Gold and silver in Women's Ski Cross!
Marielle Thompson and Kelsey Serwa took gold and silver in the Women's Ski Cross, the third time Canada has finished 1-2 in a Freestyle event in Sochi, and bringing our medal count to 9 in Freestyle events!
Charlie Cournoyer slipped in for a bronze in the Men's 500m Short Track event. This is his first Olympic medal, and in an event that Charles Hamelin was considered the gold medal challenger. Unfortunately, Hamelin has had a string of bad luck in Sochi, falling in the 1000m and 500m, after taking gold in the 1500m early in the games.
Brad Jacob's rink easily defeated Great Britain for the Men's Curling gold, in a match that the Brits conceded after the 8th end and trailing 9-3. Jacob's got off to a slow start in Sochi, with a 1-2 record, but then never lost a match after that.
I was at the Ice Cube tonight to see the curling final, and bumped into legendary Canadian figure skater, and 4-time World Champion, Kurt Browning. We stood together watching the match and chatted for almost an hour. He is such a nice guy, and I was very comfortable talking with him. We talked about curling, hockey, skating, Battle of the Blades, and even synchro!
Kurt Browning at Curling!
On leaving curling, I got a phone call offering me a way to get into the Men's Hockey game tonight with Canada vs. USA! I called Rickey to see if it was OK for me to come in late, and then I headed over to the Bolshoy Ice Dome!
Bolshoy Ice Dome with score and flags!
Since this was a "high demand" event, my accreditation would not be enough to get into the venue, but with the "Broadcast Crew" ticket, I was able to get in (even if I didn't have an assigned seat). I ended up in the standing-room-only area, with about a 100 other people.
Canada vs USA Men's Hockey!
It was great to get in and see the venue, and to watch the 1st period, but it was almost impossible to get good sightlines with so many people, so I headed back to the IBC to watch the end of the game.
Panorama Inside the Adler Arena (Oval)!
Prior to the curling match, I had actually stopped in at the Adler Arena (Oval) with John to catch some of the Team Pursuit speed skating quarterfinals. We saw the Canadian men beat the US to advance to the semi-final, but the ladies team had a surprising loss to Russia and will not compete for a medal.
Women's Team Pursuit!
All in all, it was a pretty fantastic day! Canada's medal count now sits at 24 (9 Gold, 10, Silver, and 5 Bronze). Whether you count by total medals (like NBC does), or by Golds, then Silvers, then Bronzes (like the IOC does), Canada now sits in 3rd spot, with another Gold or Silver guaranteed in hockey!
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