Winter Olympics notes

[Rod Smith]

Slalom probably requires more skill and definitely more quickness than downhill so describing as slower maybe misleading but yes winter sports > summer sports.

[PotomacCyclist]

The skaters do seem to like bikes

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(US short track and speed skaters in Sochi)

NBCSN showed several shots of speedskaters riding around the Olympic Village to the arena on bikes.

German speed skater Claudia Pechstein (42 yrs old, with 9 previous Olympic medals) skates 2,500 miles a year on the ice, rides over 1,200 miles on inline skates in preseason training, and bikes another 2,500 miles a year. While pro cyclists ride much more than that, it’s still a significant total for an athlete who doesn’t compete in cycling.

***
A picture of some guy’s original bike, which he rode around Beijing in 2008

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[DaveK]

Speed skating and cycling have a lot of crossover athletes. Taylor Phinney’s mom was an Olympian in both.

[PotomacCyclist]

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303874504579373202050332172

Cycling is a key to success for the dominant Dutch speed skaters.

[PotomacCyclist]

The Dutch have won 10 of the 15 total medals awarded so far in speed skating. They swept all three medals at two of the finals.

[PotomacCyclist]

The Dutch took the top four spots in one of the women’s speedskating events. They have swept the medals at four speedskating events. They have won 19 medals in speedskating (and zero medals in all of the other Olympic sports). They have set the record for the most medals won by a country in a single sport at a single Winter Olympics. The old record was 14 medals, by Austria in Alpine skiing.

On the other hand, the U.S. speedskating performance has been one big flop. Some complained about the new Under Armour skin suits, but even when they changed back to the old suits, they still lost. Others say that the U.S. team shouldn’t have trained at Salt Lake City, at altitude, for a sea level competition like Sochi. The glide on each push is not as long at sea level, according to past gold medalist Dan Jansen. Maybe it’s like training only on flat roads for a hilly bike or run race. World-class athletes and coaches should know better than that.

***
There was a lot of press about the U.S. shootout victory over Russia in ice hockey. But I thought one of the best performances was by Charlotte Kalla, a member of the Swedish women’s cross-country team in the 4 x 5km relay. She started her leg far behind two other countries. She charged ahead relentlessly. She caught up just as they approached the stadium area. I never watched cross-country skiing that much when I was younger. But now when I watch it, I can’t help but compare it to run and triathlon races that I’ve done (albeit at much slower speeds). They are going faster than me, but the feeling of your lungs about to burst and your legs screaming at the end of a race — that might be similar.

[dkel]

@PotomacCyclist 77667 wrote:

I thought one of the best performances was by Charlotte Kalla, a member of the Swedish women’s cross-country team in the 4 x 5km relay.

Do you think she trains on the W&OD? I hear they have awesome cross-country skiing all winter! :rolleyes:

[Author]

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