MORE OLYMPICS
Hockey: Loss to Czech Republic eliminates Team USA men.
PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA >> Pavel Francouz stopped all five shooters, and Petr Kouka scored the shootout winner as the Czech Republic eliminated the United States men’s hockey team with a 3-2 victory in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
Jan Kovar and Tomas Kundratek scored in regulation for the Czech Republic, which was fresher after winning its group and getting a bye into the quarterfinals. The U.S. looked fatigued after facing Slovakia in the qualification round and was outshot 29-20.
Ryan Donato and Jim Slater scored for the U.S, which again was led by its youngest players, including speedster Troy Terry. U.S. goaltender Ryan Zapolski allowed three goals on 29 shots and one in the shootout. The Czech Republic’s Francouz stopped 18 in regulation and overtime. RED GETS AIR TIME >> For Red Gerard, “big air” has less to do with vaulting himself off the snowboarding jump, more to do with the journey he’s been on since he became an Olympic gold medalist. The surprise champion has logged some 18,000 airline miles on a post-victory tour that took him from Pyeongchang to Los Angeles to New York, and now, back to South Korea. Ten days after his victory on the slopestyle course, Gerard returned to the snow Wednesday, where he qualified for the final of the big air contest the newest, highest-flying snowboarding event at the games.
“I slowly, definitely figured out what was coming,” Gerard said of the spoils of being an Olympic champion. “But I had no clue what was going to happen because I never really saw myself winning a gold medal.”
But he surrounded himself with people who did.
They had a victory plan all along. And so, Gerard went on “The Jimmy Kimmel Show,” sat with Kelly and Ryan, interviewed on “CBS This Morning.” There was a photo shoot with “People.” A video interview with “Time.” A big spread with “Sports Illustrated.” The list goes on. His agent, Ryan Runke, can barely keep up with all the phone calls. Sponsorship and media opportunities are flooding in, and the mission isn’t so much about grabbing everything he can, but finding the right fit.
FAVORED CANADIANS OUSTED IN CURLING >> Despite entering the Olympics as world champions and the favorites to win gold, Canada’s women’s curling team has been eliminated from medal contention after a shocking loss to Britain. It’s an unwanted first for Rachel Homan and her teammates. No Canadian team has ever left the Olympics without a medal in men’s or women’s curling since the sport was reintroduced to the Winter Games in 1998. AMERICANS LIKE THEIR SPOT >> Elana Meyers Taylor went to sleep four years ago after the first night of her Olympic competition holding the lead, and her mind couldn’t stop racing. She plans on sleeping better this time. Germany’s Mariama Jamanka and Lisa Buckwitz are the leaders at the midway point of the women’s bobsled competition at the Pyeongchang Games, their two-run time of 1 minute, 41.26 seconds putting them 0.07 seconds ahead of Meyers Taylor and Lauren Gibbs.
Not holding the lead at halftime didn’t seem to bother Meyers Taylor going into the final two runs.
“I’m going to go attack the track and it’s going to be what it’s going to be,” Meyers Taylor said. “Either I’m going to win a medal or I’m going to go down swinging.”
After the first two sleds, it’s chaos.
Germany’s Stephanie Schneider and Annika Drazek are third, Jamie Greubel Poser and Aja Evans are fourth for the U.S. and two-time defending gold medalist Kaillie Humphries and Phylicia George are fifth for Canada with those three sleds separated by 0.04 seconds. TER MORS ADDS SHORTTRACK MEDAL >> Speedskater Jorien ter Mors became the first woman to win Olympic medals in different sports at the same Winter Games. Ter Mors added bronze in the short-track arena to the gold she won in long-track speedskating last week.
“That’s really special,” said ter Mors, who skated with the Dutch team in a tumultuous 3,000-meter relay. “I hoped for it coming here into the games but after losing the semis, I didn’t expect to win a medal anymore.” Ter Mors previously won the 1,000-meter race at the Gangneung Oval. Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic has a chance to match ter Mors’ feat. After winning the super-G in skiing, Ledecka can add a medal in the snowboard parallel giant slalom. FOURCADE COLLECTS RELAY MEDAL >> Martin Fourcade anchored France to a comefrom-behind victory in the biathlon mixed relay. It was his third gold medal in Pyeongchang, and the fifth in his decorated career. “There is nothing that means more than when you can share (the gold) with your teammates,” Fourcade said. “That is something that is incredible.”
SOUTH KOREA WINS PENALTY-FILLED FINAL >> South Korea defended its women’s short-track 3,000-meter relay title, overtaking China with two laps to go in the penalty-filled final. The team of Shim Suk-hee, Choi Min-jeong, Kim Ye-jin and Kim Alang crossed the finish line first after rallying from third late in the 27lap race.