2022 Winter Olympics

[bookworm]

Unless there is a last minute change they start in four weeks! A very unusual situation, being only six months removed from the Summer Games after those were delayed a year due to covid.

Beijing will become the first city in the world to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Previous cities which have hosted multiple Games have always been for the same season.



Summer 2020 (Tokyo), Winter 2018 (PyeongChang), Summer 2016 (Rio), Winter 2014 (Sochi),
Summer 2012 (London), Winter 2010 (Vancouver), Summer 2008 (Beijing), Winter 2006 (Turin)

[Catspaw]

This is an odd year. Usually I'm really excited for the winter Olympics but this year everything seems up in the air and concerning. I was happy that NHLers were going to the Olympics again and now they aren't.

[bookworm]

The U.S. is staging a diplomatic boycott of these Games and will not send any political representatives. The athletes will still compete.

Australia, Britain, and Canada quickly joined the boycott and other countries are considering. Japan will also not send an official government delegation, but instead send officials from last year's Tokyo games, in a move to align themselves with the U.S. while avoiding affronting China with an official boycott as they are an important trade partner.

[Catspaw]

The human rights situation in China is certainly contributing to my lackluster feelings towards the Olympics this year. Hosting the Olympics is so expensive that few countries are real options these days, but it just doesn't feel great thinking that China is using this to look good when there are a lot of issues they refuse to even come close to addressing, not to mention admitting. I don't think the diplomatic boycotts really make a difference but I guess it looks like countries are doing something that way.

[bookworm]

I'm glad it is only a diplomatic boycott and the athletes will still attend. If a country feels the need to make a political statement around the Games it should be made on the governmental side of the event. Having a total boycott is just political posturing that serves no actual purpose. It has no meaningful impact in the long run on anything related to the issue it was done over, the only effect it has is robbing your own citizens of the chance to realize the goal they have dedicated their entire lives to training for.


I have a relative who was going to compete at the 1980 Olympics until they were boycotted. That decision remains a source of disappointment and frustration in the family to this day.

[Catspaw]

How interesting to have a personal connection to the 1980 boycott. That certainly would add the personal angle to things. I'm not saying that I think there should be a full athlete boycott or anything, just that I do find the human rights angle thought-provoking. I don't think China has changed a ton since they were awarded the games. The time to send the message is before the games are awarded - but I do understand that financial pressures make that easier said than done.

[bookworm]

The Games are underway!

Once again it caught me by surprise that some events start before the opening ceremony, even though we just did this only six months ago.


American viewers, this webpage has a great broadcast schedule which I've used for the past several Olympics. It clearly breaks down what event will be airing at what time across all the various channels doing coverage. When there's a last minute schedule change they're good about updating it, and I like how it shows which events are going to be live and which are taped.



I've set up an Olympics channel in the Chatroom. With people in different time zones and watching different networks there will be potential issues with spoilers and everyone won't all be seeing the same things, but I figured I might as well make a channel available just in case anyone wants to try using it. If no one does that's fine, the real discussion will be here in the thread as always, but if anyone is interested you can join #Olympics for some real time, if not live, discussion of the events.

[Catspaw]

You probably won't see much of me in the chat, but I will be watching some events when I can. The time zone is definitely a challenge and once some more interesting stuff starts I'll have to start making decisions about staying up late and getting up early to see stuff live.

[bookworm]

Some happenings of note already from the pre-ceremony events:


A terrible loss of a top star player for the US women's hockey team in their very first game as Brianna Decker was stretchered off after an awful injury. She's out for the tournament, a major blow to their quest for repeat gold.


Nathan Chen had the second highest short program score ever recorded and Hubbell and Donohue got a new personal best in the rythym dance to put the US on top of the team figure skating event! It's expected to be a tight competition between the US and Russia so finishing first in both of those parts is huge! It will be really exciting to see how things play out when the women take the ice tomorrow!


And, we've already had a fun viewing party in the Chatroom watching that live figure skating!

