SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Not once in the five Olympics since women’s hockey was added to the Winter Games has Canada failed to reach the final.

They’ve got three gold medals and one silver so far. All that’s left in these Winter Games is yet another game against the U.S. to determine which medal they’ll bring home from Sochi.

The unbeaten Canadians clinched a spot in the Olympic championship game on Monday for the fifth straight time, beating Switzerland 3-1 in the semifinals. Natalie Spooner scored twice and Shannon Szabados stopped 21 shots to help the three-time defending gold medalists claim their Olympic birthright.

“We feel like we’ve prepared all year for this game,” Spooner said.

The U.S. beat Sweden 6-1 earlier in the day to reach the gold medal game, which it has not won since the sport’s Olympic debut in Nagano in 1998. Canada and the United States have won every gold medal and all but one silver in the sport’s Olympic history, and they’ve met in the final of every world championship since the inaugural event in 1990.

Canada beat the U.S. in the round-robin of the Sochi Games on Wednesday — the Americans’ only loss of the tournament. Canada and the United States also played seven times in the run-up to the Olympics, with the Americans holding a 4-3 edge.

“We’ve played a lot of great games against them,” Spooner said. “It’s going to be another one of those in the final.”

Melodie Daoust also scored for Canada, and five-time Winter Olympian Hayley Wickenheiser had a pair of assists to extend her Olympic career points record.

Florence Schelling, who went to Northeastern University in Boston, made 45 saves for Switzerland in what was the closest game against Canada in Swiss Olympic history. The Swiss will play Sweden on Thursday for the bronze medal.

“I think for us, it was a great game,” said Swiss coach Rene Kammerer, who described himself as “happy to be disappointed.”

“Months ago, if we lose to Canada just 3-1, it would be a great game for us,” he said. “I’m disappointed to lose. But, hey, it’s Canada, one of the best teams in the world, and we know it.”

Spooner scored 7:29 into the game after circling behind the net, putting a high wrist shot just beyond the reach of Schelling’s glove. She made it 2-0 on a power play less than four minutes later, and Daoust needed just 23 seconds after that to give Canada a 3-0 lead.

Jessica Lutz scored for Switzerland 5:14 into the second period to make it a two-goal game, and Szabados needed several good saves to keep if from getting any closer.

via AP

The Olympic veterans moved directly to the finals after the qualification rounds. Leading the way was American Snow Idol, Kelly Clark with a 95.00 score. Nipping at her heels was Australia’s sweetheart Torah Bright and fellow American Hannah Teter. Clark topped the scores but all that goes out the window with the finals. Twelve riders will have two runs in hopes of capturing Olympic Gold. The best score of the two will determine the next Olympic medalists. Clark, Bright and Teter have all been on the Olympic podium before.

Team USA’s Kaitlyn Farrington narrowly missed the direct to finals qualification but nailed her first run in the semi-finals which puts her back in the mix once again. Unfortunately teammate, Arielle Gold had to opt out of the Games due to a reported dislocated shoulder injury. Arielle’s brother Taylor, also an olympic snowboarder, confirmed via twitter that she suffered the injury in a practice run just before the qualification run.

The finals will take place LIVE on NBCOlympics.com and broadcast later this evening on tv. This will be an incredibly competitive field with the odds-on favorite being Kelly Clark. The halfpipe conditions have been challenging for the riders so anything is possible when it comes time for the finals.

HEAT ONE RESULTS
1. Kelly Clark (USA), 95.00
2. Queralt Castellet (ESP), 93.25
3. Sophie Rodriguez (FRA), 78.50

HEAT TWO RESULTS
1. Torah Bright (AUS), 93.00
2. Hannah Teter (USA), 92.00
3. Xuetong Cai (CHN), 88.00

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
1. Kaitlyn Farrington (USA), 87.50
2. Jiayu Liu (CHN), 81.25
3. Shuang Li (CHN), 80.00
4. Ursina Haller (SUI), 44.50
5. Mirabelle Thovex (FRA), 70.75
6. Rana Okada (JAP), 70.00

Follow live coverage on twitter @hardbodynews.

