Lindsey Vonn on Final Olympic Downhill Run: 'I Wish I Could Keep Going'
Feb 20, 2018
United States' Lindsey Vonn reacts after competing in the women's downhill at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Lindsey Vonn, 33, ended her Olympic downhill career with a bronze medal at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in the event that aired live Tuesday in the United States, but she expressed her desire to keep going.
"It's sad. This is my last downhill," she said, via KARE 11 in Minneapolis. "I wish I could keep going, you know? I have so much fun. I love what I do. My body just can't - probably can't take another four years."
NBC Olympics shared the entire interview, which saw Vonn grow emotional when discussing her late grandfather, whose initials she put on her helmet for the race:
Vonn's time of one minute, 39.69 seconds was good enough for bronze, per Olympic.org, as Sofia Goggia of Italy won gold at 1:39.22, and Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway captured silver at 1:39.31.
According to the Associated Press, Vonn became the oldest female to medal in Alpine skiing at a Winter Olympics.
It was her third Olympic medal after she captured downhill gold and super-G bronze at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, but she battled more than just age to prevail in Pyeongchang. A knee injury cost her the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, she was airlifted off a mountain after a practice crash in the 2006 Torino Olympics and she suffered a broken arm and back injuries at other points of her career.
Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated reflected on Vonn's treacherous path to the podium:
So: 8 years after going gold-bronze in Vancouver, Lindsey Vonn has another Olympic bronze. After what she has endured in those eight years, even in the U.S gold-obsessed culture, this is a very cool thing.
Vonn is a skiing legend who has thrilled fans of the sport for years and had the opportunity to grace a downhill podium at the Olympics one more time with an emotional performance.
Lindsey Vonn Wins Bronze Medal in Downhill at 2018 Olympics
Feb 20, 2018
United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in the women's downhill at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Lindsey Vonn added another bronze medal to her trophy case on Day 12 of the 2018 Winter Olympics with a third-place finish in the ladies' downhill.
Sofia Goggia of Italy took home the gold medal with a time of 1:39.22, which was 0.47 seconds ahead of Vonn, via Olympic.org. Norway's Ragnhild Mowinckel earned the silver medal.
The American finished in sixth place in the super-G last week and followed it up with a quality showing in her specialty of downhill. With her third-place showing, Vonn becomes the oldest female Olympic medalist in Alpine skiing history.
Bill Pennington of theNew York Timesbroke down Vonn's run:
Vonn skied without a major mistake but can’t catch Goggia, especially in the middle section. Finishes 0.47 behind Goggia. Race is not over. Watch Venier and Siebenhofer
As Michael Eaves of ESPN noted, Vonn appeared happy for the eventual gold-medal winner:
Nice moment just now as Lindsey Vonn hugs Italy's Sofia Goggia, who's currently in 1st place. Said Vonn during the long embrace, "I love you." https://t.co/SgmWzEZB6I
"I'm proud of my performance," she said on the NBC broadcast after her run, via Sports Illustrated.
Vonn has been one of the best alpine skiers in the history of the sport, winning 81 World Cup events with four overall titles. Unfortunately, that level of success didn't carry over into the Olympics.
The 33-year-old first competed in the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City when she was 17, following it up with appearances in Torino, Italy, in 2006, Vancouver, Canada, in 2010 and now Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018. She missed the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, due to a torn ACL.
Vonn won a gold medal in downhill and a bronze in super-G at the 2010 Olympics, but she failed to medal in 2002 or 2006. She believed the 2018 Games were her chance to put a cap on her Olympic career.
"I want to end on a high note," she said prior to the opening ceremony, perSimon Evansof Reuters. "I really want to put an exclamation point on my career. It took me until my third Olympics how to figure out how to deal with the pressure."
She also discussed her preparation for this event Tuesday on Twitter:
More of myself....however there’s only one thing I can guarantee; I will give everything I have tomorrow. Count on it.
While Vonn should be thrilled to add another medal to her resume, she likely was hoping for gold in the downhill.
Vonn will have one more attempt at a gold medal in the women's combined event beginning Thursday in Pyeongchang.