Figure Skating Team Event (Men’s Short Program) / Women’s Moguls Qualifying / Figure Skating Team Event (Rhythm Dance)

18:38 baysimp joined #Olympics
18:39 <bookworm>: Hi!
18:39 <baysimp>: Hi!
18:41 <bookworm>: Are you into the Olympics?
18:42 <baysimp>: Mostly. We watch them, but I don't keep up with who is who very well.
18:42 <bookworm>: Are you watching now?
18:42 <bookworm>: Skating is on live
18:43 <baysimp>: yep, watching now.
18:43 <bookworm>: cool!
18:53 Brownie joined #Olympics
18:54 <Brownie>: Ahh, just saw this channel!
18:54 <Brownie>: Shoma was AMAZING
18:54 <bookworm>: Welcome!
18:55 <Brownie>: TY!
18:55 <baysimp>: Nathan Chen is up!
18:55 <bookworm>: Nathan Chen!
18:55 <Brownie>: So nervous for Nathan! He is impeccable but can crumble under pressure
18:56 <bookworm>: I remember in the 2018 Games he had a disastrous start
18:56 <bookworm>: recovered spectacularly, but it doomed his chance at medaling
18:59 bookworm claps
18:59 <Brownie>: Nice skate
18:59 <Brownie>: I hope he doesn't peak at the team event though
19:00 <Brownie>: Lovely spins
19:00 <Brownie>: Unfortunately, he doesn't have the smoothest transitions out of his jumps
19:02 <baysimp>: Apparently that was considered a great score.
19:04 <bookworm>: I don't have a feel for skating scores, but it put him in first
19:06 <Brownie>: I (being a figure skater) would agree with the scoring. Technically solid, solid, solid
19:07 <Brownie>: His short program music doesn't resonate as much with me (or with the audience in general, apparently), but nevertheless excellent
19:07 <Brownie>: Absolute precision
19:08 <Brownie>: I enjoyed Shoma's skate more though
19:13 <bookworm>: back to moguls
19:13 <bookworm>: Is skating over for the night or coming back?
19:13 <bookworm>: I stepped away, don't know if they said
19:17 <baysimp>: not sure.
19:20 <Brownie>: It's coming back! Ice dance rhythm dance starts in 15 minutes or so
19:20 <bookworm>: cool thanks
19:20 <bookworm>: oh yeah, now I see that on the schedule
19:21 <bookworm>: missed it, it's lumped in with the men's skate
19:21 Brownie nods
19:21 <bookworm>: This is a really good broadcast schedule btw
19:21 <bookworm>: https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/olympi ... ter-games/
19:21 <bookworm>: I've used it for the last 3 Games
19:21 <bookworm>: covers all the different channels and they update it when schedule plans change
19:21 <bookworm>: I only get NBC
19:22 <Brownie>: Oooo, thanks for sharing! That's super helpful. I only get NBC as well
19:24 <bookworm>: that's a great camera shot
19:24 <bookworm>: under the flip
19:26 <Brownie>: Very cool
19:29 <bookworm>: yikes
19:30 <bookworm>: eye completely swollen from crash in training
19:30 <Brownie>: crazy
19:32 <bookworm>: She's out of tonight's qualifier but planning to go in the second, so still has a chance to compete
19:32 <bookworm>: only will have one shot to advance though
19:33 <bookworm>: or, 'this' qualifier anyway, not tonights
19:33 <bookworm>: this part isnt live
19:34 <baysimp>: That looks jarring on the hips and knees.
19:34 <bookworm>: that's what my mom always said every single time this was on
19:34 <bookworm>: and I agree
19:34 <bookworm>: but last winter games the moguls tv guy was asked about that and he literally laughed off the question
19:34 <bookworm>: I was surprised
19:35 <bookworm>: the guy said "Is that hard on the knees?"
19:35 <bookworm>: and he was like "That's the funniest thing I've ever been asked"
19:35 <bookworm>: I thought "Really? It's a completely reasonable thing to wonder - look at it!"
19:36 <Brownie>: I would think it would absolutely destroy your knees after a while
19:36 <bookworm>: Me too!
19:39 <bookworm>: ok, ice dance
19:39 <bookworm>: for the team event
19:45 <bookworm>: that was a fun one
19:45 <Brownie>: like the pink!
19:45 <bookworm>: I used to hate ice dancing, but I finally started getting it a couple Olympics ago