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — The lasting image of freestyle skiing pioneer Sarah Burke is her ever-present smile, the one that helped inspire kids across Canada to slap on their skis and open their minds.

In an event that Burke’s extraordinary vision helped bring to the Olympics, Dara Howell channeled her idol’s style.

Mouth agape after a spectacular run on slush more suited for a snowcone, Howell continued Canada’s dominance at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park by soaring to gold as women’s slopestyle skiing made a sometimes inauspicious Olympic debut.

“I said the other day that I really hope a Canadian brings home a gold medal and it will be for Sarah,” Howell said. “This medal is definitely for Sarah. She pushed the sport.”

Burke died in 2012 at age 29 following an accident while training on the halfpipe.

A charismatic and accomplished performer and one of the key players in expanding freestyle skiing’s role in the Olympics, she served as a role model to a large swath of the Canadian freestyle team, including the 19-year-old who found herself atop a podium on Tuesday.

“She always wanted to see the progression,” Howell said. “To see the girls throwing what the guys were throwing … today I feel like that’s what I did.”

Howell unleashed a switch-900 — an off-axis spin that includes 2 ½ rotations — during a run that finished with a score of 94.20, trouncing the rest of the field on a warm and sometimes frightening day.

Devin Logan of the United States took silver. Kim Lamarre earned bronze to give Canada seven medals in four days of snowboarding and freestyle skiing, including three events in which they took two of the three spots on the podium.

“We’re over the moon right now,” said Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian Freestyle Skiing Association. “Our target was to get six total — and we still have a few events left.”

Howell’s triumph was tempered by a series of frightening crashes, including one by teammate Yuki Tsubota. That ended with Tsubota being carried off the mountain on a stretcher with a possible fractured jaw. Russian Anna Mirtova wiped out during both of her final runs and said she’s heading for knee surgery.

“It was tough conditions,” Lamarre said. “It’s not easy for speed on slushy snow. You can’t always be perfect and land everything.”

Maybe, but Logan conceded that the Canadians are more perfect than most at the moment. While the U.S. grabbed gold in both men’s and women’s slopestyle snowboarding over the weekend, Canada has dominated everything else. Slopestyle snowboarder Mark McMorris earned bronze and Canada went 1-2 in both men’s and women’s moguls.

“They’re really good as you can see,” Logan said. “They’re definitely giving us a run for the money. It helps us progress our sport. It’s nice having a little bit of a rivalry trying to beat them or one up them.”

Only Logan’s acrobatic run to an 85.40 in the slopestyle skiing finals prevented the top of the podium from being covered with the Maple Leaf flag. Logan’s medal-winning sprint included a frontside 720-degree spin in which she gamely held on while landing.

Logan, who is from West Dover, Ver. but now lives in Oceanside, Calif., turns 21 next Monday.

After a soul-testing stretch that included two comebacks from a torn ACL in her right knee, her celebration includes a trip to Las Vegas and adding a tattoo.

“Not of the Olympic rings,” she added with a laugh.

Howell’s plans are more demure, including a trip back to Canada to ski with her 99-year-old grandfather, who still finds a way to get out on the mountain near her hometown of Huntsville, Ontario, every day. The two chatted briefly after her victory, a conversation that included a lot of screaming if not a lot of detail about what Howell had just done.

“He tries his best to understand it,” she said. “I don’t think he’s got it yet.”

The same could be said for a sport that looked more than a little unpolished in its Olympic debut.

Nearly half of the 44 qualifying runs over the series of rails, jumps — and one oversized Russian nesting doll — ended with a skier face down in the snow or pulling out of self-preservation.

