The excitement of the Pyeongchang Games heads to the slopes for the men’s downhill skiing, slopestyle snowboarding and to the ice rink for ice skating and U.S. women’s hockey. Here are the day’s 5 to Watch.
Men’s Downhill Canceled Due to High Wind Conditions
The first Alpine skiing event of the 2018 Pyeonchang Olympics, men’s downhill, was canceled Sunday morning due to high winds. Gusts of up to 50 mph were predicted for the event's would-be start at 11 a.m. local time. Wind speeds were strong enough to close the only gondola lift carrying racers and officials up the mountain.
The event has not yet been rescheduled.
Norway’s formidable “Attacking Vikings” were expected to try to wrest the downhill gold from the defending champion, Austria’s Mattias Mayer. Among the Norwegians to watch: Kjetil Jansrud, the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, who had the fastest time at this year’s Olympic test event, and Aksel Lund Svindal, the 2010 Olympic silver medalist and fourth-place finisher in Sochi, who is second in the World Cup standings. Alpine skiing might be an individual sport but the Norwegians take it on as a team.
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Mayer is trying to become the first man to defend his gold downhill medal.
Team USA has only one man in the top 20 of the World Cup standings. Bryce Bennett, who is ranked 18th, had the seventh-fastest time in Wednesday’s Olympic downhill training run.
A Unique Slopestyle Course Spells Unpredictability
Canadians and Norwegians enter the slopestyle competition the strongest in the field but one young American could bring an upset: 17-year-old Red Gerard. Gerard was the only American to make the final in Saturday’s qualifying round. He’s known for being a creative rider.
Gerard is going up against Mark McMorris, the snowboarder who has dominated the event, and other favorites: McMorris’s teammate, Max Parrot, and Marcus Kleveland of Norway. McMorris, the bronze medalist at the 2014 Olympic Games, has won a slopestyle medal at every X Games Aspen since 2011, but he was badly injured last year after crashing into a tree while snowboarding.
When slopestyle made its debut at the last Olympics, riders from Canada, Norway and the United States each won a medal. U.S. medalist Sage Kotsenburg has since retired and the U.S. are considered the underdogs in Pyeongchang.
The course is one of the most unique designs ever seen.
Watch the gold medal event live on NBCSN at 8 p.m. ET or on digital platforms.
US Women’s Hockey Face Finland in First Olympic Match
Much of the attention has been on the unified Korean women’s team, but the U.S. women’s hockey team plays its first game against Finland.
The American team famously include twins Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando. American women have not won Olympic gold since 1998 and have a tough job ahead. Canada has taken home four straight gold medals.
Watch live on NBCSN at 2:40 a.m. ET or on digital platforms here.
Alex and Maia Shibutani Ready for Their Ice Dancing Competition
Brother-sister duo Alex and Maia Shibutani might be living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, these days, but Alex was born in Boston -- and has remained a Boston sports team fan ever since.
They say their love for the ice started when they were children, and that watching Michelle Kwan inspired them to aim for the Olympics, and had their first taste of Olympic competition at Sochi.
The siblings also have a YouTube channel, for which they say they love making videos.
The "Shib Sibs" will start their competition at 8 p.m. EST, on Saturday, Feb. 10. Click here to see a preview of their performance.
NBC10 Boston Reporter Audrey Asistio Tours the Pressroom
Wonder what happens behind the scenes of the Olympics, including where stories are filed for the rest of the world?
NBC10 Boston anchor and reporter Audrey Asistio gives a tour of the media facility at the Olympic's Gangneung Ice Arena.
The arena will be the site of various Olympic events, including ice hockey, speed skating, figure skating and curling.
And the Gold Goes to…
Join in the excitement of the day’s Gold Medal competition. Here’s a quick run-down of the day’s other events.
Men’s Biathlon 10 Kilometer Sprint
Watch NBCSN coverage beginning at 5 a.m. ET or on digital platforms Sunday at 6:15 a.m. ET
Men’s Skiathlon
Watch on digital platforms Sunday at 1:15 a.m. ET
Women’s Freestyle Skiing Moguls
Watch on digital platforms Sunday at 7 a.m. ET
Men’s Singles Luge
Watch on digital platforms Sunday at 6 a.m. ET
Men’s Speed Skating 5,000 Meters
Watch on digital platforms Sunday at 2 a.m. ET
