Ledecka’s super-G surprise burns NBC
Athletic miracles do happen, and the one performed by little-known Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic on Saturday caught NBC flat-footed.
Toward the end of the women’s super-G competition, NBC’s Dan Hicks declared Austria’s Cornelia Huetter as the only skier with “any real chance” of beating teammate Anna Veith.
When Huetter fell short, Hicks said that “it’s Anna Veith of Austria who repeats as Olympic superG champion.” That made it four straight Olympic gold medals in that discipline for Austria, he said.
As the pictures showed an emotional Veith, Hicks said she “just about can’t believe it.”
After a commercial, NBC switched to figure skating, leaving viewers with the impression that the race was over. It wasn’t.
NBC had to break in later with the news that Ledecka had beaten Veith, and showed her winning run.
There’s no shame in thinking Veith was the probable winner and the broadcast moving on; even Ledecka was stunned by her win.
After Huetter’s run, The Associated Press wrote that Veith was “on the brink” of defending her gold medal. But probable isn’t the same thing as certain, and Hicks was burned.
Ledecka, a part-time ski racer, part-time snowboarder, stood still, absolutely motionless and expressionless, for several moments after crossing the finish line and seeing the numbers on a video board that appeared to show she was fast enough to be one of the most unconventional and out-ofnowhere gold medalists in Alpine history.
This, the 22-year-old Ledecka would explain later, was what went through her mind at that moment: “Is this a kind of mistake?”
Then came this: “OK, they’re going to change the time. I’m going to wait for a little bit, and you’re going to switch and (add) some more seconds.”
Ledecka has participated in only 19 World Cup skiing races in her entire career. Mikaela Shiffrin, in contrast, has been in 23 this season alone.
Veith hits back at Miller with silver
Happily married skiers do ski fast, Bode Miller. Mrs. Anna Veith is the proof.
Three days after Miller said in an NBC broadcast that marriage had not been so good for one of the best Alpine skiers of her generation, the Austrian responded on the slopes.
“Yeah, we can,” Veith said after earning an Olympic silver medal in Saturday’s super-G.
As Anna Fenninger, before her wedding to snowboarder Manuel Veith two years ago, she was the 2014 Olympic champion in super-G and a three-time world championship gold medalist.
Like Miller, the thenMiss Fenninger also won two overall World Cup titles as the best all-around skier over a full season; the sport’s most prized honor. However, a serious knee injury in October 2015 derailed her career and it seemed the 28-year-old Mrs. Veith was past her peak.
“The knee was an issue,” Miller said on Valentine’s Day, no less. “I want to point out that she also just got married and it’s historically very challenging to race in the World Cup while trying to raise a family or after being married.
“Not to blame the spouses, but I just want to get that out there that it could be your husband’s fault,” Miller said, before apologizing on air.
Canadians finally win
Canada heaved a collective sigh of relief today after the defending world champion women’s curling team finally nabbed its first win of the Olympic round robin, a muchneeded victory for a team that had inexplicably fallen to last place.
The Canadians’ 11-3 victory over the U.S. followed three straight losses at the Pyeongchang Games, a performance that few had anticipated from a team that was heavily favored to win the gold.
Today, Canada’s captain, or “skip,” Rachel Homan appeared far more confident and relaxed on the ice than the past few days. Her team grabbed a threepoint lead in the first end of the game and never trailed. While Canada’s takeout shots were precise, the U.S. team missed several shots early in the game. The Americans conceded the match with three ends left to play after Homan threw a takeout and added four points to Canada’s score.