The Monday Myriad is a day late, and not just because we have so much to wrap up from the end of the Paralympics and the Alpine ski season.
Best and worst …
Best U.S. Paralympic day: A sweep in snowboardcross, Heath Calhoun’s first medal, bronze for Dancing with the Stars cast member Amy Purdy and a total of eight medals. (OlympicTalk recap | TeamUSA video)
Best comeback (in one day): Canada’s Brian McKeever was bidding to do an Olympic/Paralympic double on home snow in 2010, but he was omitted from the start lists. He held a gracious interview session with me and a few other journalists. In Sochi, the visually impaired cross-country skier fell early in the 1k sprint final but charged back for the win.
Best comeback (in a few weeks): The USA’s Shani Davis and Heather Richardson had a rough time in Sochi but finished strong World Cup seasons with the overall titles.
Best short-track performance: J.R. Celski won the 3,000 meters and finished second in the overall standings at short-track speedskating’s World Championships, while Jessica Smith took a bronze in the women’s 3,000.
Best first: Lowell Bailey reached a World Cup biathlon podium for the first time, taking third in Finland.
Most consistent athletes:
https://twitter.com/ESPNOlympics/status/445195940035432448
Best finish (past weekend): Ted Ligety needed a win and some luck to take that giant slalom globe.
Best finish (upcoming): Hannah Kearney won a dual moguls event to take a five-point lead in the World Cup standings over Canada’s Justine Dufour-Lapointe heading into the finals this weekend.
Best U.S. summer sport result: Gwen Jorgensen and Katie Hursey finished 1-2 in a World Cup triathlon event.
Best diplomacy:
Most versatile athlete: The USA’s Tatyana McFadden swept all four major marathons last year in her wheelchair. This year, she’s a silver medalist in the cross-country skiing sprint.
Best ski finish: Watch Norway’s Mariann Marthinsen battle McFadden in the sprint final. (Same link)
Worst ski finish: Like Lindsey Vonn last year, Maria Höfl-Riesch had her season-ending injury and loud reaction captured on video.
Worst media slam: Veronica Campbell-Brown is angry that drug-testing cost her a few months of her career. It’s the media’s fault, apparently.
Worst of the worst: The stomach bug that left me unconscious most of Monday. Hence the delay.
Best events this week: The women’s curling World Championships continue (see YouTube for some live broadcasts), as does the chess World Championship Candidates tournament. Anand’s back!
Duresport.com 