The Ilia Malinin Stunner

Hello and welcome to Sports Illustrated's Daily Rings, SI's Daily Olympics podcast.

I'm Mitch Golddich here as always with Dan Gartland, and Gart, we just saw what may go down as the biggest stunner of these Olympics about 5 minutes ago.

We are, we are hitting record right now after something shocking.

So, uh, I was gonna ask, how are you doing?

I think probably a little bit stunned, and I don't know if you're, if you've picked your jaw back up off the floor yet, uh, cause I still have it, but how's it going, Gart?

You're referring to the US women's hockey team, uh, scoring more goals than Italy has shots on net.

No, I'm kidding.

Uh, we're, yeah, we're, you're hearing our reaction in real time to Ilya Malinin's flop, I think is an accurate way to put it, especially given that he did flop, like, literally on the ice.

Um, finishing in 8th place in the men's singles that we went in with this big cushion, you know, that inherent advantage and just, you know, the skills that he has and the points that are awarded for those skills and I mean, really stunning.

I think neither of us has really had time to process it, so you're gonna hear us kind of work through our feelings in real time and um, yeah, I'm still just, uh, like you said, draw on the ground.

Yeah, that, so that in addition to, as we've discussed, this is our 12th or 13th episode of these games, and I think we've made it, made it very clear we do not have the technical expertise in the figure skating.

That is one small thing we are lacking here on this podcast.

But yeah, I mean, the reaction to this was unbelievable.

Um, the reaction on the broadcast, his reaction afterward was very interesting also.

So, so I don't know if we should start with sort of the basics of what happened, but, um, before we get into sort of everything that happened afterwards, but yeah, I mean, it was, it was sort of like an unraveling.

I gotta feel bad to see it, honestly.

I think a lot of people are going to be talking about the pressure that he was under, um, and how responsible that was.

But yeah, so this was the, um, men's.

Uh, free skate program, which is broken up into two parts.

He was in 1st place after the short program by a pretty healthy margin.

And I think like you just said, you know, he already has such a built-in advantage just because his, uh, his jumps and everything that he does, he has such a higher, a much higher ceiling than anyone else in the competition, uh, from on the technical score.

Uh, and then a couple of the guys before him sort of stumbled a little bit also, so he's the last to go, and it felt like he didn't actually have to have, I mean, he didn't have to have a perfect run.

He, he could have easily just done a good enough run, and I think, um, people were wondering like, OK, is he gonna sort of.

Um, take his foot off the gas and maybe some of these quad jumps, you can dial him down a little bit because you don't have to take any chances.

Of course, this is the guy who does backflips for fun, even though they are all risk and and no upside in the way the scoring works.

Um, so I was excited to see like, You know, oh man, is this guy just gonna go for it, and like they give out a gold medal every 4 years, but here's an opportunity to maybe do something totally legendary and just put together like an all-time performance.

Instead, very early in his routine, uh, he starts making mistakes.

One of the one of the jumps that he usually does a quad, he goes down to a single, the next one he usually does a quad goes down to a double, uh, twice he actually falls to the ice, ends up, like you said, 8th on the podium is like insane.

I thought the worst that could possibly happen would be him coming in 2nd.

Uh, him, him, him not winning a medal in this event is just like astounding, especially, you know, you and I, um.

In our preparation before the Olympics are doing all of our, uh, you know, studying up and everybody's talking about him like he's just like, you know, a shoo-in.

There's no such thing as a shoo-in.

We saw Simone Biles dealing with the twisties at the, um, Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and so we know that even, you know, these all-time greats, we, we've seen, we saw Mikaela Shiffrin at the Beijing Olympics, um, you know, and, and Lindsey Vonn having a crash, like, of course things happen, but, uh, this is a pretty shocking outcome.

Yeah, I mean, so the way he fell, like you said, those two falls and the other, um, you know, kind of alterations where he didn't rotate as much as he usually does, those cost him over 70 points, and when your score, when your score is, his final score was 156, you know, so it, it's, it costs him.

You know, like, nearly half of, you know, the points he ended up getting, right?

So it's like, those, those mistakes just really dropped him down, and like you said, the door was open, not only after the short program portion, but also today as the free skate wore on, the guys ahead of him kind of faltered as well.

So, after the short program, I thought, you know, it was pretty, pretty confident in the fact that we're probably looking at a podium of uh Malinin Yuakaiyama, and then there was a French skater named Adam Shao Shaofinha, uh Shaohifa, um.

Anyway, the, uh, the three of them had had a big cushion above, you know, kind of 4th through 8th place, right?

All they had to do was, you know, take care of business as you might say in another sport, just, you know, make skate their skate, you know, do just a good enough job, no mistakes, and then they're, they're golden.

So, uh, Shaoho Fa of France and Kagyama of Japan, they both had, they both faltered, uh, Kagiyama less so.

And then the real winner of the day, we should say the gold medalist, an amazing performance by Mikhail Shaidarov of Kazakhstan, who, um, was in 5th place after the short program.

And again, a big, a big gap there, uh, you know, before the top of the podium.

Ends up putting in the best score in the free skate, he vaults to the top, um, and then, you know, like you said, these other skaters are unable to seize on the opportunity, um, to just, you know, work with the cushion they were given and, um, and take advantage.

Yeah, and I, I believe, and as I said, this just happened.

I believe they said on TV that that was the 2nd gold medal ever for Kazakhstan at the Winter Olympics.

Uh, I mean, the, the big winner in so many ways, I mean, obviously he's, he's now an Olympic champion for the rest of his life, but also just like the way this all happened, it, it, it, it's really quite stunning, like, yeah, we.

We knew who some of his top competitors were, uh, from watching the short program and also from, we've already seen the team competition, um, and so we, you know, we've seen a, a bunch of these guys and, and their routines and, uh, this guy was not on my radar at all, and now he's the Olympic champ.

Um, and, and to put in perspective as well, you know, the great day that that uh Shadarov had.

Mallinon, his score in the free skate was we mentioned him finishing in the final standings 8th, but in the free skate, he was 15th, from 1st to 15th.

I mean, just like a real, a real stunning result, as you said, 15th out of, I'm scrolling down the results here now, 24, um, you know, like, well in the bottom half of the standings, just.

Yeah, shocking beyond words almost.

It is, you do wonder like once it got away from him, like the, sure, you know, the, the second fall, it's like at that point, who knows where his head was, you know what I mean?

Like I like I don't know it, but.

Some, uh, some interesting comments on the broadcast.

So, uh, Tara Lapinski has been, uh, one of the people calling for NBC, and she said, uh, they were, they were sort of after the routine.

They were going back and looking over the, uh, like the slow-mo, and she said, uh, she didn't see anything that was technical, and she said it was all mental, which is, uh, sort of an interesting thing to say, to just like come out and, and I think a lot of times, uh, especially nowadays, I think people are.

More careful to like blame something on being like a mental mistake or something.

I guess that's different from like, mental toughness or things like that, but, but she just called them like mental mistakes and not physical mistakes, which I thought was interesting.

And, and yeah , she said, uh, that she just never thought that could happen, him being off the podium entirely.

And then I don't know, did you see, um, Malinin's response when he was, uh, sitting there, you know, they sit and they wait for the scores and there are a million cameras on him and everything.

I did, so this was really interesting, the way that, did you see his interview afterwards as well?

Oh, I didn't see his interview, but let me, let me start with his comments when he was sitting there when I don't know if, I mean, he must know that everything he says is getting picked up by microphones, but he, and I'm sort of paraphrasing cause I think the broadcast was relaying the comments, but he basically was saying, um, that if they had sent him to Beijing 4 years ago, that wouldn't have happened.

I did say he looked at the camera, he said it's, it's not easy, it's not easy.

Skating like that.

But we talked about this in the lead up that he was, uh, a lot of people thought he should have been on the Olympic team 4 years ago for the Beijing Olympics.

They didn't select him.

He was very young at that point.

And, uh, you know, I, I guess he's making the case that if he had had that Olympic experience, um, this wouldn't have happened here.

I will say it's a little different, you know, we talked about him struggling also in his very first skate at these Olympics, which was in the team program.

And so, um, and he did seem to rebound from that.

But this is now 2 out of his 4 skates, and I think we talked at the time about like, OK, well, he's getting his legs under and maybe some nerves, um, you know, first time at the Olympics.

