Editor’s note: Rory Duyon is in Turin, Italy, covering the Olympics as an intern for NBC.
Hello again from Torino! Finally the games are underway and they are already providing a lot of excitement. Chad Hedrick picked up USA’s first gold on day one. Michelle Kwan dropped out on day two. Day three featured perhaps the most guts we’ve seen from any athlete so far, from Chinese pairs figure skater Zhang Dan.
If you missed it, as I am sure many of you did, Dan and her partner Zhang Hao came into Monday night’s pairs long program in second place. During their performance, Dan landed on the hard ice, squarely on her knee, and almost could not continue. After a delay, they picked up the performance where they left off and skated a fantastic routine to the the silver medal.
I can defend myself. There is a reason I am this well educated in pairs figure skating.
As a part of my internship, we did a story on the Chinese coach Yao Bin. Bin grew up in Harbin a figure skater, but when China went into the period known as the Cultural Revolution, he, as well as all Chinese athletes, was prohibited from practicing or competing in athletics. This was during what would have been the prime of his career. Years later, when he was again allowed to skate, Bin was entered into the pairs figure skating 1980 World Championships. He and his partner, Luan Bo, had only four months to prepare, but they had never left China to see live figure skating before. They based their training on pictures of figure skaters from newspapers and literally made it up. As you would expect, they finished dead last and were literally laughed off the ice. That day he made a vow to make sure the Chinese program would become something that nobody would laugh at. In 2002, one of his pairs won bronze and on Monday night his pairs took silver and bronze.
Tuesday, Ted Ligety was the lone bright spot on the USA ski team, which proclaimed itself the best in the world. So far they have been an embarrassment. Ligety flew through the slalom half of the combine, and brought home the fifth American gold medal.
Despite leading all nations in gold medals with five through Tuesday, so far the American team has had a lot of disappointments. In short track, Apollo Anton Ohno came up short in the 1500m, stumbling in the semi finals. American favorites Daron Rahlves and Bode Miller failed to medal in the downhill. In the combine, Miller went into the slalom with a huge lead and blew it when he missed a gate. Fortunately for Team USA there is snowboarding, and where there is snowboarding, there is Shaun White and Danny Kass, who took gold and silver in the men’s halfpipe.
The story however, has been Michelle Kwan withdrawing from what most likely will be her final Olympic Games. Kwan re-aggravated a groin injury in her first practice the day after opening ceremonies. Taking her spot will be Emily Hughes, the younger sister of Sarah Hughes, who won the gold at Salt Lake in 2002.
The important thing about television production is that everything has to be timely. With this being the story of the games, here at Chevy Moments we had less than a full day to produce a segment on Kwan. To make a long story short, I arrived for work as usual at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning and finally left at 3:00 a.m. Monday morning. It’s a demanding and stressful thing to be a part of, but it is rewarding to see the final project.
You can let my weekly updates be the extent of your Olympic coverage, but you’re missing out. I urge you to turn on the TV and check out the games. There are some fantastic stories about the interesting athletes, and you shouldn’t miss them. Before I go, I’ll even give you a few specific events to look forward to as a guide.
Thursday Feb. 16, 8:00 p.m.
Believe me, this will be worth showing up at Bravo or the Grape a little later (let’s be honest, you’re not missing anything). The men’s speed skating pursuit team will be led by Chad Hedrick, who already has gold in the 5000m.
USA has a good shot at a medal in this event. These guys fly, and whether you snowboard or not, you’ll love snowboard cross, a new event to the Olympics. Seth Wescott will try to be a little quicker than the rest. He’s one of the favorites to get to the bottom of the hill first.
Friday Feb. 17, 8:00 p.m.
Ice dancing. Guys, if for no other reason, Tanith Belbin is gorgeous.
Saturday Feb. 18, 8:00 p.m.
See if Bode Miller can actually live up to his hype and, even better, see him lash out at the media, accuse famous athletes of blood doping, refuse autograph seekers and maybe provide some other surprises when he’s done with the race. Check out men’s Super G.
Sunday Feb. 21, 8:00 p.m.
Rent “Cool Runnings” on Sunday to get yourself psyched up and then watch the two-man bobsled Monday night.
Monday Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m.
Curling. Come on, you know you’re curious, and the Johnson sisters are kind of cute.
Tuesday Feb. 21, 2:30 p.m.
I know you’ve been ignoring the NHL all year, but show a great sport some appreciation and watch an Olympic hockey game. USA vs Russia.
Wednesday Feb. 22, 8:00 p.m.
Don’t miss the short track speed skating in the women’s 1000m, men’s 500m, and if you want to see chaos on ice, watch the women’s 3000m relay. Short track is one of the most exciting events at the games, period.
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