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American ski jumper Patrick Gasienica died Monday at the age of 24 after he was involved in a motorcycle crash in Illinois, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com).
USA Nordic Sport and U.S. Ski & Snowboard issued a joint statement saying their "thoughts and condolences are with his family, friends and the ski jumping community."
USA Today's Jordan Mendoza reported blunt force trauma was identified as the preliminary cause of death and that an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Gasienica's death remain ongoing.
Gasienica represented the United States in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. He placed 49th in the individual normal hill and 53rd in the large hill events. He was also on the men's large hill team that finished in 10th.
The McHenry, Illinois, native also competed in the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and twice participated in the FIS Junior World Ski Championships.
The ski jumping competitions at the 2022 Winter Olympics came to an end on Monday with a fourth nation earning gold in one of the sport's disciplines.
Austria rounded out the program by winning the men's large hill team event.
Austria, Japan, Norway and Slovenia all earned gold medals on the ski jumping hills in China. Slovenia was the only nation to land a pair of gold medals and finished on top of the medal table with four overall, including a silver from the men's team event Monday.
A total of eight nations won medals across three male, one female and one team events that took place over the last week.
Ski Jumping Medal Table
1. Slovenia (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) - 4
2. Germany (0 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) - 3
T3. Austria (1 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze) - 2
T3. Japan (1 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze) - 2
5. Norway (1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze) - 1
6. Russian Olympic Committee (0 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze) - 1
T7. Canada (0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze) - 1
T7. Poland (0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze) - 1
Individual Medal Winners
Men's Individual Normal Hill
Gold: Ryoyu Kobayashi (Japan)
Silver: Manuel Fettner (Austria)
Bronze: Dawid Kubacki (Poland)
Men's Individual Large Hill
Gold: Marius Lindvik (Norway)
Silver: Ryoyu Kobayashi (Japan)
Bronze: Karl Geiger (Germany)
Men's Team Large Hill
Gold: Austria
Silver: Slovenia
Bronze: Germany
Women's Individual Normal Hill
Gold: Ursa Bogataj (Slovenia)
Silver: Katharina Althaus (Germany)
Bronze: Nika Kriznar (Slovenia)
Mixed Team Normal Hill
Gold: Slovenia
Silver: Russian Olympic Committee
Bronze: Canada
Slovenia Earns Most Ski Jumping Medals
Both of the gold medals earned by Slovenia at the Winter Olympics so far were earned in ski jumping.
Slovenia captured gold in the mixed team normal hill event and through Ursa Bogataj in the women's individual normal hill competition.
The central European nation also picked up a silver and a bronze to round out the best medal record in the sport. The performances over the last week-and-a-half put Slovenia ahead of some traditional powers like Austria, Germany and Norway.
Slovenia did not win a ski jumping medal at the 2018 Games, and it earned just two bronze medals eight years ago in Sochi.
The Slovenian women had the chance to perform so well since FIS World Cup leader Marita Kramer of Austria was unable to compete because of a positive COVID-19 test.
Slovenia has the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 women in the World Cup standings, but none of them were as dominant as Kramer going into the Olympics. The Austrian won six individual competitions on the World Cup circuit.
The two gold medals earned in Beijing doubled Slovenia's overall gold medal haul at the Winter Olympics. The other two came from the Sochi Games in Alpine skiing.
Germany Fails to Win Ski Jumping Gold
Germany entered Beijing with the top male ski jumper in the world in Karl Geiger and the No. 1 team in the FIS World Cup standings, but it left China with one silver and two bronze medals in a sport it was expected to earn at least one gold medal in.
Geiger placed first or second in nine different events on the World Cup circuit this season. He had two victories and a second-place mark in the final four competitors prior to Beijing.
The results in Beijing ended a run of two straight Olympics in which Germany won a ski jumping gold. It won three gold medals in Sochi and Pyeongchang, which was tied with Poland for the most ski jumping victories in that span.
Germany still came away from the Winter Olympics with three ski jumping medals, but the overall performance was a bit disappointing based on the results earlier this winter.
The ski jumping portion of the Olympic competition in Pyeongchang came to an end Monday with Norway taking the team gold in the large hill team event.
The Norwegians were led by Robert Johansson, who finished the competition with a 137.6-point jump, clinching the top spot in the competition over Germany and Poland.
