Women's Alpine Skiing | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Women's Alpine Skiing

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
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Ach, with so many sports on, and with doing the Team spreadsheet yesterday morning, I never got a chance to comment about Wednesday's Downhill competition.

Firstly, does anybody know how Alexandra Coletti is after her crash in the Downhill? It was a really nasty looking one, and the screams that were coming from her were spine-tingling!

And, for that matter, does anybody know if she is related to GP2 driver Stefano Coletti? I hadn't come across Alexandra before these Olympics, but as soon as I heard her name and that she was from Monaco, I thought of Stefano!

But, I imagine Monaco is one of those places where certain surnames are very common, and if you go back far enough, everybody is related to everybody else!


Anyway, back to the competition. What an amazing result! A tie for Gold!

But, this situation ties in with something I have been wondering for a long time. Why is it that in skiing they are only timed to hundredths of a second? In motorsport, they are timed to thousandths of a second. And, therefore, it might have been possible to separate Tina and Dominique and declare a definite winner.

And I wonder what they're going to do about the medals? I guess they're going to have to make an extra Gold medal. But what's going to happen the ready-made Silver medal, then? I take it the medals are already engraved with what sport they are for, so it can't be re-cycled if there is a tie for Silver somewhere else.

Maybe I'm thinking too much, rather than enjoying the great result!

You know, I loved the way that Tina Maze and Dominique Gisin held hands when they were getting onto the top step of the podium! And it was so funny when Lara Gut tried to get onto the top step as well, and Tina pushed her off! Just shows how much comaraderie there is amongst the Alpine Skiing girls when they were messing about like this!

But, I have to admit that I was very disappointed that Tina Weirather withdrew before the start, as I am supporting her in these Olympics. Mind you, not as disappointed as I was the following day with Zhenya...


Anyway, back to the present. The Super G starts in about 20 minutes!

Unfortunately, the BBC is not showing it from the start on the TV. Because of Curling, BBCi1 are only joining it an hour late at 08:00 GMT. So, if you want to watch it all LIVE, you're going to have to use the website.

Here is the livestreaming link:

Official BBC Livestreaming Channel

This is NOT the same livestream page that was used for the previous competitions.

BBCi1 is available via:

Digital terrestrial (UK only): Ch. 301 on Freeview
Digital cable (UK only): Ch. 991 on Virgin Media
Digital satellite (Europe): Ch. 977 on SkyDigital
Astra 28.2E, Transponder 45 (10.773H. MBaud 22,000. FEC 5/6).
NOTE: The channel you want for the Alpine Skiing is labelled “BBC RB 1

Hope this helps

CaroLiza_fan
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
Now that was a strange race.

Of the first EIGHT to start, we only had ONE that finished the course! And she was VERY lucky to finish it, as she had a very dodgy landing from the jump, and had to take some very wide lines between the next few gates to get back on line!

Bibs 9 and 10 completed the course, and then Dominique Gisin (joint winner of the Downhill) failed to finish.

Things went smoothly for a while and then Lizzie Goergl had a crash. It was very fast and she took out a gate, but she got up pretty quickly, which was a relief.

Next up was Maria Riesch. In the first 2 intermediates, she was down on the leader, Anna Fenninger.

Drama button time

One of the course workers was still working at fixing the gate while Maria was doing her run!!! :eek:
And he only spotted her as she was coming out of the gate before him!!! :eek:
And then he stumbled trying to back away quickly from the gate!!! :eek:

Thankfully, he just about managed to get out of the way in the few seconds it took Maria to reach that gate!!!

And the amazing thing was, at the next split, Maria was ahead of Anna!!! :jaw:

But, by the end of the course, Maria was back in 2nd behind Anna. And that was the way it finished.

Nicole Hosp completed the podium in third, ahead of Lara Gut and Tina Maze.

In her final ever Olympic race, Chemmy Alcott finished 23rd. And, just after finishing her run, the only way she could describe it was "brutal".

But, what is going on with Tina Weirather? Another non-start.

Did her federation enter her into every race not worrying whether she was intending to take part in them or not?
Has she got an injury that is playing up?

I don't know. Largely because the BBC doesn't seem to know!

After Hosp finished her run, Matt Chilton started going on about Tina's family history. It was only when the girl on the course reached the first split that he saw the graphic and realised that it wasn't Weirather and that it was actually Fenninger!

Eejit!

CaroLiza_fan
 

snowflake

I enjoy what I like
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Anyway, back to the competition. What an amazing result! A tie for Gold!

