Author: Beau Dure

The guy who wrote a bunch of soccer books and now runs a Gen X-themed podcast while substitute teaching and continuing to write freelance stuff.
mma

UFC needs Georges St. Pierre, not vice versa

Posted on by Beau Dure

The absurd pressure on Georges St. Pierre to come back to the Octagon tout suite and defend his title against Johny Hendricks one more time sounds like the act of a desperate Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The overwhelming consensus is that GSP should have lost Saturday’s fight to Hendricks by every measure except two of the three judges’ scorecards. (I confess I had to skip this one, but every reporter and pundit I trust has agreed with the mob: 48-47 Hendricks.) GSP then babbled his way through postfight interviews, hinting at major trouble outside the cage.

Fight fans had every right to be saddened at the sight. St. Pierre has been one of the fight game’s classiest champions for years, combining rare athleticism with sophistication and charm. I covered a couple of his fights, and the crowd’s “G-S-P!” chants still ring in my ears. Few fighters have had such respect.

After his dubious title defense Saturday, that respect was lost. Dana White ranted that GSP “owes” everyone a rematch.

I’m sorry Luke Thomas’ #GSPOwesMe hashtag didn’t take off.

(Luke also has an eloquent summary of the cruel demands placed on GSP.)

And I’m sorrier to say the situation has deteriorated from there. TMZ quickly got into the fray with some reports on what may be causing GSP’s problems. A few others did as well.

I’m not sorry to see Johny Hendricks isn’t holding the belt. By all accounts, he fought a stupid fifth round. Dana White reminds fighters not to leave it in the hands of the judges. Hendricks did, and he left a bad final impression. A quick check of the numbers shows he should never have been so cocky.

Now his manager, Ted Ehrhardt, is making it worse. “No respectful champion would want to go out on those terms,” he says. Then this:

I would hope GSP would come back and do the right thing. If he’s going through stuff, of course you feel bad for a guy for that. But he’s made a lot of money in this sport. Like Dana said, he owes it to the sport, not just Johny and the UFC.

Remember when the UFC wasn’t riddled with former wrestlers who have no concept of the values of martial arts? I do, but those memories are starting to fade.

And that’s the bigger problem.

The UFC has already had a big changing of the guard. The pioneers — Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, the Shamrocks — are mostly gone. Even Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, who ushered the UFC into its peak years with their frenetic finale of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, have moved on.

Six months ago, the UFC had three champions who were clearly among the all-time greats — St. Pierre, Anderson Silva and Jon Jones. Silva recklessly threw away his belt against Chris Weidman in July. Jones squeaked his way past Alexander Gustafsson in September, though that fight was an instant classic. Now St. Pierre is down, possibly out.

And if not for two judges’ iconoclastic view of the first round Saturday, one of the most popular and likable champions of the sport would have been replaced with someone who sounds like Matt Hughes without the jokes.

Hendricks can evolve, of course. It won’t be the end of the world if he grows up and eventually takes the belt without the attitude. But the issue here for the UFC is the prospect of GSP, one of the last true stars of the sport, to walk away and leave a messy void. Unfortunately for the UFC, GSP has every right to do that. His body has failed him in recent years, and now things look bad in other aspects of his life — Joe Rogan has become the voice of reason in suggesting that he should simply move on. No one has the right to demand that he go into the cage and suffer any more. The fact that people think otherwise is a sad commentary on the state of the sport.

There are no shortcuts in MMA training. And there are no shortcuts in MMA promotion. If the UFC has to go through a rebuilding period without its major stars, so be it. Those stars don’t need to “step up.” It’s time for other people to do it. And those people can start by acting like they’re worthy of the fame, fortune and respect that come along with crowning a champion and being one.

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soccer

Single-Digit Soccer: Parental habits develop early

Posted on by Beau Dure

This weekend, I coached a U8 All-Star team in a tournament here in suburban Northern Virginia. The kids were rambunctious but fun, and I saw a few glimpses of good soccer emerging.

They say this is a vital age for developing good habits rather than poor habits that will be hard to break. I think that’s true. But perhaps moreso for parents (and coaches) than for players.

The parents on my team were terrific. They got their kids everywhere they needed to be, on time. They put together a wonderful photo album and brought plenty of snacks for everyone. No one had any ridiculous demands. I surely didn’t hear everything they yelled in the course of the game, but I didn’t hear anything silly.

So let’s talk about some of the other teams, from what I witnessed and what I heard from other coaches:

– A U10 girl had the ball in her own half under no pressure whatsoever. A parent was maybe 10 feet away, yelling “Kick it hard!” She did, and it went about 15 yards to midfield before rolling out of play. “Good job!” the parent yelled.

– Some parents and coaches ran the length of the sideline during games to offer their high-volume input. One team’s coaches ran directly in front of my clubmates on their half of the sideline and blew vuvuzelas when their team scored. Somehow, this game didn’t end up in a massive viral-video brawl, for which I credit my clubmates. (The same club had another All-Star team with out-of-control parents, but they apparently forgot their horns.)

– U10 boys game: Player was offside by 10 yards, not called. Our club’s keeper tried to make the save and broke his wrist in the ensuing collision. Ref let play continue until the other team scored. Our club’s team also had four guys come off the field with injuries after uncalled fouls. (The opposing club, incidentally, is a D.C. United affiliate. But this is house league, so I don’t think you’ll see these kids injuring opponents in a Developmental Academy game down the road.)

– Similarly, a U8 coach was stunned to learn from the ref, a coach and parents that his players were totally out of control.

– U8 players and their coach practicing headers. (On a really, really good team — they have no house league, so this is basically a “pre-travel” team that does nothing but practice 2-3 times a week and play “pre-travel” events. But they’re nice people, and my goodness, some of their players have fantastic skills. You can tell they play more pickup soccer in a week than most suburbanites play in a year.)

It’s a strange tournament in the sense that I can’t imagine U.S. Soccer being thrilled with the game setup — five-a-side, no goalkeepers and big goals. So one of our club’s parents was lamenting the soccer on display — kids just slamming the ball toward that big goal while a coach yelled to kick it hard.

But it was fun. It’s different from our usual house-league soccer (five-a-side, smaller goals) and the pre-travel/academy/crossover league (six-a-side, goalkeepers). And I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.

A lot of U8 players lean toward magnetball — everyone gathered around the ball. This tournament may have taught them the value of keeping heads up and spreading out. (Those were the only two lessons I tried to get across in two weeks of practice: “Head up” and “Spread out.” I was tempted to add “Can’t lose,” but first of all, I don’t think they’ve seen Friday Night Lights. Second of all, you actually can lose. Third, it’s not that funny.)

From a coaching perspective, I walked into a dilemma with one player. A common complaint in youth-soccer circles is that parents and coaches try to discourage dribbling and make kids pass it. I had someone with the best one-on-one dribbling skills I’ve seen. And sometimes one-on-two. When it got to be one-on-three or one-on-four, it was hard not to notice the teammate standing wide open in front of the goal, and it was hard not to be a little frustrated when he finally lost the ball without attempting that pass.

But I think the kids are learning. We saw some beautiful goals — a couple on clever passes, a couple on terrific individual efforts, a couple on loose balls, and a couple of pure accidents. We didn’t magically turn players into technically and tactically sound soccer players, but they made progress.

So what do we do about the adults?

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medal projections, olympic sports

2014 medal projections: Cross-country skiing

Posted on by Beau Dure

Updated Jan. 14

Welcome to one of two busiest sports in the Winter Olympics. Only speedskating can keep pace with the 12 medal events in cross-country skiing, though they’re trying to bulk up the extreme sports of snowboarding and freestyle skiing.

This is also one of the sports I covered in Whistler at the 2010 Olympics. By the end, I think I could’ve driven from the main village to the Olympic Park with my eyes closed. But it was pretty, so I wouldn’t want to do that.

The USA still has just one medalist in cross-country skiing — Bill Koch, one of the pioneers of the freestyle (skate-style) technique. Today’s cross-country races mandate either freestyle or classical technique, rotating in different with each Olympics. Some skiers are slightly better in one technique or the other, so the medalist comparisons with 2010 will be a little inexact. But the USA has medal chances this time, mostly in the sprint events.

Away we go …

MEN

15k (classical)

Gold: Alexey Poltoranin (Kazakhstan)
Silver: Maxim Vylegzhanin (Russia)
Bronze: Petter Northug (Norway)

Also considered: Sjur Roethe (Norway), Martin Johnsrud Sundby (Norway)

2013 World Championship (freestyle) top 8: Northug, Johan Olsson (Sweden), Tord Asle Gjerdalen (Norway), Ivan Babikov (Canada), Roethe, Calle Halfvarsson (Sweden), Aivar Rehemaa (Estonia), Dario Cologna (Switzerland)

2010 Olympic (freestyle) medalists: Cologna, Pietro Piller Cottrer (Italy), Lukas Bauer (Czech Republic)

Classical results: Matti Heikkinen won the 2011 Worlds and 2009 bronze. Winners in 2013 World Cup: Vylegzhanin, Poltoranin (two), Northug, Eldar Roenning.

50k mass start (freestyle)

Gold: Petter Northug (Norway)
Silver: Maxim Vylegzhanin (Russia)
Bronze: Alexander Legkov (Russia)

Also considered: Dario Cologna (Switzerland), Johan Olsson (Sweden)

2013 World Championship (classical) top 8: Olsson, Cologna, Alexey Poltoranin (Kazakhstan), Legkov, Eldar Roenning (Norway), Tord Asle Gjerdalen (Norway), Hannes Dotzler (Germany), Maxim Vylegzhanin (Russia)

2010 Olympic (classical) medalists: Northug, Axel Teichmann (Germany), Johan Olsson (Sweden)

Freestyle results: Northug won 2009 and 2011 World Championships, with Vylegzhanin second; Legkov won sole 2013 World Cup 50k and was second to Northug in Tour de Ski 35k.

Skiathlon: 15k classic + 15k free

Gold: Dario Cologna (Switzerland)
Silver: Martin Johnsrud Sundby (Norway)
Bronze: Petter Northug (Norway)

Also considered: Ilia Chernousov (Russia), Marcus Hellner (Sweden), Alexander Legkov (Russia), Sjur Roethe (Norway), Maxim Vylegzhanin (Russia)

2013 World Championship top 8: Cologna, Sundby, Roethe, Northug, Vylegzhanin, Legkov, Calle Halfvarsson (Sweden), Hellner

2010 Olympic medalists: Hellner, Tobias Angerer (Germany), Johan Olsson (Sweden)

World Cup results: Cologna and Maurice Manificat (France) won the 2013 races.

