One of our favorite events, the ladies short program, took place at the Iceberg Skating Palace on Wednesday. In men’s hockey, teams continued to battle it out during the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, up in the Mountain Cluster, an Olympic record was broken in men’s biathlon. Read on to learn more about what made the headlines on Wednesday!
Hockey results: Russia loses in quarterfinals
Russia lost to Finland on Wednesday during the men’s hockey quarterfinals. Finland beat Russia 3-1. The Russians were hoping to take the gold for the event but their loss knocks them out of the semifinals. On the other hand, the United States won their match against the Czech Republic. The final score was 5-2. Canada, America’s hockey rival, beat Latvia 2-1. Canada and the United States will compete against each other in the semifinals on Friday. In the 2010 Olympics, the US lost to Canada in the final match. Friday will provide the US with a second chance at winning the gold.
Ladies figure skating short program kicks off
American ice skaters Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner and Polina Edmunds all finished in the top seven during the ladies figure skating short program on Wednesday. Gold, pictured above, finished in fourth place with a score of 68.63. Wagner, whose face is now the latest Olympic meme, finished with 65.21 points, earning her sixth place. Edmunds took seventh place with a score of 61.04 points. Yuna Kim, a 2010 Olympic champion from South Korea, won the short program with a score of 74.92. Russia’s 15-year-old Julia Lipnitskaia fell during her performance but earned a score of 65.23, putting her in fifth place, just behind Gold. Tomorrow the ladies free skating program takes place and medals will be awarded.
Canada wins gold, USA wins silver and bronze in women’s bobsled
Canada’s Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse won the gold medal during the women’s bobsled event. The women completed four runs in a total of 3 minutes and 50.61 seconds. Team USA’s Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams followed the Canadians by just 0.10 seconds. Meyers and Williams walked away with silver. Williams competed in the London 2012 Olympics, taking a gold in a relay event. She also won a silver medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics. In addition to taking the silver, the US also took the bronze medal thanks to Jamie Greubel’s and Aja Evans’ quick finish.
US skier wins men’s giant slalom
Ted Ligety, an American skier, took the gold in the men’s giant slalom event. He completed his runs with a grand total time of 2 minutes and 45.29 seconds. Ligety, 29, was an Olympic hopeful from the start. He won a gold in skiing combined at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Ligety’s win in Sochi makes him the second American skier to ever win two gold medals at the Winter Games. The silver and bronze medals were won by Steve Missillier and Alexis Pinturault from Team France.
Another gold for Czech Republic speed skater
The Czech Republic’s Martina Sablikova took the gold medal in women’s 5,000-meter speed skating. She finished the race in just six minutes and 51.54 seconds. Two Dutch skaters, Ireen Wust and Carien Kleibeuker, took silver and bronze, respectively. With the silver medal in this event, Wust now has won a total of four medals at the Sochi Winter Olympics. She took gold last week in the 3,000-meter women’s speed skating event. Wust also won silver in the 1,000-meter and 1,500-meter events.
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen wins his 13th medal
Who said 13 was an unlucky number? For Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, the number 13 is something to celebrate. Bjoerndalen won the gold medal on Wednesday in biathlon mixed relay. The Norwegian skier now has 13 Olympic medals, making him the most medaled Winter Olympics athlete in history. This is Bjoerndalen’s second win in Sochi. He won the men’s sprint biathlon on the second day of the 2014 Games.
Norway takes gold in women’s team sprint
Another gold for Norway! Marit Bjoergen and Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg won the women’s team sprint. Bjoergen took the gold on February 8 when she won the 15-kilometer skiathlon. Oestberg won a silver medal in the individual sprint earlier in the Games. The athletes’ final combined time was 16 minutes and 4.05 seconds. Finland took silver and Sweden took the bronze.
Finland wins gold in men’s cross-country team sprint
In the men’s cross-country team sprint, Finland’s Sami Jauhojarvi and Iivo Niskanen won gold. Their final time was 23 minutes and 14.89 seconds. Russia’s Nikita Kriukov and Maxim Vylegzhanin won silver with a total time of 23 minutes and 15.86 seconds. Sweden earned the bronze in the event thanks to Teodor Peterson and Emil Joensson.
Medal count as of Wednesday night: top five countries
- USA: seven gold, five silver, 11 bronze = 23 total
- Russia: six gold, nine silver, seven bronze = 22 total
- Netherlands: six gold, seven silver, nine bronze = 22 total
- Norway: nine gold, four silver, seven bronze = 20 total
- Canada: five gold, nine silver, four bronze = 18 total
To see a full list of the medal count, click here.
Which ice skater do you think will win the ladies free skating program tomorrow? Comment below and be sure check back tomorrow for another Sochi Scoop Olympic recap!