How's the Weather?

In Chantilly, VA, the weather is currently  29 degrees fahrenheit under mostly sunny skies.  Outside my front door sits about 6 inches of snow and shoveled piles up to 6 feet high.  Tonight, there is a chance of 1-3 inches of snow.  According to Weather.com, the temperature and outlook for Philadelphia, PA is about the same.

Sochi won the bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics over Pyeonchang, South Korea and Salzburg, Austria.  In Pyeongchang, it is currently 24 degrees fahrenheit.  The high temperatures in the next 5 days will be 42, 43, 44, 44 and 42.  In Salzburg, the temperature is 37.  The highs for the next 5 days will be 57, 44, 51, 46 and 45.  Rain is expected from Wednesday through Sunday.

The 2018 Winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.  The weather there is listed above.  Pyeongchang won the bid over Munich, Germany and Annecy, France.  The temperature in Munich is currently 41.  The highs for the next 5 days will be 56, 46, 51, 43 and 46.  Rain is expected Wednesday and Friday.  In Annecy, the temperature is 37.  The highs for the next 5 days will be 59, 50, 53, 45 and 47.  Rain is expected Friday.

The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, Canada.  The temperature in Vancouver is 44.  The high for the next 5 days will be 43, 43, 43, 41 and 42.  Rain is expected through Thursday, with a chance for a little snow on Thursday, as well.

The 2006 Winter Olympics were held in Torino, Italy.  The temperature in Torino is 50.  The highs for the next 5 days will be 52, 55, 59, 53 and 54.  Light rain is expected Wednesday and Friday.

The 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City Utah.  The temperature in Salt Lake City is 55.  The highs for the next 5 days will be 52, 45, 42, 42 and 46.  Rain is expected Thursday, with a few snow showers on Saturday.

The 1998 Winter Olympics were held in Nagano, Japan.  Temperatures in Nagano are basically the same as those listed for the various cities above.

The 1994 Winter Olympics were held in Lillehammer, Norway.  The temperature in Lillehammer is 34.  The highs for the next 5 days will be 32, 29, 27, 31 and 32, with snow expected Tuesday through Thursday.

Isn't it time we put a little winter back into the Winter Olympics?

The Washington Post ran an article stating that the symbol of these Olympics should be a stretcher.  The main theme of the Post's article is similar to my idea, but was not my inspiration.  Anyone who has read my posts on the Winter Olympics knows that I have grown to love two things over the last week, biathlon and Johnny Weir.  Imagine my dismay at the postponement of the Men's biathlon yesterday and the announcement that the Women's biathlon was to be postponed today?  The reason?  Fog on the course.

I had been planning a weather related post for a few days.  Watching the skiing events in particular made me think weather was an appropriate subject to discuss this year.   Watching the Today Show broadcast from outside in springlike temperatures piled on.  Shoveling a foot of snow last week should have been the final straw.  The biathlon debacle finally put me over the edge.

Aside from my position as a purist in that I believe the Winter Olympics should occur in winter weather, the weather is affecting the competition.  I have already talked about falling, but things are just getting worse.  On the cross country skiing course, the snow is being compared to mashed potatoes.  The downhill skiing event looked like a fight more than a race.  The Super G competitions were even worse.  As I stated yesterday (or meant to, but forgot to finish a sentence) only one of the first eight women to start the Super G finished the course.  In the Men's Super G, one competitor missed the second gate.  Four years of training and hard work over in less than 10 seconds.  The Women's Snowboard Cross qualifying was more a war of attrition than a timed race.  More than one competitor was taken off in a stretcher.  In one of the quarterfinal races, the competitors who advanced were the only three who finished.  The gold medal in Women's Aerials went to the only competitor who landed on her feet.  The landing area in the Aerials looks like it has been filled with talc powder.  The television coverage is talking almost as much about snow, salt and chemicals as the competition.

The visuals don't work either.  In the Women's Cross Country relay, one of the US skiers was wearing a sleeveless  top.  Most of the competitors were in short sleeves.  No one wore a hat.  I have seen video of people frolicking in the waters of the Black Sea.  The main Olympic park is full of people casually strolling from venue to venue in short sleeves or light jackets.  Off the mountain, not a snowflake is to be found.

This is not the first time.  I remember the numerous events suspended and even shortened in Vancouver for the same reasons.  Snow had to be shipped into Vancouver for the skiing events.  For Sochi, Russia has tons of snow in reserve, in case it is needed.  Luckily that has not been the case, but the carnage left by the rising temperatures should be more embarrassing than the need to ship in snow would have been.  I remember issues in Torin, even if I can't recall specifics.  Same with Nagano, which is on basically the same latitude line as Washington, DC.  Reports from these games go back to Lillehammer for the last time the Winter Olympics looked and felt like the Winter Olympics.