Sprint (freestyle)

Gold: Emil Joensson (Sweden)
Silver: Petter Northug (Norway)
Bronze: Nikita Kriukov (Russia)

Also considered: Ola Vigen Hattestad (Norway), Marcus Hellner (Sweden), Josef Wenzl (Germany)

2013 World Championship (classical) top 8: Kriukov, Northug, Alex Harvey (Canada), Joensson, Paal Golberg (Norway), Erik Brandsval (Norway), Calle Halfvarsson (Sweden), Toni Ketelae (Finland)

2010 Olympic (classical) medalists: Kriukov, Alexander Panzhinskiy (Russia), Northug

Freestyle results: Hellner won the 2011 world title, with Northug second and Joensson third. Joensson won three 2013 World Cup events. Northug won another. Hattestad won the 2009 world title.

Team sprint (classical)

Gold: Russia
Silver: Norway
Bronze: Sweden

Also considered: Canada, Finland, Germany

2013 World Championship (freestyle) top 8: Russia (Petukhov-Kriukov), Sweden (Hellner-Joensson), Kazakhstan (Chebotko-Poltoranin), Canada (Kershaw-Harvey), Italy (Hofer-Pellegrino), France (Gaillard-Manificat), Austria (Wurm-Tritscher), Czech Republic (Kozisek-Razym)

2010 Olympic (freestyle) medalists: Norway (Pettersson-Northug), Germany (Tscharnke-Teichmann), Russia (Morilov-Petukhov)

Classical results: Canada won the 2011 world title, with Norway and Russia next. Norway won in 2009, with Germany and Finland on the podium. 2013 World Cup: Russia won three medals in two races with three different pairs. Norway, Sweden and Germany also reached the podium.

4x10k relay (mixed techniques)

Gold: Norway
Silver: Sweden
Bronze: Russia

Also considered: Czech Republic, Italy

2013 World Championship top 8: Norway, Sweden, Russia, Italy, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Japan

2010 Olympic medalists: Sweden, Norway, Czech Republic

World Cup results: Norway and Sweden finished 1-2 in each race.

WOMEN

10k (classical)

Gold: Marit Bjoergen (Norway)
Silver: Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland)
Bronze: Heidi Weng (Norway)

Also considered: Therese Johaug (Norway)

2013 World Championship (freestyle) top 8: Johaug, Bjoergen, Yulia Tchekaleva (Russia), Miriam Goessner (Germany), Liz Stephen (USA), Heidi Weng (Norway), Charlotte Kalla (Sweden), Riitta-Liisa Roponen (Finland)

2010 Olympic medalists: Kalla, Kristina Smigun-Vaehi (Estonia), Bjoergen

Classical results: Bjoergen won the 2011 world title. Kowalczyk was third in 2009, second in 2011. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen won the 2009 world title and was third in 2011. Bjoergen and Kowalczyk traded World Cup wins, with Weng and Johaug in the mix.

30k mass start (freestyle)

Gold: Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland)
Silver: Therese Johaug (Norway)
Bronze: Marit Bjoergen (Norway)

Also considered: Yulia Tchekaleva (Russia)

2013 World Championship (classical) top 8: Bjoergen, Kowalczyk, Johaug, Heidi Weng (Norway), Nicole Fessel (Germany), Anna Haag (Sweden), Kerttu Niskanen (Finland), Anne Kylloenen (Finland)

2010 Olympic (classical) medalists: Kowalczyk, Bjoergen, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (Finland)

Freestyle results: Kowalcyzk won the 2009 world title and was third in 2011 behind Johaug and Bjoergen. The only 30k on the 2013 World Cup calendar went Johaug, Kowalczyk, Tchekaleva.

Skiathlon: 7.5k classic + 7.5k free

Gold: Marit Bjoergen (Norway)
Silver: Therese Johaug (Norway)
Bronze: Kristin Stoermer Steira (Norway)

Also considered: Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland), Heidi Weng (Norway)

2013 World Championship top 8: Bjoergen, Johaug, Weng, Stoermer Steira, Kowalczyk, Charlotte Kalla (Sweden), Yulia Tchekaleva (Russia), Krista Lahteenmaki (Finland)

2010 Olympic medalists: Bjoergen, Anna Haag (Sweden), Kowalczyk

World Cup results: First one was Kowalczyk-Anne Kyllonen, second one was Stoermer Steira-Tchekaleva. Bjoergen has won the last two world titles.

Sprint (freestyle)

Gold: Kikkan Randall (USA)
Silver: Marit Bjoergen (Norway)
Bronze: Maiken Caspersen Falla (Norway)

Also considered: Denise Herrman (Germany) and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (Norway)

2013 World Championship (classical) top 8: Bjoergen, Ida Ingemarsdotter (Sweden), Falla, Katja Visnar (Slovenia), Stina Nilsson (Sweden), Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland), Mona-Lisa Malvalehto (Finland), Alena Prochazkova (Slovakia)

2010 Olympic (classical) medalists: Bjoergen, Kowalczyk, Petra Madjic (Slovenia, retired)

Freestyle results: Randall won four 2013 events and was second to Caspersen Falla in the other. Most other medalists were Norwegian. Arianna Follis won the 2009 world title, with Randall second. Follis was second to Bjoergen in 2011, then retired.

Team sprint (classical)

Gold: Sweden
Silver: Finland
Bronze: Norway

Also considered: Italy, Russia, USA

2013 World Championship (freestyle) top 8: USA (Diggins-Randall), Sweden (Kalla-Ingemarsdotter), Finland (Sarasoja Lilja-Lahteenmaki), Norway (Oestberg-Falla), Italy (Piller-Debertolis), Slovenia (Visnar-Fabjan), Russia (Korosteleva-Matveeva), Germany (Kolb-Herrmann)

2010 Olympic (freestyle) medalists: Germany (Sachenbacher Stehle-Nystad), Sweden (Kalla-Haag), Russia (Artemova-Korosteleva)

Classical results: 2011 World Championship was Sweden-Finland-Norway. 2009 was Finland-Sweden-Italy. 2013 World Cups: Norway-Sweden-Sweden, Finland-Russia-Canada

4x5k relay (mixed techniques)

Gold: Norway
Silver: Sweden
Bronze: Finland

Also considered: Germany, Russia, USA

2013 World Championship top 8: Norway, Sweden, Russia, USA, Finland, France, Germany, Italy

2010 Olympic medalists: Norway, Germany, Finland

World Cup results: Norway-Sweden-USA, Norway-Finland-Norway.

BIOS

Men

Top five, 2012-13 World Cup overall: Petter Northug (Norway), Alexander Legkov (Russia), Dario Cologna (Switzerland), Alexey Poltoranin (Kazakhstan), Maxim Vylegzhanin (Russia)

Top five, 2012-13 World Cup distance races: Legkov, Cologna, Northug, Poltoranin, Ilia Chernousov (Russia)

Top five, 2012-13 World Cup sprint: Emil Joensson (Sweden), Northug, Nikita Kriukov (Russia), Teodor Peterson (Sweden), Andy Newell (USA)

Dual threat

Dario Cologna (Switzerland): Three-time overall World Cup champion (2009, 2011, 2012). Third overall in 2013, second in distances. 2010 Olympic gold medalist, 15k freestyle. Two medals in 2013 World Championships: 30k gold, 50k classical silver. Second in 2013 Tour de Ski, first in 2012. Several podium finishes in sprints as well as all distance races.

Marcus Hellner (Sweden): Third overall in 2010, then seventh, fourth, ninth. 2010 gold medalist in relay and 30k. Better in World Cup distance races but also has 2011 world sprint title and 2013 silver in team sprint, along with some relay medals.

Petter Northug (Norway): Two-time overall World Cup champion (2010, 2013). Also second in sprints in those years. Four medals in 2010 Olympics: 50k classical gold, team sprint gold, relay silver, classical sprint bronze. Nine world championships: four relay, two 50k freestyle, two 30k, one 15k freestyle. Also second in 2011 free sprint and 2013 classical sprint.

Alexey Poltoranin (Kazakhstan): Breakthrough in 2013: fourth overall, fourth in distance, sixth in sprints. 2013 World Championship bronze medals in two vastly different events: 50k classical, freestyle team sprint. 2010 Olympics: fifth in team sprint (freestyle), fifth in sprint (classical). Runs better in classical.

Sprints

Erik Brandsdal (Norway): Third in 2012 sprint standings. Three World Cup wins.

Alex Harvey (Canada): Third in 2013 World Championship sprint classical.

Ola Vigen Hattestad (Norway): 2009 sprint and team sprint world champion.

Emil Joensson (Sweden): World Cup sprint champion three of the last four years. 2011 Worlds: sprint free bronze. 2013 Worlds: team free sprint silver, sprint classical fourth.

Nikita Kriukov (Russia): Third in 2013 World Cup sprint standings, career best. 2010 gold medalist (sprint classical). 2013 world champion in sprint classical and team sprint free. Not as strong in free.

Andy Newell (USA): Fifth in 2013 World Cup sprint; career best is fourth in 2010. Three World Cup podiums.

Teodor Peterson (Sweden): World Cup sprint champion in 2012, interrupting Joensson’s reign. Fourth in 2013.

Len Valjas (Canada): Career-best eighth in 2013 sprint standings, his third year on circuit. Tour de Ski 2013: Third in sprint, second in 15k classical.

Distance races

Tobias Angerer (Germany): World Cup champion in 2006 and 2007. Fell far back in 2011 but rebounded for 11th overall in 2012, 14th in 2013. Four Olympic medals — two relay, 2006 15k classical bronze, 2010 30k silver. Also fourth in 2010 50k classical. Never a world champion but has plenty of medals, including some sprints years ago.

Lukas Bauer (Czech Republic): 2008 World Cup champion; second in 2010. Three Olympic medals: 2006 15k classical silver, 2010 15k free bronze, 2010 relay bronze. This would be his fifth Olympics. No world titles – only medal was 2009 15k classical silver.

Ilia Chernousov (Russia): Career bests in 2013 World Cup: sixth overall, fifth in distance. Third in 2011 World Championship 30k. World Cup podiums mostly in relays, mixed races and freestyles.

Tord Asle Gjerdalen (Norway): Two World Championship bronze medals: 2011 freestyle mass start, 2013 15k free.

