That’s exactly what I said in 1980, being totally dubious about the US with my very young friends way back when. When our team beat Russia on that magical last Friday night of the Lake Placid Olympics and then Finland for the gold medal on the final day, that’s a memory that is forever enshrined and one that I never saw coming. That amazing performance is what made me fall in love with the Winter Olympics and be fortunate enough to go to a couple of “the Games.”
That our folks are 3-0 is quite remarkable. I don’t want to jinx them, but I am going to start following them carefully now. I guess that’s my point.
I’m a big hockey person. I was really glad to see the USA guys do well against Germany. They are going to have a tough road. ROC, Finland and Czech Republic are going to be hard to beat. As much as I love watching the NHL guys play, I love that the younger guys are getting a chance. Hoping they can keep it going!
My husband and I were talking about that last night. The snowboarders and skiers all are happy for each other. They seem for the most part to be supportive of each other and have a camaraderie. The ice skaters on the other hand don’t seem to even acknowledge competition from other countries.
I was also reading an article about how strict the training methods are for these Russian figure skaters…they are barely allowed to eat! It’s very unhealthy and sad. State sponsored doping has got to stop. You think they would’ve learned something after the whole East German doping debacle. Athletes were given performance enhancing drugs without their knowledge in some cases, and some are still suffering years later.
Some of these countries are so obsessed with winning that they’re willing to break the rules and mess with the well-being and health of the athletes…it’s really sad.
@BunsenBurner@mom60 I agree with both of you about how supportive the snowboarders and skiers are versus something like ice skating. Our whole family are big skiers and we think some of the camaraderie is just part of the sport itself versus other sports.
They really have no shame. Wonder how long it took them to come up with that and backdate a prescription for her grandfather?
This is just another nail in the Olympics coffin. How can the Olympics be held up as the ultimate athletic competition when athletes/countries who cheat are allowed to compete without penalty?
Although it isn’t fair to the rest of the competitors, i just can’t bring myself to watch women’s figure skating this Olympics – it is normally a favorite event of mine.
Shaking my head here. We are often quick to defend our own offspring when they mess up by arguing that teenager’s brains are not fully developed. Can we please stop piling on this 15 yr old and instead focus on the real culprits - the adults who threw the kid under the bus? I do not think she is making any arguments. The lawyers are making them; that’s what they are paid for. I highly doubt that this kid voluntarily used performance enhancing drugs… this one is on the coaches. The “grandfather” excuse is used to shift the blame away from the real party here.
ETA: I personally think no one under 16 or better yet 18 should be allowed to participate in the Olympics.
Per our friends who follow the saga, her former coach revealed that she was severely bullied by her former teammates to the point it got physical (likely had something to do with being of an ethnic minority descent). A new club/new coach apparently brought that to a halt, so she embraced the coach as another parent. I have absolutely zero sympathy for the current coach and the rest of the entourage, but I feel sorry for the kid. The coaches knew that a minor can’t be penalized, and likely used the drug to speed up recovery from excessive training (apparently this is what the drug has been used for), hoping that if they are caught, the consequences will be a slap on the hand due to her age. There is also a possibility is that someone with a grudge spiked the sample, food, etc., but judging by the lawyer’s statements trying to make excuses, it is highly unlikely.
Tara Lipinski won a gold medal at age 15. She spoke very eloquently about the importance of the sport being clean…and her own experiences with caution about what she ingested and how often she was tested…starting at age 11.
I’m sorry, but the system in Russia needs to be cleaned up.
Simply, the excuse is ridiculous. And the credibility of the ROC is zero. I can’t believe any stories that are put forward by the ROC, the athlete or anyone that’s connected to the athlete. They’re just stories or propaganda.
I just wish someone would own up it and “fall on their sword.”
For the mixed cross snowboard the other night, they had a camera on the man who was watching his partner race. When he saw her come into view he was sort of losing it and one of the Italian guys came over and hugged him and was cheering right along with the American, even though his partner was still on the course and could have won too (not sure which Italian team it was, as one took silver and one finished out of the medals). Pretty cool.
I really enjoyed Johnny Weir & Tara Lipinski during yesterday’s short skate. They seemed to be relentlessly focused on finding the beauty in very skater’s program, regardless of how many mistakes they made. They apologized to the skaters for the cloud over their Olympics, and they made sure to provide uplifting commentary only. They did not provide commentary during the skate that they flatly stated should not be happening, other than one comment each about which jump was coming. Tara wore her heart on her sleeve about being confused by the whole situation. It was raw and honest.
What a bummer.