“On days like this, normally we wouldn’t be trying to do our gnarliest tricks because we’re getting stuck,” said American Keri Herman, who came in as a medal contender but finished 10th. “But right now, we’re at (the Olympics), so here we go, let’s do it.”

Finals
1. Dara Howell (CAN) – 94.20
2. Devin Logan (USA) – 85.40
3. Kim Lamarre (CAN) – 85.00
4. Anna Segal (AUS) – 77.00
5. Emma Dahlstrom (SWE) – 75.40
6. Yuki Tsubota (CAN) – 71.60
7. Katie Summerhayes (GBR) – 70.60
8. Silvia Bertagna (ITA) – 69.60
9. Eveline Bhend (SUI) – 63.20
10. Keri Herman (USA) – 50.00
11. Julia Krass (USA) – 42.40
12. Camillia Berra (SUI) – 30.40

See more at: http://www.nbcolympics.com

Story via AP.

(AP Photo/Andy Wong)

American snowboarding Jamie Anderson took home the first-ever Olympic gold medal in Women’s Snowboarding Slopestyle. Despite being only 23-years old she has become one of the most successful women in the snowboarding. It doesn’t matter if she’s on the podium or hanging with fellow riders, she’s always wearing a smile.

Get to know more about Jamie Anderson on NBC OLYMPICS.

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — There was a lot of ugliness out on that supersized Olympic slopestyle course Sunday — crashes, splashes, face plants, even a cracked helmet.

As she so often does, Jamie Anderson made things look beautiful again.

The world’s most consistent rider came through big under a huge amount of pressure — “I was freaking out,” she said — riding clean on the rails and stomping down three high-flying jumps on her second, and make-or-break, trip down the mountain. She scored a 95.25 on that run to make America 2 for 2 in slopestyle’s colorful and treacherous debut on the Olympic stage.

“It’s kind of a big deal,” said the gold medalist, who earlier this winter had conceded she was heading to Russia with some reservations about what the Olympics really stand for. “This is The Event.”

Enni Rukajarvi of Finland won silver and Jenny Jones took bronze to give Britain its first Olympic medal on the snow.

A heady piece of history for Jones, the 33-year-old, one-time ski resort housekeeper from Bristol, who was unapologetic in revealing she prepared for the big day by watching “Downton Abbey” back at her place in the athletes village.

Jones calls Anderson a “hippie,” and it’s true, the 23-year-old from South Lake Tahoe, Calif., likes yoga and meditation — and granola every now and then.

“I think it’s fair to say Jamie marches to the beat of her own drummer,” American coach Mike Jankowski said. “She likes to do things her way out here.”

Much as she wanted to relax while getting ready for her final run, she said it was, indeed, a little disconcerting standing at the top of the mountain, watching rider after rider take a fall. Of the 24 runs in finals, no fewer than 17 of them included a hand drag, a fall or worse — and that wasn’t counting Austrian Anna Gasser’s failed climb back up the first embankment after she was given the ‘go’ sign a second too soon.

Isabel Derungs of Switzerland fell off a rail and face planted into the snow.

Silje Norendal, the Norwegian who handed Anderson one of her few losses two weeks ago at the Winter X Games, fell off the first rail, bobbled on the second, then washed out completely on her second jump.

Worst of all, Sarka Pancochova of the Czech Republic lost it on the first jump of her second run, the back of her head slamming against the snow. Her body skittered down the hill, flipping side to side, with her legs flopping like a rag doll. Somehow, she got up and rode down the hill under her own power. When she got there, she showed off a pencil-wide crack that ran the length of her helmet.

“Well, it seems broken, but that’s what they are for, right?” said Pancochova, who was not seriously injured, according to team officials.

Against that backdrop, and overcast skies, Anderson, who lost her balance and nearly fell on the final jump of her opening run, reached the starting gate for the second.

“I was just visualizing, like, seeing myself already landing and coming down here,” she said. “Just trying to believe.”

She made a mini-Usain Bolt pose, as if getting ready to arch an arrow, pounded on her snow pants, then took off.

