2010 Winter Olympics

[7SteelGal43]

Apolo Ohno got hosed tonite, that's all there is to it. In the final of the mens 500m, coming around the last turn, he put his hand on the hip of Tremblay (Canada). This happens all the time in shorttrack. Though Tremblay took a spill, it didn't look to me like the hand on the hip had anything to do with it. I waited to see if Ohno would be DQd. However, I just knew that if he was DQd, they'd also have to DQ Hamelin (Canada) too. Coming around that same last turn, he had a hand on Sung (Korea) who also went down. Crossing the finish line, it was Hamelin first, Ohno second.

So. The judge goes to the monitor to make a ruling. I watched the replay several times. The same replay that showed Ohno with a hand on Tremblays hip showed Hamelin actually wrapping his arm around Sung and basically pushing off which is what caused Sung to fall. So. I'm expecting TWO DQs, right ?

Nope. The judge DQd Ohno but apparently overlooked the blatant wrap around take down of Sung by Hamelin, so Hamelin keeps the gold.






By the way, the judge that made the call was Canadian.

[HometownGal]

U.S. Men's Bobsled Team Takes the Gold!

http://olympics.fanhouse.com/2010/02...-for-us-bob%2F

51 Seconds of Patience Erases 62 Years of Frustration for US Bobsledders

WHISTLER, British Columbia -- From 3,044 feet above sea level, the four Americans linked hands and peered down the treacherous hill. It had caused so much carnage across the last couple of weeks, so much heartache and headaches, but there wasn't much to say about it as they stood at the top of the icy slope and took one last look.

Less than a minute later, a mere 51.52 seconds to be exact, the foursome from USA 1 bolted out of their seats following a flawless ride on their precious sled Night Train and landed in a party that had been on hold for 62 years. Steven Holcomb, the masterful pilot, ripped off his helmet and waved it like a trophy in the crisp air. Teammate Curt Tomasevicz planted a juicy kiss on Holcomb's bald head. They had just won the United States' first four-man bobsled gold medal since 1948, igniting a raucous celebration that made it feel as if the Whistler mountains were actually shaking.

Holcomb's four-run time was 3 minutes, 24.46 seconds, with Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Tomasevicz pushing him across the finish line. They bested Germany's Andre Lange -- the Michael Jordan of sliding -- who finished 0.38 seconds behind USA 1, his bid to win a gold in six Olympic events thwarted. And they did it with a driver who less than two years ago was legally blind because of an eye disorder called keratoconus, before an innovative surgery that included planting contacts behind Holcomb's iris corrected his vision. But perhaps their most miraculous feat was surviving a course that for days had been chewing up and spitting out the world's best.

"You work so hard to get somewhere and you finally get there and you're kinda like, 'Now what? I don't know what to do,'" Holcomb said, minutes after his extraordinary win Saturday at the Whistler Sliding Centre. "But at the same time, these guys have been training so hard and working so hard for pretty much the last four years, to finally end on a high note like this is huge."

Not many saw this coming when Holcomb, his eyes rapidly deteriorating, learned to adapt by driving the sled more by feel than by sight. He knew his condition was putting his teammates at grave risk -- imagine not being able to focus while cruising at 95 mph through whiplash turns -- and was on the verge of retiring when his coach told him about an experimental procedure that might drastically improve his vision.

"Now everything looks amazing, almost too perfect," Holcomb told me. "But if I didn't have the eye problem I wouldn't know how to drive by feel, and we might not be in this position today."

America's long sliding drought over, Holcomb and his sledmates wrapped each other in the stars and stripes and began hugging anyone who came near. U.S. coach Brian Shimer looked as if he were getting squashed between Holcomb's mighty arms. Then the foursome leaped atop the trackside podium and began what they call the "Holcy Dance," a comical gig Holcomb made up in order to stay relaxed. "Oh, do the Holcy," they sang, paying tribute to the side-stepping, lip-biting dance Holcomb has performed in cities throughout the world. Though Francis Tyler was known for lighting up a cigarette at the end of each bobsleigh run, it's highly doubtful his team partied like this when they won the gold at St. Moritz in 1948, the last time an American team came in first before Saturday.

It's that kind of special.

Aboard the legendary sled that carried them to the overall World Cup titles in the 2009-10 season, Team Holcomb obliterated the track record in Friday's two heats, staying upright on a crazy day that featured six crashes, including a nasty spill by Olympic medalist Alexander Zubkov from Russia. The Whistler Sliding Centre might just be the most controversial, reviled venue in Olympic history. It was here that Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed during a training run and died hours before the opening ceremony. Amongst Friday's carnage was American John Napier, who pulled out of the Games with a strained neck that limited his mobility.

