Wednesday, February 21
Cross-Country Skiing (1 gold)
Olympic veterans Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins won the gold medal in the women’s team sprint freestyle final, giving Team USA its first Olympic medal in women’s cross-country skiing. Randall and Diggins advanced to the finals of the women’s sprint relay after posting 16:22.56, the fastest time across both semifinal heats. In the final, the Americans covered the course in 15:56.47, with Diggins charging from third late in the race to edge Sweden by 0.19 seconds in what was nearly a photo finish.
The gold medal is only the second-ever medal won by the U.S. in Olympic cross-country skiing, joining the silver medal in men's 30-kilometer won by Bill Koch at Innsbruck 1976. With this victory, Diggins now has four top-five finishes at these Olympic Winter Games. MORE
Bobsled (1 silver)
Elana Meyers Taylor earned her third consecutive medal in the Olympic Winter Games, picking up another silver medal for her collection with first-time Olympian Lauren Gibbs. Team USA is the only nation to earn a medal in every women’s bobsled event since its introduction in Salt Lake 2002.
Meyers Taylor and Gibbs posted a combined time of 3:22.52, a mere .07 seconds behind the German gold medalists.
Three-time Olympian Meyers Taylor is now the most decorated female bobsled athlete in the United States with two silver medals and one bronze. Her podium finish in these Games marks her second medal as a driver.
Jamie Greubel Poser and Aja Evans, bronze medalists in Sochi, were also in medal contention but ultimately finished fifth with a time of 3:23.02. MORE
Alpine Skiing (1 bronze)
In what she claims is most likely her last Olympic downhill race, Lindsey Vonn won the bronze medal with a time of 1:39.69, less than half a second behind the winner. After missing the podium in the super-G earlier in the Games, the four-time Olympian came speeding back and now has three Olympic medals to her name. She also is the oldest woman to win an Olympic medal in downhill. MORE
All four American competitors finished in the top 20, with three inside the top 10. Two-time Olympian Alice McKennis finished fifth (1:40.24), first-time Olympian Breezy Johnson earned 7th (1:40.34), and Laurenne Ross finished 15th (1:41.10) in her second Olympic Winter Games.
Long Track Speedskating (1 bronze)
The U.S. trio of Heather Bergsma, Brittany Bowe and Mia Manganello defeated Canada in the B Final of the women’s team pursuit to claim the bronze medal. Their medal marks the first long track speedskating medal for American women in 16 years, and the first women’s team pursuit medal for Team USA.
After racing against the Netherlands in the semifinal, the Americans qualified for the bronze-medal final against Canada. The Americans reached the finish line in a time 2:59.27, which was 0.45 seconds faster than Canada's 2:59.72. Carlijn Schoutens contributed to the victory by skating in the semifinal and also receives a medal as part of the team. MORE
Cross-Country Skiing
Erik Bjornsen and Simi Hamilton finished sixth in the men's team sprint freestyle event, reaching the finish line in 16:16.98. The team finished third in their semifinal heat, getting a lucky loser bid into the finals.
Curling
In a must-win game, the American men secured the victory needed to advance to the semifinals, defeating Great Britain 10-4 in the team’s final match of round robin play. The Americans opened with two points in the first end, but Great Britain picked up single points in each of the next three ends to take a 3-2 lead. Team USA then answered with three points in the fifth to retake the lead, 5-3. After the two teams swapped single points over the next two ends, Team GB's attempted draw on the last stone of the eighth fell well short of the scoring area, giving the Americans a huge four-point end that ended the match early.
The victory ends the men’s round robin play and earns them a berth in the semifinal round, where they will face Canada on Feb. 22. Earlier in the tournament, the American men defeated the defending Olympic champions, 9-7, for the first time in Olympic history.
Team USA's Nina Roth rink came within a stone's throw of advancing to the semifinal round, but fell to Sweden in the final end of its final match, 9-6. The two teams went back and forth throughout the game, and the U.S. women used a two-point end in the seventh to even the score at 5-5. Down to her final stone, Roth was forced to attempt a tricky draw, hoping to slip in between Sweden's stones, but the shot came short, giving Sweden three points and the victory.
Roth, Tabitha Peterson, Aileen Geving and Becca Hamilton finished their first Olympic Winter Games 4-5 in the women’s curling tournament.
Figure Skating
Mirai Nagasu led the Team USA entries in women's singles, with all three athletes advancing to the free skate. Nagasu stumbled on her triple axle, but her routine still earned her a season-best score of 66.93, which ranked her ninth in the field. In her Olympic debut, Karen Chen tallied a 65.90 to rank 10th, while Bradie Tennell posted a 64.01 to earn 11th in the standings.
On Feb. 23, the three skaters will take the ice again for the free skate.
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Ice Hockey
The American men lost in a shootout against the Czech Republic, 3-2, to end their Olympic medal hopes.
For the second straight game, Ryan Donato opened the scoring, snagging his fifth goal of the tournament 6:20 into the first period. The 1-0 lead was lost less than nine minutes later when the Czech Republic answered with their own goal. Eight minutes into the second period, the Czechs took the lead, but Team USA answered two minutes later. Looking to kill a Czech power play, Brian O'Neill intercepted a pass and sent the puck ahead to Jim Slater, who streaked out for a breakaway short-handed goal to make it 2-2 at the 30:23 mark.
Despite chances on both sides, the 2-2 score stood throughout the third period and the two teams went into a 10-minute sudden victory overtime. The Americans had several scoring opportunities come up short, and the game was forced into a shootout where Czech player Petr Koukal would score the only goal to end the game. MORE
Long Track Speedskating
The U.S. men’s team pursuit squad finished eighth overall after facing Canada in the finals. The trio of Brian Hansen, Emery Lehman and Joey Mantia clocked 3:50.77.
Snowboarding
After competing in slopestyle last week, three American men earned top-six finishes in the big air qualifiers and will advance to the final round. In the Olympic debut of the sport, Kyle Mack finished third with 88.75 points, Chris Corning finished fourth with 88 points, and Red Gerard finished sixth with 85 points. They will compete for medals on Feb. 24.
Two-time Olympian Ryan Stassel competed in the second heat of qualification, but finished 13th and did not advance. MORE