2026 Winter Olympics Cortina, Italy

Malinin said:
"Right before I got into my starting post, I just ... all the negative thoughts just rushed into my head, and all the negative, just traumatic experiences, you know. I've been through a lot and it's not easy, so being the Olympic gold hopeful is really just a lot to deal with, especially for my age."
 
Before the next Olympics, I'm going to have to take lessons in "ski talk", especially snowboarding and big air.

What they say: "Oooh, she just attempted a 360 cork pop going into a Petosky spiral back boop! She'll get points for that, but she really needs a 1040-EZ and a rodeo guillotine if she wants Gold. Everyone's doing 1080 sterlings so it's going to take a triple squint and an elongated Hail Mary to sew this up."

What I hear: "She went down the hill, did some stuff and didn't fall down."
 
Seems to be a lot of 'Curling' events televised.
Must be popular.
Just found out there is a place to 'learn' Curling, less than one mile from my house.
Might just stop in and check the place out.
Reviews says the food is really good, so if all else fails, I grab something to go.
 
It's hard to imagine curlers getting hot headed over anything. It seems like such a thoughtful and intellectual activity.
jujube said:
Before the next Olympics, I'm going to have to take lessons in "ski talk", especially snowboarding and big air.

What they say: "Oooh, she just attempted a 360 cork pop going into a Petosky spiral back boop! She'll get points for that, but she really needs a 1040-EZ and a rodeo guillotine if she wants Gold. Everyone's doing 1080 sterlings so it's going to take a triple squint and an elongated Hail Mary to sew this up."

What I hear: "She went down the hill, did some stuff and didn't fall down."
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I'm old school. I like the events where the fastest time wins, and you don't have to average the opinions of 5 biased judges to select a winner. I remember when they started adding stuff to the original lineup of Olympic events. I thought it started getting hokey, almost like watching those Jackass franchise films a few years ago. It IS entertaining, but Brake Dancing??? You've got to be kidding!
 
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JustDave said:
I'm old school. I like the events where the fastest time wins, and you don't have to average the opinions of 5 biased judges to select a winner. I remember when they started adding stuff to the original lineup of Olympic events. I thought it started to getting hokey, almost like watching those Jackass franchise films a few years ago. It IS entertaining, but Brake Dancing??? You've got to be kidding!
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I'm with you there, Dave.

Next thing, it's gonna be Oreo Dunking ("Ooh, he used the Double Goofy Finger Technique with a Dripless Finish"), Parallel Parking ("Her Curb Avoidance Technique was a bit sloppy but I've never seen a better Four-Tire-Alignment"), and Recreational Sitting ("It's been reported that the Russian team is being investigated for illegal use of Preparation-H").
 
OH No! She had a win in the bag, but she held the cookie in the milk just a little long, and the Oreo lost rigidity and plunked down to the bottom of the mug, disqualifying a near perfect dunk.
 
Feelslikefar said:
Seems to be a lot of 'Curling' events televised.
Must be popular.
Just found out there is a place to 'learn' Curling, less than one mile from my house.
Might just stop in and check the place out.
Reviews says the food is really good, so if all else fails, I grab something to go.
Click to expand...
I curled for a few years, mainly to get some excersize in winter months and let me tell you, if you're a sweeper, you'll get more excersize than you probably want!
It's a very social sport. The only sport I know of where it's traditional for the winners of the game to buy the first round of drinks after the game is over. In that sense, there's really never any losers 🍻
 
Speaking of grace in figure skating, nobody gracefully lands after 4 spins. They just get credit for not falling.

Things I discovered love in the winter Olympics:

  • Any kind of sledding along the track. Skeleton, MonoBOB, 4 man, Luge. I don't care for double luge. That just seems awkward to me.

  • Figure skating as couples.

  • The Biathlon (cross-country skiing with target shooting). How grueling!

  • Speed skating.



Things I don't watch:

  • Snowboarding of any kind. It just looks like the kids who skate board.

  • Downhill skiing. It gets old fast.

They love to make fun of curling but if you watch it, and you've ever played shuffleboard, it can be interesting.
 
On another note, I also read that free style skier Eileen Gu, who was born in San Francisco and raised and educated in the U.S. and is a former Olympic gold medal winner, decided to ski for her mother’s home country of China and won a silver medal. She is also paid a fee of $20,000+ yearly for her endorsement and sponsorships here in the U.S.

She has come under fire for skiing for China.
 
jujube said:
Before the next Olympics, I'm going to have to take lessons in "ski talk", especially snowboarding and big air.

What they say: "Oooh, she just attempted a 360 cork pop going into a Petosky spiral back boop! She'll get points for that, but she really needs a 1040-EZ and a rodeo guillotine if she wants Gold. Everyone's doing 1080 sterlings so it's going to take a triple squint and an elongated Hail Mary to sew this up."

What I hear: "She went down the hill, did some stuff and didn't fall down."
Click to expand...
That's pretty much all I need to know. I like the snowboard events, particularly the Half Pipe. We have a local girl Maddie Mastro that we cheer on. She had advanced to the Women's Half Pipe Finals but did not medal. However, another 'home-girl'- Chloe Kim did get the Silver Medal.
 
Been There said:
On another note, I also read that free style skier Eileen Gu, who was born in San Francisco and raised and educated in the U.S. and is a former Olympic gold medal winner, decided to ski for her mother’s home country of China and won a silver medal. She is also paid a fee of $20,000+ yearly for her endorsement and sponsorships here in the U.S.

She has come under fire for skiing for China.
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If the "American" athlete can't make the American team, he or she might compete for any other country who accepts them. I can't blame anyone for wanting a medal and going for it in any (legal and honorable) manner.
 
Been There said:
I read this morning the referee or whatever he’s called is reviewing the tape.
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These accusations this year about curlers touching the stone as it crosses the hog line (there's been three so far) is puzzling. There are sensors in each stone at these big events that flash red if a curler's hand is still touching the stone as the front edge of the stone crosses the hog-line so how can anyone be cheating if the lights on their stone didn't go off?
I'm more inclined to believe it's an intimidation tactic a couple of teams have used to throw other teams off their game and it did get in the heads of players in each case. There have been a couple of stones removed in other games when the lights on the cruler's stone flashed red but this didn't happen with any of the stones involved in the allegations of cheating.
 
Congratulations to Mikaela Shiffrin that despite a long string of Olympic disappointments, showed the world how true champions with purposely will, patience, and determined intent, can still reach their goals.
 
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