He had those like interesting comments that some people thought were misinterpreted about like, um, you know, 50% of his, uh, whatever, and, and I think some people thought he was talking about effort, but he might have just been talking about what happened.

Um, but anyway, to see him, I guess, still struggling with that.

Uh, now having completed his 4th official skate at the Olympics, um, but then also, I mean, just to see that he, he's been at the top of the skating world for years and he's still, I guess, harboring that resentment, uh, and feeling burned by that 4 years later, I guess it's, it's normal that, uh, in a very shocking moment, uh, especially like something.

That public, like all of your, like, I think I'd probably be the same way, like all of my past slights I'd be mad about and like that would, that's an easy, like, that's a human emotion to in that moment, just like, get mad about this thing that happened 4 years ago that you're still thinking about, but, but it does make you wonder if he was like thinking about that, like the whole week that he's been over there in Italy and, and, you know, let alone.

Whole 4 years in between.

Um, but interesting reaction.

So I don't know if you want to share your thoughts on that or if you want to just talk about that interview that you mentioned that I haven't.

Yeah, so it was interesting to see his, you know, we're talking about us processing this, obviously him processing it is a more, is, you know, a more complicated thing , but it was interesting to see him kind of go through, you know, the process of dealing with what happened to him.

Um, what, you know, he buries his hands in his face immediately after the music is over, um, you know, then he, he's, he's distraught walking off the ice, uh, then he goes, like you said, he's sitting and waiting for the score, he's muttering about, or, you know, maybe not muttering, but he, he is talking about, um, you know, this perceived slight being left off the previous team.

He seems kind of bitter in that moment.

The score comes in, he reacts, you know, as you might expect, right?

He's disappointed, he knows it's coming though.

But then immediately, he goes over to congratulate Shadarov, um, which I didn't quite expect him to do, given how he had been reacting, you know, moments earlier, um, and then he has an interview afterwards, and I watched it like, literally, like as I'm walking in, I like, went in the other room to get my bottle of water and I saw him on TV saying this before we go over to the record, but he said, you know, he, he seemed, he was, he was cracking a smile a little bit.

Um, but the thing that stuck out to me, uh, the interviewer, and I, and I, I regret that I don't have her name in front of me, but she asked, you know, what was your first thought when, uh, when that music ended and, and the routine was over?

And he just said, I blew it.

Like that was my first thought was I, I, I blew it.

And we all knew it at home.

Obviously he knew it, he's the one who's, you know, who's taking part in this, in this routine, but, um, he seemed to, in the, in the course of a few minutes, kind of, um, come to grips with what had just happened to him.

Yeah, well, and , and also I'll say I don't blame him at all for the initial reaction either.

Like I, I think, yeah, that's, that's just a, that's a human thing and a lot of sporting events, a lot of times you, uh, if something horrible happens, you're, you get to run into the locker room first and like process it for a little bit.

Figure skating is kind of a unique sport where they make you sit there and wait for the, for the verdict to come down, um, again with, with cameras in your face, um.

Yeah, so that's, uh, that's tough.

I, I guess, um, silver lining and more of a gold lining we can say.

He is an Olympic gold medalist.

They did win the team competition.

I'm sure he is crushed by this and probably will be forever, or at least for 4 years until he has a chance to win another one individually, but, um, but he did win the team competition even if he is not, uh, you know, 100% thrilled with how he skated in that one either.

Um, but yeah, there's just something about like the pressure that some people are under, and we have talked a few times about, um, athletes, I think about like Ben Ogden, the, um, US cross country skier who won silver and was like so excited about it.

And there are a lot of athletes who want to win the gold and make it a big deal, um, you know, their hopes to win gold, but can still be happy with a silver and a bronze.

And then there are other athletes who are just like totally psyched to have silver and bronze, and then there's this much smaller class of athletes who are really viewed at viewed as like gold or bust, and I think that is the case for, um, you know, I think like the, the women's hockey team might even feel that way, like US and Canada might both like some of these people who are in like the top, top place in sports are viewed as like gold or bust.

And Ilya Malinin probably would have looked at silver as a failure, um, just the way he looks at himself, um, probably, you know, I don't, I don't know him, but based on, based on the expectations that have been heaped on him, uh, and, and let me not speak for him.

A lot of people would have viewed that as a failure for him if he had won silver, and, and we had thought that might be possible, like we had seen it, we had seen him stumble a couple times, but him not even winning a medal is just like truly unbelievable.

Yeah, I, I think the, the last thing I'll say on this, we talked about how.

Um, you know, a lot of the other competitors in front of him were also feeling that pressure and also stumbled.

I wonder if, um, the, the size of the cushion getting bigger got in his head, you know, the wig of the Kagiyama, uh, had his own fall and, you know, fell out of, uh, he ended up finishing, uh, he ended up finishing in 2nd, he got the silver, but, um, but his, you know, his, uh, free skate score was 6th best of the day.

So, you know, he had a, he had a rough showing in the free skate.

And it, and it gives Mallinon this much bigger cushion.

And then, you know, to bring it back to hockey, you know, they say the two goal lead is the hardest goal, the hardest lead to protect, right?

Uh, he's got the proverbial two goal lead in this, in this, uh, situation.

And, you know, it, it, it changes your, your mental approach.

The, the, uh, the commentary was talking about, oh, is he now gonna dial back on the quads and turn to triples, right?

And you wonder if, you know, he's, he's trying to make these on the fly adjustments to play it safe and then it ended up biting him.

Yeah, that's a great, great point.

Obviously we can't get it in his head, but yeah, there's all these elite athletes have that mental, uh, focus that they get into, and when they need to rise to the occasion at a pressure moment, they often can, and then, yeah, sometimes when, when you're feeling less pressure, uh, it can just be like a different situation, and, and yeah, if you take a little bit off the gas, um, that can throw you, especially that's a sport where it's such a routine and muscle memory and all that in the order that you do everything in.

Um, they, you know, they were talking about him, they were showing his, uh, warm up and talking about how loose he looked, and so who knows, uh, you know, it could have been so many factors, but it, it definitely felt like once he, uh, had the first mistake, it was just cascading, and I, I can totally understand how after you make one, it's easier to make a second mistake, and after you make.

To, it's a lot easier to make a 3rd mistake and a 4th, um, and, uh, yeah, you know , who knows, I'm, I'm excited to see what he says about it and, and, um, how much longer it takes for him to go in detail and talk about it, but, uh, yeah, that's, I mean, 16 days of the Olympics.

I can't imagine we're going to see anything more surprising than that.

Yeah.

All right, one more thing.

He nailed that first squad, and I thought he's got it.

And then after that it was all downhill.

But, you know, we look, we could spend the whole hour talking about Elia Mallin and, um, I think, you know, probably time to move on.

But yeah, just the fact that he nailed that first squad, I thought, oh, he's got it in the bag and then little did I know.

Yeah, all right.

Well, that was, that's where we had to start.

Well, I've got like 8 other sports on my list that we can get to.

I'll like dealer's choice, where do you wanna go, uh, where do you wanna go next on the board?

All right, well, how about, you know, how about we start with an all-time great who actually did live up to the hype, our, our friend Johannes Clabo.

Mhm.

That's a great place to start.

Let's go.

So, so, uh, today was the, the 10 kilometer, uh, was, it was the freestyle, correct?

I'm, I, he's winning so many events, I'm blending them together.

Yes, I believe it was.

OK, yeah, so it's the 10 kilometer freestyle, that, that skating style of skiing.

And, um, interval start, right?

So it's one of those ones where, you know, you're, you're kind of watching the clock rather than watching the competitors on the course, and he was awesome, he won, obviously, he's probably gonna win 3 more golds, you have to think, but, um, he's now won 3 golds at these Olympics already, um, that gives him 8 career gold medals at the Winter Olympics that tied for the most all time.

Um, he, uh, once again, That, we talked about that, that hill, the, you know , the viral video of him climbing up the hill, he did it again on that hill where, you know, you're watching the splits as he's going through the different segments of the course and, um, you know, he gets to that hill and it's pretty tight, and he gets to the top of the hill and they flash that next split and you go, all right, he's, he's left them in the dust.

It's, it's just time to put the hammer down and, uh, and, and cruise.