Alexander Legkov (Russia): Second overall in 2007, then dropped off in World Cup until placing fifth in 2011 and 2012. Returned to second, first in distance races, in 2013. Two Olympics: fourth in 2010 30k. Also a few near-misses in World Championship 30k races and 2013 50k classical. Won 2013 Tour de Ski and the 50k free in March.

Johan Olsson (Sweden): World champion in 50k classical; silver in 15k freestyle. 2010 Olympics: bronze in 30k and 50k classical. Also 2010 relay gold and 2006 relay bronze. Not great on World Cup circuit.

Sjur Roethe (Norway): Career best in fourth year on World Cup circuit in 2013: 13th overall, eighth in distance. Fourth in 2011 World Championship 50k free. Two medals in 2013 worlds: relay gold, 30k bronze; also 15k free fifth.

Martin Johnsrud Sundby (Norway): Career bests in 2013 World Cup: eighth overall, sixth in distance, silver medal in World Championship 30k. On silver-medal relay team in 2010 Games. Three top-5s in 2011 worlds: relay gold, 15k classical bronze, 30k fifth.

Maxim Vylegzhanin (Russia): A couple of top 10s in the overall World Cup, peaking at fifth overall in 2013. Top 10 in 2010 Olympic 15k free and 50k classical. Medaled in last three World Championships: 2009 50k free silver, 2011 30k silver, 2011 50k free silver, 2013 relay bronze. Third in 2013 Tour de Ski. World Cup wins include one team sprint in Sochi.

Women

Top five, 2012-13 World Cup overall: Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland), Therese Johaug (Norway), Kikkan Randall (USA), Marit Bjoergen (Norway), Heidi Weng (Norway)

Top five, 2012-13 World Cup distance races: Kowalczyk, Johaug, Kristin Stoermer Steira (Norway), Heidi Weng (Norway), Anne Kylloenen (Finland)

Top five, 2012-13 World Cup sprint: Randall, Kowalczyk, Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (Norway), Maiken Caspersen Falla (Norway), Kylloenen

Dual threat

Marit Bjoergen (Norway): Three-time World Cup overall champion (2005, 2006, 2012), four-time runner-up. Fourth in 2013 but missed Tour de Ski. Four-time World Cup sprint champion. Showed that versatility in 2010 Olympics with sprint gold, 15k gold and relay gold, plus 30k classical silver and 10k freestyle bronze. Nineteen World Championship medals and huge 2013: four golds (sprint classical, 15k, relay, 30k classical) and a silver (10k free). Also four golds and a silver in 2011.

Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (Norway): Second overall in 2008. Sprint classical world champion in 2007 and third in team sprints in 2007 and 2011, but getting more points in distance races recently.

Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland): Four-time World Cup overall champion (2009-11, 2013), runner-up in 2012. Swept overall, distance and sprint World Cup titles in 2010. Three medals in 2010 Olympics: 30k classical gold, sprint classical silver, 15k bronze. Also 2006 bronze in 30k free. Hasn’t won a world championship since 2009 (15k and 30k free). Second in 2013 30k classical. Not much recent success in freestyle sprints and actually withdrew from 2013 Tour de Ski to complain that events had been switched from classical to freestyle.

Anne Kylloenen (Finland): First big season in 2013, taking fifth in both distance and sprint standings yet somehow only seventh overall. Has one World Cup podium in each of five different events.

Sprints

Celine Brun-Lie (Norway): Sixth in 2013 sprint standings, with a few podiums.

Maiken Caspersen Falla (Norway): Fourth in 2013 sprint standings, down from second in 2012. World Championships: Bronze in 2011 team sprint classical, bronze in 2013 sprint classical, fourth in 2013 team sprint free.

Ida Ingemarsdotter (Sweden): Decent World Cup results but saved her best for World Championships: 2011 team sprint classical gold, 2013 sprint classical silver and team sprint free silver. Also silver in relay each of the last two championships.

Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (Norway): Just turned 23. Third in 2013 sprint standings.

Kikkan Randall (USA): Back-to-back World Cup sprint champion. Also 10th in 2013 World Cup distance, moving her to third overall. Second in 2009 World Championship sprint free. World champion 2013 team sprint free (with Jessie Diggins). Definitely stronger in freestyle.

Distance races

Therese Johaug (Norway): Steady climb in World Cup overall: fourth in 2011, then third, then second. Two individual world championships — 2011 30k free, 2013 10k free. Four medals in 2013: the 10k free gold, relay gold, 15k silver, 30k classical bronze.

Charlotte Kalla (Sweden): Fourth overall in World Cup in 2008 and 2012. Olympic champion in 10k free; top 10 in two other 2010 races. Two team sprint World Championship medals and three relay medals.

Kristin Stoermer Steira (Norway): Tied career high with sixth place overall in 2013. Olympics: Relay gold and then FOUR fourth-place finishes between 2006 and 2010. Several World Championship medals, including world titles in relays.

Yulia Tchekaleva (Russia): Surprising third in 10k free in 2013 World Championships.

Heidi Weng (Norway): 22-year-old phenom was fifth in 2013 World Cup overall, fourth in distance. Bronze in 2013 World Championship 15k, fourth in 30k classical.

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soccer

DNQ: U.S. youth soccer teams hitting a wall

Posted on by Beau Dure

Can we draw any conclusions from the USA’s failure to qualify for the U-17 Women’s World Cup? Or is the USA simply a victim of soccer’s cruelty? (We did say soccer karma doesn’t exist, except perhaps to see Real Salt Lake past Los Angeles last night.)

The statistics rounded up at Soccer America defy reason. In four qualification tournaments, the USA has outscored its opponents 103-3 and never lost a game. But the team has twice tied in knockout games, and each time, they’ve been eliminated on penalty kicks, yesterday by Mexico. So that’s two out of four U-17 Women’s World Cups that have taken place without the most accomplished country in women’s soccer.

“Maybe the U.S. women need a Developmental Academy like the men,” came one of the responses on Twitter last night. Perhaps. But things aren’t so good on the men’s side, either. The U.S. men’s U-17s lost in the CONCACAF quarterfinals to miss out on all four qualification spots. That’s the first time the U-17 men have missed out. The U-20s made it this year after missing out in 2011, which was the first time that had happened since 1995. The U-23s have failed to qualify for two of the last three Olympics, not even getting out of the group stage on home soil last time.

By comparison, the women have done well. The U-20s have won two of the last three World Cups.

On the whole, we have this strange paradox: As the country has grown more serious about herding its best youth players into elite national environments — the U-17 men’s Bradenton residency, the men’s Developmental Academy, the women’s Elite Clubs National League — the USA has fared worse in international youth tournaments.

Coincidence?

Partially, sure. Other factors include the growth of soccer elsewhere. On the women’s side, the USA’s growth is helping other countries — as Soccer America pointed out, the Mexican goal scorer and goalkeeper who eliminated the USA yesterday both play for the ECNL’s Texas Rush.

We can’t draw too many conclusions on the women’s side. The U-20s are fine. The U-17s have just had curious failures in penalty kicks, which old-school coaches often call a “lottery.” Sure, perhaps the U-17s should never let a game with Mexico get to that stage, but it’ll happen sometimes. Ask the senior women about their last World Cup qualification.

The men’s side is more puzzling. The USA used to round up a bunch of high school and college kids for these tournaments. They got a couple of semifinal and quarterfinal appearances in World Cups and the Olympics. Then nothing beyond the round of 16 since 2007.

It’s still not enough evidence to suggest something is systematically wrong. A bounce of the ball here or there can be the difference between a semifinal World Cup run or failure to qualify at all.

But it’s enough to suggest there’s no easy answer. Bradenton, the Academy and the ECNL aren’t going to produce champions through the sheer fact of their existence. It’s going to take rare talents, coached with care.

Systems don’t win championships. Players do. Or they lose and get an experience that will hopefully prepare them for better futures.

1
medal projections, olympic sports, winter sports

2014 medal projections: Bobsled

Posted on by Beau Dure

Updated Jan. 14 and Feb. 4

No offense to those who give a big push at the start and go through the impeccably choreographed procedure of getting in the sled, but we’ll have to focus on drivers for these rankings. They’re the ones who get ranked, and the brakemen / brakewomen / push athletes will undoubtedly get shuffled before the Games.

Sweeps are theoretically possible. In each event, a couple of countries can bring three sleds. Some countries can even bring four drivers for the two men’s events.

But you can’t take a bunch of backup push athletes, which is why Lolo Jones and Lauryn Williams were somewhat controversial inclusions.

Here we go …

TWO-MAN

Gold: Beat Hefti (Switzerland)
Silver: Francesco Friedrich (Germany)
Bronze: Alexander Zubkov (Russia)

Also: Thomas Florschütz (Germany), Steven Holcomb (USA), Oskars Melbardis (Latvia), Lyndon Rush (Canada)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: Holcomb, Hefti, Zubkov, Friedrich, Cory Butner (USA), Nick Cunningham (USA), Rush, Florschütz

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Rush, Melbardis, Manuel Machata (Germany), Holcomb, Zubkov, Friedrich, Simone Bertazzo (Italy), Butner … (Hefti and Florschütz missed part of the season.)

2013 World Championship top 8: Friedrich, Hefti, Florschütz, Holcomb, Melbardis, Chris Spring (Canada), Zubkov, Rush

2010 Olympic medalists: Andre Lange (Germany, retired), Florschütz, Zubkov

FOUR-MAN

Gold: Alexander Zubkov (Russia)
Silver: Maximilian Arndt (Germany)
Bronze: Steven Holcomb (USA)

Also: Oskars Melbardis (Latvia)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: Arndt, Holcomb, Zubkov, Thomas Florschütz (Germany), Chris Spring (Canada), Alexander Kasjanov (Russia), Melbardis, Francesco Friedrich (Germany)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Zubkov, Melbardis, Manuel Machata (Germany), Arndt, John James Jackson (Britain), Holcomb, Lyndon Rush (Canada), Kasnajov

2013 World Championship top 8: Arndt, Zubkov, Holcomb, Hefti, Jackson, Rico Peter (Switzerland), Florschütz, Machata

2010 Olympic medalists: Holcomb, Andre Lange (Germany, retired), Rush

WOMEN

Gold: Kaillie Humphries (Canada)
Silver: Elana Meyers (USA)
Bronze: Sandra Kiriasis (Germany)

Also: Jamie Greubel (USA), Cathleen Martini (Germany), Anja Schneiderheinze (Germany)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: Humphries, Meyers, Greubel, Kiriasis, Martini, Schneiderheinze, Jazmine Fenlator (USA), Fabienne Meyer (Switzerland)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Humphries, Kiriasis, Martini, Schneiderheinze, Esme Kamphuis (Netherlands), Meyers, Meyer, Christina Hengster (Austria)

2013 World Championship top 8: Humphries, Meyers, Kiriasis, Martini, Schneiderheinze, Kamphuis, Miriam Wagner (Germany), Fenlator

2010 Olympic medalists: Humphries, Helen Upperton (Canada), Erin Pac (USA; retired)

BIOS

Men

Maximilian Arndt (Germany): 2013 four-man world champion (w/Marko Huebenbecker, Alexander Roediger, Martin Putze). Also had two first and two seconds in the last five World Cup four-man races. Silver (four-man) and bronze (two-man) in 2012 worlds.