19:46 <Brownie>: same! I much prefer the free dance to the rhythm dance though
19:47 <bookworm>: yes
19:53 <Brownie>: I would really like to see softer knees from this team
19:53 <Brownie>: Seemed a little stiff
19:55 <bookworm>: These are supposed to be Harley and the Joker right?
19:55 <bookworm>: have to be
19:56 <bookworm>: yep!
19:58 <bookworm>: That's cool, I don't recall seeing that before
19:58 <bookworm>: pair costumes themed to each other, and to their music
19:58 <bookworm>: I probably have and just don't remember
20:00 <Brownie>: You'll see quite a bit of that in ice dance
20:01 <Brownie>: This season's music category for the rhythm dance is 'street dance,' which will lend itself to slightly raunchier content
20:20 <bookworm>: "You say that with respect, right? The bowling shirt?"
20:21 <bookworm>: Johnny: "Uh... half"
20:23 <Brownie>:
20:23 <bookworm>: it does look odd
20:27 <Brownie>: Nice program from the Chinese team!
20:27 <bookworm>: Americans next!
20:27 <Brownie>: I love Madi and Zac
20:28 <Brownie>: Not the biggest fan of this program, but they are so powerful and precise
20:28 <Brownie>: Looking forward to seeing what they put down here
20:33 bookworm claps
20:34 <Brownie>: Nice job!
20:34 <Brownie>: Twizzles on point
20:34 <bookworm>: so in sync through that sequence!
20:34 <Brownie>: This team has so much power and charisma. So fun to watch
20:35 <bookworm>: wow!
20:35 <bookworm>: first place by 12!
20:40 <Brownie>: I love Piper and Paul and I love Elton John, but they just didn't grab me with that performance
20:44 <bookworm>: Ooh I like this song choice!
20:44 <bookworm>: My favorite ice dance routine ever was a Michael Jackson one I saw sometime... probably at the last winter games
20:45 <Brownie>: Yesss
20:46 <bookworm>: gonna look it up, I know I posted about it at the time
20:46 <bookworm>: Oh wow it was actually Sochi 2014
20:47 <bookworm>: "The Michael Jackson medley ice dance was one of my favorite things ever!"
20:47 <bookworm>: I didn't say which team it was
20:47 <bookworm>: Must research
20:47 <bookworm>: I want to watch it again
20:48 <Brownie>: I'll have to look it up!
20:48 <Brownie>: I was pretty young then lol
20:48 <Brownie>: Russians incoming!
20:52 <bookworm>: Found it!
20:52 <bookworm>: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMP1lkWxb2c
20:52 <bookworm>: Saving to watch later
20:53 <Brownie>: Ooo, same!
20:53 <Brownie>: I hate Russia, but man, they're good
20:53 <Brownie>: Fluke stumble though
20:53 <Brownie>: They may have handed it to US
20:54 <bookworm>: yeah
20:54 <Brownie>: We'll see
20:55 <Brownie>: Wow, I really like Russia's team uniforms
20:55 <Brownie>: Nice colors
20:56 <bookworm>: scores taking a long time
20:57 <bookworm>: second!
20:57 <Brownie>: Another 10 points for team USA!
20:57 <bookworm>: woo!
20:57 <Brownie>: I'm surprised
21:01 <bookworm>: found another version, looks better
21:01 <bookworm>: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvykm82XQTU
21:01 <bookworm>: Can't find the NBC broadcast unfortunately
21:02 <bookworm>: oh wait that's not the Olympics is it
21:03 <bookworm>: same dance though
21:03 <Brownie>: European championships, but should be the same program
21:04 <bookworm>: the first link wasn't the Olympics either actually was it
21:04 bookworm shrugs
21:04 <bookworm>: anyway it's the routine I was looking for
21:04 <Brownie>:
21:17 <bookworm>: Pairs short program next
21:17 <bookworm>: how long you staying up?
21:21 <baysimp>: News break here. I think more Olympics after.
21:22 <Brownie>: Haha, I'm going to bed soon. I'll catch up on pairs on YouTube later or something
21:23 <bookworm>: thanks for hanging out! this was great
21:30 <Brownie>: totally! I'll probably be back the next few evenings during primetime
21:30 <bookworm>: great!
21:31 <bookworm>: I will not be in tomorrow, but it's just the ceremony anyway
21:31 <bookworm>: should be around nearly every other night
21:33 <Brownie>: sweet!

