Another day, another Sochi Scoop recap! It’s hard to keep up with all the medals and records being broken at Sochi 2014. Between all of the headlines and the hilarious things Olympians keep doing, your head starts to spin. But have no fear; we’ve got you covered. Here’s what you missed on Wednesday.
USA takes the gold and bronze in women’s halfpipe
USA earned their third gold medal on Monday when Kaitlyn Farrington won women’s snowboarding halfpipe. Farrington beat three gold-medal Olympians with her win. Kelly Clark, also from Team USA, earned bronze. Clark won gold in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. Torah Bright of Australia, who won gold in the event at Vancouver 2010, took the silver. American snowboarder Hannah Teter won gold in the 2006 Winter Olympics but failed to medal this year.
Olympian tweets about McDonalds and Emma Watson
Luh me mac D’s who in the mountain village needs some, I’m about to be the supplier pic.twitter.com/sFIkCCoWqh
— Torin Yater-Wallace (@TorinWallace) February 12, 2014
US freestyle skier Torin Yater-Wallace, 18, loves to tweet. Yater-Wallace recently told the Twittersphere that his favorite part of the Olympics is all the free McDonalds he receives in the Olympic Village. “Best part of the Olympic village #freemacD‘s!!” he tweeted along with a photo of his meal. He also tweeted a message to Emma Watson: “Tweet at me @EmWatson it’s the only way I will medal at the Olympics.” Seems like Yater-Wallace’s Olympic fate is resting in Emma’s hands!
Canada beats USA in women’s hockey
It was a close match on Wednesday, but Canada beat Team USA in women’s hockey. The final score was 3-2, and Canadian hockey player Meghan Agosta scored the winning goal. The game was highly anticipated because both Team Canada and Team USA are hopefuls for the gold. However, Team USA’s loss doesn’t mean they’re out of the game just yet. Both Canada and USA have to go through quarterfinals. After that, it’s possible that they’ll end up competing again – but this time, for the gold.
Skiers tie for gold in women’s downhill, an Olympic first
It seems unthinkable, almost impossible, but Olympic skiers Tina Maze and Dominique Gisin ended their runs in a tie on Wednesday. In an Olympic first, the skiers both took the gold. Before Maze and Gisin, there had never been a tie in Olympic alpine skiing. Maze, of Slovenia, finished with a time of 1 minute and 41.57 seconds. Gisin, of Switzerland, also finished in that time, matching Maze’s time to the hundredth of a second. Switzerland also took bronze in the event thanks to Lara Gut. American skier Julia Mancuso, who was a hopeful in the event, finished eighth.
Figure skating pairs: Russia’s top skaters take the gold
Russia’s Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov won gold on Wednesday night at the Iceberg Skating Palace. They skated to music from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Their win earns Russia its second gold in the Sochi Olympics. Russia won a gold in pairs figure skating for 12 Games in a row until Vancouver in 2010. Thanks to Volosozhar and Trankov, Russia is back on top with its 13th gold medal in the event in the past 14 Olympics.
Netherlands wins a fourth gold medal in speedskating thanks to Stefan Groothuis
American speed skater Shani Davis failed to win a third consecutive gold medal in the 1,000-meter event on Wednesday. Stefan Groothuis of the Netherlands took the gold instead. Groothuis finished the race in just 1 minute and 8.39 seconds. His win gives the Netherlands a fourth gold medal in the speedskating medals race. Davis, a favorite for the event, ended in eighth place.
Germany leads in luge, takes gold in men’s doubles
German lugers Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt won the men’s double event on Wednesday. They completed the event in 1 minute and 38.933 seconds. Their time beat gold-medal Olympians and brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger of Austria. Andris and Juris Sics, brothers from Latvia, won bronze. Wendl and Arlt’s win gives Germany its third consecutive gold medal in the luge events.
Team Germany’s Eric Frenzel jumps for joy after winning
Germany’s Eric Frenzel might have had the most enthusiastic podium celebration we’ve seen yet. #Sochi2014 pic.twitter.com/BcCx5NIRZ3
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2014
Eric Frenzel, 25, took the gold medal in men’s Nordic combined on Wednesday. The German skier won by 4.2 seconds, and the silver medal went to Akito Watabe from Team Japan. Frenzel’s final time was 23 minutes and 50.2 seconds. As you can see from the tweet above, Frenzel got some major air during his celebratory jump on the podium. Seems like he was really excited (as he should be!).
Medal count as of Wednesday night: top five countries
- Norway: four gold, three silver, five bronze = 12 total
- Canada: four gold, four silver, two bronze = 10 total
- Netherlands: four gold, two silver, four bronze = 10 total
- United States: three gold, one silver, five bronze = nine total
- Russia: two gold, four silver, three bronze = nine total
To see a full list of the current medal count, click here.
What kind of pose would you strike on the Olympic podium? Let us know in the comments below and then come back tomorrow for another Sochi Scoop recap!