Cory Butner (USA): Two runner-up finishes on home ice in World Cup two-man races in 2012-13.

Nick Cunningham (USA): Third place on home ice in World Cup four-man race at Lake Placid 2012.

Thomas Florschütz (Germany): 2010 two-man bronze medalist and three-time World Championship two-man runner-up came on strong at the end of 2012-13, with one win and two runner-up finishes in last four two-man races. Also third in World Championship two-man (w/Andreas Bredau).

Francesco Friedrich (Germany): 2013 two-man world champion (w/Jannis Baecker). Reached podium in six of seven two-man World Cup races in 2012-13.

Steven Holcomb (USA): Great story, told in his book But Now I See: My Journey from Blindness to Olympic Gold. Won four-man world title in 2009, four-man Olympic gold in 2010 and BOTH world titles in 2012. In 2012-13: Ran well in the USA and not as well in Europe. Won first three two-man races and finished fourth on the season; finished sixth overall in four-man. The “Night Train” four-man sled (Steve Langton, Justin Olsen, Curt Tomasevicz) gets the publicity, but he’s formidable in two-man as well.

Beat Hefti (Switzerland): Not a big-band leader of the 1940s but a veteran with three Olympic bronze medals (2002 two-man, 2006 both races) and one world title (2007 four-man). Missed part of the 2012-13 World Cup season, then won three two-man and one four-man race. Also second in World Championship two-man (w/Thomas Lamparter).

John James Jackson (Britain): No finish higher than fifth in World Cup 2012-13, but he finished fifth overall in four-man. World Championship four-man? Also fifth. Also a longtime Royal Marine commando. Ruptured Achilles this summer but is already training again.

Alexander Kasjanov (Russia): Had a couple of World Cup four-man podium finishes in 2012-13. Fourth in 2011-12 World Cup four-man.

Manuel Machata (Germany): Huge year in 2010-11: Four-man World Cup champion, two-man World Cup runner-up, two-man and four-man world champion. 2011-12: Third in World Championship four-man. 2012-13: Third in each World Cup discipline. Missed out on Olympics. That’s how tough the German team is.

Oskars Melbardis (Latvia): Good career as push athlete; switched to driver for 2010-11 season and has a few World Cup podium finishes. Second in each discipline in 2012-13 World Cup.

Lyndon Rush (Canada): Two-man World Cup champion 2012-13, with two wins. 2010 bronze medalist in four-man. Second in two-man in 2012 worlds. Longtime two-man partner is former CFL football player Jesse Lumsden.

Alexander Zubkov (Russia): Dominant in four-man 2012-13, winning five of his eight World Cup races and missing the podium only once. World Championship four-man runner-up (with Alexey Negodaylo, Dmitry Trunenkov, Maxim Mokrousov). Not as strong in two-man, but he does have 2010 bronze and 2011 world title.

Women

Jazmine Fenlator (USA): Former brakewoman had two podiums in 2012-13.

Kaillie Humphries (Canada): 2010 gold medalist was overwhelming in 2012-13: Six wins, one second-place finish and two third-place finishes. Plus the World Championship, her second straight. Husband Dan is a push athlete (not on her sled, obviously).

Esme Kamphuis (Netherlands): Fifth in World Cup 2012-13. Sixth in 2010-11 (one podium).

Sandra Kiriasis (Germany): Olympic finishes: 2002 silver, 2006 gold, 2010 fourth. World champion in 2005, 2007 and 2008. In 2012-13: Two wins out of six podiums in nine World Cup races (second overall), third in World Championships.

Cathleen Martini (Germany): One win, three podiums (third overall) in World Cup 2012-13. World champion in 2011; World Cup champion in 2011-12. Fourth in last two World Championships. Crashed in 2010 Olympics.

Fabienne Meyer (Switzerland): Fourth (top non-German) in 2011-12 World Cup, with four podiums. In 2012-13: Seventh with one podium.

Elana Meyers (USA): 2012-13: Not consistent but had four World Cup podiums and runner-up finish in World Championships.

Anja Schneiderheinze (Germany): Sandra Kiriasis’ former brakewoman started World Cup driving career midway through 2010-11 World Cup with three straight runner-up finishes. Second in 2011-12 World Cup (two wins); fourth in 2012-13 World Cup. Fifth in 2013 World Championships.

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soccer

D.C. United has lost the plot

Posted on by Beau Dure

This is the first year I’ve been a Northern Virginia resident and attended no D.C. United games. It wasn’t anything personal — there’s no reason for me to be in the pressbox any more, and the Spirit and youth soccer took up so much of my time that I had little left over. But I would’ve gone to the season finale if not for a conflict.

I did attend an open practice for area youth coaches, and I was impressed with Ben Olsen. He had a good sense of humor about his situation, and he gave engaging explanations of what they were trying to do in practice. (I don’t think he recognized the guy who wrote a USA TODAY feature about him and interviewed him for an MLS book, but that’s OK. I’ve been keeping a low profile.)

The interesting part about seguing from “sportswriter in the pressbox each week” to “local youth soccer dad and prospective ticket-buyer” is that I see the sales operations. A lot. They come out to our coaches’ meetings with special offers. They call me and ask how I’m doing and if I want to come back out to a game sometime. (I turn around and ask if they’ve read my book, but I always have good conversations with them.)

D.C. United has a lot going for it. The youth programs are on solid ground, and they’re actually producing pro players. They’re well-established in the community, so much so that they may actually be able to pull off this massive land-swap thing to get a real stadium built in Washington, where the regional politics are about as easy to navigate as the asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back. They have a terrific sponsor in Volkswagen.

The only problem is the team. It’s not very good.

And though it’d be nice to get Chris Pontius to stay healthy for a while, this isn’t a mere stretch of bad luck. It’s a solid decade of really bad personnel moves.

The team has responded with a lot of front office changes. Today, they made more.

So they finally got rid of the people in charge of the roster? Nope. Doug Hicks, one of the most respected communications and marketing people in the business. Aprile Pritchet, a D.C. United office mainstay who worked on community relations. And Sarah Lerner in communications.

Let’s make one thing clear. The fan base does seem alienated. But they weren’t alienated by Hicks, Pritchet and Lerner. They were alienated by Franco Niell, Gonzalo Martinez, Gonzalo Peralta, Jose Carvallo, Ange N’Silu, Danny Allsopp, Cristian Castillo and scores of others players who have floated through RFK Stadium in the past six years. (In some cases, the players were OK but were misfits — Hamdi Salihi isn’t bad at all, and Steve Guppy was perversely wasted on the wing banging crosses into tiny “target” forwards.)

D.C. United’s leading scorer this season? Three players tied with three goals each. Little wonder the club finished at 3-24-7.

Ben Olsen has a legitimate case to stay on as coach. He somehow got this gaggle of secondhand parts to win the U.S. Open Cup.

But the club is firing people who built the D.C. United brand while keeping those who have failed to build a competent team? That’s supposed to bring back fans to make the stands bounce for the remaining years at RFK?

How?

1
medal projections, olympic sports, winter sports

2014 medal projections: Biathlon

Posted on by Beau Dure

Updated Jan. 14; minor updates Jan. 21 and Feb. 5

Will the USA finally break through? How many more targets will Ole Einar Bjoerndalen hit? Will Americans finally watch one of the most dramatic sports in the Games?

Here we go …

INDIVIDUAL (the least telegenic one, in which they race the clock and add 1 minutes for every missed shot)

Men (20k)

Gold: Martin Fourcade (France)
Silver: Dominik Landertinger (Austria)
Bronze: Emil Hegle Svendsen (Norway)

Also considered: Andreas Birnbacher (Germany), Tim Burke (USA), Bjorn Ferry (Sweden), Jakob Fak (Slovenia), Simon Fourcade (France), Fredrik Lindstrom (Sweden), Ondrej Moravec (Czech Republic),

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far, only two events): Svendsen, Simon Eder (Austria), Evgeny Ustyugov (Russia), Alexey Volkov (Russia), Christian de Lorenzi (Italy), S. Fourcade, M. Fourcade, Daniel Boehm (Germany)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: M. Fourcade, Birnbacher, Burke, Landertinger, Moravec, Ferry, Lindstrom, Lukas Hofer (Italy)

2013 World Championship top 8: M. Fourcade, Burke, Lindstrom, Moravec, Ferry, S. Fourcade, Hofer, Birnbacher

2010 Olympic medalists: Svendsen, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (Norway), Sergey Novikov (Belarus) — the latter two tied for silver at 48 minutes, 32.0 seconds.

