The 2018 Winter Olympics are only a week in and what an exciting start it’s been! History has been made, records smashed, and medals won. We’ll take a look at some of the highlights from the first week of the Winter Games.
Keep in mind, you can watch most of the major events over-the-air for free on NBC. All you need is a Mohu antenna! You can find out more about how to watch the Winter Olympics without cable here.
Medal Count
As of Friday (2/16) morning, Norway had the most medals with 19 total. Germany follows in second place with 15. And the Netherlands is currently in third with 13. You can keep up with the updated medal count here.
U.S. Hockey Falls to Slovenia
In the opening round, the U.S. hockey team suffered a devastating lost to Slovenia. Despite the United States’ initial two-point lead, Slovenia came back to bring the game into overtime. In a dramatic finish, Jan Mursak scored and brought the Slovenian team to victory, 3-2.
Shaun White Wins 3rd Gold
Shaun White won his third gold medal, making him the first snowboarder ever to do so. It was also the United States’ Winter Olympics 100th gold medal of all time. After a good first run but a fall on the second, it was up to White’s third run in the halfpipe to earn him a medal. He popped back to back 1440s, scoring 97.75 and securing his gold medal.
Pairs Figure Skating
The German team of Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot won gold in pairs figure skating. Initially in fourth place, the pair stepped up their routine — even breaking their own world record of 159.31 points for a long program.
Germany’s Victories in Luge
Germany won 3 of 4 gold medals in the luge, dominating the events. In the team relay, Germany beat second-place Canada by only 0.355 seconds. The U.S. finished fourth, barely missing placement. But it’s not all bad news for Americans in the luge; Chris Mazdzer won silver in men’s singles, the first medal in that event ever for the United States.
What’s Coming Up
Today, gold medals will be awarded in skeleton, cross county, speedskating and aerials. Men’s figure skating free skate starts tonight as well as the qualifying round for women’s freeski slopestyle. Women’s super-G in alpine skiing is also tonight, with popular American Lindsey Vonn competing.
Which event are you most looking forward to? What are your predictions for the 2018 Winter Olympics Week Two? Let us know!
