PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — The Winter Olympics are supposed to be cold, of course. Just maybe not THIS cold.
Low temperatures have hovered in the single digits, dipping below zero with unforgiving gusts whipping at 45 mph making it feel much colder. Organizers have shuffled schedules, and shivering spectators left events early.
The raw air sent hundreds of fans to the exits Sunday when qualifying was called off after women’s slopestyle devolved into a mess of mistakes, and Monday’s final started 75 minutes late. Of the 50 runs, 41 ended with a fall or a rider essentially giving up.
American Jamie Anderson won the gold medal by watching most of her competitors struggle, and then completing a conservative run that paled in comparison to her winning performance at the X Games just two weeks ago.
“It has to be absolutely petrifying, terrifying, being up that high in the air, and having a gust 30 mph coming sideways at you,” said United States Ski and Snowboard Association CEO Tiger Shaw.
Many of the snowboarders didn’t think they should have been out there.
“You’re going up the chairlift and you see these little tornadoes,” said Czech snowboarder Sarka Pancohova, who finished 16th, “and you’re like, ’What is this?’”
At ski jumping, giant netting was set up to reduce the wind that can blow at three times the optimal velocity for the sport. Didn’t help all that much, though: The men’s normal hill final on Saturday was pushed back repeatedly and eventually finished after midnight.
“It was unbelievably cold,” said Japan’s Noriaki Kasai, competing at his record eighth Olympics. “The noise of the wind at the top of the jump was incredible. I’ve never experienced anything like that on the World Cup circuit. I said to myself, ’Surely, they are going to cancel this.”’
Alpine skiing, meanwhile, still hasn’t been able to get started at all. Each of the first two races on the program — the men’s downhill Sunday, and the women’s giant slalom Monday — were called off hours before they were supposed to begin. Both of those have been moved to Thursday, when things are supposed to become slightly more manageable.
The forecast calls for more high winds Tuesday and Wednesday, meaning time is running out on some events.
Men’s race director Markus Waldner pointed out that he needs to figure out a way to get three men’s races — the combined, downhill and super-G — completed by Friday, because there is only one hotel right by the speed course at the Jeongseon Alpine Center. The male skiers need to vacate their rooms to make way for their female counterparts, whose speed events are supposed to begin Saturday.
“Now, it’s getting tight,” he said.
Even those attending indoor events have been tested. Long, cold waits for buses have left workers, media and fans complaining.
In Gangneung, the Canadians kicked off the third day of full competition Monday by winning the team figure skating competition, finishing with the medal they had set their sights on since taking silver in 2014. They never were threatened despite some outstanding individual performances by Mirai Nagasu, who became the first American woman and third overall to land a triple axel at the Olympics, and Russian Alina Zagitova, who soared to a first-place finish in the women’s free skate.
The top spot was clinched for Canada when Gabrielle Daleman finished third, giving her country 63 points to 58 for the Russians with only the ice dance remaining. The United States repeated its showing in the 2014 Sochi Games with a bronze medal.
The Canadians won the men’s moguls title for the third consecutive Olympics, with six-time world champion Mikael Kingsbury filling the only hole in his resume.
In other night finals, Dutch speedskater Ireen Wust won her fifth Olympic title as the Dutch speedskaters picked up gold and bronze in the 1,500 meters, biathlon No. 1 Martin Fourcade won the 12.5-kilometer pursuit, and Maren Lundby of Norway won the women’s ski jumping normal hill.
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