Women (15k)

Gold: Tora Berger (Norway)
Silver: Darya Domracheva (Belarus) 
Bronze: Andrea Henkel (Germany)

Also considered: Anastasiya Kuzmina (Slovakia), Kaisa Makarainen (Finland), Gabriela Soukalova (Czech Republic), Olga Zaitseva (Russia)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Soukalova, Domracheva, Kuzmina, Nadezhka Skardino (Belarus), Franziska Hildebrand (Germany), Marie Laure Brunet (France), Dorothea Wierer (Italy), Valj Semerenko (Ukraine)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Berger, Henkel, Domracheva, Zaitseva, Kuzmina, Makarainen, Gabriela Soukalova (Czech Republic), Selina Gasparin (Switzerland)

2013 World Championship top 8: Berger, Henkel, Valj Semerenko, Kuzmina, Vita Semerenko (Ukraine), Zaitseva, Ekaterina Glazyrina (Russia), Makarainen

2010 Olympic medalists: Berger, Elena Khrustaleva (Kazakhstan), Domracheva

SPRINT (the quick one that also sets up the pursuit)

Men (10k)

Gold: Emil Hegle Svendsen (Norway)
Silver: Martin Fourcade (France)
Bronze: Jakov Fak (Slovenia)

Also considered: Andreas Birnbacher (Germany), Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (Norway), Dominik Landertinger (Austria), Dmitry Malyshko (Russia), Evgeny Ustyugov (Russia)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): M. Fourcade, Arnd Peiffer (Germany), Bjoerndalen, Simon Schempp (Germany), Landertinger, Anton Shipulin (Russia), Lukas Hofer (Italy), Svendsen (Fak missed the first two-thirds of the season so far)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: M. Fourcade, Svendsen, Ustyugov, Fak, Simon Eder (Austria), Birnbacher, Landertinger, Malyshko

2013 World Championship top 8: Svendsen, M. Fourcade, Fak, Bjoerndalen, Malyshko, Alexis Boeuf (France), Shipulin, Fredrik Lindstrom (Sweden)

2010 Olympic medalists: Vincent Jay (France; retired), Svendsen, Fak

Women (7.5k)

Gold: Tora Berger (Norway)
Silver: Darya Domracheva (Belarus)
Bronze: Gabriela Soukalova (Czech Republic)

Also considered: Miriam Goessner (Germany), Andrea Henkel (Germany), Kaisa Makarainen (Finland), Olena Pidhrushna (Ukraine)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Makarainen, Berger, Selina Gasparin (Switzerland), Irina Starykh (Russia, suspended), Domracheva, Veronika Vitkova (Czech Republic), Pidrushna, Anais Bescond (France)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Berger, Domracheva, Goessner, Marie Dorin Habert (France), Makarainen, Soukalova, Henkel, Pidhrushna

2013 World Championship top 8: Pidhrushna, Berger, Vita Semerenko (Ukraine), Olga Zaitseva (Russia), Olga Vilukhina (Russia), Goessner, Krystyna Palka (Poland), Ann Kristin Aafedt Flatland (Norway)

2010 Olympic medalists: Anastasiya Kuzmina (Slovakia), Magdalena Neuner (Germany; retired), Marie Dorin (France; not yet Habert)

PURSUIT (the fun one in which they start in order of sprint times; first across the line wins)

Men (12.5k)

Gold: Martin Fourcade (France)
Silver: Emil Hegle Svendsen (Norway)
Bronze: Anton Shipulin (Russia)

Also considered: Dominik Landertinger (Austria), Fredrik Lindstrom (Sweden), Dmitry Malyshko (Russia), Evgeny Ustyugov (Russia), sprint contenders

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Svendsen, Simon Schempp (Germany), M. Fourcade, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (Norway), Simon Eder (Austria), Shipulin, Landertinger, Johannes Boe (Norway)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: M. Fourcade, Svendsen, Shipulin, Lindstrom, Malyshko, Landertinger, Evgeniy Garanichev (Russia), Ustyugov

2013 World Championship top 8: Svendsen, M. Fourcade, Shipulin, Malyshko, Landertinger, Jakov Fak (Slovenia), Lindstrom, Alexis Boeuf (France)

2010 Olympic medalists: Bjorn Ferry (Sweden), Christoph Sumann (Austria), Vincent Jay (France; retired)

Women (10k)

Gold: Tora Berger (Norway)
Silver: Gabriela Soukalova (Czech Republic)
Bronze: Valj Semerenko (Ukraine)

Also considered: Darya Domracheva (Belarus), Andrea Henkel (Germany), Kaisa Makarainen (Finland), Olena Pidhrushna (Ukraine)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Makarainen, Berger, Tiril Eckhoff (Norway), Soukalova, Valj Semerenko, Irina Starykh (Russia, suspended), Domracheva, Olga Vilukhina (Russia)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Berger, Henkel, Marie Dorin Habert (France), Pidhrushna, Makarainen, Domracheva, Olga Vilukhina (Russia), Gabriela Soukalova (Czech Republic)

2013 World Championship top 8: Berger, Krystyna Palka (Poland), Pidhrushna, Olga Zaitseva (Russia), Ekaterina Glazyrina (Russia), Henkel, Ann Kristin Aafedt Flatland (Norway), Veronika Vitkova (Czech Republic)

2010 Olympic medalists: Magdalena Neuner (Germany; retired), Anastasiya Kuzmina (Slovakia), Marie-Laure Brunet (France)

MASS START (the crazy one in which all 30 skiers start at once)

Men (15k)

Gold: Martin Fourcade (France)
Silver: Tarjei Boe (Norway)
Bronze: Emil Hegle Svendsen (Norway)

Also considered: Andreas Birnbacher (Germany), Tim Burke (USA), Jakov Fak (Slovenia), Dominik Landertinger (Austria), Ondrej Moravec (Czech Republic), Evgeny Ustyugov (Russia),

Only one event in World Cup so far

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: M. Fourcade, Svendsen, Burke, Birnbacher, Moravec, Boe, Landertinger, Fak

2013 World Championship top 8: Boe, Shipulin, Svendsen, Moravec, Erik Lesser (Germany), Landertinger, Jean Guillaume Beatrix (France), Bjorn Ferry (Sweden)

2010 Olympic medalists: Ustyugov, M. Fourcade, Pavol Hurajt (Slovakia)

Women (12.5k)

Gold: Darya Domracheva (Belarus)
Silver: Tora Berger (Norway)
Bronze: Vita Semerenko (Ukraine)

Also considered: Kaisa Makarainen (Finland)

Only one event in World Cup so far

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Berger, Domracheva, Vita Semerenko, Dorin Habert, Makarainen, Teja Gregorin (Slovenia), Gabriela Soukalova (Czech Republic), Miriam Goessner (Germany)

2013 World Championship top 8: Domracheva, Berger, Monika Hojnisz (Poland), Vita Semerenko, Olga Zaitseva (Russia), Goessner, Krystyna Palka (Poland), Teja Gregorin (Slovenia)

2010 Olympic medalists: Magdalena Neuner (Germany; retired), Olga Zaitseva (Russia), Simone Hauswald (Germany; retired)

RELAY (the team one)

Men

Gold: Russia
Silver: Norway
Bronze: France

Also considered: Austria, Germany, Sweden

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Germany, Sweden, Austria, Russia, Norway, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Russia (barely ahead of …), Norway, France, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Sweden, Ukraine

2013 World Championship top 8: Norway, France, Germany, Russia, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Canada

2010 Olympic medalists: Norway, Austria, Russia

Women

Gold: Norway
Silver: Germany
Bronze: Russia

Also considered: France, Italy, Ukraine

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Norway, France, Belarus, Canada, Italy

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Norway, Ukraine, Germany, Russia, France, Italy, Poland, Belarus

2013 World Championship top 8: Norway, Ukraine, Italy, Russia, Germany, France, Belarus, Slovakia

2010 Olympic medalists: Russia, France, Germany

Mixed (NEW!)

Gold: Norway
Silver: Russia
Bronze: Czech Republic

Also considered: France, Italy

Only one World Cup race so far

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Norway, Russia, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Slovenia, Germany, Slovakia

2013 World Championship top 8: Norway, France, Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, Russia, Slovakia, USA

2010 Olympic medalists: None

BIOS

Men

Top five, 2012-13 World Cup overall: Martin Fourcade (France, by more than 400 points), Emil Hegle Svendsen (Norway), Dominik Landertinger (Austria), Jakov Fak (Slovenia), Andreas Birnbacher (Germany)

Lowell Bailey (USA): Best season was 2011-12 — 14th overall, two fifth-place finishes for total of four top 10s.

Carl Johan Bergman (Sweden): Great year in 2011-12 — second (pursuit), third (sprint) and sixth (mass start) at World Championships, two of his three career wins (all in sprints), sixth in overall World Cup. Three-time Olympian. Mysterious dropoff last year.

Tarjei Boe (Norway): Massive breakthrough in 2010-11 — World CUp overall champion, world individual champion, one place away (fourth in mass start) from medaling in all four World Championship events. Eight World Cup/World Championship wins, plus a ton of relay medals including Olympic gold in 2010. Slipped a bit in next two years and only raced half of last season but won mass start world title in 2013.

Andreas Birnbacher (Germany): Found form in 11th and 12th World Cup years — third overall in 2011-12, fifth in 2012-13. Six World Cup wins, World Championship silver (mass start) in 2007, two fourth-place finishes in 2012 worlds.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (Norway): Five Olympics — six gold medals (including two relay), four silver medals (one relay), one bronze. Won all four golds in 2002. Eighteen World Championships (seven relays). Six World Cup overall titles, finished in the top three 12 straight years. All told, 93 World Cup/World Championships wins. So what if he’ll be 40 in Sochi and hasn’t won a non-relay World Championship medal since 2009?

Tim Burke (USA): Led the World Cup during the 2009-10 season, the first American to do so. Slid to 14th place finish and had a disappointing time in the Olympics. Not as strong the next two years but rebounded in 2012-13 to 10th place overall and a silver medal in the World Championship individual. Five World Cup/World Championship podiums, no wins yet.

Jakov Fak (Slovenia): Fourth in 2012-13 World Cup. Only three wins, but one was the World Championship individual in 2012. Also has Olympic bronze (2010 sprint) and 2013 World Championship bronze (also sprint).

Bjorn Ferry (Sweden): 2010 Olympic pursuit champion and five-time winner didn’t have great results the last two seasons but is always hanging around.

Martin Fourcade (France): Two-time defending World Cup overall champion. Also five World Championships — one in each discipline with two in pursuit — all since last Olympics. Silver in 2010 Olympic mass start. Only five years on World Cup — already has 24 wins.

Simon Fourcade (France): Martin’s older brother. Fifth overall in 2011-12. Silver in 2012 World Champion individual. Also has some relay medals with his brother and several top 10s in World Championships. Seven second-place finishes; no wins yet.

Dominik Landertinger (Austria): Third overall in 2012-13. Only two wins, but one was 2009 World Championship mass start.

Fredrik Lindstrom (Sweden): Career-best seventh overall in 2012-13. One World Cup win. Two World Championship bronze medals — 2012 mass start, 2013 individual.

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec (Canada): He won one! His World Cup sprint win in December 2012 made him the first Canadian man to reach the top five in a World Cup biathlon, let alone the top spot. Two more top 10s through the season en route to 35th overall.

Arnd Peiffer (Germany): Two very good years in 2010-11 and 2011-12, finishing fourth overall each year and winning World Championship sprint in 2011. Six career wins.

