by Tom Nieradka
America is usually not known for its domination of the Winter Olympics. In fact, most of the time we’re pretty awful in the final medal count.
But this year was a different story, with the US ending up with the most medals (37), seven more than our hat (Canada).
However, though it may seem as such, we didn’t win every event - far from it in fact. With that in mind, here goes my final review of the 2010 Olympics: complete with my take on the performance of the US in each event - I skipped the uneventful ones - and how we could hope to improve for the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia in the form of “expert” tips from myself.
Alpine Skiing:
US Finish: Bode Miller (1 G, 1S, 1B), Lindsey Vonn (1G, 1B), Julia Mancuso (2S)
What went right: Bode came back from his gloating, drinking ways to earn three medals and show kids everywhere what kind of Americans win medals. Vonn came back from injury to get her gold, and Mancuso came out of nowhere to grab some bling of her own.
What went wrong: Vonn disappointed by not finished three out of her five events. I get that it was snowy out and visibility was bad - but you’re a skier and really should be ready for all circumstances. I didn’t expect five golds, but not even finishing 60% of your events is a fail in my book.
Tips from the expert: Both Vonn and Miller have aggressive styles of play, but while Miller was able to stay upright (surprisingly) Vonn wasn’t, and the crashes and resulting injuries slowed her down.
Biathlon:
Best US Finish: Sgt. Jeremy Teela (9th in 10k Spring)
What went right: An army man recorded the best finish in US Olympic history in the biathlon.
What went wrong: Apparently we’re not very good at combining skiing and shooting - shocking, huh?
Tips from the expert: Not really an area of expertise per say-but I would suspect we would hit more targets if we used automatic weapons. Just saying'.
Bobsleigh:
Best US Finish: Four Man Bobsleigh (Gold), Women’s Bobsleigh (Bronze)
What went right: The highly touted US team, led by veteran Steve Holcomb, manages a gold in their four man event, edging out Germany by .38 seconds on the fast Whistler track.
What went wrong: Holcomb ends up at a disappointing 6th in the two man.
Tips from the expert: The US could have been faster off the push in the two man, and Holcomb took some of the corners poorly. Perhaps consulting the Jamaican bobsled team would have yielded some useful hints. They count as American, right?
Curling:
US Finish: Men 2-7, Women 2-7
The Good: We did manage to win four games total, which is four more than zero, ironically also the same amount of medals we received.
The Bad: The US is eons behind these other nations at curling, with both a lackluster strategy and poor play across the board. We were repeatedly smashed by arch-rival Canada, a bad sign for the popularity of curling in the US.
Tips from the expert: The US was often unable to score more than one point even with the hammer stone, which is a hallmark of an amateur curling squad. Their guards were often not as tight as they needed to be, and when they really needed some curl towards the house they usually got little to none.
Figure Skating:
US Finish: Evan Lysacek (Gold), Davis/White (Silver in Ice Dance)
The Good: Lysacek toppled the reigning champion Evgeni Plushenko, possibly restarting the Cold War. The Russian’s acrobatic jumps were no match for the American’s signature and catchy dance moves.
The Bad: Mirai Nagasu finished one spot out of the medals, rounding out a disappointing year for the US women. Also, is it just me or does Plushenko look like a possible villain from 24?
Tips from the expert: Lysacek had a great program, but he could run into trouble in the future if he cannot begin to master the complex jumps that Plushenko brought to the ice. Luckily the Russian couldn’t dance to save his life, which gave Lysacek the edge. Plushenko should also consider losing the 1960’s blonde Beatles mop-head look, the judges are looking for something more modern.
Short Track:
US Finish: Apolo Ohno (1S, 1B), Katherine Reutter (1S), J.R. Celski (1B), Men’s Relay (Bronze), Women’s Relay (Bronze)
The Good: Speed skating star Apolo Ohno wins his eighth medal, setting the record for the most in US Winter Olympic History. Ohno remains a dynamic skater, and is one of the few reasons that speed skating is kno
wn to the American public.
The Bad: We got blanked on the golds. Ohno did well, but he would have missed a medal in the 1500 had it not been for a greedy move by a Korean that led to a 2-skater fall. He did get hit with some bad luck resulting from a push by one of those damn Canadians as well, but still no gold for a star of the sport is unacceptable by American
standards.
Tips from the expert: Apolo loves sitting near the back of the pack, and from a strategic standpoint it allows Ohno to size up the race and decide when to make a move for the front. He is adept at passing and is very fast, but the world is starting to catch up with him. If he does again compete in the next Olympics, he need to consider moving towards the front of the pack earlier and taking charge of the race. He also might consider shaving off his signature goatee - that drag cost him big time.
Speed Skating:
US Finish: Shani Davis (1G, 1S), Chad Hedrick (1B), Men’s Relay (Silver)
The Good: Shani Davis defended his gold medal, becoming the athlete to do so in the 1000m. The win and the silver cement his as one of the best long track skaters in the world.
The Bad: The US is a whole lot of Davis and not much else. Shani was absent from the relay, and only one of the men in the relay medaled in another event. Had Davis been in the relay we could have won it, and why he was not we do not know. He’s got to be a part of the team.
Tips from the expert: Davis took the corners nice and tight, but slowed down on his last lap in his silver medal race. He’s got to work not only on his endurance, but also on being a team player.
Snowboard:
US Finish: Shaun White (Gold), Seth Wescott (Gold), Teter Hannah (Silver), Kelly Clark (Bronz
e), Scott Lago (Bronze)
The Good: The US dominates snowboarding, especially in the half-pipe. No one else in the world can even come close to doing the things that Shaun White does, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be catching up anytime soon.
The Bad: It’s a shame that Shaun White only does half-pipe. Even so, he should win two medals for the things that he does. Lindsey Jacobellis also managed to crash again (after her gloating-mishap four years ago that cost her the gold)
Tips from the expert: Shaun White is actually perfect in snowboarding terms. Jacobellis needs to work on not crashing so often.
Hockey:
US Finish: Men (Silver), Women (Silver)
The Good: Both the men and women got much farther than anyone expected them to, which is a huge plus. Zach Parise went a long way to making a name for himself as one of the better players in the NHL. Goalie Ryan Miller also amazed us with his historic play, and won the MVP of the tournament. Also, Russia didn’t even medal - ha.
The Bad: Both the men and the women lost in the gold medal game. To make it even worse, both were to Canada. And to make it even worser(er), the men lost to those pesky Canucks in overtime on a goal by the golden-boy of hockey Sidney Crosby.
The men managed to tie up the game with seconds left, but unfortunately the weight on the shoulder of Ryan Miller was too much and the entire country stood still when he let up that OT goal.
Tips from the expert: The US was ineffective at keeping the puck in the offensive zone, and the relative lack of skill of the US team as exposed as the tournament rolled on. Miller was able to hold his own in goal throughout, but the younger players of the US were no match for the experienced Canadian team.
I would recommend that the US start using NFL linebackers as defenseman to gain a size advantage over other teams, and possibly put Joe Mauer in goal and allow him to play on offense as well.
Overall, a very good showing for the Americans. Obviously we're the best at everything - but it's nice to get a little refresher once in a while.
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