quote:

Originally posted by Cookster:
Good thing that Federica Brignone wasn’t being advised by members here to ‘sit out’ the Olympics.

She is not in her forties. At 35 she would be considered at the tail end of her prime.

^^ Lindsey Vonn is FORTY-ONE years old...Born: October 18, 1984

AND apparently you can’t turn men’s Head WC Downhill Race Skis with a completely torn ACL!

fritz, I appreciate your insight into all this.

Nbc continually calls Shiffren the greatest of all time when she repeatedly fizzles out on the biggest stage is just stupid ffs. If you cannot shine when the lights are the brightest obviously you are not the greatest.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
^^ Lindsey Vonn is FORTY-ONE years old...Born: October 18, 1984

AND apparently you can’t turn men’s Head WC Downhill Race Skis with a completely torn ACL!

At what of her line do you think Lindsey under-skied or over-skied her turn to catch the gate with her arm / body, this causing her to crash?

You’re pretty sure it was because of her ACL injury?

You personally confirmed that with Lindsey, did you?

Did you read that her own coach prior to her run told her she was over compensating for her bad knee? Would his opinion sway you being a multiple World Cup and Olympic champion himself?

I hate arguments like this. We all are staring at a dog turd and somebody like cookster above just has to be that guy. Well are you a dog turd expert now? Did you ask the dog? Did you get it tested? This is one of the problems with America cookster, you don’t have to be an expert at anything to be able to apply rational common sensical thought to identify or solve issues. Somebody has to be a Harvard educated orthopedic surgeon now to understand that if you rupture your ACL that there is zero chance that you can go down a hill on men’s skis at 80 mph with anywhere near the same ability as with an ACL. That it is foolish? So the next time your wife tries to drive on a flat tire by all means don’t try to stop her, it’s not like you are an automotive engineer or anything.

G'ddam, the screeching during the women's curling event is intolerable!

We want to hear the commentators explain strategies, so *mute* isn't an option.

*Mute* plus *closed captioning* doesn't help because the voice to text translations are inaccurate.

OK. Fine. Rant over. Carry on.

And now, some words about the best women alpine ski racers on this rock.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s World Cup circuit stats, for her 15 years so far:
108 total wins (#1)
71 slalom wins (#1)
22 giant slalom wins (#1)
166 podiums (#1) – i.e. top 3 places, like getting an Olympic medal
242 top ten finishes (#1)

Lindsey Vonn’s World Cup circuit stats, for her 25 years so far:
84 total wins (#1)
45 downhill wins (#1)
28 super G wins (#1)
145 podiums (#2)
225 top ten finishes (#2)

World Cup is season-long marathon, with around 40 races per year. The best all-around skiers might compete in 25-ish races per year. Racers try to start each season in super-human physical condition, knowing that they will be beat to shit by the end. Mikaela is by far the best "technical-event" (i.e. SL & GS) racer ever. Lindsey is by far the best "speed-event" (i.e. SG & DH) racer ever. Mikaela definitely has more overall wins, and with 10 years less on the WC circuit.

****

Women’s Olympics:
Mikaela has 3 medals – tied for 13th
Lindsey has 2 medals – maybe in the top 20
Janica Kostelic (Croatia) has the most Olympic medals at 6. However, she has only 30 World Cup wins.
Julia Mancuso has the most USA women’s Olympic medals at 4 (tied for #6), but she has only 7 World Cup wins.

Team USA’s Bode Miller has 6 Olympic medals (the most for American men), but only 33 World Cup wins.

The Olympics are by far the most well-known ski races in the world. Some folks rise so occasion and perform at levels they don’t normally experience. Some folks see the Olympics as important races, but really just another stop on the annual circuit.

***

Alpine World Championships. Held in odd-numbered years. These championships aren’t well known outside the ski racing industry, but they are considered a greater testament to a skier’s ability than Olympic medals.
Mikaela has 15 total medals, with 8 wins (#2)
Lindsey has 8 total medals, with 2 wins (maybe in the top 20)

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
^^ Lindsey Vonn is FORTY-ONE years old...Born: October 18, 1984

AND apparently you can’t turn men’s Head WC Downhill Race Skis with a completely torn ACL!

She won an event a couple of weeks before the Olympics so she was ready. I would say the ACL was a much bigger factor than her age.

I wonder if sponsorship money had any part to do in it? You don’t show up for the finals and you don’t get all your money?

Did anyone see that external fixator she had attached to her lower half. I had one of those my senior year in high school after a motorcycle accident and it was gnarly looking but hers was even worse because it looked like they triangulated it to both legs for stability. If you guys would like to see mine I can show you

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 1s1k,

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:

Alpine World Championships. Held in odd-numbered years. These championships aren’t well known outside the ski racing industry, but they are considered a greater testament to a skier’s ability than Olympic medals.
Mikaela has 15 total medals, with 8 wins (#2)
Lindsey has 8 total medals, with 2 wins (maybe in the top 20)

Thank you for pointing out the FIS Alpine WC races. When it comes to winter sports, the general public is only aware of the Olympics and the X-games. There used to be a major trade show, the Snowsports Industries of America (SIA) trade show was an annual show in Vegas which was the big show for everybody in the snow business...from the local shops, to the lift-areas and resorts, medical devices and every tool invented for working on the gear and tons of athletes. The big brands and manufactures would have listed on their booths their sponsored athletes and their achievements ranked in order of importance. Olympics would be listed but always after the World Ski Championships; sometimes the crystal globes and snowflakes medals were brought out for display.

As for Shiffrin and Vonn, they're two of the greatest American ski racers ever and amongst the greatest in world history, no doubt. Feel bad for Shiffrin, her run of disappointing Olympics reminds me of snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis' string of bad Olympic showings, despite dominating her field in every other format. As for Vonn, hard to say if she should've not raced, I believe she qualified 3rd fastest so she definitely could do it but hooking her right side on the gate was very unfortunate.

Many athletes, certainly post-collegiate athletes, end up competing out of some psychological need/often bordering on suicidal impulse/fully into a suicidal impulse/as well as ego.

If it’s money, OK. No different than any other high risk high reward career.

It’s when it becomes about “making Death miss” and the “creative boundary on the edge of destruction,” that things are actually quite dark.

To act out of ego is always foolish, in all things.

I cannot say where she was at. But it looks a lot like “I NEED that moment.”

Hopefully, she does not end up a cripple.

Womens bobsled finals were tight last evening, USA took the Gold (Meyers-Taylor) and Bronze, (Humphries) it was super tight the German edged in on the last run.

Shiffrin just flat out kicked ass in both runs of slalom skiing. Gold medal -- no contest.

As a couple, we’re very much into curling. Me alone: cross country skiing, biathlon, bobsled…

Loved the dog running across the finish line at the women’s cross country event.

Glad to see Shiffren get a gold. She has had a tough time in the Olympics so to see her win is a good thing. Regardless what was said earlier. The Olympics are where you need to win to be considered among the greatest. 2 of the last eight olympic races when you were the favorite in most of them is not great. But this helps.

What is the deal with Martha Stewart and Snoop dog getting so much air time.

Both the US and Canadian Mens Hockey Teams had a tough time with their opponents in yesterday's quarter-finals. They both won in OT, but those games could have went either way.

US women just defeated Canada for the gold in women's hockey. Both goalies played exceptionally well.