To the finish line here.

And yeah, he ended up winning.

I mean, he didn't exactly cruise.

He won by about 5 seconds.

Uh, but again, this was not one of his, uh, premier events.

This is one of the ones where he was predicted to finish, you know, more in the fringe medal contention.

Um, but he's just on a roll right now and he, and he, he killed it and 3 goals for him and 3 more chances to get, to get to that vaulted 6.

Yeah, I think they they named the hill after him, that I forget what the what they called it on the broadcast.

They had a fun name for it, but it's funny, there was that clip of him that went viral earlier in the Olympics, and I saw it so many times cause it was just like, it kept popping up in my feed with people quote tweeting it, um.

And so then you get that same camera angle and it was like, it was like, you know, the, um, the meme where he's, you know, uh, looking at the camera and like pointing, it's Leo like pointing at the camera and I was, I was like that on the couch.

I was like, Clabo's on that hill, like that's his spot on the course.

And then he did just like pull away and it was awesome.

Um, yeah, so he's got, uh, 8 gold medals, um, which is a tie for the most all time, and he will break that record any day now, and 10 total medals.

Um, yeah, there's almost like what else can we even say about this guy, but I did want to give a shout out to, uh, two other, uh, guys I saw out there on the course.

One was Austin, uh, Musgrave of Great Britain, and noticed that he was, uh, he went sleeve.

It was, uh, it was pretty warm out there.

You could see like the, how sunny it was, um, but it was definitely warmer.

Um, Nicole Auerbach of NBC said that also, um, that it was definitely like the warmest she has been since she's been out there.

So, but I just saw this guy, he's like shirtless, and then he finished in 6th place in the whole race.

Um, so good for him.

And then, uh, and then I, I tweeted this and Nicole also pointed out there was another American who I didn't see.

On TV, um, but John Steele, uh, Hagenbach, I believe, was also, um, the second guy who was, uh, shirtless.

And then I just wanted to shout out, uh, at the very end, this is one of those events, um, because there were so many people in it, um, that after the leaders all finished , I was just watching, there was like, uh, not much, not much else going on at 6:45 in the morning or whatever.

I think that's what time it was.

Um, but I was watching a lot of them come around to the finish, and they're athletes from.

Uh, Lebanon and Ethiopia and Nigeria, and they were just sort of running through that list of countries where they were like, oh, this person's one of only two athletes here from this country, and we talked about that a little after the opening ceremony, um, how nice that is when they show all the delegations and , um, a lot of, uh, you know, countries sending fewer people, but, uh, sometimes in some cases it It's like their first time here, it's very rare.

And so it's just like a fun this, you know, a lot of the events have uh smaller fields, and this is one where you could just enjoy the fact that like, all these people, like they knew they were not going to win gold today.

They were not going to take down King Clabo, but, um, good for them qualifying and being there and and uh fun to get a little taste of that, uh, this morning over my tea.

Yeah, I had the same, the same thought.

I was watching the end as well, and they had some of those, you know, smaller nations or maybe not, not even smaller nations because one of them that I, I noted there was somebody from was Brazil, which is a big country, but not a big winter sports country.

Um, but yeah, they had, um, you know, I posted this online as well as Mexico, Lebanon, Haiti had one, Brazil.

There's somebody from Bolivia, but it's like the Bolivian guy was, he was born in Finland and then he got, he did a little like, uh, eligibility shopping to represent Bolivia.

But like, the, the, the Mexican guy, the Lebanese guy, the Haitian guy, and the Brazilian guy, they were all born in those countries, you know, and who knows what their training process is like.

It was amazing.

And I especially want to shout out the guy from Lebanon, whose name is Sammer Talk.

Um, they mentioned this on the broadcast.

He was in the 2018 Olympics, and then shortly thereafter, had a really brutal crash.

He said he fell like 40 50 ft off a mountain.

I was told during the early stages of his recovery, he might never walk again, and then here he is again at the Olympics seven years later, uh, a really amazing story there.

Like you said, he finished, you know, like, 67 minutes back of Clabo, but, uh, what do you expect from, you know, it's great that he's just there in the first place.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I love those stories and uh there are a lot of athletes not expecting to win and cool that they still get to be finishers.

I will bring up I because I brought up it the last time we talked about, uh, the Nordic combined and I talked about Juany Clabo in there and so that's a, that's a 10, is that where you're gonna go?

No, I, I'll let you go.

I, I know what you're gonna say, and I had the same exact thought today, but you could, you could say it first, yeah.

Oh, I don't know, but, so, OK, so he, so his winning time was 20 minutes, 36 seconds, right?

As a reminder of the winning time in this, this same distance in the Nordic combined.

was 29 minutes, 59 seconds.

Now, I learned some, I, I did a lot of digging cause I, I was really invested in this idea that Clabo could be a Nordic combined and cross-country combined champ.

Um, there is precedent for that.

I think nobody's done it since the 50s, but a bunch of Norwegian guys did it, like, you know, pre-World War Two.

anyway, I went down a big rabbit hole on this and I found that, um, so the course that they use.

For this race was not exactly the same as the one that used to Nordic combined.

So in this race, there was, uh, you know, there's, it's the same venue, but it's not the same, like, track.

Uh, there's different paths you can take for the different distances and, and how they add up, right?

So, they did 2 laps of this one segment that was 3 3/4 kilometers, and they did 1 lap of a segment that was 2.5 kilometers.

For the Nordic combined, they did 4 laps all on that 2.5 kilometer course.

So not exactly the same course, but still, he finished about 7 minutes faster, or, uh, no, I'm sorry, uh, more than 8 minutes faster.

So, um, you know, I, uh, I think just have him, you know, do a, do a jump off the steps at the, at the, uh, ski jumping place and then start 8 minutes back and show all guys, show all those other guys how it's done.

OK, that is slightly different from what I was gonna say and what I was thinking, which is just that I was watching the biathlon for a little bit today, and I just started thinking we gotta get Clabo a gun.

Like, come on, like I, no, listen, no disrespect to the biathletes out there who are very good and, uh, and are incredible shots, but like, uh, let's just try it.

Let's, let's get him some training, give him an afternoon at the range and see if we can get.

Bravo into.

Let's have him be a three sports star and have him winning events in cross country and Nordic combined and biathlon.

I would love to see Mitch.

I think if, if he missed every shot and just ran every penalty lap, he'd still be in contention.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, we, I, I don't know what the limit is.

I don't know if you can like foul out of the biathlon, but, uh , but we should push.

The boundaries.

I'd love to see him out there, even, um, you know, sometimes like they'll have uh a 100 m sprinter and a 200 m sprinter, and they'll have him race at like 150 m just to see what would happen.

I would love to see like an off cycle, uh, just like an amateur race where we put Clabo and a bunch of other, uh, random sports, not random, but sports that that involve cross country skiing and just see how he would do.

Yeah, or, or put him on, you know, a lot of these guys train on roller skates in the summer, have a roller skate race against the speed skater.

There's a lot of things we can do with the, with Clabo.

We'll get to Fox Sports on the line or something and see if they can organize some kind of challenge.

All right, uh, let's, let's move on to curling because this was another one toward the top of my list.

Um, had a great time watching the curling, and, and this might have been one of the, maybe the first thing we talked about, um , if not for all the, for Main and, uh, going down 5 minutes before we taped, but, uh, a huge win for the US women's team.

It was, uh, and I didn't realize this coming.

Into the game, but the US women had never beaten Canada at the Olympics, which kind of stunned me.

Uh, they were 0 and 8, and that streak is now over, um, with a huge win.

Uh, and this match, uh, one thing that I really enjoyed about this was I was watching and, uh, Gold Zone had, uh, John Schuster in studio and he was doing a great job breaking it down, um, with, uh, Matt Eiseman and Jack Collinsworth in the morning hour on, uh, Gold Zone.

And he was talking about, I don't, did you see this part or were you watching the main broadcast for this game?

I was watching the main broadcast.

OK, so, so I really enjoyed him talking about um analytics and some of the decisions they were making.

So the US had an opportunity in, uh, I think it was the 8th end out of 10.

Um, where they, uh, they had the hammer and, um, Canada had one stone, uh, in the house, and they basically had a choice.