On a course thought by some to be too tough for women, where even Anderson fell and hurt her back during training, she was almost flawless.

She executed her half-rotating jumps on and off the rails — the most technical part of these runs — without problem, then set up for the show: Cab 720 jump with a grab, switchback 540 with a grab, frontside 720. That’s three jumps with a total of 5½ rotations and two fancy grabs of the snowboard. The landings: All perfect. Everyone knew it, including Anderson, who spread-eagled her arms as she crossed the finish line. Safe.

“Jamie is a lot of things,” said 19-year-old Karly Shorr, who finished sixth. “Jamie is a leader. She’s an awesome person. She’s a good friend. She thinks about other people and, honestly, she’s a good competitor. She does whatever she has to do to win. She never cracks under pressure. She uses it. She lands every time.”

Jankowski said the United States came into slopestyle’s debut hoping for a pair of medals. Shaun White pulled out, which may have dimmed those chances, but Sage Kotsenburg came up with the ride of his life to win the men’s contest Saturday.

Anderson had something different riding on this outcome.

“Jamie has been the face of women’s slopestyle for quite a few years now,” Jankowski said of the four-time X Games champion who routed the competition in four of five Olympic qualifying contests this winter. “That’s all very important, but when you’re at the Olympics, you have to land your run at the right time to cement your legacy.”

Anderson will celebrate with five of her sisters, a brother, a niece and her 80-something Bavarian neighbor, Gabriela, who she calls her “spirit grandmother.”

Her mom, Lauren, was there, too, holding a red-and-yellow scarf that read “Team Every1.”

“She’s tough. She’s a go-getter. She knows how to stay calm when the tension is on, somehow,” Lauren said of a daughter who turned pro when she was 13.

Must be all that Zen-like peace she gets from yoga and meditation, right?

“No,” Mom said. “Chutzpah. She’s got that chutzpah thing.”

Via AP Lead image by Isaac Hinds at the espnW Summit

NBC OLYMPICS PRESENTS OLYMPIC GOLD MAP TO PROMOTE YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN SPORT ACROSS U.S.
Grassroots Television and Online Initiative as Part of NBC Olympics’ Coverage of the Sochi Olympic Winter Games

SOCHI, Russia – Feb. 5, 2014 – In partnership with the United States Olympic Committee and the winter sport national governing bodies in the United States, NBC Olympics has created a ground-breaking initiative, the Olympic Gold Map, to promote grassroots youth involvement in Olympic and Paralympic sport. The initiative will be integrated into NBC Olympics’ multi-platform coverage of the Sochi Olympic Winter Games, which begin tomorrow on NBC at 8 p.m. ET.

During its broadcast and cable coverage from Sochi, NBC Olympics will integrate a series of short promotional features driving viewers to a special section of NBCOlympics.com, NBCOlympics.com/gold-map, which will host an overview video and provide links to the various U.S. winter sport national governing bodies.

“For years, we have been receiving letters after each Olympics from parents describing the moment when their children, watching our coverage, fell in love with one sport or another,” said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. “We want to capitalize on that moment of maximum inspiration and help kids take the first steps towards turning their own Olympic dreams into reality.”

Users will be encouraged to select the sport or sports that have piqued their interest, and the NGB websites, in turn, will provide further information about how children can get involved in their sports, such as contact information on the nearest opportunities for coaching and training.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to join in partnership with NBC and our national governing bodies on the Gold Map initiative to encourage American children to get involved in sport at a young age,” said Scott Blackmun, Chief Executive Officer, United States Olympic Committee. “When NBC first surfaced the Gold Map idea during its bid for the rights to the Sochi Games, we were impressed by their visionary thinking, and we are very excited to see the planning put into action.”

