The World Competes

On day 1 of Vancouver 2010’s competition ski jumping, speed skating, and biathlon took place early on. Women’s moguls, male luge, and short track speed skating will occur later on in the day.

Fog and slush delayed the men’s downhill competition today, and it has been postponed.

Yesterday, all three US ski jumpers qualified for today’s run, but they didn’t make it to the second run today. Switzerland’s Simon Ammann took gold, becoming the first ski jumper to win multiple gold medals on the Normal Hill. His first gold was in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

The Netherlands expected Sven Kramer to get the gold medal in the 5000 m distance in speed skating, and he didn’t disappoint. Lee Seung-Hoon of Korea was a surprise with the silver medal. Team USA’s skaters aren’t as strong at this distance; Chad Hedrick came in 11th, Shani Davis was 12th, and Trevor Marsicano came in 14th place.

The women’s 7.5 km biathlon was won by Anastazia Kuzmina of Slovakia. The favorite, Germany’s Magdalena Neuner, came in second. The top US showing was by Sara Studebaker, who came in 45th place (out of 89 competitors).

Luge will go on, but safety measures have been put in place. For one thing, a large wall was constructed on that dangerous turn, and the ice has been reshaped to make it slower. Additionally, competitors will start at lower gates, so that they will not be going as fast. The officials said that the track was not to blame for yesterday’s accident… sure.

All medal winners for today’s events have been entered into my medal count chart.