Olympic games in full swing as Team USA goes for gold

Olympic games in full swing as Team USA goes for gold

After day five at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the United States has totaled nine medals during competition: three gold, one silver and five bronze. This puts Team USA fourth in medal totals behind Norway, Canada and the Netherlands. Despite the lack of hardware, Team USA has already had some remarkable victories during the games.

On the first day of the games, 20-year-old American snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg defied the odds to win the gold in the inaugural slope style event. The United States later swept the event when four-time X Games champion Jamie Anderson won in the women’s category. Seven of Anderson’s eight siblings were in attendance to see the 23-year-old win the gold.

Julia Mancuso became the latest American to win a medal in an alpine event, winning the bronze medal on Monday. This was the 29-year-old’s fourth career Olympic medal. This is twice as many as any other Team USA woman has won. With the medal, Mancuso joins the likes of Bonnie Blair and Apolo Ohno as the only American Winter Olympians to win individual medals in three straight games.

Despite Shaun White’s fourth place finish in the men’s halfpipe, the U.S. regained some confidence as Kaitlyn Farrington took gold in the women’s halfpipe competition yesterday. American teammate Kelly Clark managed to win the bronze medal in the event despite smacking into the wall during her first run in the finals.

The U.S. Women’s Hockey Team is primed and ready for the semifinals of competition after two blowout victories in the group stage of competition. In its first two games, Team USA outscored its opponents 12 to one. Team USA then took on Canada in the prelude to the semifinals, with a 3-2 loss against its neighbors from the north.

One of the more highly anticipated event to begin is Men’s hockey as Team USA is primed to avenge its loss in the gold medal game to Canada at the 2010 Vancouver games. The U.S. men will begin group play today when they take on Slovakia at 7:30 a.m.

Adam Moore
CONTRIBUTOR
PROFILE