But, this situation ties in with something I have been wondering for a long time. Why is it that in skiing they are only timed to hundredths of a second? In motorsport, they are timed to thousandths of a second. And, therefore, it might have been possible to separate Tina and Dominique and declare a definite winner.

And I wonder what they're going to do about the medals? I guess they're going to have to make an extra Gold medal. But what's going to happen the ready-made Silver medal, then? I take it the medals are already engraved with what sport they are for, so it can't be re-cycled if there is a tie for Silver somewhere else.

Maybe I'm thinking too much, rather than enjoying the great result!

You know, I loved the way that Tina Maze and Dominique Gisin held hands when they were getting onto the top step of the podium! And it was so funny when Lara Gut tried to get onto the top step as well, and Tina pushed her off! Just shows how much comaraderie there is amongst the Alpine Skiing girls when they were messing about like this!



CaroLiza_fan

I think they timed to thousends some time ago but decided to skip it?

Yes maybe :laugh: :thumbsup: Let's investigate... what happened to the ladies downhill silver medal :cool:
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
I was not expecting to be on here this early in the morning!

Especially after having a very late night trying to get caught up in the Free Dance, so that I could see the podium before the streaming page disappeared. (I was playing catch-up, as I watched the biathlon and ski-jumping LIVE)

I don't know why, but there has been a change to the schedule. Each run of the Giant Slalom is starting 1h 30m earlier than originally planned.

So, the first run is now starting at 05:30 GMT (instead of 07:00 GMT), with the second run now starting at 09:00 GMT (instead of 10:30 GMT)


Although Chemmy Alcott's Olympics have already finished, today's Giant Slalom is the first run-out for the other 2 girls from the UK:

world-famous violinist Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn (representing Thailand)
and my local representative Florence Bell (representing Ireland)

Florence will start with bib 75, while Vanessa-Mae will start with bib 87.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU BOTH!!!!!!

...But especially Florence! ;) :biggrin:


Anyway, it all kicks off in about 10 minutes. And the BBC will be showing it LIVE on BOTH the website and TV!!! :biggrin:

Here is the livestreaming link:

Official BBC Livestreaming Channel

This is NOT the same livestream page that was used for the previous competitions.

BBCi2 is available via:

Digital terrestrial (UK only): Ch. 302 on Freeview
Digital cable (UK only): pressing the red button on a BBC channel? (I don’t have cable, so I’m not sure)
Digital satellite (Europe): Ch. 978 on SkyDigital
Astra 28.2E, Transponder 76 (12.551V. MBaud 22,000. FEC 5/6).
NOTE: The channel you want for the Alpine Skiing is labelled “BBC RB 2

Hope this helps

CaroLiza_fan
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
Just discovered that the 2nd Run of the Giant Slalom is on a different stream to the first run.

Official BBC Livestreaming Channel

The TV coverage is on the same channel as earlier, BBCi2

It is starting, um, NOW!!!

Hopefully the weather will be better than it was for the first run. It must be miserable to be skiing down the hill in rain. And it must be very difficult as well! ;)


I need to learn to keep quiet and not wish people good luck. Because all it does is jinx them!

Like, all we saw on the TV of Florence was her shooting through the air off the course when she should have been going through a gate!

But, well done to Vanessa-Mae! :clap: Yes, she was the last of the finishers, but at least she had the sense to take it canny and easy to make sure she did finish.

The same cannot be said of 15 other competitors, which include names like Gagnon, Mancuso, Holdener, Strachova (née Zahrobska)... and Bell.

So, not bad for somebody ranked 2,253rd in the World! ;)

Incidentally, here is a story about Vanessa-Mae which was put up on the BBC website yesterday:

Vanessa-Mae ready for Olympic debut

CaroLiza_fan
 

snowflake

I enjoy what I like
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Rain and fog. Bring back the sun...

Tina Maze made it, first in both runs. Congrats to her 2nd olympic gold medal :clap: after a bad world cup season.

Sad for Jessica(SWE), leader of the giant slalom world cup, who was second in the first run.

1 Tina Maze (SLO)
2 Anna Fenninger (AUT)
3 Viktoria Rebensburg (GER)

Can't believe they are letting all 74 do the second run…? Fun for Vanessa and all though :)
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
Rain and fog. Bring back the sun...

Tina Maze made it, first in both runs. Congrats to her 2nd olympic gold medal :clap: after a bad world cup season.

Sad for Jessica(SWE), leader of the giant slalom world cup, who was second in the first run.

Agree with all those sentiments! ;)

Will Maze do it again today...?

