It's baaaaaack. The Olympic Games are upon
again and this time it’s cold. Well, not really. It was like 50 degrees during
the Opening Ceremony. Perhaps lukewarm is the right word. Anyway, amongst the
complaining journalists, unfinished venues, stray dogs and general uneasiness
over the entire planning of these games, there are sports to be held. With that
come our favorite three colors for the next two weeks, gold, silver and bronze.
I’ve always been fascinated by the medal
table. The IOC doesn’t really recognize the total medal count it as a
legitimate race. However, when you’re American and you’re trying to lay the
athletic smackdown on other nations, the table becomes the box score of the
world for two weeks. When we didn’t win the gold medal count in Beijing or
Vancouver, it was all about those total medals. “Depth!” we claimed with pride.
If it flips this year, gold will be the only color that matters.
What comes with this obsession over the medal
count is the inevitable pre-Olympics predictions. We’ve all read them. The Wall
Street Journal, the Associated Press, ESPN and some service named Infostrada
are some of the publications that put them out. I’ve always wanted to do it, if
only to see how much of an abject homer I would be
So I decided to give it a shot. Call me crazy,
put I’m thinking I won’t be perfect.
PS: Before I put these down, I’m gonna buy all
the stock in two US athletes for these games. I did it with McKayla Maroney in
2012. I talked her up for a year before London (my family can confirm). Now
look at her. Total star. You’re welcome, McKayla. I can’t think of anything
else you did to get you there.
Nick Goepper. Sarah Hendrickson. Now the
picks.
Alpine skiing
·
Men’s downhill
o Gold:
Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway)
o Silver:
Bode Miller (USA)
o Bronze:
Erik Guay (Canada)
·
Men’s super G
o Gold:
Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway)
o Silver:
Georg Streitberger (Switzerland)
o Bronze:
Adrian Theaux (France)
·
Men’s giant slalom
o Gold:
Ted Ligity (USA)
o Silver:
Marcel Hirscher (Austria)
o Bronze:
Alexis Pinturault (France)
·
Men’s slalom
o Gold:
Marcel Hirscher (Austria)
o Silver:
Felix Neureauther (Germany)
o Bronze:
Mario Matt (Austria)
·
Men’s combined
o Gold:
Ted Ligity (USA)
o Silver:
Alksel Lund Svindel (Norway)
o Bronze:
Alexis Pinturault (France)
·
Women’s downhill
o Gold:
Maria Hofl-Riesch (Germany)
o Silver:
Tina Maze (Slovenia)
o Bronze:
Julia Mancuso (USA)
·
Women’s super G
o Gold:
Lara Gut (Switzerland)
o Silver:
Tina Weirather (Liechtenstien)
o Bronze:
Tina Maze (Slovenia)
·
Women’s Giant Slalom
o Gold:
Tina Maze (Slovenia)
o Silver:
Victoria Rebensburg (Germany)
o Bronze
Anna Fenninger (Austria)
·
Women’s Slalom
o Gold:
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
o Silver:
Marlies Schild (Austria)
o Bronze:
Frida Hansdotter (Sweden)
·
Women’s Super Combined
o Gold:
Tina Maze (Slovenia)
o Silver:
Maria Hofl-Reisch (Germany)
o Bronze:
Nicole Hosp (Austria)
Biathlon
·
Men’s individual
o Gold:
Emil Hegle Svendsen (Norway)
o Silver:
Martin Fourcade (France)
o Bronze:
Evengi Ustyurgov (Russia)
·
Men’s sprint
o Gold:
Martin Fourcade (France)
o Silver:
Ole Einar Bjorndalen (Norway)
o Bronze:
Jakov Fak (Slovenia)
·
Men’s pursuit
o Gold:
Emil Hegle Svendsen (Norway)
o Silver:
Anton Shipulin (Russia)
o Bronze:
Evgeny Ustugov (Russia)
·
Men’s mass start
o Gold:
Tarjei Bo (Norway)
o Silver:
Martin Fourcade (France)
o Bronze:
Emil Hegle Svendson (Norway)
·
Men’s relay
o Gold:
Norway
o Silver:
Russia
o Bronze:
France
·
Women’s individual
o Gold:
Tora Berger (Norway)
o Silver
Darya Domracheva (Belarus)
o Bronze:
Gabriela Soukalova (Czech Republic)
·
Women’s sprint
o Gold:
Olena Pidrushna (Belarus)
o Silver:
Kaisa Makarainen (Finland)
o Bronze:
Tora Berger (Norway)
Women’s pursuit
o Gold:
Tora Berger (Norway)
o Silver:
Gabriela Soukalova (Czech Republic)
o Bronze:
Darya Domracheva (Belarus)
·
Women’s mass start
o Gold:
Tora Berger (Norway)
o Silver:
Olga Zaitseva (Russia)
o Bronze:
Darya Domracheva (Belarus)
·
Women’s relay
o Gold:
Norway
o Silver:
Germany
o Bronze:
Ukraine
·
Mixed relay
o Gold:
Norway
o Silver:
Germany
o Bronze:
Czech Republic
Bobsled
·
Two-man
o Gold:
Steve Holcomb (USA)
o Silver:
Alexander Zubkov (Russia)
o Bronze:
Beat Hefti (Switzerland)
·
Four-man
o Gold:
Maximillian Ardt (Germany)
o Silver:
Alexander Zubkov (Russia)
o Bronze:
Steve Holcomb (USA)
·
Two-woman
o Gold:
Kallie Humphries (Canada)
o Silver:
Elana Meyers (USA)
o Bronze:
Sandra Kiriasis (Germany)
Cross Country Skiing
·
Men’s 15 km classical
o Gold:
Alexey Poltoranin (Kazakhstan)
o Silver
Marcus Hellner (Sweden)
o Bronze:
Johan Olsson (Sweden)
·
Men’s 30 km skiathlon
o Gold:
Petter Northug (Norway)
o Silver:
Alexander Legkov (Russia)
o Bronze:
Dario Cologna (Switzerland)
·
Men’s 50 km freestyle
o Gold:
Johan Olsson (Sweden)’
o Silver:
Alexey Poltoranin (Kazakhstan)
o Bronze:
Martin Jonsrud Sundby (Norway)
·
Men’s 4x10 km relay
o Gold:
Russia
o Silver:
Norway
o Bronze:
Sweden
·
Men’s sprint
o Gold:
Russia
o Silver:
Norway
o Bronze:
Sweden
·
Men’s team sprint
o Nikita
Kriukov (Russia)
o Petter
Northug (Norway)
o Marcus
Hellner (Sweden)
·
Women’s 10 km classical
o Gold:
Therese Johaug (Norway)
o Silver:
Yulia Chekaleva (Russia)
o Bronze:
Marit Bjorgen (Norway)
·
Women’s 15 km skiathlon
o Gold:
Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland)
o Silver:
Marit Bjorgen (Norway)
o Bronze:
Anne Kylionen (Finland)
·
Women’s 30 km freestyle
o Gold:
Marit Bjoergen (Norway)
o Silver:
Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland)
o Bronze:
Therese Johaug (Norway)
·
Women’s 4x5 km relay
o Gold:
Norway
o Silver:
Russia
o Bronze:
Finland
·
Women’s sprint
o Gold:
Kikkan Randall (USA)
o Silver:
Denise Herrmann (Germany)
o Bronze:
Marit Bjoergen (Norway)
·
Women’s team sprint
o Gold:
Norway
o Silver:
Sweden
o Bronze:
USA
Curling
·
Men’s
o Gold:
Canada
o Silver:
Great Britain
o Bronze:
Sweden
·
Women’s
o Gold:
Great Britain
o Silver:
Canada
o Bronze:
Sweden
Figure skating
·
Men’s singles
o Gold:
Patrick Chan (Canada)
o Silver:
Javier Fernandez (Spain)
o Bronze:
Yuzuru Henyu (Japan)
·
Ladies’ singles
o Gold:
Kim Yu-Na (South Korea)
o Silver:
Julia Lipnitskaia (Russia)
o Bronze:
Mao Asada (Japan)
·
Pair skating
o Gold:
Tatiana Volosozhor/Maxim Trankov (Russia)
o Silver:
Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy (Russia)
o Bronze:
Tong Jian/Pang Qing (China)
·
Ice dancing
o Gold:
Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA)
o Silver:
Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir (Canada)
o Bronze:
Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev (Russia)
·
Team trophy
o Gold:
Russia
o Silver:
Canada
o Bronze:
United States
Freestyle Skiing
·
Men’s aerials
o Gold:
Lu Zhongqing (China)
o Silver:
Qi Guangpu (China)
o Bronze:
Anton Kushnir (Belarus)
·
Men’s halfpipe
o Gold:
David Wise (USA)
o Silver:
Kevin Rolland (France)
o Bronze:
Aaron Blunck (USA)
·
Men’s moguls
o Gold:
Alexandre Bilodeau (Canada)
o Silver:
Mikael Kingsbury (Canada)
o Bronze:
Patrick Deneen (USA)
·
Men’s slopestyle
o Gold:
Nick Goepper (USA)
o Silver:
Bobby Brown (USA)
o Bronze:
Andreas Haatveit (Norway)
Men’s ski cross
o Gold:
Andreas Matt (Austria)
o Silver:
John Teller (USA)
o Bronze:
David Duncan (Canada)
·
Women’s aerials
o Gold:
Li Nina (China)
o Silver:
Lydia Lassilia (Australia)
o Bronze:
Zhang Xin (China)
·
Women’s halfpipe
o Gold:
Maddie Bowman (USA)
o Silver:
Brita Sigourney (USA)
o Bronze:
Rosalind Groenewoud (Canada)
·
Women’s moguls
o Gold:
Hannah Kearney (USA)
o Silver:
Chloe Dufour-Lapointe
o Bronze:
Justine Defour-Lapointe
·
Women’s slopestyle
o Gold:
Dara Howell (Canada)
o Silver:
Keri Herman (USA)
o Bronze:
Kaya Turski (Canada)
·
Women’s ski cross
o Gold:
Ophelie David (France)
o Silver:
Fanny Smith (Switzerland)
o Bronze:
Katrin Mueller (Switzerland)
Hockey
·
Men’s
o Gold:
Canada
o Silver:
United States
o Bronze:
Sweden
·
Women’s
o Gold:
USA
o Silver:
Canada
o Bronze:
Finland
Luge
·
Men’s singles
o Gold:
Felix Loch (Germany)
o Silver:
David Moller (Germany)
o Bronze:
Armin Zoggeler (Italy)
·
Women’s singles
o Gold:
Natalie Geisenberger (Germany)
o Silver:
Tatjana Hufner (Germany)
o Bronze:
Alex Gough (Canada)
·
Doubles
o Gold:
Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt (Germany)
o Silver:
Toni Eggert/ Sascha Benicken (Germany)
o Bronze:
Andreas Liniger/Wolfgang Linger (Austria)
·
Team relay
o Gold:
Germany
o Silver:
Italy
o Bronze:
USA
Nordic combined
·
Individual large hill/10 km
o Gold:
Eric Frenzel (Germany)
o Silver:
Mikko Koksilen (Norway)
o Bronze:
Magnus Krog (Norway)
·
Individual normal hill/10 km
o Gold:
Erick Frenzel (Germany)
o Silver:
Jason Lamy Cahppuis (France)
o Bronze:
Havard Klemetsen (Norway)
·
Team large hill/4x5 km
o Gold:
Germany
o Silver:
Norway
o Bronze:
Austria
Short Track Speed Skating
·
Men’s 500 m
o Gold:
Charles Hamelin (Canada)
o Silver:
Victor An (Russia)
o Bronze:
Wu Jajing (China)
·
Men’s 1000 m
o Gold:
Charles Hamelin (Canada)
o Silver:
Sin Da-Woon (South Korea)
o Bronze:
Olivier Jean (Canada)
·
Men’s 1500 m
o Gold:
Lee Han-Bin (South Korea)
o Silver:
Charles Hamelin (Canada)
o Bronze:
JR Celski (USA)
·
Men’s 5000 meter relay
o Gold:
South Korea
o Silver:
Canada
o Bronze:
United States
·
Women’s 500 m
o Gold:
Fan Kexin (China)
o Silver:
Arianna Fontana (Italy)
o Bronze:
Park Seung-Hi (South Korea)
·
Women’s 1000 m
o Gold:
Shim Suk Hee (South Korea)
o Silver:
Park Seung-Hi (Korea)
o Bronze:
Arianna Fontana (Italy)
·
Women’s 1500 m
o Gold:
Shim Suk Hee (South Korea)
o Silver:
Valarie Maltais (Canada)
o Bronze:
Kim A-Lang (South Korea)
·
Women’s 3000 meter relay
o South
Korea
o Silver:
China
o Bronze:
Canada
Skeleton
·
Men’s
o Gold:
Martins Dukrus (Latvia)
o Silver:
Tomass Dukurs (Latvia)
o Bronze:
Alexander Tretiakov (Russia)
·
Women’s