[Catspaw]

Some happenings of note already from the pre-ceremony events:


A terrible loss of a top star player for the US women's hockey team in their very first game as Brianna Decker was stretchered off after an awful injury. She's out for the tournament, a major blow to their quest for repeat gold.

It's never good to see a serious injury like that. It seems like she's doing okay - but obviously she won't be playing for a while. She and a few other female players were part of the NHL All-Star event a few years ago and she was awesome!

Of course, as a Canadian hockey fan, I am slightly less broken up about her absence than some but still, you want to see the best players play and have a great competition. I'm cheering for Team Canada and it would be shocking if it didn't come down to Team Canada vs. Team USA for the women's final, even with the Decker injury.

[bookworm]

I liked this opening ceremony a lot.


The projection floor was super cool! I also loved the creative uses of lasers and lights. The opening with those glowing willows was stunningly beautiful.


The image of all those different ethnicities in their traditional clothing passing down the Chinese flag was a spectacular visual; it's unfortunate it was troubling propaganda.


Am I the only one who thinks Imagine is overdone? I know it's become considered the unofficial anthem of the Games over the last decade or so, but does it have to be used in seemingly every ceremony? I've personally never really been a fan of the song to begin with, but having it pushed into these shows again and again feels like they're including it out of some weird obligation more than because it actually serves the ceremony they designed. It's also a really strange message to pair with the Olympics if you actually think about it; it literally says "Imagine there's no countries" which is the absolute antithesis of this event.


You know I always pay particular attention to the cauldron, and I'm not a big fan of this one. It's not a cauldron, it's just the torch. The design was neat, I like that it's constructed from those snowflakes representing all the participating countries, but I think more should have been done with the flame.

[ByeByeBrownie]

Resident figure skating nerd here to gush about the men's short program tonight!

First of all, some devastating news as Vincent Zhou is withdrawn due to a positive covid test. Really such a shame, as Vincent had a real shot at another medal for team USA. I wish him all the best!

Second shocker was Yuzuru Hanyu singling out the quad salchow at the top of his performance. He is usually such a lovely skater to watch, but I think the big mistake out front put a damper on the rest of the program. He now seems out of medal contention, and I wonder if this will actually encourage him to throw caution to the wind and attempt the quad axel in his free program. I'll be interested to find out!

Hands-down highlight of the night was Nathan Chen's brilliant record-shattering short program. Such a wonderful redemption arc for him!

And Jason Brown, one of my personal favorites skated a fabulous program to end the night. No quads, so he's not really a medal contender here, but always such a pleasure to watch.

[bookworm]

So Russia is still banned in name and flag here, as in Tokyo. This will be the last Olympics under their World Anti-Doping Agency issued ban since the original sentence was reduced, otherwise I believe it would have lasted for one more.

North Korea is also not here as the IOC suspended them from these Games as punishment for dropping out of the Tokyo Olympics. Though they claim their absence here is a boycott on their part.


The host country gets their first medal, and it's the first ever gold in the short track mixed relay, one of the new events debuting at these Games. They only advanced to the final due to a disqualification in the semifinal moving them up, so they made the most of the second chance.


The Canadian women's hockey team had double digit goals in both of their first two games!


USA makes its first podium with a silver in women's slopestyle.


A 15 year old superstar recorded an astronomical score in the women's short program to move ROC into the lead in the team figure skating event. She then made history in the free skate, becoming the first women ever to land a successful quad in Olympic competition! And she did two!!


There was a shocker on the slopes when Mikaela Shiffrin skied out on her first run in the giant slalom, abruptly ending her attempt at a repeat gold.