They could knock Canada out and blank the end, which means like no points for either.

Um, but if, but if they had done that, they would have kept the hammer for the next end, or they could score one point and go up by.

Additional point, uh, but give the hammer over to Canada.

And Schuster was talking about how, and this shouldn't be surprising, anyone who has, uh, watched an NFL game these days knows they've got all the grids and charts for like, when do we go for 2 and should we kick a field goal here and whatnot.

But he was talking about how they absolutely have, uh, like a probability model with their coach on the sideline, and they're able to tell them.

OK, in this situation, we would rather be up 2 without the hammer instead of up 1 with the hammer.

And so it's just, I've learned so much about the strategy as we watch more games, and it's not surprising at all that that's a thing that they're thinking about, that they've already sort of done those analytics ahead of time, and I'm sure uh some of you people who are uh the, the take the points crowd who want the NFL coaches kicking.

Field goals might be thinking, well, it depends on the game and who and how you're playing in the matchups and, and I, yes, absolutely, there's a human element there also.

Um, but I just thought it was interesting, uh, hearing his perspective on all of that.

Um, and then the game was actually, it was, it was, uh, pretty dramatic.

I, so they, they ended up taking that point.

I was, uh, I, in that situation I was just talking about, um, to go up by 2.

But then they gave up 3 points in the 9th end.

So Canada took the lead.

Um, and then in the 10th end, which was very dramatic, Canada, uh, was attempting a takeout shot and they knocked one out, but they were hoping it would, uh, hit another stone out of the way and it slid right past.

Then the US actually ended up having, uh, sort of not, not too difficult of a shot to, to clinch it, and they landed it like right in the center of the button.

Um, so a big win and, uh, standings update.

The women are now 2 and 1.

Um, and so this is the same as the mixed doubles.

We spent the whole first week talking about where, um, there are 10 teams and they're gonna do a round robin, and after 9 games, the top 4 move on.

So the US is 2 and 1, and also they have played a tough schedule, um, not just Canada, but, uh, Korea, and I believe Sweden was the 3rd team, so they're, um, they're looking like they're in pretty good shape.

Yeah, this is a really, really exciting match.

Um, like you said, that, that final end where Canada's got that chance to, to, you know, knock both US stones out, they don't get it.

Um, if they, if they had knocked the one out and the US had that last shot with the hammer, they could have gone to an extra end.

Um, and this is why you bring up, you know, the, the, the analytics of giving the hammer back essentially to Canada in the 9th and so you, did you get it then in the 10th in that final end.

And then you get a chance to just like they did, you know, with your last stone, the house is basically wide open.

All you gotta do is just glide it in there really easy, put it dead center and you win the match and um, yeah , it seems like their strategy paid off for them.

Um, one small, uh, final note on this I want to make, the, uh, the, just about the intertwined, uh, nature of the US and Canada teams.

They are rivals, but they have some ties, and, uh, I actually just learned today that Team USA's coach, uh, Cathy Overton Clapham is herself Canadian, and, uh, she's had a decorated career, so I'm sure she has, uh, you know, friends on the other side, and, and I think all these teams, um, curl against each other, although the, uh, the curling you may think is.

Just one big happy family and everyone's friendly all the time, but it was getting, uh, it got spicy in the Sweden-Canada men's match.

So there are men's games today also, um, and the US, we should say the US men lost to Canada.

They are now 1 and 2, and struggling.

They're in much worse position to get out of the, uh, to get out of the, um, round robin and into the semifinals.

Um, but I think you saw this video also, um, Sweden, someone on Sweden was.

Accusing someone on Canada of touching the rock as he let it go.

I was relying on some tweets from John Cullen, who we had on our preview, uh, episode, and then somebody, uh, replied to him with a video.

But, um, basically, uh, a guy in Sweden was accusing a guy in Canada of, of, of some illegal touching, um, as I continue talking about NFL, uh, comparisons.

Uh, the guy from Canada told the guy from Sweden to f off.

The guy from Sweden said he was gonna show.

The guy, a video after the match.

So anyway, it comes down, Canada did beat Sweden 8-6.

Uh, and John Cullen in his tweet, he said, uh, I think it'll take a really obvious example of it for an official to remove it, but a veteran move here from the Swedes in a big game, it's something the Swedes would have picked up that Mark did on tour and waited for the highest leverage moment to call it out.

So yeah, anytime guys are shouting expletives at each other across the curling sheet, uh, I'm, I'm more interested in their future games for sure.

Yeah, and you, you said he was accused.

I mean , there was video evidence going around online.

He actually, he actually did this thing that, that he was being accused of.

Like, it's like he was, it was more that he was pointing out, hey, you're doing this illegal thing more than saying, I think you're doing it.

It's like, no , there's like definitive proof circulating online, video evidence, like, like the guy said he was in a show after the match where, yeah, he's, he's touching the stone, very slightly, and it's, and it's, it looks, you know, it's really, really, um, clever or not clever, but, you know, it's really, really, uh.

Uh, he's really, uh, sneaky with it, I guess is the word I should use, he's, it's just a couple of fingers in the back of that stone for a little extra edge.

Um, but on the topic of, um, kind of some controversy here, 11 last thing I saw, um, early this morning in the curling was, um, the Swiss men's skip.

So apparently, the crowd, if you've been watching the curling, you've noticed the crowd's pretty boisterous.

This is something that I've been thinking about, um, because you hear that, you hear the sport of curling referred to as chess on ice, and, um, You know, you think, OK, you're gonna want, you know, real concentration.

Obviously, it's like, you know, you're really trying to guide that stone in and and curl it precisely, and so, you know, but at the same time, there's 4 matches going on all at once, um, all in different, uh, you know, sheets in, in the same arena, and so, I was watching one game, I forget what it was, I think it might have been the Canada match, where the Canadian guy is just screaming, and I'm like, that's gonna be so, like, he's yelling instructions to his teammate on the other end of the sheet.

Which he's got to do, but I'm like, that's gotta be so annoying if you're the guy on the either side of him, you know, like, hey, I'm trying to concentrate here and this guy's just yelling, right?

But it's, you know, it's part of the game.

So, the crowd though has also been quite loud, and so apparently, uh, World Curling has been encouraging the fans to be a little quieter, to, to, to dial back their excitement, and there was a comment on Instagram from Yannik Schwaler, the skip of the Swiss men's team.

And uh he, yeah, he he said that the world curling was trying to discourage loud cheering, and then he said in response, quote, let them go nuts, it's what curling needs.

So it's like this interesting, you know , we're talking about, uh, there's always this, you know, this talk of, uh, in all different sports, you know, should, uh, how do you modernize the game and get people more involved and You know, I think it's like, uh, I guess the, the, the comparison might be the Waste Management Open golf tournament versus the Masters, right, where the Masters, you know, patrons, as they say, are, are all permit proper and, you know, they're, they're all good golf fans and the waste management guys in Phoenix are, you know, screaming and yelling and throwing beers on the green.

So, um, what, you know, it seems like world curling wants one approach, but some of the players might want a different approach.

Yeah, curling does seem ripe for a uh Happy Gilmore style movie about the, the, the, you know, outsider curling superstar who comes or comes in and becomes a superstar.

Um, yeah, so I'll, I'll actually say my very limited, uh, curling experience here at not as a, not as a curler, but as a journalist covering it.

Um, I, I did cover the 2018 Olympics, and so I have attended one curling match in my life, uh, which John Schuster was a skip for, um, and it was the same thing.

There were 4 matches going on and I was paying attention to the um US match, and the Olympics were in Korea, and the Korean team was on a different sheet, and it was crazy.

I had that same reaction, like the fans were just going nuts the entire time.

And then that game ended first, if I remember correct, and all the fans just like left.

They weren't even like sitting there to take care for it, like, clearly they were there for the one game, um, and it was like a little distracting, and I, I think I, I want to go back and find, uh, that story or the quotes from it, but I think the guys on the team were like, yeah, that.

Curling, like it just kind of happens.

Um, and I'll say I, I've been to plenty of sporting events, like I've been to the NCAA wrestling tournament where you've got like, you know, 8, 12 mats out at once, and like all of the fans from Oklahoma are like screaming about one thing and all the fans from Penn State are screaming about something else, and like sometimes that's just some of these sports, like, I would say the athletes are used to it and they probably get in the zone where like, uh, they're so used to their, their teammates' voices that, uh, you know, if your skip is calling out or somebody is screaming.