o Gold:
Noelle Pikus-Pace (USA)
o Silver:
Lizzy Yarnold (Great Britain)
o Bronze:
Shelley Rudman (Great Britain)
Ski Jumping
·
Men’s individual normal hill
o Gold:
Kamil Stoch (Poland)
o Silver:
Gregor Schlierenzauer (Austria)
o Bronze:
Anders Bardel (Norway)
·
Men’s individual large hill
o Gold:
Peter Prevcs (Slovenia)
o Silver:
Kamil Stoch (Poland)
o Bronze:
Severin Freund (Germany)
·
Men’s team large hill
o Gold:
Slovenia
o Silver:
Austria
o Bronze:
Germany
·
Women’s individual normal hill
o Gold:
Sara Takanashi (Japan)
o Silver:
Sarah Hendrickson (United States)
o Bronze:
Carina Vogt (Germany)
Snowboard
·
Men’s parallel slalom
o Gold:
Zan Kosir (Slovenia)
o Silver:
Syvain Dufour (France)
o Bronze:
Simon Schloch (Switzerland)
·
Men’s parallel giant slalom
o Gold:
Andreas Prommegger (Austria)
o Silver:
Zan Kosir (Slovenia)
o Bronze:
Vic Wild (Russia)
·
Men’s halfpipe
o Gold:
Shaun White (USA)
o Silver:
Iouri Podladtchikov (Switzerland)
o Bronze:
Ayumu Hirano (Japan)
·
Men’s slopestyle
o Gold
Mark McMorris (Canada)
o Silver:
Max Parrot (Canada)
o Bronze:
Stale Sandbech (Norway)
·
Men’s snowboard cross
o Gold:
Markus Schairer (Austria)
o Silver:
Alex Pullin (Australia)
o Bronze:
Nick Baumgartner (USA)
·
Women’s parallel slalom
o Gold:
Patriziia Kummer (Switzerland)
o Silver:
Ekaterina Tudegesheva (Russia)
o Bronze:
Ester Ledecka (Czech Republic)
·
Women’s parallel giant slalom
o Gold:
Patrizia Kummer (Switzerland)
o Silver:
Tomoka Takeuhci (Japan)
o Bronze:
Julia Dijmovits (Austria)
·
Women’s halfpipe
o Gold:
Kelly Clark (USA)
o Silver:
Arielle Gold (USA)
o Bronze:
Torah Bright (Australia)
·
Women’s snowboard cross
o Gold:
Lindsey Jacobellis (USA)
o Silver:
Maelle Ricker (Canada)
o Bronze:
Helene Olafsen (Norway)
·
Women’s slopestyle
o Gold:
Jamie Anderson (USA)
o Silver:
Spencer O’Brien (Canada)
o Bronze:
Torah Bright (Australia)
Speed skating
·
Men’s 500m
o Gold:
Michael Mulder (Netherlands)
o Silver:
Mo Tae Bum (South Korea)
o Bronze:
Keilchiro Nagashima (Japan)
·
Men’s 1000m
o Gold:
Shani Davis (USA)
o Silver:
Denis Kuzin (Netherlands)
o Bronze:
Brian Hansen (USA)
·
Men’s 1500m
o Gold:
Shani Davis (USA)
o Silver
Dennis Yuksov (Russia)
o Bronze:
Koen Verweij (Netherlands)
·
Men’s 5000m
o Gold:
Sven Kramer (Netherlands)
o Silver:
Jorrit Bergsma (Netherlands)
o Bronze:
Lee Seung-Hoon (South Korea)
·
Men’s 10000m
o Gold:
Sven Kramer (Netherlands)
o Silver:
Bob de Jong (Netherlands)
o Bronze:
Jorrit Bergsma (Netherlands)
·
Men’s team pursuit
o Gold:
Netherlands
o Silver:
USA
o Bronze:
South Korea
·
Women’s 500m
o Gold:
Lee Sang-hwa (South Korea)
o Silver:
Heather Richardson (USA)
o Bronze:
Jenny Wolf (Germany)
·
Women’s 1000m
o Gold:
Heather Richardson (USA)
o Silver:
Brittany Bowe (USA)
o Bronze:
Olga Fatkulina (Russia)
·
Women’s 1500m
o Gold:
Ireen Wust (Netherlands)
o Silver:
Brittany Bowe (USA)
o Bronze:
Lotte van Beek (Netherlands)
·
Women’s 3000m
o Gold: Martina Sablikova (Czech Republic)
o Silver:
Ireen Wust (Netherlands)
o Bronze:
Claudia Pechstein (Germany)
·
Women’s 5000m
o Gold:
Martina Sablikova (Czech Republic)
o Silver:
Claudia Pechstein (Germany)
o Bronze:
Yvonne Nauta (Netherlands)
·
Women’s team pursuit
o Gold:
Netherlands
o Silver:
Canada
o Bronze:
USA
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