries are permitted to enter any skaters in the team event that qualified for the four traditional disciplines in the Games: women, men, pairs and dance. It's permissible to have one skater or pairs/dance team skate both sections of the team competition or teams can split the short/long-program duties in up to two of the four events. As the sport and its athletes begin to adjust to this new event, some skaters (or their coaches) have indicated they would rather not compete in both portions of the team event so they can focus on their individual competition coming later in the Games. "It's an opportunity to receive another Olympic medal," Wagner said. "Being team leader, I realized there was a great sense of camaraderie with our team, which made it so much fun."
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Post by Admin on Feb 6, 2014 14:50:31 GMT
Tennis star Maria Sharapova on Wednesday visited the Sochi tennis court where she first played the game as a child. First she sold Sochi, extolling the virtues of her former home. "I love the beauty of the city. I love the nature of the city," said the Siberian-born four-time Grand Slam tennis champion, who lived here before coming to the USA at age 7. "I love the view from the coastline ... I love that you can swim in the Black Sea and then go ski in the mountains on the same day." Maria Sharapova spent the early part of her childhood in Sochi "It will be an incredible experience for the athletes," she said, acknowledging with a chuckle that this time of year might not be the best time for a dip in the Black Sea. Sharapova, who won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012, said she was happy to be back in Sochi. "It's so special and meaningful for me to have these Winter Games in Sochi," she said. One major part of Sharapova's role of Olympic hostess will be as a correspondent for NBC, behind the camera shooting features on the city's cultural life. Sharapova, 26, admitted earlier to USA TODAY sports this gig was making her a little nervous, but she is looking forward to the opportunity. "I spent probably six years of my life here, and I know a lot about the city ... I still have family here ... and I hope I will be able to share that with America."
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Post by Admin on Feb 7, 2014 22:38:04 GMT
With a flying child, floating minarets, ballet dancers, human constellations, more than 3,000 performers and an alarmingly lifelike giant bear, Sochi put on what it called “the most complex and ambitious technical show ever attempted in Olympic history” to open the 22nd Winter Games on Friday night. Legendary Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak — a former Blackhawks goaltending consultant — raced out of Fisht Stadium to light the Olympic flame with three-time figure-skating gold medalist Irina Rodnina to cap the three-hour ceremony. Tennis star Maria Sharapova brought the torch out to begin the final leg of its 40,000-mile journey across Russia. Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova carries the torch during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Figure skater Irina Rodnina and hockey goalie Vladislav Tretyak light the Olympic cauldron. In the tradition of the botched torch-lightings in Vancouver, Sydney and Seoul, there was one technical snafu in the elaborate production, as five giant snowflakes were supposed to turn into the five Olympic rings — only to have one remain a snowflake. And a stray dog somehow wandered into the stadium mere minutes before the ceremony began. Team USA, with flag bearer Todd Lodwick, enters the stadium.
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Post by Admin on Feb 9, 2014 1:02:14 GMT
Ashley Wagner of USA celebrates her scores after the figure skating team ladies short program. Ashley Wagner made sure they didn't lose any ground, redeeming herself with a solid performance that answered all those critics who said she didn't deserve to be on the U.S. team after her struggles at last month's national championships. "I would say, yeah, absolutely, I know that's what I'm capable of," she said. "And I knew that Boston, yes, it was absolutely horrible, but it was the best thing that could have happened to me. Because I went home and I didn't work with Raf, I just listened to Raf. Every single thing that he told me to do, I did. If he told me to do three long programs in a day and I thought it was crazy, I did three long programs. So Boston allowed him to train me the way that he needed to and I knew I would come here prepared." "It wasn't what I was really hoping for," Wagner said when asked by Andrea Joyce of NBC about her score. "I know what the program is capable of and I know where the scores should be when I skate very well so I'll just take a look at the protocols." Even if Wagner was robbed of a few points by the judges, her score was still good for fourth place in the women's short program segment of the figure skating team event. She kept the U.S. team in contention for a medal. "The entire performance was redemption for me," Wagner told Joyce, referencing her struggles in Boston. "I needed to prove to myself mostly that one bad competition doesn't define me and I can get beyond that."
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