Podladtchikov won’t defend title
Olympic halfpipe champion Iouri Podladtchikov won’t defend his title because of injuries he suffered last month at the Winter X Games.
The 2014 gold medalist, known as the I-Pod, practiced on the Olympic halfpipe Friday but afterward said it would be “totally unreasonable” for him to compete.
The Russia native, who competes for Switzerland, took a nasty fall on his final jump at the X Games on Jan. 28 in Kreischberg, Austria, banging his face against the bottom of the pipe. He lay motionless for more than 10 minutes while medics stabilized his neck and strapped him to a stretcher.
He was diagnosed with a broken nose and released from the hospital the next day. He traveled to South Korea with the hopes of competing next Tuesday, but realized quickly it wouldn’t be possible.
That cuts the list of prime contenders in one of the premier Olympic events to three: Two-time gold medalist Shaun White, 2014 silver medalist Ayumu Hirano and Australia’s Scotty James. could move the men’s downhill race from its scheduled Sunday slot.
Race director Markus Waldner told team leaders a Monday lunchtime start is the favored backup plan if needed, sandwiched between two runs of the women’s giant slalom.
“This is my message: Be patient and flexible because now the next three days will be tough,” Waldner said Friday after a practice run was affected by gusts of wind.
The weather forced a shortened training run to begin 564 feet lower down the race hill in Jeongseon. The downhill start is at 4,495 feet.
Waldner said conditions Friday were “good enough for training, but not good enough for a race.”
Skiers risk being blown off a safe racing line in strong winds, which could also shut down the only gondola carrying teams and officials up the mountain. known each other for a while,” forward Brian O’Neill said.
The U.S. was among the final teams to get on the ice together as a group, save for many playing at the pre-Olympic Deutschland Cup in November. With just five practices to get up to speed with coach Tony Granato and each other, the group chat and a website to study various systems were essential to bonding and developing camaraderie. Hockey Hall of Famer Cammi Granato told her brother such bonding was key in a short international tournament.
Players got comfortable with each other so quickly it didn’t take long for them to start making fun of each other and feeling like a team.
“It kind of builds chemistry,” forward John McCarthy said. “You get to know guys, and guys are chirping each other back and forth a little bit.”
The team will play its opener Wednesday against Slovenia.
The law firm says the Russian athletes were not told why they haven’t been invited by the International Olympic Committee. It adds they “are currently analyzing the reasoned decisions and examining the different legal options at their disposal.”
Last week, the firm helped reverse the disqualification of 28 Russians from the Sochi Olympics, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Friday the IOC had the right to choose which Russians to invite to its Games.