Vancouver 2010: Nordic Combined

Ok, last Olympic post. And for me the most exciting day. Adam did a great job here of putting to words our entire Olympic adventure but on this post you will hear about our day watching the Nordic Combined Team event.

We went up to Whistler to see the Team event for Nordic Combined. Nordic Combined is a combination of ski jumping and cross country skiing. It's a strange combination of two sports. The distance and style points for a jumper are then converted into time for the skiers. So the number one jumper leaves for the x-country first (different skis), the next jumper is a certain amount of seconds behind the first skier. Whoever wins the x-country is the overall winner. Sometimes the best jumpers are not the best skiers, therefore it can really change once the x-country skiing gets going. For those of you who don't know, NC is very close to my heart for many reasons. I grew up around it, doing it, watching it, and supporting my brother doing it. When I was little my brother and I both competed in NC through the Andover Outing Club. I stopped somewhere around middle school. Jed kept going. And he excelled in it. After high school he went to train full time for the US Ski team. He skied and was teammates with almost all of the current Olympic team. In 1999, he, Johnny Spillane, Billy Demong, and Carl VanLoan won the team event at Junior Worlds. Two of these guys were competing when we went to watch, Johnny and Billy. Earlier in the Olympics Johnny became the first American to get an Olympic medal since the beginning of the Olympics. American's used to be at the bottom of the results for years, until the last 10 years, where they have started to climb to the podium at world events. They were going to be contenders for another medal in the team event.

It was so fun to be going to see something that I know and have been around so much of my childhood. We also decided to take Corbin with us on this day. We thought he would have a lot of fun seeing everything. It would be a long day but we hoped he would do well. As soon as we got off the bus and were going through security, Adam noticed Billy's mom. We went to re-introduce ourselves and wish them luck. Because we had Corbin with us, we got some special treatment and got a ride the shuttle up to the ski jumps instead of walk the mile uphill. We got to the jumps and instantly saw Johnny's family and a bunch of other US supporters. We went and said hello. It was so fun to be amongst such an enthusiastic crowd cheering for Americans!

Corbin had so much fun just being able to run around. Because there weren't seats, Corbin could just run around and play in the snow. He loved waving the flag around and running in circles.

Volunteers smoothing out the landing hill of the jumps. When we were little we would have to "pack" the jumps by all wearing our skis and packing down the landing hill instead of having it groomed. Then they would rake it out after the jumpers.

Getting into the American spirit.

Towards the end of the jumps Corbin was tired! He just looked at the pack and said "in pack". And put his head down and fell asleep within a few minutes. He slept through all of us screaming and cheering on Billy and Johnny.

After the jumps the US was in 2nd place, only 2 seconds behind Finland. Yahoo!

Corbin managed to stay asleep on our shuttle ride and for a total of about 45 minutes before he woke up, just as it started snowing. After that he wanted to get out and play again. We had almost 2 hours between events, so we had plenty of time to play around before the x-country started.

We found a hill and he just started sliding down on his bottom. He was having so much fun. There were some contests and other big things going on behind us, but he didn't care, he was just having the best time sliding. Then we found an empty plastic bottle and started playing snow soccer, kicking it between peoples legs and saying "goal!"

We were able to get right on the fence as the racers came into the stadium. We were under the flags where we could still see the big screen, for when they went out of view.

The race was so exciting and we were cheering so loud during it, that we didn't take any pictures of the x-country race. We were shaking out cow bells and waving our flag and screaming, "GO BRETT, GO TODD, GO JOHNNY, GO BILLY!!!! GO USA!!!!" At one point, Corbin was not as happy so as he was screaming out of frustration, we were screaming out of excitement. Right at the finish, he started to get really fussy, but a banana seemed the exact fix for him.

Billy was the last American skier for the team. The US stayed in 2nd or 1st place the whole time. On the last leg it was Billy and an Austrian. Billy tried to take the lead on the last hill but his skis just weren't quite fast enough and the Austrian passed him as they came into the stadium. We were cheering so loudly. The Americans got a silver medal!!! It was so exciting. We stayed after the race to go to the flower ceremony.