Norway finished the event at the Alpensia Ski Jumping facility with a score of 1098.5, while Germany was more than 20 points behind at 1075.7. Poland took home the bronze medal with a score of 1072.4.
Johansson who became known during the competition for his long and flowing mustache said he felt some anxiety even though his team had the lead going into his last jump.
"I did see on the top that we had 22 points on Poland before the last jump," Johansson said, per Matt Bowker of NBCOlympics.com. "That made me a bit calmer but anyway the nerves are coming more and more as it's closing in to your own jump. So I just tried to calm myself down and calm myself down good enough to deliver what it took. Nervous, but a fantastic feeling afterwards."
Johansson was joined by Daniel Andre Tande, Andreas Stjernen and Johann Andre Forfang on the gold-medal winning team.
Neither the Americans nor the Canadians had an entry in the team finals.
Johansson finished with two bronze medals in addition to the gold he helped his country win Monday. He finished third in the men's large hill individual jump and the normal hill individual jump. Forfang was second in the normal hill jump.
Germany's Andreas Wellinger won the normal hill and finished second in the large hill individual jump. Poland's Kamil Stoch won the large hill individual jump.
On the women's side, Maren Lundby of Norway won the gold medal in the normal hill individual jump and she was followed by Katharina Althaus. Japan's Sara Takanashi took the bronze medal in that event.
Here's a look at the full results for the Olympic ski jumping competition at Pyeongchang.
Favourites Norway added yet another gold medal to their impressive 2018 Winter Olympics tally, winning the team large hill ski jumping competition on Monday.
The Norwegians opened up a significant gap early in the second round of jumps, after rivals Poland and Germany had kept things close. Germany would grab the silver, with Poland settling for bronze.
Here's a look at the final results, via Newsskijumping:
Recap
As shared by Newsskijumping, the results from the trial round indicated fans were in for a thrilling showdown at the top of the standings:
Norway's team were the favourites thanks to their awesome depth and two stars Johann Andre Forfang and Robert Johansson, but Poland and Germany were in a good position to make life hard on the Scandinavians.
The Poles in particular had every reason to like their chances, with 2017 World Champion Maciej Kot and Olympic champion Kamil Stoch combining forces. Germany were headed by normal hill Olympic champion Andreas Wellinger.
Poland fell behind early, as Norway and Germany were just two points apart after their opening jumps, and when Andreas Stjernen added 134.6 points to the tally, Norway's advantage already seemed significant.
Forfang couldn't match his team-mate, however, while Dawid Kubacki scored a remarkable 139.7 to put Poland back in the race.
Michael Hayboeck salvaged what was a poor first round for Austria, but the focus was on the medal candidates. Stoch's 143.1 was a great total, but Wellinger did even better with a 145.9.
Johansson only managed a score of 137.2, meaning the scores were close after the first round of jumps:
Karl Geiger did better than Kot in the second round, giving Germany some breathing room over the Poles, but Daniel Andre Tande responded with a score of 141.8, by far the best of the first set of jumpers. As a result, Norway's lead was over 15 points.
Stefan Hula steered Poland past Germany with his second jump, but Stjernen did even better, and Norway's lead appeared safe heading into the final rounds. While Forfang again fell short, Johansson easily brought the gold home, and Wellinger just edged Stoch to hand Germany the silver medal.
For the full scores, visit Olympic.org.
Ski jumping at the 2018 Winter Olympics will come to an end on Monday with the final of the men's team large hill competition.
The big favourites for glory in the event are Norway, as they had three finishers in the top five of the individual event. The team will be hoping to make amends for their disappointing performance at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, when they finished in sixth position.
Germany are the defending champions, while Poland are predicted to finish third; they have large hill gold medalist Kamil Stoch within their ranks.
Here are the details needed to ensure none of the action is missed at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Center in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and a preview of what's to come on Monday.
Date: Monday, February 19
Time: Round 1 - 12:30 p.m. (GMT), 7:30 a.m. (ET), Final - 1:36 p.m. (GMT), 8:36 a.m. (ET)
TV Info: Eurosport (UK), NBC Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: Eurosport Player (UK), NBC Sports App (U.S.)
Norway Expected to Win Gold
Although none of the Norwegian competitors in the large hill were good enough to get the better of Stoch, the individual event would've given the group a massive amount of confidence on the cusp of the team competition.