Mikaela Shiffrin to Skip Downhill Skiing Due to Altered 2018 Olympics Schedule
Feb 19, 2018
United States' Mikaela Shiffrin smiles as she arrives for a women's downhill training run at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Mikaela Shiffrin announced Monday she will skip the downhill skiing event Wednesday in favor of focusing on Thursday's Alpine combined at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The Alpine combined was moved from Friday to Thursday due to wind conditions.
Shiffrin said the following regarding her decision, according to Nancy Armour of USA Today: "As much as I wanted to compete in the Olympic downhill, with the schedule change it's important for me to focus my energy on preparing for the combined.
"I'm looking forward to cheering on our girls racing in the downhill and to compete myself in Thursday's combined."
Shiffrin entered the Olympics with the intention of competing in all five skiing events.
She won gold in the giant slalom and finished fourth in the slalom before pulling out of the super-G due to scheduling changes.
The 22-year-old is already a two-time Olympic medalist after winning gold in the slalom at the 2014 Sochi Games in addition to her gold in the giant slalom this year.
Shiffrin has 10 victories on the World Cup circuit this year, one of which was in the downhill, while the other nine were split between the slalom, giant slalom and parallel slalom.
She is first in the overall standings and ranks fifth in the downhill.
The Alpine combined features downhill and slalom elements, and it will represent Shiffrin's final chance to leave Pyeongchang with multiple medals.
PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 18: Marcel Hirscher of Austria in action during the Alpine Skiing Men's Giant Slalom at Yongpyong Alpine Centre on February 18, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
Austria's Marcel Hirscher captured his second gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics as he bested the field in the men's giant slalom final Sunday in Pyeongchang, South Korea (Saturday evening in the United States).
Hirscher finished the competition with a final time of 2:18.04,which landed him 1.27seconds ahead of silver medalist Henrik Kristoffersen from Norway.
France's Alexis Pinturaultclocked in third and took home bronze.
Here's a look at the top-five finishers from the Yongpyong Alpine Centre, with complete results available through the Olympics' official website:
Silver: Henrik Kristoffersen (Norway) +1.27 seconds
Bronze: Alexis Pinturault (France) +1.31 seconds
4. Zan Kranjec (Slovenia) +1.73 seconds
5. Thomas Fanara (France) +1.79 seconds
Hirscher's gold represents the third Olympic medal of his career after he nabbed silver in slalom four years ago and gold in the men's combined final earlier in the week.
Marcel Hirscher is the first man to win the combined and the giant slalom at the same Olympics. 🇦🇹
He won the giant slalom by 1.27 seconds, the largest margin of victory in men's Olympic giant slalom since Jean-Claude Killy in 1968 (2.22 seconds). pic.twitter.com/3vkVapphVl
Given Hirscher's status as a six-time defending overall World Cup champion, his continued dominance hasn't come as much of a shock.
The big surprise, it turns out, was that American Ted Ligety landed well outside the podium and tied for the 15th-fastest overall time (2:21.25).
Ligety, who captured gold in giant slalom four years ago, finished his opening run with a time of 1:10.71 that left him 2.44 seconds off Hirscher's pace. His second run clocked in at 1:10.54.
"I was really surprised when I saw the time," Ligety said of his first run, according to the Washington Post'sRick Maese. "It didn't feel like I crushed it, but it didn’t feel 2.5 seconds bad.
"... I just thought it would run a little bit more challenging than the way it did. ... I just kind of like over-skied it and maybe thought the rolls were going to come into play a little bit more, and they were easy. No excuse."
A two-time gold medalist, Ligety has had a rough go during his first week in Pyeongchang following a handful of injury-riddled seasons on the international circuit.
Prior to Sunday's slow effort, the 33-year-old failed to finish his final run in the men's super-G competition when he skied off the course.
Ligety also finished fifth in the alpine combined, which represented a seven-place improvement from his performance four years ago.
PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 17: Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic reacts at the finish during the Alpine Skiing Ladies Super-G on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on February 17, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Ester Ledecka from the Czech Republic pulled off a stunning gold-medal victory Saturday (late Friday in the U.S.) in the women's super-G at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Anna Veith was in position to take the top prize with a time of 1:21.12, but Ledecka crossed the finish line one one-hundredth of a second faster to win her first career Olympic gold.
