(Note: Due to the time difference between South Korea and the United States, all events will be listed by the day they are being aired in the United States.)
The Olympics Precap is a daily post that will serve as a recap and preview of the action in PyeongChang.
Here’s What Happened: Saturday, February 10th
With the 2018 Winter Games officially declared open at the Opening Ceremonies on Friday night, medal events could finally get underway, starting right away on Saturday morning.
The first gold medal of these Games was awarded in the 7.5 km+7.5 km skiathlon competition in what turned out to be a Scandinavian sweep on the podium. Swedish cross-country skier Charlotte Kalla who the gold, outlasting Norway’s Marit Bjoergen and Finland’s Krista Parmakoski who took silver and bronze respectively.
Thanks to her silver medal, Bjoergen of Norway became the most decorated female athlete in Winter Olympics history with 11 total medals.
The first #gold medal of the #WinterOlympics goes to Charlotte Kalla of #SWE in the women’s skiathlon! https://t.co/HdvgiMbBu4 pic.twitter.com/Skafv6meQB
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 10, 2018
As the day moved along the medals continued to flow.
Laura Dahlmeier of Germany claimed her country’s first gold of the 2018 Games with a victory in the Biathlon Women’s 7.5 km Sprint. Marte Olsbu of Norway claimed silver and Veronika Vitkova got the Czech Republic on the board with a bronze.
Germany claimed their second gold of the day in the Men’s Normal Hill Ski Jump. Andreas Wellinger out jumped all the favorites to take gold while Norway added to its opening day haul with silver and bronze thanks to Johann Andre Forfang and Robert Johansson.
Speed skating competition began on both short and long track in what turned out to be a huge day for the hosts South Korea and powerhouse The Netherlands.
Coming off a dismal performance in the 2014 Sochi Games, South Korea gave the hosts something to celebrate on the first day of their speciality, short-track speed skating.
Lim Hyojun claimed gold in the Men’s 1,500M short-track final, edging Sjinkie Knegt of The Netherlands who took silver. Semen Elistratov took home the bronze, giving the Olympic Athletes of Rusia (OAR) their first medal.
“I would like to send a message to my parents that I really love them and thank you for all the support and belief,” – LIM Hyojun #KOR after winning #Gold in the men’s 1500m short track. @pyeongchang2018 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/4t0tThyfwK
— Olympics (@Olympics) February 10, 2018
Heading over to the long track portion of speed skating, The Netherlands continued their dominance in the sport in the Women’s 3,000M event. The Dutch swept the podium, claiming gold, silver, and bronze, with Carlijn Achtereekte taking gold. Joining Achtereekte on the podium were her teammates Ireen Wust and Antoinette de Jong.
It’s all orange in women’s #speedskating! #Gold, #silver and #bronze for #NED at the ladies’ 3000m final. Congratulations to Carlijn Achtereekte, Ireen Wust and Antoinette de Jong! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/C2mUhiL7lO
— Olympics (@Olympics) February 10, 2018
The final medal event of Saturday’s competition schedule actually took place on Sunday in South Korea but it all counts the same.
Making history as the first Olympic champion to be born in the year 2000 or later, 17 year old Red Gerard captured the United States first medal of the Games with a gold in Men’s Snowboarding Slopestyle.
That podium feeling. #WinterOlympics #BestOfUS pic.twitter.com/c6L9ZruSQL
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 11, 2018
On his third and final run, Gerard laid down a winning score 87.16 to claim victory over Canadians Max Parrot and Mark McMorris who took silver and bronze respectively.
It wasn’t only medal events taking stage on Saturday however. Several other disciplines opened their competitions and brought plenty of excitement to fans around the world.
Here’s a brief overview of what you may have missed.
- Fast and chaotic short-track speed skating ran heats in several different events and Americans got their first look at Olympic rookie Maame Biney.
- Women’s ice hockey pool play opened up with a unified Korea team taking the ice against Switzerland.
- Men’s luge held their first two runs with gold medal favorite Felix Loch leading the way. American Chris Mazdzer sits in 4th place, just .001 out of a medal spot.
- Mixed doubles Curling wrapped up their round robin play. American sibling tandem Becca and Matt Hamilton were eliminated from competition.
- Alpine skiing fans were left disappointed when the Men’s Downhill had to be postponed due to high winds.
- The Figure Skating team event resumed with the ice dancing, women’s short program, and the pairs long skate taking place. The United States qualified for the final five and currently sit in third place.
Here’s What’s Next: Sunday, February 11th
Sunday is another action packed day with more medals to be handed out.
Before we break down what to watch here is Sunday’s schedule:
(Live gold medal events denoted. Gold medal replays available throughout the day.)
Once again, the schedule is loaded for Sunday and that should be all the reason you need to stay home and sit on the couch all day.
Some big events to keep an eye on Sunday:
- Freestyle skiing returns with the finals in the women’s moguls. Three Americans will compete for gold in the finals.
- United States women’s ice hockey begins their gold medal quest against Finland.
- Men’s luge crowns a champion with the final two runs at the sliding track. American Chris Mazdzer sits in 4th place overall.
- Women’s ski jump returns to the Olympics after making its debut at the 2014 Sochi Games.
- If one ski jump event isn’t enough for you, check out the Nordic Combined event that begins today. It’s half ski jumping, half cross-country skiing.
- Long-track speed skating holds another event in the Men’s 5,000M event. The Netherlands are the favorites for more gold.
- Women’s snowboarding slopestyle takes center stage where American Jamie Anderson will look to defend her gold medal from Sochi.
- Superstar skier Mikaela Shiffrin opens her 2018 Games looking for gold in the Women’s Giant Slalom.
- Team figure skating comes to an end with the final disciplines and a winner being crowned.
You can catch any of these events live or on replay by tuning into the channels listed beside the event.
If you cannot get to a TV, head on over to NBCOlympics.com to stream live online or catch up on any replays you may have missed. You can also watch wirelessly on your smartphone by downloading the NBC Sports App.
Medal Table
The Netherlands and Norway off to a hot start and expect to see them near the top of the medal count for the duration of the Olympics. The United States on the board with a gold thanks to 17 year old Red Gerard.
Keep up to date on everything Olympics right here on “The Bat Flip” where we will be posting our daily Precap to cover what all went down and what else is to come in PyeongChang.
