We all expected Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Ohno, and Shaun White to win Olympic medals. However, no one expected US men’s figure skater Evan Lysacek, women’s alpine skier Julia Mancuso, or women’s moguls competitor Shannon Bahkre to win medals as well. These unexpected and celebrated outcomes are the reasons for the US Olympic team’s great success thus far at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.
The medal standings are this: USA: 23 medals; Germany: 14 medals; Norway: 11 medals; and in fourth place, South Korea, with 9 medals. Keep in mind, there is still another full week to go of the Winter Olympics, and still many more chances for countries to medal. However the fact that the US has a 9 medal lead is in all accounts astounding. The most medals the US has ever won in a single Winter Games was at the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, where the US won 34 medals. With a week to go, and only 12 medals to win to beat that total, with 23 medals already won, it is not a stretch to say that the US could beat their all time record this year. However, what is shocking to many people at the Winter Games is not the number of medals the USA has won, but who has won them.
The first week of the Games began with women’s moguls, an extremely skillful and demanding event. Though Hannah Kearney was considered a serious contender, she was not favorited to win gold. The favorite was Canada’s own Jenn Heil. However, in a near picture-perfect run, Hannah Kearney took gold, and her 30 year-old team member, Shannon Bahkre, who was not expected to medal at all, took bronze. The success continued as Apolo Ohno took silver in the men’s 1500m short track event, and J.R. Celski, at age 19, took bronze. The following day, Johnny Spillane took a silver medal in the nordic combined ski jumping event, and Bryon Wilson won a bronze medal in men’s moguls. On Monday February 15, Bode Miller won a bronze medal in men’s downhill, and Seth Wescott had the big win of the day with a gold medal in men’s snowboard cross. On Wednesday, Lindsey Vonn bounced back from a shin injury to take gold in the women’s downhill, and the wild card Julia Mancuso followed with a silver medal. Later in the day, Shaun White and Scotty Lago took gold and bronze in the men’s halfpipe, and Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick also took gold and bronze in the men’s 1000m long track. On Thursday, Julia Mancuso won another silver with a victory in women’s super-combined, a combination of the downhill and slalom events. However, the shocking win on Thursday was Evan Lysacek’s gold medal over Russian Yevgeny Plushenko. Women’s halfpipe contender’s Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark won sliver and bronze as well. On day 8 of Olympic competition, Bode Miller and Andrew Weibrecht took silver and bronze, respectively, in men’s super-G. On the 9th day of the Games, Lindsey Vonn took a bronze in the women’s super-G, Apolo Ohno won bronze in the men’s 1000m short track, and Shani Davis won silver in the men’s 1500m long track event.
The success of these atheletes will hopefully continue as the Olympics continue, but in truth, the the US has already achieved more than it could have hoped for. This year’s alpine ski team is the most successful in US history. Evan Lysacek won the first men’s figure skating gold since 1988. Finally, Apolo Ohno became the most decorated Winter Olympian in US history. Needless to say, the US will be sure to close these 2010 Winter Olympics with a feeling of satisfaction: not only will they have come away with the most medals, but they will have made history as well.