THE OLYMPICS BEGIN TOMORROW
With more Winter Olympic events than ever before, competition for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia, will begin one day prior to the Opening Ceremony. As a result, NBC will begin its primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics tomorrow night, Feburary 6 – one night before the broadcast network provides its traditional coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday February 7. This marks the first time NBC will air Olympic primetime coverage before the Opening Ceremony, and will feature the Olympic debuts of snowboard slopestyle (men’s and women’s) and team figure skating, as well as women’s freestyle moguls.

ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS
A division of the NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history.

NBC TO PREMIERE HOW TO RAISE AN OLYMPIAN PRESENTED BY P&G WEDNESDAY AT 8 P.M. ET
Special To Feature Olympians Nick Goepper, Meryl Davis, Charlie White, Mikaela Shiffrin, J.R. Celski, Amy Purdy, and Lindsey Vonn

Stamford, Conn. – February 3, 2013 – With three days remaining until the first competition day of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, NBC will premiere the Olympic primetime special How to Raise an Olympian, presented by P&G, on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. ET.

How to Raise an Olympian is hosted by TODAY correspondent and Opening Ceremony co-host Meredith Vieira. Produced by Weiden & Kennedy for P&G, How to Raise an Olympian expands on P&G’s “Thank You Mom: Raising an Olympian” campaign and features the love, support and challenges overcome by the mothers and families of:

• Olympic freeskier Nick Goepper (mother Linda);
• Olympic ice dancing silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White (mother Cheryl and Jacqui, respectively);
• Olympic alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin (mother Eileen);
• Olympic short track speed skater J.R. Celski (mother Sue);
• Paralympic snowboarder Amy Purdy (mother Sheri);
• Olympic gold medalist and TODAY and NBC Olympics correspondent Lindsey Vonn (mother Lindy).

How to Raise an Olympian debuts Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. ET.

THE OLYMPICS BEGIN FEB. 6, 2014
NBC will begin its primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 6, one night before the broadcast network provides its traditional primetime coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday, Feb. 7. This marks the first time NBC will air Olympic primetime coverage before the Opening Ceremony. The primetime broadcast on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014, is scheduled to include competition in snowboard slopestyle (men’s and women’s), in which two-time gold medalist Shaun White will compete in slopestyle’s Olympic debut; team figure skating, which is also in the Olympics for the first time; and women’s freestyle moguls.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – U.S. Paralympics, a division of the United States Olympic Committee, announced today that 10 athletes have been nominated to the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Team to compete in the inaugural snowboard cross competition at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, March 7-16. The nominations are subject to the approval of the USOC.

In May 2012, the International Paralympic Committee announced that men’s and women’s snowboard cross for athletes with lower limb impairments would debut at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games as a part of the alpine skiing program.

“This is a very exciting day to name our first-ever snowboarding team for the Paralympic Winter Games,” said Kevin Jardine, high performance director for U.S. Paralympics alpine skiing and snowboarding. “We have some of the best snowboarders in the world, and this group of 10 athletes is going to make history in Sochi. Some of these athletes have been training for this moment for years, while others found the sport more recently, but the common thread that runs throughout this team is just how dedicated and passionate they are. It is going to be an honor to work with this team in Sochi.”

The U.S. enters the Games with three of the top-ranked men in the world, with Evan Strong (Nevada City, Calif.) and Mike Shea (Castaic, Calif.) sharing the current No. 1 spot on the IPC world rankings, and Keith Gabel (Ogden, Utah) is tied for third with Carl Murphy of New Zealand. Shea won four of the five world cup competitions this season, while Strong won one and earned two silver medals.

On the women’s side, Amy Purdy (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Heidi Jo Duce (Ouray, Colo.) are tied for the No. 2 spot on the world rankings. Purdy and Duce, the national champion, have battled back-and-forth for podium positions throughout much of the season. Duce won two silver and two bronze medals in world cup competition this season, with Purdy winning two silvers and one bronze. American Nicole Roundy (Salt Lake City, Utah) is also at the top of the rankings, sitting in fifth.