Ondrej Moravec (Czech Republic): Little to show for first seven years of World Cup competition, then moved up to 28th overall in 2011-12 and a stunning 12th in 2012-13, where he posted seven of his eight career top 10s, his first three podium finishes, his first win, and fourth-place runs in the World Championship individual and mass start.

Dmitry Malyshko (Russia): Breakout year in 2012-13, his second year on the World Cup circuit, with two wins and two second-place finishes. Eighth overall.

Anton Shipulin (Russia): Ninth in 2012-13 World Cup, down from eighth the year before. Four career wins, all in sprint and pursuit. Two medals in 2013 World Championships: Second in mass start, third in pursuit.

Emil Hegle Svendsen (Norway): Top three in World Cup six years running — first in 2009-10, second the next three years. Thirty-one wins, including five World Championships (all four disciplines, two mass starts, sprint and pursuit double in 2013) and 2010 individual gold. Also took sprint silver and relay gold in 2010 Games.

Evgeny Ustyugov (Russia): Career year in 2009-10 — fourth overall, and he got his only three career wins, including Olympic mass start gold. Also fourth in 2010 individual and second in 2011 World Championship mass start.

Women

Top five, 2012-13 World Cup overall: Tora Berger (Norway), Darya Domracheva (Belarus), Andrea Henkel (Germany), Marie Dorin Habert (France), Kaisa Makarainen (Finland)

Tora Berger (Norway): Turned the corner from good to great in the past Olympic cycle. Perhaps a surprise winner of the 2010 Olympic individual, but now dominant — runaway 2012-13 World Cup champion, four-time world champion (back-to-back individual, 2013 pursuit, 2012 mass start), no finish lower than second at the 2013 World Championships.

Darya Domracheva (Belarus): 2010 bronze individual medal, followed by two world titles (2012 pursuit, 2013 mass start) and two overall World Cup runner-up finishes.

Marie Dorin Habert (France): Had only one World Cup podium before taking bronze in the 2010 Olympic pursuit. Remained more of a top-10 finisher for a couple of years but finished fourth in overall 2012-13 World Cup with a few podium finishes. Still seeking first win. Injured and will miss the Games.

Miriam Goessner (Germany): The next wave of German biathletes, winning three times and finishing ninth overall in 2012-13, her third World Cup season.

Andrea Henkel (Germany): Won 2002 individual gold and spent the next 12 years picking up more hardware: 2005 individual world championship, 2006-07 World Cup championship and mass start world title, 2008 sprint and pursuit world title. Top eight in the overall World Cup for eight straight years, third in 2012-13. World Championship individual runner-up 2013.

Anastasiya Kuzmina (Slovakia): Broke out in 2010 Olympics: sprint gold, pursuit silver. Also reached World Championship podium in 2009 (mass start silver) and 2011 (sprint bronze). Not a consistent World Cup performer — seventh overall (five podiums) in 2012-13 is career best.

Kaisa Makarainen (Finland): Big year in 2010-11: World Cup champion, pursuit world champion, runner-up in World Championship sprint. Fourth and fifth overall in last two World Cups.

Olena Pidhrushna (Ukraine): Sole win is 2013 World Championship sprint. Held on for third in World Championship pursuit and had two other podium finishes through the season, taking eighth overall. Only one top-5 finish through 2011-12, then nine through the 2012-13 season.

Valj Semerenko (Ukraine): Three podiums, one of the 2013 World Championship individual. Career-best World Cup year was 2010-11, placing 11th overall. Vita’s twin.

Vita Semerenko (Ukraine): Oddly, no World Cup wins yet. Three World Championship bronze medals — 2011 individual, 2012 sprint, 2013 sprint. Up to 10th overall in 2012-13 season. Valj’s twin.

Gabriela Soukalova (Czech Republic): First big year in 2012-13 — four wins among six podiums.

Olga Zaitseva (Russia): Best overall World Cup finish is fourth in 2004-05, but she has more than 45 World Cup/World Championship podiums and some big accomplishments. 2005 World Championships: sprint silver, pursuit bronze. 2009 World Championships: mass start gold, sprint and pursuit bronze. 2010 Olympics: mass start silver.

0
medal projections, olympic sports, winter sports

2014 medal projections: Alpine skiing

Posted on by Beau Dure

Updated Jan. 14 and Feb. 4

Lindsey Vonn is hurt. Tina Maze (Slovenia) dominated last year but hasn’t been as strong this year.

Here we go …

DOWNHILL

Men

Gold: Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway)
Silver: Erik Guay (Canada)
Bronze: Dominik Paris (Italy)

Also considered: Patrick Küng (Switzerland), Klaus Kröll (Austria), Bode Miller (USA), Christof Innerhofer (Italy), Adrien Theaux (France). Removed Hannes Reichelt (Austria), diagnosed with back injury just after a big win.

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Svindal, Reichelt, Küng, Guay, Theaux, Miller, Johan Clarey (France), Max Franz (Austria)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Svindal, Kroell, Paris, Innerhofer, Reichelt, Guay, Theaux, Georg Streitberger (Austria)

2013 World Championship top 8: Svindal, Paris, David Poisson (France), Kroell, Andreas Romar (Finland), Silvan Zurbriggen (Switzerland), Küng, Didier Defago (Switzerland)

2010 Olympic medalists: Defago, Svindal, Miller

Women

Gold: Maria Hoefl-Riesch (Germany)
Silver: Tina Maze (Slovenia)
Bronze: Tina Weirather (Liechtenstein)

Also considered: Lara Gut (Switzerland), Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden (Switzerland), Julia Mancuso (USA)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Hoefl-Riesch, Weirather, Kaufmann-Abderhalden, Anna Fenninger (Austria), Maze, Gut, Elisabeth Goergl (Austria), Elena Fanchini (Italy)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Lindsey Vonn (USA), Maze, Hoefl-Riesch, Stacey Cook (USA), Gut, Weirather, Daniela Merighetti (Italy), Fenninger

2013 World Championship top 8: Marion Rolland (France), Nadia Fanchini (Italy), Hoefl-Riesch, Nadja Kamer (Switzerland), Mancuso, Cook, Maze, Andrea Fischbacher (Austria)

2010 Olympic medalists: Vonn, Mancuso, Goergl

SUPER-G

Men

Gold: Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway)
Silver: Matthias Mayer (Austria)
Bronze: Patrick Küng (Switzerland)

Also considered: Christof Innerhofer (Italy), Ted Ligety (USA), Matteo Marsaglia (Italy), Bode Miller (USA). Removed Hannes Reichelt (Austria), see above.

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Svindal, Didier Defago (Switzerland), Küng, Miller, Georg Streitberger (Austria), Otmar Striedinger (Austria), Jan Hudec (Canada), Kjetil Jansrud (Norway)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8 plus tie: Svindal, Marsaglia, Mayer, Werner Heel (Italy), Adrien Theaux (France), Reichelt, Ligety, Kjetil Jansrud (Norway), Joachim Puchner (Austria)

2013 World Championship top 8: Ligety, Gauthier de Tessieres (France), Svindal, Reichelt, Mayer, Alexis Pinturault (France), Innerhofer, Romed Baumann (Austria)

2010 Olympic medalists: Svindal, Miller, Andrew Weibrecht (USA)

Women

Gold: Anna Fenninger (Austria)
Silver: Tina Maze (Slovenia)
Bronze: Lara Gut (Switzerland)

Also considered: Maria Hoefl-Riesch (Germany), Julia Mancuso (USA), Viktoria Rebensburg (Germany)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Gut, Tina Weirather (Liechtenstein), Fenninger, Elizabeth Goergl (Austria), Hoefl-Riesch, Nicole Hosp (Austria), Kajsa Kling (Sweden), Maze

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Maze, Mancuso, Fenninger, Lindsey Vonn (USA), Hoefl-Riesch, Rebensburg, Fabienne Suter (Switzerland), Nicole Schmidhofer (Austria)

2013 World Championship top 8: Maze, Gut, Mancuso, Sofia Goggia (Italy), Suter, Ilka Stuhec (Slovenia), Daniela Merighetti (Italy), Rebensburg

2010 Olympic medalists: Andrea Fischbacher (Austria), Maze, Vonn

GIANT SLALOM

Men

Gold: Ted Ligety (USA)
Silver: Marcel Hirscher (Austria)
Bronze: Alexis Pinturault (France)

Also considered: Manfred Moelgg (Italy), Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Hirscher, Pinturault, Ligety, Thomas Fanara (France), Felix Neureuther (Germany), Leif Kristian Haugen (Norway), Stefan Luitz (Germany), Fritz Dopfer (Germany)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Ligety, Hirscher, Pinturault, Moelgg, Fanara, Neureuther, Svindal, Marcus Sandell (Finland)

2013 World Championship top 8: Ligety, Hirscher, Moelgg, Svindal, Pinturault, Davide Simoncelli (Italy), Dopfer, Philipp Schoerghofer (Austria)

2010 Olympic medalists: Carlo Janka (Switzerland), Kjetil Jansrud (Norway), Svindal

Women

Gold: Jessica Lindell-Vikarby (Sweden)
Silver: Anna Fenninger (Austria)
Bronze: Lara Gut (Switzerland)

Also considered: Maria Hoefl-Riesch (Germany), Tina Maze (Slovenia), Viktoria Rebensburg (Germany), Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), Kathrin Zettel (Austria). Removed Tessa Worley (France), who is injured

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Lindell-Vikarby, Maria Pietilae-Holmner (Sweden), Tina Weirather (Liechtenstein), Fenninger, Zettel, Shiffrin, Gut, Anemone Marmottan (France)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Maze, Fenninger, Rebensburg, Worley, Zettel, Hoefl-Riesch, Gut, Lindell-Vikarby

2013 World Championship top 8: Worley, Maze, Fenninger, Zettel, Frida Hansdotter (Sweden), Shiffrin, Gut, Marie-Michele Gagnon (Canada)

2010 Olympic medalists: Rebensburg, Maze, Elisabeth Goergl (Austria)

SLALOM

Men

Gold: Marcel Hirscher (Austria)
Silver: Mario Matt (Austria)
Bronze: Felix Neureuther (Germany)

Also considered: Ivica Kostelic (Croatia), Andre Myhrer (Sweden)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Hirscher, Henrik Kristoffersen (Norway), Neureuther, Mattias Hargin (Sweden), Patrick Thaler (Italy), Matt, Myhrer, Jean-Baptiste Grange (France)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Hirscher, Neureuther, Kostelic, Myhrer, Manfred Moelgg (Germany), Matt, Fritz Dopfer (Germany), Jens Byggmark (Sweden)

2013 World Championship top 8: Hirscher, Neureuther, Matt, Myhrer, Kostelic, Alexis Pinturault (France), Dopfer, Byggmark

2010 Olympic medalists: Giuliano Razzoli (Italy), Kostelic, Myhrer

Women

Gold: Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
Silver: Marlies Schild (Austria)
Bronze: Frida Hansdotter (Sweden)

Also considered: Tina Maze (Slovenia), Tanja Poutiainen (Finland), Kathrin Zettel (Austria). Removed Veronika Velez Zuzulova (Slovakia), who is injured.