You to sweep, like you just pick up the frequency of them, uh, screaming at you ahead of the crowd roar or like you, you almost like if some guy from Sweden is yelling two sheets away, you don't hear it quite the same way.

So I, I, I would assume that they're used to it.

But, but yeah, I, I hate this, uh, about telling the crowds to pipe down, like that doesn't seem right at all.

Like that's, especially on this stage, like, let's make curling fun and, and it feels like the, you know, the excited crowds and the enthusiasm is all definitely a plus for, I'd say all of these sports here.

Yeah, I, I, I hope, uh, I hope the fans don't listen.

But yeah, we'll see what happens.

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I also had a great time watching the skeleton today.

Uh, so this, this, this was really exciting a few races.

I, I watched just the, the very end of it, but, uh, the 3rd and 4th rounds, which were, which were today, uh, we should just give a quick preview that, uh, or a quick review that the Ukrainian skeleton racer who had, um, his helmet band, he, his appeal was, um, was unsuccessful, so he did not get to race, but, uh, that puts an end to that story.

Um, but there's people who did get to race, um.

I, I loved this competition.

I found it much more interesting than the luge, because I feel like in the luge, uh, like all of the successful runs, like the, like the, you know, the leaders runs were all perfect, and they were all like, obvious like early is perfect to the naked eye, right?

If you are an expert, you might see, oh, you know, one little shoulder move here or whatever, but, uh, no, it seems like in the skeleton, a lot of them had, like, there were these little, you know, baubles and you, you scrape the wall a little bit with your shoulder or.

Or, you know, you kick a foot out cause you're overcorrecting and, um, and still you're able to put up a good time, and I really got a kick out of, you know, seeing, cause it's so, I mean, it's nuts how it's 75 miles an hour they peak at headfirst down the ice.

Um, there was one, like, really, uh close call with a, with a, with a sledder who, who nearly came off of his sled.

Um, it was, it was a whole lot of fun.

I loved watching it, um.

You know, it was, uh, just like wall to wall action, you know, one after another, uh, a really great time and, and looking forward to seeing the women's race tomorrow.

Yeah, well, and, and we should say I watched the, uh, the women's heats were in the morning, and then the men's, uh, medal rounds were later, and, and yeah, the winner there, he was talking about people getting emotional after they win.

Um, Matt Weston from Great Britain won gold, and, uh, he needed a big final run.

I think he went last, so I guess he didn't need it, but he, he went last knowing the score he had to be at the time.

He had to beat, uh, and then he did it, and then his reaction, a lot of times in that sport, you see them like pop off the sled and like run down that tunnel to like hug their coaches or family or whoever, and he just like stayed down on the sled and was just like laying there like, uh, like crying and someone had to like come to him.

Um, and I believe that was, yeah, that was, um, Great Britain's first gold in skeleton.

In men's skeleton, in men's skeleton , thanks.

And then, um, he won by 0.

88, which is actually a pretty big margin in that sport is, um, and then Germany had the uh the silver and bronze.

Axel Junk got the uh silver, just wonderful German name.

I just love, love seeing Axel Junk and then uh Christopher uh Grother, I think was the bronze.

Um, so the, the when I was watching the women's earlier, there is, um, there is like a I don't even know how to describe this sound.

It was like a, not like a clicking, but it was like a, like a spring coiling and just like being stretched, and the commentator, uh, was just like, oh, that sound is her head scraping the ice, and it was like, oh my God, that sounds so bad.

And she was like, yeah, don't worry.

She was like the worst part of, uh, of your head being on the ice like that is just that the turns are blind and you have to do it all by feel.

It's not actually that bad for her head touching the ice as it's sliding down at like 70 miles an hour or whatever it was.

Um, I was thinking about like their, like teeth chattering, but I think they all wear mouth guards, uh, thankfully.

Um, but yeah, the, the women's tournament was, was exciting.

I, some of the top names who we talked about, uh, seemed like they didn't have the best day actually, um, like Mystique Rowe, the American, and, and Hallie Clark, the Canadian who we talked about who was very young, um, but there were a couple of track records, um.

It was, uh, Jamie Flock from Austria had a track record, uh, the first run, and she's still in the lead after 2, and then, uh, Jacqueline Pfeiffer from Germany, we've talked about Germany being great at all the sliding sports.

She then set a track record in the second heat, and she's in, um, 3rd place heading into, uh, they'll do.

Runs 3 and 4 tomorrow.

Well, you talk about track records .

Matt Weston, the gold medalist, he set a track record in each of his runs.

Now, look, this is a new track.

Yeah, so this is a new track, and so, you know, like, these are, they're like, whoever sets the fastest time today is gonna set the track record, but Him setting the track record means that he lowered his score in each successive run or lowered his time in each successive run.

I mean, you know, like, you, you talk about, like, knowing the score you need to beat, well, he, you know, he's beating his own score to an extent, right?

I mean, he just kept lowering the bar, um, each run getting better and better, and, yeah, it was, I mean, really an unbelievable performance from him.

And you mentioned.

Yeah, the, the, the first men's skeleton, uh, medal or gold medal, I should say for Great Britain, previous one, I think to bronze, but just the 13th winter gold medal for Great Britain.

Um, 4 of their, their last five golds have actually in the Winter Games have come in skeleton.

Um, Lizzie Yarnold, a woman won back in 20 back to back in 2014 and 2018.

And then there was somebody else, I think in 22.

Um, but yeah, uh, great, great showing from, from Weston, and yeah, just lowering the bar each time down the track, uh, a really a dream day for him.

I think also the commentary said that he had, um, he had like retired briefly after the 2022 Olympics and thought he was done, came back, and now here he is with another gold medal.

Interesting, you'd think from the shirtless cross country skier that maybe Britain would have more success at the Winter Games than just those 13 medals or or whatever, but uh I guess not.

Um.

All right, I've got, uh, I've got a few more sports.

We're probably gonna get into the lightning round at some point here, but I, we should talk about the men's halfpipe, um, they, cause they were so good, and so, uh, yesterday was the women's halfpipe, and we talked about it being a tough day because it was actively snowing at night during and it made the conditions tough, and a lot of them, uh, just weren't landing, um, or they were falling or stumbling in the middle.

The routines not getting all the way through.

Um, the men's was, was the exact opposite.

We saw some great scores put up, um, a lot of great tricks and routines.

Um, and this was like, this is just a fun competition, like right from the start.

So, so, uh, and, and, and I don't know actually how the scoring compares between men's and women's, if the scores are typically, um, like identical or if, if one's higher than the other, but, uh, Chloe Kim, we were talking about her.

In '88 yesterday just to give people some perspective.

So after the first run in the men's today, Japan had uh snowboarders in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and they had put up scores of 92, 91, 90.

And so I think all three of them were feeling really good about it.

Um, but then Scotty James from Australia, uh, he's a guy who's, uh, had a very decorated career.

He won a bronze medal in 2018, a silver.

Over in 2021, he's won the world championships and X Games.

He's got like a ton of gold medals.

Like the one thing missing from his resume, they said was the Olympic gold, and then he had an amazing run in his, uh, his second time through, uh, that put him in second place.

And then, uh, the guy from Japan, Yuto Tatsuka, he answered by improving his 91 to a 95.

Unbelievable.

The third run was a little bit anticlimactic because I think the final three guys, uh, we knew who it was going to be on the medal podium, and then I don't think any of them actually improved their position, but, uh, just so many guys were good.

There was a guy, um, it was uh Ruka Hirano from Japan.

He put up in his three runs a 90, 90, 91 and finished in fourth place off the podium .

33 runs, 90 or better, and not enough for a medal because everybody was just like hitting everything today.

Yeah, this was like a, uh, I was glued to this.

You mentioned the conditions and how the better conditions led to a better, a better competition, really, you know, like you, you had, you know, it was, it's kind of like, um, I feel like the women's halfpipe was kind of like the second half of that Patriots Broncos game where, you know, nobody could get anything done because it was snowing and, and this was more like, you know, play football in a dome, the greatest show on turf, kind of, you know, everything's perfectly manicured and, uh, and you're ready to go out there and put up a big number.