ROC takes the team skating gold and US gets the silver, so the expected result in the end despite that first day of events making it look like things might get interesting there. A significant takeaway from the event though was both US ice dance pairs beat the defending champs in their respective programs, so it will be exciting to see how things go there when the individual events begin!


Feb 5 chat log: Figure Skating Team Event (Men's Free Skate)

19:08 <bookworm>: I'm here!
19:08 <bookworm>: Has skating been on yet?
19:09 <baysimp>: A little was on earlier.
19:09 <bookworm>: ok
19:09 <baysimp>: team event, women's short program, I think.
19:09 <bookworm>: I'll watch the recording of whatever I missed tomorrow, just trying to get oriented to the rest of tonight's coverage
19:11 <bookworm>: ah yes I see on NBC Twitter the whole women's short program is finished
19:13 <baysimp>: The Russian--er--ROC lady had an incredible score.
19:13 <bookworm>: holy cow I just saw that
19:15 <bookworm>: Karen Chen finished 5th, so we dropped to second after that
19:15 <bookworm>: Behind ROC by 2 points
19:16 <bookworm>: 4 segments to go
19:52 <baysimp>: More skating coming up.
19:57 <bookworm>: men's free skate
20:29 <baysimp>: vincent is up!
20:30 <bookworm>: yay!
20:37 <bookworm>: third place
20:37 <bookworm>: ROC extends their lead by 1

Feb 6 chat log: Giant Slalom / Figure Skating Team Event (Pairs Free Skate, Free Dance, Women's Free Skate) / Slopestyle Final