Liechtenstein's Tina Weirather joined Ledecka and Veith on the Olympic podium. American Lindsey Vonn failed to crack the top five, finishing tied for sixth with Italy's Federica Brignone with a time of 1:21.49.
Here's a rundown of the top finishers in the women's super-G, via the Olympics' website:
Gold: Ester Ledecka (Czech Republic), 1:21.11
Silver: Anna Veith (Austria), 1:21.12
Bronze: Tina Weirather (Liechtenstein), 1:21.22
Ledecka had already made history at these Olympics, becoming the first athlete to ever compete in snowboarding and skiing. She appeared almost frozen after crossing the finish line in first place:
Adding to the surprise of Ledecka's victory, she had never won a super-G medal at the world championships. According to NBC, she had won the parallel giant slalom in last March's world snowboard championships.
Veith, who looked nearly as stunned as Ledecka, was the defending Olympic gold medalist in this event. She battled back from a number of physical ailments, including surgery on both of her knees in the past three years.
Getting back on the medal stand after all that is still a huge triumph for the 28-year-old, even though it's not quite where she was hoping to be after completing an excellent run through the course.
Right on Ledecka's and Veith's heels, Weirather earned her first career Olympic medal by finishing third. The 28-year-old was scheduled to compete at the Sochi Games four years ago, but a crash during training forced her to sit out.
In addition to getting redemption for herself, Weirather also scored a huge win for her home country. Her bronze is the 10th-ever medal for Liechtenstein at the Winter Olympics and its first since 1988.
The story was not nearly as happy for Vonn, who was also making her return to the Olympics after knee injuries forced her to sit out the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.
Vonn's final stretch on the course is what kept her from earning a medal. She nearly crashed at the end and had to fight to regain her balance. It worked, since she made a clean finish, but it wasn't the triumphant moment the American star was planning on.
This was just the start of Vonn's Olympics. She will be back on the slopes Wednesday at 11 a.m. local time in the ladies' downhill.
Lindsey Vonn's Tough Journey Back to the Olympics Adding to Her Family Legacy
Feb 16, 2018
PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 09: United States alpine skier Lindsey Vonn attends her press conference at the Main Press Centre during previews ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 9, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Ker Robertson/Getty Images)
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Two Novembers ago, Lindsey Vonn struggled to wiggle her fingers. A fractured right humerus in her arm zapped her of all feeling. When Vonn's fitness coach, Alex Bunt, came to see her, he couldn't believe what he saw.
Vonn, a world-champion athlete and one of the most decorated winter Olympians ever, was unable to pick up coins or a pencil.
She suffered the injury while training at Copper Mountain, just another setback to add to the ever-growing pile. Three years earlier, she tore her right ACL. A re-injury to that knee a few weeks later kept her out of the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi, Russia. She missed much of the 2013 season with an intestinal infection.
She spent three years in total rehabbing: most of 2013, most of 2014, part of 2015 and part of 2016.
Vonn, so aware of of another setback, is wearing a facemask around the facilities, hoping she won't catch the highly contagious norovirus that has made the rounds in Pyeongchang.
"I'm in the high-traffic zones like the media center. I don't know which of you are sick and I'm just being safe," she said. "I wore them on the plane over here as well. I did that at Vancouver. I wore a mask, but I figured that for a press conference, a mask wasn't appropriate."
Through all of the injuries, all of the setbacks, all of the aches and pains, Vonn never doubted she would be back. A few weeks before she was set to make her Olympic return, Vonn won two World Cup downhill races in Germany. That's the latest indication she's roaring and ready to compete for a medal in Pyeongchang, where she's in contention for her three events: downhill, super-G and combined.
At 33 years old, this is likely Vonn's last Olympic Games. Given that she hasn't competed on the biggest of international stages for eight years, nothing was going to stop her from getting back.
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 04: Lindsey Vonn of USA competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Downhill on February 4, 2018 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Hans Bezard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
"I really want to put an exclamation point on my career," Vonn said. "It took me until my third Olympics to figure out how to deal with the pressure. Most of the time, especially in my second Olympics in Torino, I put more pressure on myself than anyone put on me."
