March 01, 2010 (Whistler, BC) – The Olympic Games are over. What started with problems
1. Most Heroic performance – this is an easy one – Petra Majdic (SLO). After a bizarre crash before the start of the qualifying race for the sprints in which she broke five ribs, she went on to win a bronze medal in the final and at the same time punctured a lung. This was an unbelievable performance and will be talked about for a long, long time.
2. Queen of the Games – Another easy one, who else had five medals besides Norway’s Marit Bjoergen? After a disappointing Olympics in 2006 in Torino, Bjoergen came into these Games four years later and won a medal in every race she competed in – including three golds. She was at the front in every race and in the races she did not win she was right there at the finish.
3. Best Trash Talker – this has to go to Kristina Smigun-Vaehi after winning a silver medal in the opening 10km skate. When told that Poland’s Justina Kowalczyk (who finished 5th in the race) had said after the first race that the trails were too easy her response was “blah, blah, blah – it is the same for everyone, just go faster”
4. Best Response to Trash Talking – Justina Kowalczyk who won the women’s 30km while Kristina Smigun-Vaehi was 28th in the same race.
5. King of the Games – Norway’s Petter Northug put a final stamp on a world class performance with his second gold medal in the 50km classic mass start. He also won gold in the team sprints to go along with a silver in the relay and a bronze in the sprints. It did not look like he would be very good after starting the Games with a 41st in the 15km skate individual start skate race, but he showed once again that he cannot be beaten in a final sprint.
6. Best Team at the Games – This is a tie between Norway and Sweden. Bjoergen and Northug won nine medals between them. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla and Anna Haag both won individual medals for the women and Marcus Hellner and Johan Olsson each won more than one medal. Each team won a relay gold medal.
7. Most Disappointing Team at the Games – another tie, this time between the Russians and the Americans. While Americans in most other sports were winning more medals than any other nation, the cross-country team faltered. The 6th place finish by Kikkan Randall and Caitlin Compton in the Team Sprint, and Randall’s 8th place in the classic sprints were good results. The Russians did win three medals in the sprints but the men’s distance team was not very good and the women were nowhere near the top. They have a lot of work to do before Sochi in 2014.
8. Most Improved Team – the Canadian men’s team had a fantastic Olympics. They had six top 10 individual finishes including 4th place finishes by Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey in the team sprint, a 5th by Kershaw in the men’s 50km, Ivan Babikov had a 5th in the 30km pursuit and an 8th in the 15km freestyle, while George Grey and Alex Harvey were 8th and 9th respectively in the 30km pursuit. Add a 7th place in the men’s relay – also a Games best ever result – and you have a great Olympics for the Canadian men.
9. Hardest Decision of the Games – the decision that had to be made by the Canadian coaching staff on who was going to race in the 50km was one that I was glad that I did not have to make. There were five guys who could ski but only four spots and in the end the coaches went with the hottest skiers. Everyone in their heart wanted Brian McKeever to race but the coaches choose with their heads. Was it the right decision? I think so. Go kick butt at the Paralympics Brian – and bring home the gold!
10. Most Exciting Race – all 12 of them! It doesn’t get any better than this for cross-country skiing.