11:35 <bookworm>: Lots of live skating on this evening!
11:35 <bookworm>: all the rest of the team event I think
11:39 <baysimp>: cool!
11:39 <baysimp>: Speed skating's on now.
11:40 <bookworm>: yep
11:40 <bookworm>: long track, not as exciting
11:40 <bookworm>:
11:41 <bookworm>: short track speed skating is my favorite olympic event, out of both seasons
11:44 <bookworm>: it's so crazy!
11:44 <bookworm>: anything can happen
11:44 <baysimp>: The long track is the same length as the NASCAR track at the Colisieum.
12:12 <bookworm>: they're talking to Lindsey Vonn in the studio
12:12 <bookworm>: there's a dog on her lap
12:12 <bookworm>: with its tongue out
12:12 <bookworm>: ^.^
12:12 <baysimp>: Aww
16:57 <bookworm>: medal round, women's moguls
16:57 <bookworm>: two Americans in!
16:57 <baysimp>: sweet!
17:05 <bookworm>: well, first one is down to third already so can't both medal
17:10 <bookworm>: go Kauf
17:12 <bookworm>: first place!
17:12 <baysimp>: wooo!
17:12 <bookworm>: guaranteed at least silver!
17:21 <bookworm>: giant slalom next
17:22 <bookworm>: go Mikaela!
17:25 <baysimp>: It's only her 3rd Olympics?
17:28 <bookworm>: she's 26
17:28 <bookworm>: so was 18 in Sochi
17:28 <bookworm>: so yeah
17:29 <baysimp>: I had it in my head she'd been around for longer. Guess not.
17:36 <bookworm>: ooh
17:36 <baysimp>: ouch
17:36 <bookworm>: one of the quickest crashes I've ever seen
17:39 <bookworm>: noooo Mikaela too??
17:39 <bookworm>: are you kidding
17:40 <baysimp>: awww
17:40 <bookworm>: that's absolutely shocking
17:42 <bookworm>: so is that it?
17:43 <bookworm>: only gets one run
17:43 <bookworm>: incredible
17:43 <baysimp>: It says 'giant slalom run 1,' so maybe they get more.
17:45 <bookworm>: they're talking like she's done, but haven't actually said that so I don't know
17:46 <bookworm>: I never remember how the format of this event works
17:46 <bookworm>: we'll see
17:46 <baysimp>: I never remember how the format of any event works.
17:48 <bookworm>: nope she's done
17:48 <bookworm>: wow
17:49 <baysimp>: wow
17:51 <bookworm>: wait they just said first of two runs
17:51 <bookworm>: but also said Mikaela is on to her next event after that
17:51 <bookworm>: I have no idea
17:52 <baysimp>: me neither.
17:52 <bookworm>: maybe only top so many after the first run move on to the second
17:54 <bookworm>: ok skating!
17:58 <bookworm>: pairs free skate
17:59 <baysimp>: made that look easy
18:05 <bookworm>: USA up!
18:07 <bookworm>: hm
18:08 <bookworm>: dont seem to be doing well
18:10 <bookworm>: disappointing
18:11 <bookworm>: Tara said the same thing for them just now that she did when Karen Chen messed up last night
18:12 <bookworm>: "Use this as rehearsal for the individual event"
18:12 <bookworm>: yeah, but we want to do well in the team event too
18:12 <bookworm>: >_>
18:13 <bookworm>: It's not looking good
18:17 <bookworm>:
18:17 <bookworm>: oh my gosh
18:17 <bookworm>: are you serious
18:18 <baysimp>: wow, does that blow everything wide open?
18:18 <bookworm>: I think so!
18:18 <bookworm>: I was just about to say 'that will extend the ROC lead'
18:18 <bookworm>: holy cow
18:22 <bookworm>: let's see...
18:22 <bookworm>: what
18:22 <bookworm>: still get first place
18:22 <bookworm>: by like a lot
18:22 <baysimp>: how
18:23 <bookworm>: I don't get skating scores
18:23 <bookworm>: well that will do it, this extends their lead by 2 right
18:23 <bookworm>: assuming we hold onto third
18:23 <baysimp>: I don't know how the scoring works.
18:23 <bookworm>: with 2 events left I don't see how you make that up
18:24 <bookworm>: 5 points? or 6?
18:24 <bookworm>: either one, we would need to finish first in both of them and ROC needs to like not compete
18:24 <baysimp>: Oh, like *that's* gonna happen.
18:24 <bookworm>: whats left?
18:25 <bookworm>: womens free skate and the free dance
18:25 <bookworm>: so that's at least one more win for ROC
18:25 <bookworm>: so yeah it's over
18:25 <bookworm>:
18:25 <baysimp>: They are leagues ahead of us, as usual.
18:26 <bookworm>: things started off so well though!
18:30 <bookworm>: oooof
18:30 <bookworm>: tied with Japan now after that
18:31 <bookworm>: but well ahead of 4th place so should stay on the podium unless something bizarre happens
19:16 <bookworm>: wow, actually ahead of ROC!
19:17 <bookworm>: Chock and Bates are good
19:17 <baysimp>: wow!
19:17 <baysimp>: Not a big fan of the sci-fi genre here, but yay for points!
19:19 <bookworm>: 6 behind with one event left
19:20 <bookworm>: so we just need to finish 6 spots ahead of that 15 year old superstar in the free skate
19:20 <bookworm>: no problem
19:20 <bookworm>: she's only going to be the first women to ever do a quad
19:20 <bookworm>: that's not going to get a big score right
19:21 <baysimp>: oh, not at all
19:43 <bookworm>: here we go
19:45 <baysimp>: aw, she fell again
19:52 <baysimp>: Here goes Karen!
19:56 <bookworm>: good skate
20:11 <bookworm>: alright Valieva next
20:15 <bookworm>: there it is!
20:15 <bookworm>: another
20:15 <baysimp>: and another one!
20:16 <baysimp>: k, she's good.
20:17 <bookworm>: and fell on a third
20:18 <bookworm>: she's going to destroy the top score
20:19 <baysimp>: how is that even possible?
20:22 <bookworm>: first place by 30 o.o
20:26 <bookworm>: US gets the silver!
20:26 <bookworm>: Expected result in the end then
20:26 <baysimp>: Okay, not bad.
20:26 <bookworm>: Got my hopes up after that great day one
20:26 <bookworm>: but I'll take that for sure
21:06 <bookworm>: slopestyle final now
21:06 <bookworm>: Red Gerard
21:08 <baysimp>: here we go!
21:37 <baysimp>: Red's in 3rd now.
21:37 <bookworm>: one more run
21:40 <bookworm>: shoot
21:41 <baysimp>: that wasn't
21:41 <bookworm>: hopefully it's enough to hang on to third
21:43 <baysimp>: highest run counts, right?
21:44 <bookworm>: yeah
21:45 <bookworm>: ouch
21:45 <bookworm>: big air, hard fall
21:46 <baysimp>: ow
21:48 <bookworm>: woah
21:48 <bookworm>: that was a nice run
21:48 <baysimp>: 2 1620s
21:48 <bookworm>: probably pushed Red out
21:48 <baysimp>: probably
21:50 <bookworm>: yep
21:53 <bookworm>: two medals for Canada
21:54 <baysimp>: good for them
21:58 <baysimp>: i'm going to head to bed. thanks for chatting!
21:58 <bookworm>: ok!