Um, but yeah, I mean, they, they were like Japan, the Japanese team was unbelievable, just to put to bed the, um, the discussion we had yesterday about whether or not the Hiranos were brothers.

So this was, this was a, it was confusing on the broadcast because to be clear , so there's Ayumu Hirano, the defending gold medalist.

I think he also won a medal in 2018.

Uh, he has a brother who is an elite elite snowboarder who came close to making the Japanese Olympic team, but did not.

Ruca Hirano is not a, not his brother, but it was on the team, you know, like I said, put up those great scores today.

But then the commentary was talking about the Hirano brothers cause they're talking about Ayumu and his brother, but it's like, no, it's not the other Hirano, and then they, they clarified a few times, and by the way, Ruca is not Ayumu's brother.

It was very confusing.

Um, it, it was also confusing also cause you're like, The, the, the leaderboard is like all Japan, you know, and they're like, you're, you're, you know, you're trying to remember, you know, which is which and, and who's going in what order.

Um, I mean, they were outstanding.

You mentioned those final runs being a little anticlimactic.

I disagree with you somewhat because they all had, like, great runs where they fell at the very End and you're like, wow, like, like on their last jump and you're like, they could have, like, those are really great runs and you wonder where they would have they've been able to, to surpass the, the, you know, the leader if they had landed that last trick.

And of course, you'll never know, but, um, yeah, some great drama there, which is, you know, the, the scores were unbelievable, really, really high.

You mentioned yesterday, like, Uh, maybe Chloe Kim got that 88 on our first run because the judges are reluctant to set the bar too high, and then they go out today and it's like the, the first run, there's a, there's a 90 and a 92 or whatever, and like, you know, it's like, no , like they're gonna set the bar pretty high cause like they were just out of this world.

Yeah, that, that's fair to push back to it.

I, the last one was like a glory run cause he knew he was the last and he knew he had the gold, but yeah, that that is true that the guys in, in bronze and silver had the chance to, uh, to, to one up him, but, and that's a spot where you're like, well, let me, you know, pull out everything I have and, and go for it.

I don't think he did have the glory run.

I think, I think he was, I know, I think, uh, Tatsuka had gone earlier and he, he ended up winning the gold, right?

And so.

Um, he, it was, I think he had like an opportunity to improve from silver to gold.

She's pretty confident in position, but he does have the ability to, to get that, that last spot.

But, um, yeah, I mean, it was, even still, it was, uh, it was a, it was a great run.

All right, well, um, a few sports left on the board.

I think it's your turn to, uh, point us somewhere next.

Oh, I will bring up briefly just because I'm checking, OK, it finally did end, uh, I'm gonna bring up some hockey real quick.

Um, early in the morning, Finland bounced back from their upset upset loss to Slovakia with a 4-1 win over Sweden.

That makes that Group B really interesting.

Um, this is men men's hockey.

You're talking, right?

We should men hockey.

Yes, I'm sorry.

Yes, because everybody remembers which gender it was that Finland lost to Slovakia.

Um, no, so the Slovakia and fugitive remembers, but that's right.

That's right.

Um, yeah, so Sweden had outshot Finland in this game 35-24, but the Finnish goal, the UC Soros of the Predators, uh, he was fantastic and kept them in it.

And the other, uh, notable result would have been the US women, they had their quarterfinal game against Italy .

Um, this ended just a few minutes ago.

We did not wait to start recording because this was not interesting.

Uh, well, maybe in, in one way it was, but the US won 6-0.

The US got off 51 shots on goal.

Italy only got 6, as many shots as the US had goals.

Uh, great showing from Italy to make it to the quarters to advance out of that, that lower tier group on the women's side, but, um, but yeah, not the, not the best day for them.

Yeah, so, um, the US women, their, uh, goal differential going into this game was 20 to 1, and so I will now do some very quick math after this game and say that their goal differential is now 26 to 1.

I feel pretty confident that I nailed that.

Um, yeah, so they, uh, the US women, their semifinal is Monday.

We don't know the opponent yet though, because there are probably Germany .

OK, no, sorry, it's probably Sweden, OK, unless Germany beats Canada.

Yeah, well, that's, that's what I was getting into a little bit.

There are 2 more quarterfinals, and they do a reseeding after the round, so we don't know for sure.

The other, um, and I thought this was interesting, the other, uh, note in the women's bracket is that, uh, Sweden from group.

Group B beat Czechia 2-0 and um we had talked about how like the the it's a strange format where like Group A is 5 teams and they all move on and you expect those to be the best teams, but Sweden out of Group B is undefeated still, and their goal differential is 18 to 2, so not quite uh Team USA and not against the same level of competition, but, uh , pretty exciting that uh they're going on this little underdog run here also.

Yeah, I thought Sweden is like really like at the top of that second group, you know, so it's not terribly surprising that they were that they were competitive at least, um, but yeah, still a great showing for them.

When they first introduced this format in 2022, none of the teams from the lower group ended up winning a quarterfinal game, so Sweden has, uh, has snapped that streak.

Yeah, uncharted territory here for Swiss, so we'll definitely, um, so I guess it'll be tomorrow's show, we'll know what the uh semifinal matchups are and we'll, we'll straighten all that out before that, well before that game on Monday.

Um, all right, let me, let's, uh, briefly, well, I know you're gonna want to talk at least a little bit about , uh, snowboard cross.

So let me instead, uh, let's see, or am I, am I at the end of my list here?

Is that possible?

Uh, I mean, honestly, Mitch, the snowboard cross today was not as thrilling as the men's yesterday.

Um, just to, just for some, I mean, great.

First of all, we should say that Australia's Josie Baff, she won.

Uh, interesting thing about that was that in the seeding runs that they have beforehand to determine, you know, the order in which everybody goes off, she was, she finished 17th, 17th seed comes from, goes all the way through the bracket, ends up winning the race.

Uh, the number 1 seed, Eva Adamskova of Czech Republic , she came in 2nd.

Yeah, and I thought that was also, um, just like Matt Weston had the first, uh, Great Britain's first men's skeleton gold.

That was Australia's first gold in snowboard cross.

Um, yeah, there were a couple, I was watching that.

I sort of had the same notes.

It was like fun, like yesterday was fun, but it was also like yesterday we described the whole thing and it was, it's, it was still enjoyable, even if not quite as exciting.

The, the Americans, I was hoping would go a little further.

It was, um, Stacey, Stacey.

Vasco was out in the quarterfinals, and then Faith Ellen was out in the semis.

It would have been probably more exciting if we had an American advance to the finals like, like Baumgartner yesterday.

Well, he was, he actually didn't either.

He lost in the semis also, but he was just, but yeah, but they, being a character.

Yeah, only 3 photo finishes on the women's side, just 7 on the men's side.

And only 1 of those photo finishes determined who would advance.

The other were just for like 1st and 2nd in the preliminaries when you know they're both going to go ahead.

Yeah, um, all right, speed skating, I'll say very quickly, the, um, the men's 10,000, which is the long 1, 25 laps around the track, um, kind of a surprise in the morning, but Casey Dawson of the US, uh, actually pulled out, uh, which I think was last minute because I checked when I said yesterday that he was gonna be in the race, I had looked up on the, the website with the starting list.

About the athletes and he was in it.

Um, but apparently he decided to pull out.

Um, and I don't think it was like for an injury.

I think it was, it was some load management.

I think he just wanted to focus on , unless you know something I don't, but I thought he just his coach said this was always a consideration that, you know, he may or may not race it.

Um, he's pulled out the focus on the team pursuit event.

In which the US is the defending gold medalist, and I think defending world champion.

So, um, just basically saying, all right, I got a better chance at a medal in this one and I don't wanna, I don't wanna burn myself out skiing or skating 6 miles in 12 minutes.

Yeah, I had to figure it was always a consideration, uh, for him to pull out at this late at that late of a moment and without like a specific injury, and so you gotta think he was, he was thinking about it.

Um, but some fun names on the medal stand, um, uh, Matt Hilek, who we talked about earlier in the week, is only 19 years old and he won gold, um, and I think that was the first.

Uh, gold for a man from Czechia in speed skating, um, and only the 2nd for their team.

And so I said he's 19 years old and the bronze medal winner was, uh, Juri Bergsman of the Netherlands, who is 40 years old.

