Sochi So Far
The Winter Olympics are well under way in Sochi and after almost a week at the games, there’s plenty to talk about!
There was one big upset today in the Short Track Speed Skating 500m Ladies Final. Elise Christie made history as the first British woman to make it into a speed skating final and was promptly disqualified as she fell at the start, knocking over two of the other three competitors.
The final of the Men’s Freestyle Skiing Slopestyle saw an all American podium following incredible tricks on the slopes. The Women’s Half Pipe gold medal also went to an American, Kaitlyn Farrington, but the USA are still just fourth in the medal standings, despite having the second most medals of all.
Germany currently leads, followed by Canada and Norway, with hosts Russia in 7th place.
Russian sportsmen and women have had a great games so far, especially in the Iceberg Skating Palace, as pairs skaters Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov became the first pair to win two gold medals at the same Olympics! The Russian figure skaters have always been the elite and won 12 gold medals in a row from 1964 until the games in Canada in 2010 when they lost gold to China. Obviously there was a lot of pressure for them to do well at their home games so there was a lot of cheering as they won the gold.
As it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow there’s some romantic news from the games as well: Chinese pair figure skaters Pang Qing and Tong Jian may have missed out on a medal but they’re getting married soon now that they’ve finished competing! They’ve been together for 20 years, skating and competing, and after these games can finally get married.
Jade Mitchell-Ross is an English student, currently on an internship while studying Russian at Liden & Denz