Both Bunt and Vonn's head coach, Chris Knight, never doubted for a second that she would make it to Pyeongchang, health-dependent. They've seen the type of attitude she brings to the mountains, everything that she's been through to get to this point. But Vonn faces an even bigger task, greater than herself, at these Olympic games.
She's skiing for her grandfather, Don Kildow, who's one of the major reasons she turned into an Olympic legend.
"Her toughness," Hunt said, "comes from her family, and her grandfather."
Vonn was the oldest grandchild of Kildow, a Korean War veteran who died on Nov. 1. He was the one who founded the local ski club and introduced the sport to his family. When Kildow was 16, his father passed away.
At the time, the family was in the midst of building a house themselves, so they lived in a garage. As the family mourned Kildow's father, he finished constructing the house on his own, taking care of his mother and his siblings, all the while going to school and playing sports in Milton, Wisconsin. Kildow spent his entire life working in construction, instilling his work ethic in Lindsey and the rest of his family.
Vonn thought 2018 would be the year her grandfather would return to the country he once defended in war. He would watch his granddaughter finish her career and leave behind a legacy as one of the greatest skiers ever, male or female. Vonn tears up every time he's mentioned.
"I just want so badly to do well for him. I miss him so much," she said. "He's been such a big part of my life. I really hoped that he would be alive to see me, but I know he's watching, and I know that he's going to help me and I'm going to win for him."
She wouldn't be in a position to win for him without the toughness she learned under his watch. Vonn's coaches seem perplexed at times about how she's managed to get through all of it—the personal loss, the injuries, the paparazzi-level fame.
"I originally came from New Zealand, and I've watched a lot of rugby in my life, and I'm also an ice hockey fan. You see hits and tackles and the rest of it, and then you see Lindsey take a crash, and she gets up and comes back the next day," Knight said. "Then just being able to start off again, at exactly the same place that she left off before she got hurt, that's just incredible toughness to be able to do that."
As Vonn embarks on her final quest for gold, her future remains in question. She wants to ski one more season to pursue Ingemar Stenmark's record 86 World Cup victories. The accolades or fame aren't what she's focused on as she gears up for what's likely to be her last run at the Olympics, though.
"It's not really about me or my career," Vonn said. "It's about my grandfather."
Without all of that time with Kildow, Vonn doesn't know whether she'd have been here in the first place.
Lindsey Vonn's 2018 Winter Olympics Schedule: Event Times for TV and Live Stream
Feb 16, 2018
PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 09: United States alpine skier Lindsey Vonn attends her press conference at the Main Press Centre during previews ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 9, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Ker Robertson/Getty Images)
The American skier missed the 2014 Sochi Games due to a torn ACL, and she has been forced to wait more than a week to get started in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The long time off seemed to be getting to her:
Seriously antsy to get my events started at these Olympics. Probably going to bite all my nails off... 🤦🏼♀️ #dontjudgeme (racing on the 17th, 21st and 23rd)... approx. 3 days, 22 hours and 56 minutes to go!
Fortunately, she is about to get started as she tries to add to her impressive career resume. Vonn qualified for all five Alpine skiing events, but she will only compete in three with the hope of bringing home some gold medals.
Here is a look at her upcoming schedule in South Korea.
Ladies Super-G: Friday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET (Saturday at 11 a.m. local)
Ladies Downhill: Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 9 p.m. ET (Monday at 11 a.m. local)
Ladies Combined—Downhill: Thursday, Feb. 22 at 9 p.m. ET (Monday at 11 a.m. local)
Ladies Combined—Slalom: Friday, Feb. 23 at 12:30 a.m. ET (Friday at 2:30 p.m. local)
All events will be shown on NBC. Live stream available at NBCOlympics.com.
Preview
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 04: Lindsey Vonn of USA competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Downhill on February 4, 2018 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Hans Bezard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
Vonn has won one gold and one bronze medal in her Olympic career, which is a great mark for most people but a bit of a disappointment for the 33-year-old.
The skier has won four overall World Cup championships to go with 81 event titles, making her one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the sport.