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (so far): Shiffrin, Hansdotter, Schild, Marie-Michele Gagnon (Canada), Maria Hoefl-Riesch (Germany), Maria Pietilae-Holmner (Sweden), Bernadette Schild (Austria), Nina Loeseth (Norway)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Shiffrin, Maze, Zuzulova, Hansdotter, Poutiainen, Wendy Holdener (Switzerland), Maria Pietilae-Holmner (Sweden), Zettel

2013 World Championship top 8: Shiffrin, Michaela Kirchgasser (Austria), Hansdotter, Poutiainen, Maze, Pietilae-Holmner, Velez Zuzulova, Sarka Zahrobska (Czech Republic)

2010 Olympic medalists: Hoefl-Riesch, M. Schild, Zahrobska

COMBINED

Men

Gold: Alexis Pinturault (France)
Silver: Ted Ligety (USA)
Bronze: Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway)

Also considered: Romed Baumann (Austria), Carlo Janka (Switzerland), Ivica Kostelic (Croatia), Bode Miller (USA)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (two events so far): Pinturault and Ligety tie, Thomas Mermillod Blondin (France), Sandro Viletta (Switzerland), Mario Caviezel (Switzerland), Peter Fill (France), Marcel Hirscher (Austria)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8 (limited competition): Kostelic and Pinturault tie, Blondin, Janka, Svindal, Baumann, Andreas Romar (Finland), Benjamin Raich (Austria)

2013 World Championship top 8: Ligety, Kostelic, Baumann, Romar, Villetta, Pinturault, Silvan Zurbriggen (Switzerland), Janka

2010 Olympic medalists: Miller, Kostelic, Zurbriggen

Women

Gold: Tina Maze (Slovenia)
Silver: Nicole Hosp (Austria)
Bronze: Michaela Kirchgasser (Austria)

Also considered: Marie-Michele Gagnon (Canada), Maria Hoefl-Riesch (Germany), Julia Mancuso (USA), Kathrin Zettel (Austria)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8 (1 event so far): Marie-Michele Gagnon (Canada), Michaela Kirchgasser (Austria), Hoefl-Riesch, Hosp, Sara Hector (Sweden), Maze, Ramona Siebenhofer (Austria), Anna Fenninger (Austria)

World Cup 2012-13 top 8: Maze, Hosp, Kirchgasser, Lara Gut (Switzerland), Gagnon, Mancuso, Elena Curtoni (Italy), Zettel

2013 World Championship top 8: Hoefl-Riesch, Maze, Hosp, Kirchgasser, Zettel, Elisabeth Goergl (Austria), Sofia Goggia (Italy), Mancuso

2010 Olympic medalists: Hoefl-Riesch, Mancuso, Anja Paerson (Sweden; retired)

BIOS

Men

Top five, 2012-13 World Cup overall: Marcel Hirscher (Austria), Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway), Ted Ligety (USA), Felix Neureuther (Germany), Ivica Kostelic (Croatia)

All-around

Kjetil Jansrud (Norway): Leans toward speed events but took 2010 silver in GS. Lots of DNFs in worlds, lots of injuries.

Ivica Kostelic (Croatia): Perhaps a little more of a slalom specialist — silver medalist in 2010 and world champion in 2003. Also won World Cup slalom title in 2011, the same year he won the overall, and has been in the top five for six straight years. But he does have an overall World Cup to his credit and is the most consistent skier in the combined: silver medalist in 2002 and 2010, and again in 2013 worlds. He also took third place in super-G in both the World Cup and World Championship in 2011.

Bode Miller (USA): 2005 and 2008 overall World Cup champion tossed aside disappointing 2006 Olympics with gold (combined), silver (super-G) and bronze (downhill) in 2010, adding to his GS and combined silvers from 2002. He won three medals (giant slalom and combined gold, super-G silver) in 2003 worlds and swept the speed events in 2005. But he’s 36 and trying to rebound from injuries.

Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway): Why isn’t this guy more famous? Two-time overall World Cup champion (2007, 2009), three Olympic medals in 2010 (super-G gold, downhill silver, GS bronze), five world championships (two combined, two downhill, one GS; in 2013: downhill gold and super-G bronze). Won World Cup super-G title in 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013. Also won downhill World Cup title in 2013. Aside from injury year of 2007-08, he has been in the overall World Cup top four for seven of the past eight years. He even dated American Julia Mancuso for several years, and they broke up gracefully. Learn the name, OK?

Alexis Pinturault (France). One of those jack-of-all-trades guys who is therefore most dangerous in combined, an event that demands versatility. Only 22 – this will be his first time at the Olympics. First and second in the two combined races on the 2012-13 World Cup calendar. Third in 2012-13 World Cup GS. Good in slalom, best in GS, solid all-around.

Speed events

Didier Defago (Switzerland): Defending Olympic downhill champion but missed the next season with a knee injury. He’s now 36 years old and has no World Cup podiums since 2011. Eighth in downhill at 2013 worlds.

Erik Guay (Canada): 2011 world downhill champion and 2009-10 World Cup super-G champion. Sixth in 2012-13 World Cup downhill.

Christof Innerhofer (Italy): Had a career week at the 2011 World Championships: super-G gold, combined silver, downhill bronze. Three World Cup downhill wins in 2012-13.

Klaus Kroell (Austria): 33-year-old speed specialist won 2011-12 World Cup season downhill title and finished second in 2012-13, making it four of five years on the podium. Fourth in 2013 worlds (downhill).

Matteo Marsaglia (Italy): Second in 2012-13 World Cup super-G, mostly on the strength of one win and one runner-up finish. Not much else to report.

Matthias Mayer (Austria): Only 23. Third in 2012-13 World Cup super-G. Fifth in 2013 worlds super-G.

Dominik Paris (Italy): Youngest medalist (silver) in 2013 world championship downhill. Third in 2012-13 World Cup downhill.

David Poisson (France): Surprise bronze medalist at 2013 worlds downhill. Seriously. He was 30, and he had never been on a World Cup podium, though he was fourth at Kitzbuhel in 2013.

Hannes Reichelt (Austria): Fourth in World Cup downhill in 2011-12; fifth (one win) in 2012-13. A little more successful in super-G: World Cup champion in 2008, silver in 2011 worlds.

Super-G/giant slalom

Ted Ligety (USA): Dominant in GS: World Cup champion four of the past six years. 2012-13: Won six of eight World Cup GS races, plus a successful defense of his world championship. Also the 2013 super-G world champion, but that was his only super-G podium of the year. Not great in World Cup combined events, but he comes up big in the big events – 2006 Olympic gold and 2013 world championship. The 2010 Games, though, were a washout for him.

Gauthier de Tessieres (France): Exactly one World Cup podium, and that’s in GS. Then 2013 world super-G runner-up.

Giant slalom/slalom

Marcel Hirscher (Austria): He has won the last two overall World Cups while getting nearly all his points in slalom and giant slalom. In 11 World Cup slaloms and “city events” (slalom-ish races) last season, he finished first five times, second five times and third in the other. And he’s the reigning world champion. He’s just fine at GS, winning the 2011-12 season title, but he’s typically chasing Ligety.

Carlo Janka (Switzerland): 2010 GS gold medalist and 2010 overall World Cup champion. Needed heart surgery in 2011 and still finished third in overall World Cup, but he hasn’t returned to that level since.

Manfred Moelgg (Italy): Third in 2013 worlds GS; fourth in 2012-13 World Cup GS. Best season was 2007-08: Fourth overall, first in slalom, third in GS. Three World Championship medals: 2007 slalom silver, 2011 slalom bronze, 2013 GS bronze.

Felix Neureuther (Germany): Finally hit World Cup stride near age 30, with his overall fourth place in 2013 up 13 places from his previous best of 17th. Second in World Cup slalom and world championship slalom, first podium in each. Only finished one of four Olympic races (slalom/GS, 2006/2010), placing eighth in 2010 GS.

Mostly slalom

Mario Matt (Austria): Top 8 in World Cup 11 of the last 14 years. Missed 2010 Games. 2001 (yes, 2001) and 2007 world champion. Fourth in 2011 worlds, bronze in 2013. Once won a World Cup combined race and once took a world championship medal in the same event, but he’s pretty much all slalom these days.

Andre Myhrer (Sweden): 2010 bronze medalist; fourth in World Cup and World Championship in 2013. World Cup slalom champion in 2012.

Giuliano Razzoli (Italy): 2010 gold medalist. Never finished at worlds. Seven World Cup podiums; two wins.

Women

Top five, 2012-13 World Cup overall: Tina Maze (Slovenia, with a record 2,414 points), Maria Hoefl-Riesch (Germany), Anna Menninger (Austria), Julia Mancuso (USA), Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)

The big 3, all-around

Maria Hoefl-Riesch (Germany): Overall World Cup champion in 2011, dethroning old friend Lindsey Vonn after two years as runner-up. Vonn and Tina Maze passed her in 2012, and Maze ran away in 2013. She still had five podium finishes — three downhill, one super-G and a slalom win — and won the World Championship combined. She won two gold medals (slalom, combined) in 2010. Legit accomplishments in all five disciplines.

Tina Maze (Slovenia): Her gradual improvement in the World Cup overall — sixth in 2009, then fourth, third, second and first — makes sense. Racking up 2,414 points, even with Lindsey Vonn absent for much of the season, is unreal. She would have swept all four disciplines if not for those pesky Americans — Vonn held on by one point in downhill, Mikaela Shiffrin took the slalom. She won 11 races (at least one in each discipline) and reached the podium 24 times. She only missed the top five in four races, all early in the season. She has six World Championship medals and two wins. And two Olympic silver medals (super-G, giant slalom) from 2010. All she needs is gold.