I imagine the Winter Olympics as the quaint little winter town in contrast to the vast monstrosity of the Summer Games.  I was in college when the Olympics were in Lillehammer and I remember Tommy Moe's surprise gold medal in the downhill, Nancy and Tanya and David Letterman's Mom.  I also remember that Lillehammer looked like a quaint, winter village.  That's how I always want to remember the Winter Olympics, not with mashed potato snow, stretchers, fog delays and beautiful pictures of a water resort town.

For fun, the cities expected to bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics are Krakow, Poland; Oslo, Norway; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Lviv, Ukraine; and Beijing, China, with snow events in Zhangjikou.  I'm rooting for Oslo...or Almaty.

Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits)

1. The Women's 12.5K Biathlon Mass Start was competed.  Belarussian Darya Domracheva won her third gold medal of these games.  That's one winter gold for Belarus from 1994 through 2010.  Three for Domracheva in 2014.  Today's performance was dominant, just like the pursuit.  Gabriela Soukalova, who is great fun to look at, finished second.  American Susan Dunklee skied well and finished 12th, highest finish for an American woman ever, but not good enough for me to get that prediction right.

2.  On February 17, 2006, Sweden upset the US in the semifinals of the Olympic Hockey tournament.  On February 17, 2014, the US demolished Sweden.  Gold medal game v. Canada, as expected.

3. The Heartbreaker strikes again.  Big win v. Russia to quiet the home crowd and keep Team GB in the medal hunt.

4.  Congratulations to Bode Miller for his bronze medal in the Super G.  Bode adds to his record number of medals for a US Alpine skier and joins Andrew Weibrecht, the surprise silver medalist, in breaking a fairly poor performance so far for the US in Alpine skiing.  Weibrecht was a joy to watch.  He barely maintained control throughout the race.

5.  Lindsey Jacobellis came into the 2006 Olympics as the favorite to win the gold in Snowboard Cross.  She fell on the last jump of the finals with a huge lead.  Lindsey Jacobellis came into the 2010 Olympics as a favorite to win the gold in Snowboard Cross.  She fell during the semifinals.  Lindsey Jacobellis came into the 2014 Olympics as the favorite to win the gold in Snowboard Cross.  She fell late in the semifinals with a huge lead.  perhaps the Olympics just aren't her thing.

6.  Why do we suck so bad at speedskating this year?  Short and long.  Did I already say that?

7.  I enjoy ice dancing a little more than I would like to admit.


Predictions Recap

1. US gets bronze in Men's hockey, gold in Women's. - Pending, but looks like I may have undersold us.

2. Ashley Wagner shocks the world with a bronze. - Pending

3. Mikaela Shiffrin becomes the darling of these games. - Really, really close to wrong.

4. US beats Russia in both total medals and golds. - Pending, and very close.

5. I will watch more biathlon than anyone else in America. - Still pending, but so far, so good.  And I still love Chad Salmela.

6. Putin will be on TV more during these Olympics than Kate Middleton was in 2012. And that's a bad thing, because Kate is much more fun to look at, for everyone except my Baltic States Insider. - So far, so good, but Morgan Miller, Bode's wife, is giving Putin a run.

7. Yulia Lipnistkaya gets confused for a lost child and almost misses the Women's Short Program. Pending

8.  Gold for Davis/White in ice dancing.  (Yeah, I'm hoping for a cheap correct.)  Correct  And well deserved.  Johnny Weir was on his game as well.

9.  927 Russian suicides were saved by former Capital Semyon Varlamov in the shootout v. Slovakia today.  Can't find any news stories on this, but I am going to say WRONG!!! because it was over 1,000.

10.  US Medal drought continues in Women's 1500m today.  Correct This seems like a cheaper prediction than the ice dancing at this point.

11.  Historic US Medal in Men's 15K Biathlon.  Pending

12.  Historic US Medal in Women's 12.5K Biathlon.  (Neither of these are likely, but if it happens, I can say I predicted it.)  WRONG!!!

Predictions


1.  US Men get 1 medal in Nordic Combined.  let's say silver for Taylor Fletcher.

2. US Women's Short Track Relay breaks the drought with a bronze.

3.  Russia beats Norway in hockey.

4.  Slovakia beats the Czech Republic to set up quarterfinal with US in hockey.


What to Watch For

1.  Men's Bobsled.  Last 2 runs on prime time tonight.

2.  Women's Bobsled.  Lolo Jones tries to get that elusive Olympic Medal.

3.  Biathlon Relays.  Assuming no fog.

4.  Parallel Slalom.  As if there aren't enough ridiculous events already.

Random Fact of the Day

I have to get Middle to swim practice.  It is true, it is random, and it is all I can come up with right now.