I actually got all teary as they came to get their flowers. I think I know what is must have been like for their families, as I have been a family member before. To know how hard the athletes work and how much their families support them. It's truly amazing. And to "know" these guys. They are my brothers good friends!

Brett Camerota, Todd Lodwick, Johnny Spillane, and Billy Demong.
Wow! I was so proud to be an American supporter of NC that day! It was an amazing Olympics for the US NC team. In their last event, Billy won gold and Johnny got his third silver!

It was such a fun day. Corbin was such a trooper. He did really well, considering we left the house at 5:20am and didn't get home till 8:15 pm, and two long bus rides and lots of stimulus. It will be a day I will remember forever. Good job Vancouver! Good job Americans! Good job Nordic Combined!

Vancouver 2010: Biathlon

Our second day at Whistler was dedicated to biathlon. We got to see two races, the Men's 15 km Mass Start and Women's 12.5 km Mass Start.

Not that the XC and speed skating weren't festive and well-supported, but the biathlon seemed by far the most vocal and crazily cheered of the events we attended (though Nordic Combined was a special case). The King of Norway was there, supposedly. And lots of Norwegians. And Swedes and Italians and French and Germans and Czechs and Russians and Finns and many others. And Canadians. And Americans!

The view from our hill, which was very full and very convenient for watching.

The targets

Us

Flagpole of the man with the very loud dinner bell. The Norwegians near us called it a church bell.

I found the race particularly exciting. It's maybe my new favorite winter sport. Some biathlon races have staggered starts. I saw one on TV and it was so difficult to tell who was winning and who was close, etc. These races were mass starts, so the winner was the winner. It was crazy to watch the shooting and see the lead group dwindle as skiers missed targets. US racer Tim Burke was in 9th after two shootings, but missed several on the first standing shoot, and fell way back thanks to his penalty laps.

The men's start

Russia takes gold

And then celebrates

The women start

I was also amazed that some of the medalists had skied penalties, and still beat out some racers who had shot clean on all targets, or at least had less penalties. The penalty lap is 150 m, and supposedly takes about 20 seconds to ski.

Anyway, it was another beautiful day, with two exciting races. I want to see more mass start biathlons. I'll be keeping my eyes out. I can see why biathlon is so popular in other countries. The way the race can change in a moment is unique and exhilarating. It's something I could see Americans embracing, since it is fast, exciting, and involves guns. It probably won't happen, but it could, and should. It's a fun sport.

Vancouver 2010: Cross-country skiing

I am finally sitting here watching the closing ceremony and able to write a blog about some of our events up at Whistler. It's been a crazy busy week going up to Whistler and back 3 times in 4 days, our Career Day at school, a conference in Seattle, and helping host a baby shower for a friend. Phew... Next week looks fairly normal. Now all I need to do is get over my cold.

We went up to Whistler Olympic Park on Saturday on one of the many Olympic buses from Vancouver. The bus ride was pleasant and the weather was gorgeous! We got to Whistler Olympic Park, where they host the Ski Jumping, X-country, and Biathlon, early. So we hopped onto another bus and headed into Whistler Village. Even our bus ride was entertaining. We were the only ones on the bus except for a volunteer. Our bus driver was a Hatian man from Florida. He was so excited to be helping at the Olympics. When he found out we were from Bellingham, we learned that he had stayed in Bellingham for a few days before his bus was allowed to go into Canada. He loved Bellingham because his hotel was next to the mall and the Old Country Buffet! He said it was better than any other OCB that he had ever been too. He was so excited about it. It was so cute! He would eat one big meal there for all 3 of his meals. We walked around the village for a while but we didn't have too much time. We found the US Ski Team store but were disappointed and didn't feel like waiting in line for the regular Olympic store. Then we hopped onto another bus to go back to the park. This one was filled with official Russian Team members (not sure which sport). They were singing very loudly the whole time! It was very entertaining.

