Day 4 at the Winter Olympics: Favorites Fell Everywhere
Favorites fell, new names emerged, and chaos ruled as the first medals were decided. Edition #322
The first medals were handed out today in Alpine Skiing (Men’s Downhill), Cross-Country Skiing (Women’s 10km + 10km Skiathlon), Speed Skating (Women’s 3000m), Snowboarding (Men’s Snowboard Big Air Final), and Ski Jumping (Women’s NH Individual).
But Day 4 was marked by upsets.
Let’s start from the beginning of the day, when Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt was the heavily favored skier in the Alpine Skiing event. When the event started, Marco was favored at 94%. That quickly changed as the event went on. Switzerland still got the gold medal, but it was Marco’s compatriot Franjo von Allmen who won it all for Switzerland.
Next, many, including me, consider Germany’s win against Japan in Women’s Ice Hockey an upset. Japan came in with a higher ranking (8th) and was blown out. Germany scored their first goal just 44 seconds into the game. That’s crazy. By the end of the first period, it was 3–0 Germany.
Then, let’s head to cross-country skiing, where the favorites, Norway, finished with bronze, while their rivals, Sweden, took gold and silver. What about Sweden vs. Italy? Italy, who were one of the favorites in the tournament, lost badly to Sweden. This was a huge upset.
Alright, so what about speed skating? This has always been an event dominated by the Dutch. That didn’t work out for them this time, as Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida set an Olympic record and took the gold medal in the event. Her time of 3 minutes, 54 seconds is now the Olympic record and was just two seconds off the world record.
We now head to curling, where we saw the South Korean team finally get their first win, and it came against the United States, who entered Day 4 undefeated but left with two losses by the end of the day. Estonia, which is having a legacy run right now, beat Canada 8–6. A team that didn’t even have a win in curling until this year’s Winter Olympics has now beaten both Sweden and Canada.
Finally, in ski jumping, the favorite Nika Prevc came up just shy of Anna Odine Strøm of Norway, who shocked everyone and took the gold medal in the event.
Upsets are crazy and fun to watch, no?
Around the Games:
UNDEFEATED: Great Britain remains undefeated in curling with a 7–0 record. The United States and Sweden are undefeated in women’s ice hockey, both sitting at 2–0.
Luge:
Max Langenhan of Germany set a track record and led Run 1 with a time of 52.924, then followed it up by leading Run 2 with a combined time of 1:45.
Figure Skating:
The United States’ Madison Chock and Evan Bates took first place in the ice dance free dance event with a score of 133.23.
Host Nation Watch: Italy:
Host nation Italy had a very good day and took home multiple medals. They earned silver and bronze in Alpine Skiing (Men’s Downhill) and gold in Speed Skating (Women’s 3000m). They also won against Norway and lost to Sweden.
Outlook:
Day 5 Outlook:
Curling:
Estonia vs. South Korea (4:05 AM EST, 10:05 AM CET)
Italy vs. Great Britain (1:05 PM EST, 7:05 PM CET)
Alpine Skiing: Medal Event (5:30 AM EST, 11:30 AM CET)
Cross-Country Skiing: Medal Event (6:30 AM EST, 12:30 PM CET)
Biathlon: Medal Event (8:05 AM EST, 2:05 PM CET)
Snowboarding: Medal Events (8:26 AM EST, 2:26 PM CET and 8:36 AM EST, 2:36 PM CET)
Women’s Ice Hockey:
France vs. Sweden (10:40 AM EST, 4:40 PM CET)
Figure Skating: Medal Event (3:55 PM EST, 9:55 PM CET)
And that’s it for this one. What are your predictions for Day 5? Put them down in the comments below.
As always, if you have any questions about the Winter Olympics, thoughts on the coverage, or anything else, feel free to drop them in the comments or DM me. I’m always happy to answer questions.
I’ll be back tomorrow with what actually mattered.