Unfortunately, things haven't quite gone as smoothly in the Winter Olympics.
Vonn qualified for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics at just 17 years old, returning four years later in the 2006 Turin Games. Despite competing in six events over this stretch, she failed to earn a spot on the medal stand. She finally earned a gold in 2010 in the downhill, as well as a bronze in the super-G, but she did not finish the other three events.
Although she seems to be unstoppable in the World Cup, she only has one win and one bronze in 11 career events. Missing out on the 2014 Sochi Olympics only added more disappointment for the immensely talented competitor.
However, she is confident this year will be a chance to add some more medals to her trophy case.
"In 2010, I was a much healthier athlete," Vonn said, per Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post. "But in 2018, I'm a much stronger athlete, not just physically but mostly mentally. I've overcome a lot. I know what I'm capable of, and I think I know how to handle myself better than I did."
Vonn's best event is the downhill, although she has a chance to medal in all three of her disciplines.
Still, there will be legitimate competition in each race from Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein, Italy's Sofia Goggia and USA teammate Mikaela Shiffrin among others.
Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, reacts to her time during the second run of the women's slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
American Mikaela Shiffrin finished off the podium in the women's slalom final Friday afternoon in Pyeongchang, South Korea, at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Sweden's Frida Hansdotter took home gold, Switzerland's Wendy Holdener claimed silver and Austria's Katharina Gallhuber secured bronze in the event that took place Thursday night in the United States.
Here's a rundown of the top finishers, with final times for all skiers available through the Olympics' website:
Shiffrin was the odds-on favorite after she topped the podium four years ago in Sochi, Russia, but a chance to become thefirst skier in Olympic history to nab back-to-back gold medals in slalom eluded her.
The 22-year-old finished 0.48 seconds back after her first run—a significant deficit to make up—and that performance may have been the product of an illness.
According to the New York Times, Shiffrin told NBC she vomited before Friday's competition.
"It was kind of sudden. It almost felt like a virus kind of puking, less about nerves," she said.
Shiffrin posted the third-fastest time (49.66 seconds) in her second run, but it wasn't enough to keep her in medal contention as she finished off the podium for the first time in a major slalom competition, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
Mikaela Shiffrin finished 4th in the slalom at #PyeongChang2018, finishing 0.08 seconds behind the bronze medalist.
It's the first time in five slalom appearances at the Olympics & World Championships that she didn't win. pic.twitter.com/Sj8TohsSgU
With Shiffrin lagging, the door was open for Hansdotter to steal the show after she finished fifth in the event four years ago.
The 32-year-old nabbed her first Olympic medal. She alsojoinedAnja Paerson as the only Swedish women to medal in slalom.
Shiffrin will try to add to her medal collection when she competes in the downhill (Feb. 21) and alpine combined (Feb. 23).
Mikaela Shiffrin Will Skip Super-G Race Due to Compressed 2018 Olympics Schedule
Feb 15, 2018
PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 15: Gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States celebrates during the medal ceremony for Alpine Skiing - Ladies' Giant Slalom on day six of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Medal Plaza on February 15, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Mikaela Shiffrin's pursuit of five gold medals at the Pyeongchang Games is over, as the giant slalom winner will skip Saturday’s Super-G event after two postponements led to a compressed skiing schedule for competitors.
"She will have raced and trained—or tried to race—for six days in a row," her mother and coach, Eileen Shiffrin, told Nancy Armour of USA Today. "She has to have a day off."
Shiffrin's mother said skipping the Super-G isn't a big deal, however.
"It's not a big goal anyway," she noted. "We have speed girls who can race Super-G. She wanted to have a shot at the hill and see how she would stack up against the speed girls, and then the coaches would choose the fastest people to go. There's not even going to be an opportunity for her. We're just going to get her a day of rest and then go do the downhill and combined."
Shiffrin still has the slalom, downhill and combined on her schedule, leaving her the opportunity to come home with four golds. Shiffrin is the defending Olympic champion in the slalom and will be the favorite in that event, and she is expected to be on the podium for both the combined and downhill as well.