Can't believe they are letting all 74 do the second run…? Fun for Vanessa and all though :)

You know, I couldn't understand that either when they started sending the rest of the field down after Julia Mancuso completed her Slalom run in the Super Combined. But, after hearing that it was so that those outside the Top 30 could say that "I completed the Olympics and came such-and-such a place", I thought it was a nice idea!

I am not going to wish anybody good luck today, as all it seems to do is jinx them. So, all I am going to do is point out that there are 2 girls from the UK competing:

my local representative, Florence Bell (representing Ireland) is starting with bib 73
Alexandra Taylor (representing Cyprus) is the final starter with bib 88

Vanessa-Mae is not competing in the Slalom :disapp:

Anyway, the end of the Olympics is nigh for the Women's Alpine Skiiers. In 45 minutes, the first run of the Slalom will be getting underway.

And the BBC will be showing it LIVE on BOTH the website and TV!!! :biggrin:

The First Run will be on BBCi1 from 12:40 - 14:00 GMT, and on this Livestreaming link from 12:25 GMT:

Official BBC Livestreaming Channel

The Second Run will be on BBCi1 from 16:15 - 17:15 GMT, and on this Livestreaming link from 16:05 GMT:

Official BBC Livestreaming Channel

These are NOT the same livestream pages that were used for any of the previous competitions.

BBCi1 is available via:

Digital terrestrial (UK only): Ch. 301 on Freeview
Digital cable (UK only): Ch. 991 on Virgin Media
Digital satellite (Europe): Ch. 977 on SkyDigital
Astra 28.2E, Transponder 45 (10.773H. MBaud 22,000. FEC 5/6).
NOTE: The channel you want for the Alpine Skiing is labelled “BBC RB 1

Hope this helps

CaroLiza_fan
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Mikaela is incredible! She is so young, I am sure her giant slalom will improve more, and she will start to take up events like the Super G and combined eventually. Such an amazing young talent.

Great that Maze won Slovenia's first ever 2 golds here.

The sad part of the competition was Svindal going home without a medal.
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
That was an exciting finish!

Marlies Schild in the leaders circle, looking to become the oldest Women's Slalom Olympic Champion.
Mikaela Schiffrin at the start gate, looking to become the youngest Women's Slalom Olympic Champion.

Although I could see the desirability of both scenarios, I was firmly behind Marlies. Let's face it, this is probably her last Olympics. And for somebody who has been so successful in the World Cup (she has the most wins in Women's Slalom), it would be heartbreaking if Marlies finished her career without an Olympic Gold Medal...

She missed getting it. Mikaela was absolutely magnificient!

That girl is going to be fighting for medals for many years to come! And, as pangtongfan said, not just in the Slalom.

Since myself and pangtongfan both mentioned Maze, may I just say that she looked absolutely scundered after the win! (If you don't know what that means, here's the Urban Dictionary definition. Please note, I'm from Mid-Ulster). I know that Mikaela winning meant that Tina was knocked off the podium, but she could have at least pretended to be happy for her!

And when they came to do the podium ceremony, it looked like it still hadn't really sunk in with Mikaela that she had won!

A moment that I did like was at the very end of the competition. The final skiier to do her 2nd run was Iran's Forough Abbassi. When she finished, Lebenon's Jacky Chamoun (who had come down 2 skiiers before Abbassi, and finished 1 place ahead of her) ran out onto the out-run area and gave her the biggest hug you have seen in a long time!

I'll re-wind a bit now and talk about the girls from the UK that I mentioned in the previous post.

Alexandra Taylor (representing Cyprus) was due to be the final starter in the first run. I don't know why, but for whatever reason she didn't start.

My local representative, Florence Bell (representing Ireland) did manage to complete her first run, finishing 55th out of the 60 that finished. However, she did not complete her second run. She musn't have got very far, because when the TV cameras joined her after watching Jasmine Campbell's run, Flo was just skiing off to the side of the course with her head in her hands looking very annoyed with herself.

From watching her first run in the Slalom, I think Florence's problem is that she is trying too hard. She does seem to have the technique, but she is pushing herself so much that she is running wide at every gate, and it is losing her lots of time. If she relaxed a bit, and let it all come naturally, then it would improve her times greatly.

But, that is coming from somebody who has never even worn a pair of skis, never mind used them! :laugh:


Overall, although the Slalom is my least favourite of the Alpine disciplines, it was an enjoyable and exciting end to the Women's Alpine Skiing at the Sochi Olympics.

Roll on Pyeongchang!

CaroLiza_fan
 
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