Over the weekend, my favorite marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon was held in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Marine Corp Marathon Sunday is one of my favorite days of the year, but I will talk more about that later this week. It was also a busy weekend with tons of news and with Olympic hopefuls in competition. Let’s get to it.
Amber Glenn beats Alysa Liu to win figure skating Cup of China (ESPN)
The Women’s and Ice Dace competitions at the Cup of China were pretty good for the Americans. Amber Glenn used the free skate to leapfrog Alysa Liu and Rinka Watanabe of Japan and win the Gold medal. Liu placed second for her first Grand Prix podium. In the Ice Dance, the pairs of Madison Chock/Evan Bates and Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolesnik gave the US another gold and silver. If Glenn, Liu, Chock/Bates, and Zingas/Kolesnik can maintain this form going forward, it could bode well for the US in the medal count at the Olympics in February.
The Alpine World Cup season started in Austria over the weekend and the initial results were also promising for Americans looking to ski at the Olympics next year. Paula Moltzan equaled her best finish ever with her second place finish. For Mikaela Shiffrin, finishing fourth amounted to her best finish since January of last year.
Philippines curling team chases Olympic dream with nothing to lose (The Japan Times)
The Philippine curling team story is almost out of a Disney movie. Formed roughly two years ago, they’ve won this year’s Asian Winter Games and earned a spot in the final curling qualifier. The team sits one tournament away from doing what has never been done before; becoming the first team from the Philippines to qualify for the Winter Olympics in any sport. Stories of long shots succeeding like this are among the best parts of every Olympics.
As we get closer to the start of the Troch Relay more details are starting to come out about who will shepherd the flame through Italy. Among the torchbearers, are an acclaimed director, an actress, the coach and captain of the Italian woman’s soccer team, a child battling a rare disease, and a member of the Italian Federation of Sports for People with Intellectual Disabilities basketball team.
How do skiers prepare for the quadrennial interruption in their competition posed by the Olympics? Like most things in life, it really depends on the individual. Some skiers plan in detail for it and some take it as is.
Rob Manfred optimistic MLB stars will play at 2028 Los Angeles Olympics (The Guardian)
There was a point in the past where having the best baseball players in the world in the Olympics would have been quite exciting to me. Right now, the best I can manage is a shoulder shrug and an “eh”. My lack of excitement draws from the fact that baseball will likely go back on the shelf for a while as the Games move on to other cities. The creation of a World Cup-like tournament in the form of the World Baseball Classic also lessens my excitement about this as it provides a regular way to see national teams go head-to-head in a larger tournament.
Finally, I will end with this:
Munich’s mayor celebrates victory in a vote on bidding for the Olympics (Yahoo News)
It seems today, more cities do not want to host the Olympics than do. Citizens worry about tax increases, rising rents and the potential they will be stuck with decaying white elephant event venues after the Olympics leave town. Public votes don’t often go the way of organizers. It’s possible, Munich’s vote may be the beginning of a change where cities that already have most of the infrastructure in place embrace the games. Only time will tell.
That’s it for now. Until next time.
Days Remaining Until the Start of the Milano Cortina Games: 101
Days Remaining Until the Start of the Los Angeles Games: 990
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