Her chances of participating in the Super-G came to an end after the weather caused the giant slalom to be postponed from Monday until Thursday and the slalom from Wednesday to Friday. With the Super-G on Saturday, Shiffrin was facing an intense slate of competition.
Shiffrin has previously mentioned the schedule changes have presented a new set of challenges to the competitors.
"Definitely, it's been a mental strain the last couple days, thinking we're going to race and then not racing,"she said after winning the giant slalom on Thursday morning, per theAssociated Press (h/t ESPN.com). "So to finally have the race actually happen today, I was like, 'Well, I really hope that I actually can do it when the time comes that we finally race.' And, yeah, I did. So now we got the ball rolling. I'm really excited for tomorrow."
Olympic Alpine Skiing Schedule 2018: Live Stream, TV Guide for Men's Super-G
Feb 15, 2018
PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 13: Marcel Hirscher of Austria makes a run during the Men's Alpine Combined Slalom on day four of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on February 13, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
The speed events are set to take centre stage in the alpine skiing sector of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Thursday will see gold, silver and bronze decided in the men's Super-G final.
Participants will descend down a steep climb at Jeongseon Alpine Centre and arc their way through gates in a similar fashion to the downhill event, except with a lot more focus fixed upon the turning aspect of the race.
Norway's Kjetil Jansrud bulleted to gold at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and returns four years on hoping to defend his crown, except numerous challengers to the throne lie waiting to pounce on any errors.
One of those looking to claim gold will be Austrian Marcel Hirscher, who has already won gold in alpine skiing at these Games, as well as American Andrew Weibrecht, who took silver at Sochi four years ago.
Read on for a preview of Thursday's race, along with a breakdown of the viewing details you need to tune in.
Date: Thursday, February 15
Time: 9 a.m. ET/2 a.m. GMT (Friday, Feb. 16)
TV Info: NBC Universal (U.S.), BBC and Eurosport (UK)
The men's Super-G will make a belated arrival in Pyeongchang after high winds caused disruption to the alpine skiing speed events, per BBC Sport, with optimal conditions required in this as much as any other discipline.
Jansrud posted his appreciation of the improving weather in preparation for this and the men's combined event on Tuesday:
Race is ON! Super-g start and “windline” over the jumps. 1min28. No changes to slalom. Let’s go!
The defending champion kept the Super-G men's gold medal in Norwegian hands after namesake Kjetil Andre Aamodt won at the 2002 and 2006 Games, while fellow compatriot Aksel Lund Svindal topped the times in Vancouver in 2010.
Austria's Hermann Maier was the last non-Norwegian competitor to win Olympic gold in the men's Super-G, and Jansrud's immediate reaction to his triumphant run in Sochi made it clear just how fast it was:
One of the leading contenders to take the podium's top spot from him is another Austrian, in-form Hirscher, who succeeded in the downhill and slalom on Tuesday to taste gold in the men's combined event.
NBC's Nick Zaccardi teased the opportunity for Hirscher to record a rare piece of Olympics history following that win, with a man largely viewed as one of the greatest alpine skiers of all time gathering good momentum:
Marcel Hirscher has a great shot to match the record three gold medals at one Olympics of Toni Sailer, Jean-Claude Killy and Janica Kostelic. Favored in next week's slalom and giant slalom.
France are one of the most heavily represented nations in the men's Super-G event, with their eight competitors second only to Switzerland's mass of nine.
Jan Hudec was one of two skiers to take the bronze in Sochi four years ago, and sports reporter Gregory Strong commented on the changed landscape since he switched allegiance from Canada to his native Czech Republic since then:
Jan Hudec, who ended Canada's men's alpine Olympic medal drought in Sochi, somehow makes it back to the Games - this time with the Czech Republic. "I joke that I'm the third alternate to the guy whose cousin once knew a guy at the Olympics." My story: https://t.co/9vPXUfKORQpic.twitter.com/R7zscp6bBK
Along with Hirscher, the French pair of Alexis Pinturault and Victor Muffat-Jeandet will be looking to add to the medals they collected in the combined after tasting silver and bronze, respectively.
The Super-G promises thrills and spills at an unnatural pace, with an open field of contenders vying for control in one of the fastest events on offer at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
