Whether you’ve been avidly watching at home or just catching glances in lectures (there’s always one…), it’s quite likely you’ve been following this year’s Winter Olympics. For an island that normally comes to a stand-still at the mere sight of snow, we’ve done rather well. Despite a few controversies and disappointments along the way, Team GB smashed their 3-medal target by [so far] securing two bronzes, a silver and a gold. For those of you who really have just been watching over someone’s shoulder in a lecture, here’s a proper breakdown of our Sochi success.
Snowboarding
On the 9th of February, the first member of Team GB secured a medal. Jenny Jones came third in the Women’s Slopestyle Snowboarding and came away with a bronze after a spectacular performance. Interestingly Women’s Slopestyle was only accepted into the Winter Olympic Programme in 2012, and Jenny’s medal is the first one Great Britain has won on the snow rather than the ice!
Skeleton
Our biggest Sochi success story this Games is Lizzy Yarnold, who won the gold in the Women’s Skeleton final on Valentine’s Day. By winning she has managed to keep the Olympic title in Great Britain after Amy Williams won it in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
Curling
Over the past two weeks the nation has witnessed the transformation of Curling into a highly watchable and captivating sport – a change that has absolutely nothing to do with Dave Murdoch (cough) and more to do with both teams’ exceptional performances. The Women’s team won a bronze last Thursday after they beat Switzerland 6-5 in a close and nail-biting match. The team’s skip Eve Muirhead led Team GB to win its first women’s Curling medal since 2002. The men also performed incredibly well; they secured a silver medal last Friday when David Murdoch’s team were unfortunately beaten by Canada 9-3.
Speed Skating
Finally, we come to Speed Skating. Team GB didn’t actually win anything in this sport, but we came incredibly close thanks to Elise Christie. She has probably had some of the worst luck as an athlete in these games, as she was penalised and subsequently disqualified from all three of her Speed Skating Events. She was disqualified from the 500m race for colliding with a fellow competitor, and then disqualified from the 1500m race for finishing (in 1st place!) 1cm wide of the finishing line. Finally last Friday she was ‘confused and heartbroken’ as she was disqualified from her 1000m race, a race she felt was her best chance at securing a medal. However, she said that she’ll be back and fighting in the next winter Olympics – go on girl!
Photo Credits: www.telegraph.co.uk, www.theguardian.com