[Catspaw]

The Canadian women's hockey team had double digit goals in both of their first two games!

They also beat the US team last night/this morning (depending on time zones) 4-2. Double digits sounds impressive, but as the women's game in particular is still developing, there are more teams that aren't....amazing. There are more countries with competitive men's teams, but even there some teams are well below any chance of beating the top few teams.

I didn't stay up for the game. I watched the first few minutes and then just decided to go to bed. I've decided I might stay up super late or get up super early if it comes down to a hockey gold medal (men's or women's) but otherwise I just don't think I'll bother. I feel like there are some Olympics that I feel so attached to and others that later I can't remember anything, and to me this is one I'm not that attached to. Lousy time zones, human rights concerns, no NHL players, my favourite figure skaters are retired (I miss Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir so much!), I don't like watching sports once the results have already been determined...it just all combines to me not really being super invested in the events.

[bookworm]

Double digits sounds impressive, but as the women's game in particular is still developing, there are more teams that aren't....amazing.

So you're saying your team isn't actually as impressive as they appear, they just lucked out in the opponents they drew?

[Catspaw]

Double digits sounds impressive, but as the women's game in particular is still developing, there are more teams that aren't....amazing.

So you're saying your team isn't actually as impressive as they appear, they just lucked out in the opponents they drew?

I'm saying that any team playing Canada or the US has had some bad luck in the opponent they drew, at least until the finals.

[bookworm]

Canada gets their first ever ski jumping medal!


Dutch skater Ireen Wust became the oldest speed skating gold medalist, and she did it in Olympic record time! She is also now the only athlete ever to win individual gold medals in five different Olympic games!


Frenchman Johan Clare became the oldest alpine skiing medalist ever at 41, five years older than previous record holder Bode Miller was.


Another US mishap in the giant slalom, but this one much more serious than Shiffrin's. Nina O’Brien wiped out right at the finish line and took a horrible tumble, breaking her leg in multiple places. This is the worst crash there has been so far, but these two are far from the only ones. There have been what seems to be an unusually high number of mistakes on the hill, I'm wondering if there's something weird about the surface. It's fake snow apparently.


Controversial athlete Eileen Gu wins her expected freeski big air gold for China.


Heartbreak for US figure skater Vincent Zhou, having to withdraw from the Games due to a positive covid test. So unfortunate, he was expected to be a medal contender. I'm glad he at least got that team event medal so he doesn't have to go home empty handed.


Nathan Chen gets redemption from the letdown in PyeongChang in spectacular fashion, taking the short program with a skate that earned the highest score ever recorded!


