I have been viewing the Winter Olympics on and off for the past couple days. I, like most who heard of the terrible tradegy, was saddened by the loss of Nomar in the Luge competition. But I have been moved by the incredible performances in a number of the competitions that have taken place so far. One such performance was that of Hannah Kearney, whose effort in the Women's Moguls was nothing short of amazing, particularly in light of the fact that things did not go entirely the way she would have liked in the previous Winter Olympics. I will post some pictures of the games later on, if I have time. For now, here is an article from The New York Times on Hannah Kearney's performance.
American Wins Gold in Women’s Moguls
By CHARLES McGRATH
WEST VANCOUVER, British Columbia — On a dismal, drizzly evening at Cypress Mountain, Canada failed to pry loose the monkey clinging to the back of its Olympic fortunes. Jennifer Heil, who had been favored to win the women’s mogul skiing competition and become the first Canadian to claim a gold medal on home soil, finished second, behind the American Hannah Kearney. Shannon Bahrke, another American, was third.
Kearney’s victory came as a tremendous disappointment to the Canadian fans huddled under umbrellas and shivering in ponchos at the base of the mogul run Saturday, the first full day of competition. It deepened the gloom hovering over the mountain here, where the sun has not shone for days, where the weather has been unseasonably warm and where there has been much more rain than snow. The moguls had to be fashioned out of snow trucked and helicoptered in from higher elevations, and there was bare, muddy earth on either side of the run.
Cypress Mountain felt more like the setting for a Gothic movie, in fact, than for a competition that takes place under the lights and where, in keeping with mogul skiing’s freestyle, hot-dogging origins, it is customary to play rock music as the racers come bouncing down the hill. Depressing toothpaste squiggles of slushy snow lined the sides of the roadways. The trees, dark and dripping, were shrouded in mist. As fog blew across the course, there was some concern early in the day that the judges might not to be able to see the start of the run and that the event would have to be postponed. The skiers carried umbrellas as they rode up in the chairlift.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/sports/olympics/14moguls.html
Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Update: More on the Olympics, specifically Shani Davis, Lindsey Vonn and Shaun White, later.
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