Retired Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Tyler Burdick (Salt Lake City, Utah), who was wounded in Afghanistan in 2010, is the only military veteran on the team. Burdick is No. 4 on the U.S. list and ranked No. 12 in the world.

Other nominees to Team USA include: Cristina Albert (Denver, Colo.), Megan Harmon (Huntsville, Ala.) and Dan Monzo (Vernon, N.J.).

The men’s and women’s snowboard events will be held on March 14. Paralympic snowboarders compete in snowboard cross, an event where athletes race one-at-a-time down a course with features including turns, drops and berms. Each athlete completes three runs of the course with the combined time of their best two runs determining the final winner based on time.

The USOC and NBC Olympics have partnered to provide an unprecedented level of coverage for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. NBC and NBC Sports Network will combine to air 50 hours of television, starting on March 7 with the Opening Ceremony. It will be followed by daily coverage of all five Paralympic sports in the Sochi program, before the Games’ Closing Ceremony is broadcast on March 16. In addition to the unprecedented U.S. television coverage, the USOC and streaming sponsors BMW, BP, Citi, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Procter & Gamble and The Hartford will provide live online coverage at TeamUSA.org.

U.S. Paralympic Team nominees for alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, sled hockey, snowboarding and wheelchair curling will be finalized by the USOC no later than Feb. 21, the deadline to submit Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games delegation rosters to the International Paralympic Committee. Selection procedures and dates can be found at TeamUSA.org/ParalympicGames/.

2014 U.S. Paralympic Snowboarding Team nominees

Women
Cristina Albert (Denver, Colo.)
Heidi Jo Duce (Ouray, Colo.)
Megan Harmon (Huntsville, Ala.)
Amy Purdy (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Nicole Roundy (Bountiful, Utah)

Men
Tyler Burdick (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Keith Gabel (Ogden, Utah)
Dan Monzo (Vernon, N.J.)
Mike Shea (Castaic, Calif.)
Evan Strong (Nevada City, Calif.)

Press Release via teamusa.org/US-Paralympics

The Winter Olympics are quickly approaching and new to the Games this year will be the Snowboard Slopestyle event. The event will debut with 30 male and 24 female snobwoarders at the upcoming Sochi 2014 Winter Games. The event features athletes doing tricks at insane heights, riding rails and performing at a level worthy of an Olympic medal. It’s truly something you have to see to believe.

The competition has three rounds… Qualification, Semi-Final and Finals. Each athlete has two runs in each round and the highest score of the two determines their placing. They are scored on the variety and execution of their tricks, amplitude, difficulty and landing. The highest scoring run in the final wins.

NBC analyst, Bob Costas has referred to this new event as ‘Jackass’ stuff on a recent TODAY show interview. We respect his right to an opinion and his contributions to sports over the years but c’mon man. Bob clearly needs to spend some time on the slopes and educate himself. Matt Lauer isn’t much better as he laughs it up like a giddy toddler watching a dog eat popcorn. Thankfully the clueless duo won’t be calling the action on this event in Sochi. NBC has since pulled the interview down citing “usage restrictions” but like anything on the Internet it lives on.

The final Olympic qualifiers are schedule to take place this week in Mammoth, California. There will be two qualifiers due to events being cancelled last week in Breckenridge, Colorado. It’s been a bit of a challenge for event organizers due to lack of snow in California and too much snow in Colorado (the cause of the Breck cancellation). The U.S. team rosters should be finalized and announced this weekend. A confusing set of rules left the snowboarder out in the cold after the event was cancelled. The skiing qualification round counted for the final placings however a different set of rules didn’t allow for that to be the case in snowboarding.

Jamie Anderson leads the women’s Snowboarding slope style heading into the final two events. Ty Walker and Jessika Jenson are close behind in the current point totals. On the Men’s side of things, Chas Guldemond leads with rockstar snowboarder Shaun White in second.

Lead image via youtube.