Feb 7 chat log: Men's Short Program

19:19 Brownie joined #Olympics
19:21 <baysimp>: Watching Super-G right now?
19:22 <Brownie>: Indeed
19:54 bookworm joined #Olympics
19:54 <bookworm>: Hi
19:54 <bookworm>: I imagine I missed the skating
19:54 <baysimp>: hi bookworm
19:54 <baysimp>: no, that's later
19:54 <bookworm>: really?
19:54 <bookworm>: great!
20:03 <baysimp>: I keep hearing random birds when they're showing alpine skiing.
20:03 <bookworm>: I heard that the other day too
20:03 <baysimp>: last night it was chickadees, earlier today it was jays or crows, and just now it was little cheepy things.
20:13 <baysimp>: skating coming up!
20:15 <bookworm>: here we go!
20:15 <bookworm>: Brownie here?
20:19 <Brownie>: Yep yep, I'm here!
20:23 <Brownie>: SHOCKING mistake from Yuzu
20:23 <Brownie>: such a shame
20:24 <Brownie>: he is such a lovely, quality skater, but it just wasn't here tonight
20:31 <Brownie>: Lovely skate from Shoma. Hand down on the combo, but really nice skating overall
20:46 <baysimp>: Nathan's up!
20:47 <baysimp>: or not, it's warmups
20:48 <Brownie>: Finally they bring up Jason! Lol
20:48 <bookworm>: boy too bad about Zhou
20:48 <Brownie>: oof, devastating
20:48 <baysimp>: yeah
20:48 <Brownie>: He could have medaled here
20:48 <bookworm>: glad he at least got that team medal
20:49 <Brownie>: For sure
20:49 <baysimp>: who's the Russian to beat?
20:52 <Brownie>: Mark Kondrotoik
20:52 <Brownie>: He's not a huge threat, knock on wood
20:56 <Brownie>: Very interesting position on that last spin. Very nice skate from Daniel Grassel
21:02 <Brownie>: Wah wah, my TV went out for a minute in the middle there
21:08 <Brownie>: Such a fun program! Great job Yuma!!
21:11 <baysimp>: here we go!
21:11 <bookworm>: now Chen!
21:14 bookworm claps
21:14 baysimp claps
21:15 <Brownie>: Fabulous!
21:15 <Brownie>: Maybe even better than his short in the team event
21:15 <Brownie>: Maybe the tiniest bit underrotated on the 3A
21:17 <bookworm>: highest score ever!!
21:17 bookworm cheers
21:17 <baysimp>: woo!
21:18 <Brownie>: Well deserved
21:18 <Brownie>: That was phenomenal
21:21 <Brownie>: Let's go Jason!
21:28 <Brownie>: Nice job!
21:30 <bookworm>: Brownie did you see Valieva last night
21:31 <Brownie>: I did! She is UNREAL
21:54 <bookworm>: did you watch that Michael Jackson skate?
21:54 <bookworm>: curious what you thought
21:55 <bookworm>: I love it, but I have no technical insight on if it's actually a good program
21:55 <bookworm>: I just think its super cool
21:57 <Brownie>: I did! It was very good and fabulously entertaining
21:57 <bookworm>:

[Catspaw]

Dutch skater Ireen Wust became the oldest speed skating gold medalist, and she did it in Olympic record time! She is also now the only athlete ever to win individual gold medals in five different Olympic games!

This is incredibly impressive! There are a few sports where it's easier to be at the top of your game for a longer period of time, but speed skating isn't usually one of those sports. What amazing dedication she must have. I hadn't heard about this - thanks for sharing, bookworm!

[bookworm]

Dutch skater Ireen Wust became the oldest speed skating gold medalist, and she did it in Olympic record time! She is also now the only athlete ever to win individual gold medals in five different Olympic games!

This is incredibly impressive! There are a few sports where it's easier to be at the top of your game for a longer period of time, but speed skating isn't usually one of those sports. What amazing dedication she must have. I hadn't heard about this - thanks for sharing, bookworm!

Impressive indeed! Fun fact: she is also the youngest Dutch gold medalist. So she's had quite a career, setting records from beginning to end!

[Catspaw]

Dutch skater Ireen Wust became the oldest speed skating gold medalist, and she did it in Olympic record time! She is also now the only athlete ever to win individual gold medals in five different Olympic games!

This is incredibly impressive! There are a few sports where it's easier to be at the top of your game for a longer period of time, but speed skating isn't usually one of those sports. What amazing dedication she must have. I hadn't heard about this - thanks for sharing, bookworm!

Impressive indeed! Fun fact: she is also the youngest Dutch gold medalist. So she's had quite a career, setting records from beginning to end!

That's awesome! What a wonderful role model...not to mention a great trivia question.