U.S. Women are Golden in PyeongChang

For the first time since 1998, and the second time ever, the U.S. Women captured Gold in Hockey!

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again — if you’re not watching the Winter Olympics, you’re missing out. Some have complained that the U.S. has struggled in these games. As of Thursday morning, the United States is in fourth with 21 medals. We’re not that far off the pace from Sochi in 2014, where we totaled 28 medals. In fact, the U.S. currently has as many Silver medals and just one fewer Gold medal than we won in 2014.

But the Olympics aren’t just about the medals. I previously wrote about the four exciting nights watching the Americans capture Gold in snowboard, but equally as compelling was watching our athletes struggle, and find strength to rise up again — showing the Heart of a Champion. And while it’s been a quiet week for Americans earning medals in PyeongChang, Wednesday saw a flurry of activity as the ladies of the U.S. showed their strength, tenacity and skill.

It was an incredible night in PyeongChang, one that left me wiping away a few tears, filled with more than a few chills and grateful to be a witness to how these athletes gracefully gave it their all for all the world to see. And it wasn’t just the ladies — American men David Wise and Alex Ferreira went Gold and Silver, respectively, in the Men’s Halfpipe in the Freestyle Skiing competition. And Wise, the defending Gold medalist, defended his title by throwing down a 97.20 in his third and final run after crashing in his first two attempts. It was an incredibly clutch performance, and just one of the highlights of this second week of Olympic competition. But Wise was just one of three Gold medals that American audiences saw their country claim during Wednesday’s Prime Time coverage.

The rest of the action comes back to those incredible ladies.

A Golden Effort in Cross Country Skiing

Americans Jessie Diggins, left, and Kikkan Randall, right, won Gold in Cross Country Skiing, the Americans’ first medal in the sport since 1976, and first medal period for American women.

When you think of Cross Country Skiing, you don’t typically think of the United States. But that might be changing thanks to a couple tenacious American women who captured Gold in the Women’s Team Sprint Freestyle. Jessie Diggins, in her second Olympics, and Kikkan Randall, in her fifth Olympic games, were the ladies to bring home Gold. It was America’s first medal in Cross Country Skiing since Bill Koch did it in 1976, and the first medal for U.S. women, period. 

It was one of the most exciting moments of these games so far. And if you didn’t hear the call from broadcasters Chad Salmela and Steve Schlanger — who sounds a lot like a hyped up Tony Romo — you need to listen right now!

But that was just the start of a great night for American women. The real cap to the evening, which was broadcast live in the middle of the night for most of the country, came in ice hockey.

U.S. Women Top Canada

The U.S. women won in penalty shots, 3–2.

Even before the competition began, everyone knew it was going to be the United States and Canada battling for the Gold in ice hockey. And for the first time in 20 years, the United States came away with the Gold medal, avenging a heart-breaking loss in the Gold Medal game in Sochi in 2014. The last time the U.S. won Gold was in 1998. In the four Olympic games since — 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 — Canada had claimed the Gold Medal spot. And with a 2–1 lead in the third period, it looked like that might happen again.

But the U.S. team came back to tie the game, and it remained deadlocked through an overtime period, forcing penalty shots. After five penalty shots, the U.S. and Canada were still deadlocked, each having scored twice. On the sixth penalty shot, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson found the back of the net for America, while American goalie Maddie Rooney stood tall, and the U.S. won 3–2. It was an incredible and epic moment, one more iconic moment for these winter games.

Diggins and Randall and the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team provided Golden end caps to a fantastic night that saw the United States perform at a high level in a number of different events.

More Medals for the Ladies

While it wasn’t Gold, several other women took home medals for the United States in team and individual events on Wednesday. The U.S. team of Heather Bergsma, Brittany Bowe, Carlijn Schoutens and Mia Manganello took home Bronze in the Women’s Team Pursuit in Speed Skating. Meanwhile the team of Lauren Gibbs and Elana Meyers Taylor took home Silver in the Women’s 2-Man Bobsled Competition and snowboarder Jamie Anderson — who previously won Gold in Women’s Slopestyle — captured a Silver Medal in the Women’s Big Air competition.

Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin have been as good as advertised in the PyeongChang games.

But a central focus of the action was in Alpine Skiing, where Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin took to the slopes in the Women’s Super Combined. A night after becoming the oldest woman to win a medal after claiming Bronze in the Women’s Downhill, Vonn, 33, set the fastest time out of the gate in the Downhill portion. Teammate Shiffrin, back on the slopes in competition for the first time since falling short in the Slalom, finished the first half in sixth, 1.98 seconds back.

In her final Olympic race, Vonn slipped off course in the Slalom portion, failing to medal. But despite that, she is at peace with his final Olympics, battling back to the medal stand again in PyeongChang after missing the 2014 games due to injury.

Shiffrin, who bared her soul in a beautiful series of Tweets following the Slalom finish, added yet another medal for U.S. Women on Wednesday, racing strong in the Slalom section to earn a Silver Medal in the Women’s Combined. It’s her second medal of the games, joining the Gold Medal she won in the Giant Slalom last week.

Every four years the world gathers to watch athletes try and achieve their dreams — and we all get to be witnesses. These winter games have provided inspiring and unforgettable moments already, and I can’t wait to see what this final weekend brings. I hope you, too, will be watching and cheering on these incredible athletes along with me.