Even the great Lange nearly tipped his sled Friday in the perilous corner 13. He made a cool recovery but finished the day in third, a shocking place for the German who was favored to win his third consecutive Olympic four-man bobsleigh gold. Canada 2 driver Pierre Lueders was so angry after his Friday race, he banged his hands on the sled and ripped through the media mixed zone cursing about the "(blank) bull" crashes.

On the top of the snow-kissed hill Saturday, Team Holcomb pondered the 472-foot vertical drop that would be their final race. All they had to do was play it safe, and not destroy the lead carved on Friday. Olsen, the young energetic spark plug from Texas, said, "There really weren't any butterflies because we've been here before. If you try to take into perspective that this is the Olympics, the biggest race of your life, that's where you mess up."

They didn't dare discuss the country's 62-year gold medal drought, either, said Mesler. "We just relaxed. There was a moment where the four of us were standing there and everyone else had gone inside and we were the last ones there and it's a moment that I kind of stopped for a half a second and took it in," he said. "The four of us in an empty parking lot getting ready to go down the hill. I'll never forget that."

It was the four of them and Night Train, with the notorious curve 13 the only thing that stood in their way of creating Olympic lore. After watching half the sleds crash on corner 13 last year, Holcomb renamed it "50-50." He navigated it cleanly, perfectly, reaching close to 95 mph in curves 11 through 16 to beat Lange's team. For the first time since 1992, Germany did not win gold in the event. Afterward Lange said he plans to retire. Lyndon Rush, the Canadian who had admitted he was so alarmed by the track he might also retire, drove Canada 1 to the bronze.

The final, interminable seconds of the last run were the worst part for Holcomb and his team. "You can't see the clock. You have to make sure the guy's getting the brakes for one, 'cause if you go ripping by off the top, that wouldn't be cool," he said. "But it takes a second. When you hear everybody screaming and yelling it's hard to hear if they're cheering for you or because you got beat by Germany. As soon as I saw my team was holding up the No. 1, it was a huge moment."

It was, said Tomasevicz after he kissed Holcomb's head, "like a dream."

Even the other teams admitted they were in awe of USA 1 and their magical sled. "It's a great thing for the U.S.," Lueders, the Canada 2 driver said. "They've been competitive in bobsled for so long, but have been shut out quite a few times. (Holcomb) definitely is a talent, and I can't wait to see how he's going to do four years from now."

[tony hipchest]

also, congrats to former nascar driver geoffrey bodine, who has been building and supplying the bobsled team with snow rockets since 1998.

[7SteelGal43]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

also, congrats to former nascar driver geoffrey bodine, who has been building and supplying the bobsled team with snow rockets since 1998.

Yep, the Night Train looked gooooooooood on the track, didn't it ?!!!

[tony hipchest]

Yep, the Night Train looked gooooooooood on the track, didn't it ?!!!

hell yeah. great win for the 4 sledders and "all the guys back at the shop".

after watching how bad america sucked in curling, i was definitely pulling for the canadian mens and womens team. the men held serve on "home ice" and most certainly made canada proud. word is the "old bear" is 2nd to wayne gretzky as far as sportman notariety goes. i couldnt tell what was shinier, his bald head or the granite stones they tossed down the ice.

too bad for the ladies who had to settle for silver on a heartbreaking last throw of the rock.

as for lindsy vonn, i was a bit disappointed. if she was hurt, that is fine, but i thought she settled and was content with her 1st gold.

seemed like she was unfocused and just going through the motions in the rest of the events. maybe she can make up in 4 years like bode miller did.

shaun white dominated his peers more than any other atheletes did in the entire games.

US ice dancer belbin wins the gold for "2010 olympian id most like to bang".

[OneForTheToe]

Nice photo here. Look at those medals. Also, I hear Lindsey and Julia don't get along. If they need me to arbitrate their disputes I am game. Loser gets a spanking ... heck winner gets two.

[Indo]

I agree, Ohno got hosed....In an interview with Costas he said he simply put his hand up so that Tremblay wouldn't push into him and Tremblay takes a spill...

At least he was very classy about the decision and let it go.

Shaun White is just insane. He just set the bar WAAAAAAY higher when he did his half-pipe "victory lap". No one in the sport even comes close to him.

[7SteelGal43]

Originally Posted by Indo

I agree, Ohno got hosed....In an interview with Costas he said he simply put his hand up so that Tremblay wouldn't push into him and Tremblay takes a spill...

At least he was very classy about the decision and let it go.

Shaun White is just insane. He just set the bar WAAAAAAY higher when he did his half-pipe "victory lap". No one in the sport even comes close to him.

"Domination" doesn't begin to describe Shaun White !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shea]

Anyone missing the Olympics?

[YOUTUBE]8iEzN811p2Y[/YOUTUBE]

There's some good ones in that.