So a 21 year, and as I was gonna mention the mullet next after, after the 21 year age gap, more than.

Doubling him up.

Um, and yes, a fantastic mullet.

Uh, this was, uh, Bergsman's 4th Olympic medal.

He won gold in 2014, um, and is still at it as a, as a 40 year old, uh, mullet where.

I don't know if the mullet helps with the aerodynamics, but they have kind of the, the outfits have like the hoods too.

So I guess he, he only, he let, he let it out to breathe, uh, for the, the medal ceremony.

This was, I, I was actually more entertained by this race than I thought I would, you know, it's, it's 1213 minutes of guys on skates going in and around in circles, but, um, it was interesting to watch because you mentioned, uh, Glik.

So, uh, right, so he's 19 and, um, he's the first, I have it here, he's, he's the youngest Olympic speed skating champ since the Soviet Union's Igor Malkov in 1984.

Um.

And so just like, you know, an incredible, and did you say that the Dutchman was the oldest ever medalist in the, I don't think I did.

No, I said he was 40, but I didn't say oldest, oldest, yeah, oldest ever medalist in speed skating.

Um, and Gle, so he had finished, he had been, I think he had a silver in the 5000 or maybe bronze, but, um, the gold medalist in the, in the 5000.

Sonder Eram of Norway.

So, uh, he was considered one of the favorites going into this race, and he starts a great race, and then he really faded at the end, and it was really fascinating to watch.

Um, to put in perspective here, so, the broadcast is talking a lot about the consistency and how, you know, you have to have, you have to race consistent lap times and that's the way you, you win one of these races.

It's 25 laps around the tracks and you gotta keep them pretty consistent.

So, uh, Glik, his fastest lap was 29.68 seconds.

And, uh, his slowest lap, excluding the first one where you're starting from a dead stop, like that doesn't count and you're never gonna be close, uh, his slowest lap, 30.

53, so less than a second in between his fastest and slowest lap.

Meanwhile, Eram, he was, he was skating quick.

He, he had a faster, fastest lap than than Glik at 29.

58, but His slowest was 32 seconds, uh, nearly 3 seconds slower.

So, um, you know, the way that he faded down the end, that was his, I believe his last lap was his, his slowest one.

So, um, you know, he , he really ran out of gas and, uh, it ended up being Gle who had the, the, the energy to, to maintain and capture that gold.

All right, and I think the very last thing I've got on my list is, is biathlon.

We, we, it came up briefly that I spent half the race just imagining Clabo, uh, racing and shooting, but, uh, your guy, the, the world's most famous biathlete, he, he, he became your guy.

I don't know.

Um, he won bronze, and the, the commentator during the race made a comment like, oh, he's gonna get a new girlfriend from this like.

how good he's doing.

It was like, I can't believe what a big story.

This is gonna follow this guy around for the rest of his life, like as a competitive biathlete, um, that he's like actually out there winning a bronze medal and, and like the commentators just cracking jokes about this.

Um, but he wants, he should have made some other confession after this.

He should have been like, yeah, I shoplifted a pair of jeans when I was 12 or something.

Um, he was on the podium by only 0.02. Um, and I just want to say this is, this is one of the races with the penalty loops, and I love the penalty loops.

I said this on our preview show , um, but I was saying, I, I want this concept of penalty loops in other sports, and I, I said this on, on, uh, on social media, and people were replying to me with like their, uh , hypotheticals, like, yeah, if you miss a free throw, you have to like run a lap around the court and the team doesn't have you on defense.

Until you finish, or like if you commit a holding penalty in football, you've got to do it.

But I, I, those are like not quite the same.

I did get one pretty good comp that I wanted to shout out.

Uh, a guy, Scotty Cameron , replied on Twitter and let me know that motorcycle racing has what's called a long lap for racing penalties when you have to ride on a separate track and feel shame.

So I went to Wikipedia because I was like, I don't even know motorcycle racing.

I don't know what league that is.

I don't know what continent this takes place on, uh, but, uh, Grand Prix motorcycle racing, there was an entry and it said in 2019, a new penalty named the long lap penalty is introduced for riders exceeding track limits during races and for moderate reckless riding.

Uh, so, so there we go.

We found a comp for this, uh, the humiliation ritual of the penalty loops in the biathlon.

I'm, I'm open to more suggestions, uh, either ones you would like to see in sports or ones that are comparable that already exist that I don't know about.

Um, yeah, I, I love that idea.

I think, um, I guess if, if that's the last on your list, I didn't have anything else as well, so we can move on to tomorrow.

Let's move on to tomorrow, and, and can I give a top line thought on tomorrow before we get into some specifics, please.

A little underwhelming, I have to say.

This is, I remember the, uh, the weekend, the middle weekend was so uh stacked in the Summer Olympics, and I know it's different in the winter cause it's 116 medal events is just different from 360 or whatever, and I, and if I remember right, the middle, there's like an overlap between, uh, I swimming, track, gymnasticing track, yeah, yeah, something.

Like that, and it's just like a ton and like so many sports just had their things, and it's like sports that shared an arena.

They were like, this one's gonna finish up and that one's gonna start.

And I'm just looking at tomorrow's schedule and there's, there's not as much on there, not as many like marquee events that I'm like really excited about it.

Maybe I'm looking at it that way because I, I had hoped the weekend would be good.

Um, there's some, listen, there's some stuff I'm excited about, but, uh, but I just feel generally a little bit overwhelmed, I must say .

Yeah, I, I feel the same.

I think probably the, the top on my list is gonna be the men's 500 m speed skating with Jordan Stowles, like, he's, you know, he's gonna be the favorite.

He's the , the guy to beat and, and basically all these races, and, um, I mean, his, his 1000 m win, that was thrilling, get to see it again in a, but in a shorter time frame in the 500.

Um, they aired an interview with his coach during the 10,000 m today.

Um, it was the race is so long, there's like cutting in with something to keep people entertained.

Um, but the coach said that, um, The start was the most important part of that race.

So how he gets off the line is gonna be, uh, how it determines it.

So, uh, as you're watching tomorrow, keep in mind, you know, watch how he, how he gets out of the blocks, so to speak, and even though there are no blocks, how he, how he gets out of the ice or whatever, and uh that's gonna tell you a lot about how he's gonna finish.

Out of the ice, yes, we are experts at this at this sport.

Um, yeah, well, it's only like a 33 2nd race, so it definitely makes sense that that the start matters, even though we did see him, they were talking about how good he was at the end of the race, that final lap in the 1000.

Um, I think, I don't know if you said what time that's at 11:00 a.m. Eastern for anyone.

Oh, I didn't even write down what time is looking to tune in.

Yeah, I got you.

And, um, and I wrote down some times, so the world record in this event is 3361, and his PR is 3369.

We've seen a bunch of world records in the speed skating, so, um, I think have, I wrote this down before Ilya Mallin, and now I, now I feel bad putting pressure on anyone about, let's, let's assume he'll set a world.

Record is like, let's not put so much pressure on the guy, but he is the gold medal favorite.

And, and so, you know, it'd be cool to see him set a world record and his personal best is only 0.08 off.

So he's definitely got a good chance.

We can ease the pressure a little bit by saying I think there haven't been that many world records that have fallen.

They've been Olympic records.

So we can, you know, let's let the ball, you know, hey, look, Jordan, go out there, get an Olympic record, and then, you know, bring home the gold that way.

That is true.

And that's a good point.

Yeah, thanks.

Um, all right, next on my.

List is, uh, a debut, a new Olympic sport, uh, for the first time as of tomorrow, and it's the women's dual moguls.

Um, it starts at 4:30 a.m., uh, early, and then the, uh, the, the finals are at, uh, 5:46 , I think.

Do I have that correct?

Is that right?

5:46 is the finals.

I rounded to 5:45.

OK, well, you make sure, yeah, get your, yeah, have your popcorn.

Ready a minute early.

Um, yeah, so we, uh, we talked about, we both really enjoyed the parallel giant slalom snowboarding , which was when the two snowboarders go down side by side and race.

Uh, this is a little different because, well, not just because they're on skis, but also because it is that, that weird sport of the freestyle moguls that is like half timed and half jump, and they, uh , cobble together.

Your final score based on percentages.

