The Beijing Olympics on Thursday belonged to Nathen Chen and Chloe Kim. Legendary American snowboarder Shaun White hopes he's up next.
(Looking for a recap? We've got you covered.)
White, who announced that these Olympics would be his last for the United States, will compete in the men's snowboarding halfpipe final in search of his fourth gold medal.
“It would have been nice to just cruise in and have a great, easy first run. But I had to fight for it,” White said after his run earlier this week. “I had to work for it. That’s been this entire season, me just grinding it out, working for it.”
White will be joined in the final by American teammates Taylor Gold and Chase Josey, who finished seventh and 12th, respectively.
Mikaela Shiffrin, meanwhile, won't be leaving Beijing without a fight. After DNFs in back-to-back technical races for the first time since 2011, Shiffrin will try a "reset" in the super-G.
TV SCHEDULE:How and what to watch Friday from Beijing
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MEDAL COUNT:How each country is performing at the Winter Games
Team USA medal count after one week in Beijing: 4 gold, 10 overall
After the first seven days of competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, it's a good opportunity to look back at some of the highlights for the U.S. team.
Through Thursday's events, the United States ranks fifth overall in total medals with 10. Austria has the most (13).
Thursday's three gold medals pushed Team USA to a total of four, trailing only Norway with five and Germany with six.
Taylor Gold takes old-school approach to snowboarding
Taylor Gold knew it was a risk, was reminded often of the gamble he was making by not following the snowboarding crowd. As the world’s top riders followed the sport’s progression to more flips and spins, Gold sought a way to show his unique style in the halfpipe.
After missing the Pyeongchang Olympics because of injuries, Gold’s bet paid off and helped him punch his ticket to his second Games.
Still a stickler for precision, he built on the foundation of his riding with a one-of-a-kind trick linked in a run that others aren’t doing. While the rest of the field has zigged, Gold zagged – and his tricks in combination just might be enough for a medal in Beijing.
Gold, 28, is part of a three-man U.S. contingent in the halfpipe final, which begins at 9:30 a.m. Friday in Beijing (8:30 p.m. Thursday night ET).
-- Rachel Axon
Chinese men's hockey team has surprising number of North Americans
BEIJING — The majority of the host team’s country was not born here. Many of them do not have Chinese ancestry. Yet they wore “China” on the front of their hockey sweaters with pride and talked of growing the sport they are so passionate about.
“It was unique, seeing as I played for USA, now I’ve played against USA,” said China goaltender Jeremy Smith, who stopped 47 American shots Thursday but played for the U.S. at the 2008 world junior championships. “At the end of the day, I’m thankful and honored to be an Olympian – a Chinese Olympian.”
Of the 22 players who dressed for China in its 8-0 loss to the U.S. at National Indoor Stadium on Thursday, 17 were either born or raised in the United States or Canada.
How is this possible?
International Ice Hockey Federation bylaws stipulate that a person can represent a country in the Olympics if they’ve lived there for two years and played for the national team.
-- Chris Bumbaca
Olympic TV ratings don't quite reach gold standard for NBC
When NBC Sports' turn in the rotation to televise a Super Bowl coincided with also broadcasting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the month of February was thought to be an all-out ratings wipeout, leaving others networks in the dust.
So far, that has yet to materialize with the Beijing Games being tuned out in record numbers and Sunday's Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals hoping to bring in 100 million viewers to help pick up the slack.
Executives from NBCUniversal spoke on a conference call Thursday to discuss their plans and while ratings have been down more than 40% for the Olympics, optimism remains.
-- Scooby Axson