Not only did Robert Johansson (third), Daniel Andre-Tande (fourth) and Johann Andre Forfang (fifth) all perform well, Andreas Stjernen was eighth in the standings.
Johansson, who has two bronze medals at these Games already, said he was excited about what the quartet may be capable of while adding they still have a lot of work to do, per Mark Trevelyan of Reuters.
"It's fantastic that the whole team is performing at a high level," he said. "We have four guys among the eight best. To be able to be in the medals on Monday your team needs eight quite fantastic jumps, so let’s see what happens."
As noted by Cork Gaines of Business Insider, Johansson has already earned plenty of admirers due to his extravagant facial hair:
If the remarkable Norwegian quartet are to be beaten, Germany appear the most likely nation to do so. Andreas Wellinger won silver for them in the large hill, and their fourth-highest finisher came in in 14th, so there is definitely an opportunity for gold if all four men do turn in their best.
Wellinger, who won gold in the normal hill, actually jumped further than anyone in the large hill individual discipline, posting a leap of 142 metres in the final round. He'll be hoping to galvanise the rest of his team with another extraordinary effort.
The same, of course, goes for Stoch, who will not only be reliant on himself excelling again, but for the other members of his team to raise their levels.
As noted by Sportsnet's Caroline Cameron, the three-time Olympic champion has come a long way in his career:
Barring some catastrophes from the three teams aforementioned, it's tough to see the likes of Austria, Slovenia and Japan forcing their way into serious medal contention.
And it's difficult to see either Germany or Poland getting near Norway on Monday. Not only do the favourites have class, all of their competitors have performed well at the Games already. They'll be simply too good over the course of eight jumps.
Prediction: 1. Norway, 2. Germany, 3. Poland
Kamil Stoch won Poland its first gold medal of the 2018 Winter Olympics, finishing first in the men's large hill ski jumping on Saturday.
While compatriot and 2017 World Champion Maciej Kot disappointed, Stoch was on point in qualifiers and during Saturday's final, clearing 140 meters with both his attempts. Germany's Andreas Wellinger took silver, ahead of Norway's Robert Johansson.
Here's a look at the top three and their scores:
Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi, who set a new hill record for distance in qualifying, took the early first-round lead as the first man to clear 130 meters. His total of 134.0 was unlikely to hold up, however, and Michael Hayboeck blew the score out of the water by clearing 140 meters to move to the top of the standings.
Kot, the 2017 World Champion and one of the favorites for the gold medal, fell well short of the expectations with his first jump, failing to clear 130 meters and scoring 124.2. Stoch would end up in the top spot after the first round, with a full round of jumps still to come.
Here's a look at the standings:
Daniel-Andre Tande cleared 138.5 meters in the final round to take the early advantage, while Kot again didn't make it past 130 meters, capping off a disappointing outing for the Pole.
Johann Andre Forfang, a standout in qualifying, came within 1.5 points of compatriot Tande and the lead, but sheer distance made the difference, with Forfang coming up shot by four meters.
The Norwegians put up a show in the final round:
Robert Johansson used perfect form to soar into first place, even though his final jump only went for 134.5 meters. He couldn't enjoy his lead for long, however, as Wellinger saved his best for last with a jump of 142 meters. His total went past 280, ensuring a medal in the process.
Hayboeck's second jump didn't come close to his first, landing him outside of the medals, but Stoch held his nerve, clearing 140 meters for a second time to score 285.7.
The 30-year-old has now won three gold medals at the Winter Olympcis, with two at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. He also finished fourth in the normal hill competition in 2018, where Wellinger took the gold.
Norway's Robert Johansson beat compatriot Johann Andre Forfang to the top spot during Friday's men's large hill ski jumping qualifying at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Johansson was the only man to clear a total score of 130, finishing with 131.9. Defending champion Kamil Stoch easily qualified for the final, finishing seventh, and Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi set a new hill record for distance, clearing 140 meters.
Here's a look at the five best qualifiers:
For the full list of qualifiers, click here.
Alexey Romashov, representing the Olympic Athletes from Russia, was the first to clear 100 points in total with a solid jump of 136 meters. Kobayashi cleared 140 meters to grab the lead, besting Romashov by nearly 20 points.