And so it is so strange.

I went back and watched, um, it, you know, it's not been in the Olympics, but I was watching other events that they have on YouTube.

And seeing them side by side, you expect it to be a race to the finish, but no, they get down to the finish and then they have to stand there together and also wait for their score on the jumps.

So I think this is just gonna be strange and, uh, I don't know what to expect, but I think it's just gonna be interesting to tune in.

Um, and, uh, two Americans who, uh, medaled earlier, remember Liz Lemley won gold and Jalen Kough won silver, um, in the, uh, individual, and they're both gonna be in this one as well.

Yeah, it's a weird format.

It's it's almost like if there was two figure skaters going at once, and they wait to see which one the judges liked more.

It's a, it's an odd one, but, um, yeah, I think it, it, it seems like a fun event, but it's just, it's just too bad it starts so early in the morning.

Yeah, well, that's, yeah, you gotta decide if you want to just stay up for it at 4:30.

That's in, that's in the gray area.

Right.

Um, so we, we mentioned the men's skeleton today.

Well, the women's last two runs are tomorrow, it's at 120 and then 1:30.

Austria's Janine Flock, she's in the lead after the first two runs, followed by 3 Germans.

OK, um, cross country skiing, Jesse Diggins has been a star and, uh, one of our favorites to, uh, favorite athletes to watch.

This is the, uh, the relay, and, um, it's gonna be at 6:00 a.m. and they do, um, two legs are gonna be classical, the like running on skis version, and then the final two are in the freestyle.

So, uh, Diggins is gonna be the anchor for Team USA, um, Julia Kern.

Bern, who is a name we talked about, she's going to be the, uh, she's going to be leading off, and then Rosie Brennan, Novi McCabe, and Diggins.

Um, the race, it starts at 6:00 a.m., but the race should take like 53 minutes.

So if, if you only want to see Jessie Diggins, then you can tune in at, uh, what is it like probably, uh, 6:43 or something like that, or something thereabouts if you want to just see her.

Um, we've talked about Sweden, where the, the Swedish women's cross country.

skiers have been amazing.

So I think Sweden and Norway were the two favorites coming in.

Um, and I imagine Sweden has to be the heavy favorite at this point with everything we've seen from them.

But, uh, Sweden and Norway, very good.

But I think the US could be in the mix, uh, for a medal, although we'll see how Diggins has recovered from, uh, you know, the place that she took herself to, uh, in her medal performance, uh, yesterday.

So, um, but, but I, I think she's on my list of just like anytime she's out there, I'm, I'm tuning in.

Yeah, I'd be shocked if Sweden doesn't win.

Um, on the, on the alpine skiing side, there's the men's giant slalom.

Um, so this is, you know, as, as you, we're, we're kind of getting the races are getting, uh, what, like more technical as we go through these Olympics, right?

The downhill is like the straightest and then the slalom is the most zigzaggy.

This is the second most zigzaggy, the giant slalom.

Um, interesting though, in the, in the, in the, the way that it's scored, the way that it's, it's, it's, uh, you know, the format of it.

So , the downhill and the super G, that's just one run.

The giant slalom though, you combine your time from two runs.

Um, so the first run's gonna be at 4:00 a.m., the second run at 7:30.

Um, Marco Odermott, the Swiss guy who we've been talking about having a kind of underwhelming Olympics and some of the speed events, um, he's the defending gold medalist in this, so an opportunity for him to, to get on the board with his first gold of these games.

Yeah, I'm just, I'm so interested to see the conditions, um, because we've talked about what a difference that made and, and so many people who were crashing out in the other race and now knowing that you're going to combine the times from two runs, that just like doubles the exposure that if you have a crash in.

Either of the runs, you're going to be out of it.

And so, you know, objective number one is get down the mountain twice and hit all the gates.

Um, and so it's possible that if we get another like foggy mountain like we had, or foggy day on the mountain like we had the other day, um, that could just like wreak havoc on the entire event.

So that should be interesting.

And I have, I have, I have not checked the weather.

I'm, I'm very sorry, but I will find out along with you at 5:45 tomorrow morning.

Don't call my man in Bormio.

Um, OK, uh, curling, we've got more curling going on.

Um, the US men play against Germany at 8:05.

Like we said, they're not quite in, uh, back against the wall territory, but they might be getting there.

So I think, uh, definitely want to win this one and not fall to 1 and 3.

And then the US women play against Japan at 1:05, and uh they're looking really good and, and cruising, so you never want to take it on lightly, but great opportunity to get a win here and get to 3 and 1 for them.

We've got more biathlon as well.

The women's 7.5 kilometer sprint, it's at 8:45 in the morning.

Mitch, if you're gonna call the Norwegian cheater my friend, I will call the, uh, French credit card thief, Julia Simone, your friend.

She is in contention here.

She won the, uh, already won the gold in the team relay event in the 15 kilometer individual, so perhaps an opportunity for her to rack up some more, uh, credit card points here.

Perfect.

All right.

Um, short track speed skating.

It's another day with no figure skating, which means we're gonna get the afternoon short track.

So again, it's like there are some days this is so much easier to catch than others.

Although we say this, I feel like a lot of people, I assume a lot of our listeners are, are like us, are like checking in throughout the day on, uh, Peacock and watching a lot of these live.

So many people are also just like watching the prime time, uh, instead, and, and like it doesn't even necessarily matter to them, like what's on early in the morning.

It was funny like.

Uh, my, uh, you know, behind the curtain here, my wife watches the prime time a lot after I have already been watching the Olympics all day.

And so like, uh, I was watching yesterday, she put it on, and it was something, I forget, it was one of the sports that was at like 5:00, 5:30 in the morning, and I on the podcast had commented on like something the broadcaster was talking about, as if like nobody was going to hear it.

And then it was like within the first hour of prime time, and I was like, yeah, like everybody heard that.

Like, it wasn't like I saw, I heard this thing that no one else is gonna know.

I was like, no, that, that made NBC big time.

But anyway, uh, if you are the kind of person who is following along during the day, uh, you're gonna get afternoon short track.

Um , the men's 1500 is tomorrow, which is the longest individual race.

Um, and then there's also gonna be the, uh, women's 1000 m heats and the, uh, 3000 m relays.

So the, the short track, it's like, why even bother giving favorites?

They're gonna like wipe out and knock each other out, but just tune in and you'll, you'll see something fun, I promise.

A couple of hockey games of note, the US men are in action again against Denmark at 3:10 in the afternoon.

Uh, Sweden and Slovakia on the men's side, they're gonna play at 6:10, and Finland and Italy at 10:40, 6:10 a.m. I should say.

Uh, those are the final games in Group B.

Sweden, Finland, and Slovakia all still alive for a bye to the, uh, quarterfinals.

Theoretically, two of the three could get it.

Uh, we'll see what happens there.

And then on the women's side.

There's two quarterfinals, Germany and Canada at 10:40 in the morning, and Finland and Switzerland 3:10 in the afternoon.

Um, the US, it seems unless by some miracle, Germany beats Canada, uh, because like you said, Mitch, there's reseeding US probably going to play Sweden in the next round of the semis, but we'll see what happens tomorrow.

I will say, I think guaranteed no matter what, they will not play Canada in the semis because I think they were correct.

They're they're the top two seeds.

So if, assuming Canada advances, they will be separated.

Right.

OK, well, I think that's all I have.

Is that it?

I have, I, yeah, I have just one more thing to shout out.

It's not a medal event, but we've been talking a lot about Eileen Guo, uh, the Chinese skier, American born, representing China.

Uh, she's gonna be in the ski big air qualification that begins at 1:30.

OK, there we go.

Thanks.

Glad we didn't leave that out.

We try to be as comprehensive as possible.

Um, and listen, tomorrow is day 8, so when we talk to people 24 hours from now, we will be halfway through the Olympics.

We're sort of more than halfway through already because they do have 3 days of sports before what they officially call day one.

But, uh, tomorrow is, is what they consider the official halfway mark, and, uh, we're not slowing down.

We're gonna be here every day through the end.

I'm still just as excited as I was on day one, probably more excited, honestly.

Um, so yeah, this is fun.

We appreciate everyone who's been here, uh, along with us for the ride.

And, uh, Gart, what do you say?

Let's do it again tomorrow.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.