One of the reasons we chose to go and see the X-Country Pursuit was in hopes of seeing an old family friend from Andover, NH (where I grew up), Kris Freeman who is on the US Olympic Team. We got to the venue and it was packed with supporters. While changing into our snow boots, I just happened to see Kris's dad, Donavan, go by. I re-introduced my self. Of all the thousands of people, I actually saw him. We went and joined him and Kris's mom, Barbara, along the fence to watch the race. They were very excited that we had come to cheer Kris on.

The view from the hill. It was such a beautiful day out! Adam was just in his shirt and I had on only vest.

If you watched any of the x-country, this was the last hill before coming into the stadium. We could see them go by 3 times during the race here.

Go Kris go!

Kris was doing great the first two laps but then really fell back after the 2nd lap. We are not quite sure what happened. He has type 1 diabetes which is hard to manage for an athlete who competes in such endurance sports like x-country.

And a Swede wins!

It was really fun to be there to cheer all the athletes on! I loved the enthusiasm of all the fans including the Canadians. Even though the American's didn't do well, it was still such a fun day. We even made it home before Corbin went to bed. Thanks to Kevin and Meghan who came up for the whole weekend to take care of Corbin.

Vancouver 2010: Short track speed skating

As you've certainly noticed, the Olympics started several days ago (though you're just getting to see them now, due to NBC's tape delay and inspirational filler). With Vancouver just an hour away, we are heading up for four events, and the first was the short track.

By the way: The border was excellent. A lot more Canadians going to these games than Americans. Five minute wait in, five minute wait out. Plus, entertaining questions!

"How do you know each other?"

"We're married."

"Have either of you ever been arrested?"

"No."

"Never?"

"No."

Very persistent, that one.

We had to go into downtown to pick up our tickets, and unfortunately didn't have much time to check things out. Main observation: The quantity and variety of Canada gear is baffling. Canadian pride is in full effect.

The short track was at the Pacific Coliseum, where we have seen several hockey games, Dave Matthews Band, and J.K. Rowling. VANOC has the public transportation down pretty well, and it wasn't much trouble to get where we needed to go, via SkyTrain and bus. Plus, it was all free with our event ticket!

Our short track night consisted of several heats of different sorts, and the Men's 1500m final at the end. My favorite event in short track is the relays, because they give each other huge pushes when they "tag." We saw two semifinal heats of the Women's 3000m Relay.

The highlight, of course, the main event, was the Men's 1500m. We saw a whole bunch of qualifying heats, later the semifinals, and last the finals. There were a couple Canadian racers who came close, and it did indeed choke us up a little to hear so many Canadians cheering their countryman.

The US had two highly touted skaters, Apolo Ohno and J.R. Celski, both from the Seattle area. I was particularly rooting for Celski, because (a) Ohno wears headbands and (b) just five months ago Celski crashed and sliced his leg down to the bone. The skates are so sharp that the cut was so clean and a short recovery was possible. Quite the comeback.

He just sneaked into the final

Getting the ice ready for the final

The final was pretty exciting. Around the last bend three Koreans held the lead. But the third tried to sneak in for silver, and knocked his teammate and himself into the wall. Ohno and Celski cruised by for silver and bronze. Crazy that Korea could have swept if they weren't so competitive. Crazy, too, that it took a crash to give the US any medals. But that's short track; it's part of the deal.

Celski takes bronze

Ohno takes silver

It was great fun. This is Erin's third Olympics, and my second. For me, it's an opportunity for enjoyment of and participation in patriotic fervor, without any political undertones. Everyone there is just there to support their country and their athletes. No politics required.

When we were in Europe during the World Cup in 2006, we were watching in a restaurant and some English guys came by. They asked who we wanted to win in the England-Argentina match. We said it didn't matter. His response:

"Every hear of a little thing called the Falklands War?"

I guess politics can get in there sometimes.

Yesterday we spent all day watching the Olympics so we wouldn't miss Nordic Combined and the possibility of a first ever US medal. Erin found out the results early, but I kept my ears closed and found out as we watched. Pretty exciting!

Congrats, Johnny! It's fun to have met a medalist. Hopefully the team can work it on the 23rd and we can witness a gold!

We'll check back in after next weekend; Biathlon and Cross-country and the long bus journey to Whistler (twice).

Go USA! Go Canada! Go everyone!