Per Hill Size Magazine, it would take something special to beat his effort:
The 21-year-old did lose some wind points, so Michael Hayboeck didn't sit too far back in the total rankings after their jumps, even if he didn't come close to his distance.
2017 world champion Maciej Kot of Poland and Germany's Markus Eisenbichler also kept pace with the Japanese leader, who patiently waited for some of the favorites to jump.
Norway's Johansson and Forfang bested Kobayashi on back-to-back jumps, although neither beat his distance.
All eyes were on Stoch, however, and the two-time Olympic champion comfortably finished inside the top 10, taking seventh place with a distance of 131.5 meters. While the distance was well below that of the top finishers, his execution was nearly perfect, boding well for the final.
The final round will take place Saturday.
Norway's Maren Lundby won the women's normal hill ski jumping event at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Monday, comfortably beating the opposition by a double-digit margin.
The current World Cup leader had no issues with the windy conditions and was never troubled, beating Germany's Katharina Althaus and Japan's Sara Takanashi. BBC Sport's Ollie Williams shared the final scores for the medal-winners:
Defending champion and 2017 world champion Carina Vogt had to settle for fifth place, almost 40 points behind the winner.
Williams highlighted the favourites ahead of the end of the first round, noting Lundby entered the event with momentum on her side:
Anastasiya Barannikova set the pace early with a total score of 83.7, while Daniela Iraschko-Stolz was the first athlete to clear 100 meters.
A wind delay meant the favourites had to wait for their chance to jump, but when the wind finally picked up again, Lundby took the lead with a total score of 125.4. Althaus and Takanashi also bagged scores above 120, setting up a tense final jump.
Vogt fell short of the expectations, finishing in sixth place and failing to clear 100 meters. Williams feared for her medal chances:
Austria's Chiara Holzl set the pace in the second session, clearing 95 meters for a total score of 193.2. Multiple contenders soon beat her score, however, and Vogt momentarily took the lead with a total of 227.9.
Iraschko-Stolz failed to clear 100 meters with her second effort, and both Irina Avvakumova and Takanashi soon overtook her score. Althaus followed suit, nearly beating the Japanese star by a double-digit margin and putting the pressure on Lundby.
But the 23-year-old World Cup leader kept her composure, bagging the longest distance of the entire final at 110 meters and beating her rival by an incredible 12 points.
The focus will be on ski jumping for fans of the 2018 Winter Olympics on Monday, as the women's normal hill event takes place in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The discipline will go ahead at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Stadium, with a host of top athletes battling for the medals.
The field took part in full practice on Sunday, as each individual attempted to hone their technique in the tricky conditions at the Games.
Here is how you can watch the discipline:
Date: Monday, Feb. 12
Time: 6:35 a.m. ET/ 11:35 a.m. GMT
TV: NBC Universal (U.S.), BBC and Eurosport (UK)
Stream: NBC Olympics, BBC iPlayer
Monday's Schedule
Trial Round: 6:35 a.m. ET/ 11:35 a.m. GMT
First Round: 7:50 a.m. ET/ 12:50 a.m. GMT
Final Round: 8:35 a.m. ET/ 1:35 p.m. GMT
Preview
Maren Lundby will be difficult to beat as the Norwegian continues to shine after a fantastic run during the recent World Cup series.
The 23-year-old has progressed over the past 12 months, and she will be the favourite for many to scoop the gold at Pyeongchang 2018.
Lundby topped the standings in two training runs for the event on Thursday, and her opponents will be in awe of her current form.
Daniela Iraschko-Stolz will be Lundby's most likely competition for the gold medal, with the Austrian showing power and consistency in her jumping.
At 21, Sara Takanashi remains one of the younger names in the pack, but the Japanese ace is experienced in the sport.
Takanashi has four overall World Cup wins to her name during her career, making her one of the sport's most successful female athletes.
Compatriot Yuki Ito will ensure Japan have a strong chance of capturing a medal, as the pair battle to succeed.
Lundby has won six World Cup events this season, but the challengers to her current dominance are also competitive on the biggest stages.
Germany's reigning Olympic champion Carina Vogt will also be in attendance, but she will have to produce the performance of a lifetime to repeat her heroics from Sochi 2014.
Vogt is outstanding at her very best but only has an outside chance of grabbing a medal at the current Games.