Lindsey Vonn (USA): Alternating gruesome crashes and fantastic seasons. Four-time overall World Cup champion, 2008-10 and 2012. Olympic frustration (injury woes in 2006 and 2010) ended in 2010 with downhill gold and super-G bronze. She won both of those events in 2009 worlds and took downhill silver in 2011. In combined, she has been on the podium in 11 of her past 15 World Cup events. She’ll miss the beginning of the World Cup season but should be ready to go in Sochi.

More all-around (super-G/GS)

Anna Fenninger (Austria): Third overall in 2012-13, second in GS, third in super-G. Fifth overall in 2011-12. Combined world champion in 2011; third in GS in 2013.

Elisabeth Goergl (Austria): Top 10 overall five straight years (2007-08 to 2011-12), with season podium finishes in downhill, GS and super-G. Turned it on in Whistler 2010 – bronze in downhill and GS, fifth in super-G, seventh in slalom. Then won 2011 World Championships in downhill and super-G.

Lara Gut (Switzerland): Best season in 2012-13 at age 21: ninth overall, fifth in downhill, sixth in GS. Two World Championships silvers (downhill, combined) at age 17 in 2009. Two fourths in 2011, then second in super-G in 2013. Hasn’t yet raced in Olympics, missing 2010 with injury. Won 2013-14 season opener GS.

Nicole Hosp (Austria): 2006-07 overall World Cup champion, second the next year. Great 2006 Olympics: slalom silver, fourth in GS, fifth combined. Injured in 2010, missed Games. Five World Championship medals, bronze in 2013 combined.

Viktoria Rebensburg (Germany): World Cup giant slalom winner in 2010-11 and 2011-12. Slipped to third in 2012-13 but picked up points elsewhere, many in super-G, to finish sixth overall. GS gold medalist in 2010, but not much success in World Championships.

Speed specialists

Stacey Cook (USA): Breakthrough season in 2012-13, fourth in downhill standings with two podium finishes.

Nadia Fanchini (Italy): Best World Cup year: 2008-09, second in super-G, fifth in downhill. Only one World Cup win, hasn’t been podium since January 2010, when she suffered dual injuries and missed the Olympics. But she’s a classic overachiever at World Championships: 2005 super-G fourth, 2009 downhill bronze and then back in 2013 for downhill silver.

Andrea Fischbacher (Austria): Second in World Cup downhill in 2008-09, bronze in 2009 worlds super-G, then the big one in 2010: gold medalist in downhill and fourth in super-G. No podium finishes since then.

Sofia Goggia (Italy): Had only four World Cup starts, all DNF or failures to qualify in GS, before the 2013 World Championships. Then finished fourth in super-G, seventh in combined at age 20.

Julia Mancuso (USA): Gets plenty of Cup points in GS and slalom, with GS and combined points propelling her to third overall in 2006-07. But she does her best work in speed events — third in super-G and downhill (fifth overall) in 2010-11, then second in super-G (fourth overall) each of the past two seasons. Then she dials it up for big events — a stunning giant slalom gold in the 2006 Olympics, silver in downhill and combined in 2010, plus five World Championship medals (super-G: 2011 silver, 2013 bronze).

Marion Rolland (France): DNF only Olympic race, 2010 downhill. Only two World Cup podiums, on same weekend in March 2012. Stunning World Championship victory in 2013 downhill.

Giant slalom/slalom

Michaela Kirchgasser (Austria): Second in World Cup slalom 2011-12. Second in World Championship slalom 2013.

Tanja Poutiainen (Finland): Slipped from her 2005 peak, when she won the slalom and GS World Cup titles and finished fifth overall. But she finished on the World Cup podium in each event in 2011 and was fifth in slalom in 2013. GS silver medalist in 2006. World Championships: Silver in slalom and GS in 2005, bronze in each event in 2009, fourth in slalom in 2013.

Tessa Worley (France): Essentially a GS specialist: 2013 world champion, 2011 bronze medalist. World Cup: second, third and fourth the last three years. Injured in December 2013; will miss Games.

Kathrin Zettel (Austria): Best World Cup years were 2008-09 (fourth overall, second in GS) and 2009-10 (fifth overall, second in GS and slalom). Solid seventh overall in 2012-13, fifth in GS. Fourth in combined in 2006 and 2010 Olympics. 2009 combined world champion; second in slalom in 2011. Remarkably consistent at worlds: 13 races, seven top-5s, 11 top-10s. Seven podiums in 2012-13: three slalom, three GS, one combined.

Mostly slalom

Frida Hansdotter (Sweden): Fourth in World Cup slalom 2012-13, third in World Championships.

Marlies Schild (Austria): World Cup slalom champ four of five years ending 2011-12. Injured in 2008-09 and 2012-13. Three Olympic medals: combined silver and slalom bronze in 2006, slalom silver in 2010. Five World Championship medals, slalom gold in 2011.

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA): World slalom champion at 17; clinched World Cup slalom title just after 18th birthday. In nine World Cup slaloms last season: Four wins, six podiums. Also picked up some GS points for fifth place overall.

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A few questions and answers on ‘Enduring Spirit’

Posted on by Beau Dure

Stumbled into a few questions and comments on Enduring Spirit and figured I’d answer them here. Feel free to ask more — I’m easy to find. Also, check out my Q&A from earlier in the week with Caitlin Murray.

Will the book be available on (Nook, Apple, PDF, print, stone tablets)?

The Nook edition is up now. It’s on its way to the iBookstore and Kobo. I may look into Google Play as well. If I do anything in print, it’ll be a limited-edition thing. I could see trying to combine it with more photos so that it would have added value for people who already shelled out the $5.99 for the ebook, but that’ll cost more — photographers have every right to be paid for their work.

Speaking of photos, what’s your deal with that cover, anyway? Why pick on Alex Morgan?

I’m not. I don’t. Alex Morgan picked on me after I joked about U.S. women’s national team players expecting favorable calls from refs, which is her prerogative. As I said at the time she shot back at me on Twitter, I think she’s a great player and a future U.S. captain.

I picked this photo because (A) it’s the photo that drew the most attention during the course of the season and (B) it shows the defiant resilience of this team, standing up for itself against the best in the world.

When I designed the cover, I did so with the intent of drawing attention to Diana Matheson’s face. I wasn’t drawing attention to the name “Morgan” on the jersey — at one point in the process, it was obscured, and I didn’t even realize it was there in the final edit.

But you hate Portland!

No, I really don’t. If you read the book, you’ll find the Thorns draw a lot of flattery. They’re a class organization.

Why didn’t you do more analysis?

Interesting question, and perhaps I miscalculated. In reporting the book, I tried to take out the Heisenberg/Schrödinger/quantum physics observer effect and make myself part of the scenery. I dreaded the notion that people might act differently because I was on the field. (A few people have assured me that they were the same whether I was around or not.)

In writing the book, I figured people wanted less of me and more of the players. And I figured people might want to draw their own conclusions on what happened. It’s really not up to me to tell you whether Ashlyn Harris’ comments were fair to Mike Jorden. If I felt I had additional information that wasn’t readily available, I gave it.

But I might have been wrong. If you’ve read the book but still want my take on something, let me know.

Were you worried about losing credentials if you wrote something negative?

Not really. I have no idea what I’m doing in terms of coverage next season, but I think it’s fair to say I won’t be making serious money doing it.

Why didn’t you go into more detail on (Topic X, Y or Z)?

In most cases, that’s what I have. The Spirit kept some things in the locker room, like a lot of teams do. Women’s soccer teams are especially guarded in my experience. Hope Solo’s career of public statements is the exception that proves the rule.

I know there are plenty of people who think they know some behind-the-scenes information that wasn’t in the book. In some cases, I also heard that but couldn’t verify it. In other cases, it’s utter bunk. To give one example: A team that has an openly gay captain isn’t steering away from gay players. That’s nonsense. I can’t really go into more detail because we generally honor players’ rights to private lives (see the hand-wringing over whether to “report” the Abby Wambach-Sarah Huffman wedding when players were openly talking about it on public social media).

In some cases, I was able to press for more detail. Ken Krieger was willing to talk about players’ desire to bring him in to help out.

But in general, I wasn’t in investigative mode. The goal of the book was to capture the spirit (sorry) and sacrifice of soccer players trying to build a new team and a new league while being paid tiny salaries. I tried to get to know each player, and I’d like to think I was somewhat successful in doing that and getting across a little bit of their personalities. Controversies arose, of course, and I did what I could to explore them. In a lot of cases, there’s a lot less controversy than some fans think. I spent a lot of time talking with players and coaches on topics that didn’t make the book because there just wasn’t any substance to write about.

Not always, of course. Perhaps someone from a different vantage point can come in and get more dirt about the coaching change. That’s fine. A variety of voices is always better than one.

So why WAS Mike Jorden let go?

I think the players’ perception was that he wasn’t adequately preparing them for games. Was that reality? I don’t know. I didn’t look at his game plans, and a lot of elite-level game-planning is going to go over my head, anyway. But that’s the kind of perception that essentially becomes the reality. If players don’t think they’re being prepared, they’re not. That could be Jorden’s fault for not doing a great game plan, it could be Jorden’s fault for not communicating it well, or it could be that players were just tuning him out for whatever reason.

I wouldn’t judge Jorden too harshly. Even the best coaches in the world get fired sometimes. He hadn’t had much trouble in his previous coaching gigs, and people speak well of his integrity.

What about the other coaches?

I never got much of an answer on why Kris Ward was let go. Players seemed to like him — he was warmly greeted on a couple of returns to the SoccerPlex. I think they wanted a fresh start and felt it would be best if Mark Parsons came in without anyone left over from the previous regime other than Lloyd Yaxley, who was clearly well-liked as the goalkeeper coach and could also help out elsewhere.

I didn’t do much to find out the story on German Peri. He wasn’t around that often when I was there, and I didn’t see much interest in finding out why he was dismissed with Jorden and Ward.

One aside I’ll toss in: NCAA rules prevent someone from being a college assistant coach and a pro assistant coach. That’s ridiculous, and it’s affecting multiple people associated with the Spirit. Hayley Siegel is virtually a player/coach in the organization, but she can’t be officially recognized as such as long as she’s also at Georgetown. Add that to the list of Jay Bilas’ complaints with the NCAA.

Who was the funniest player on the team?

Emily Fortunato, the trainer. Closely followed by Conny Pohlers.

But why do you really hate Portland?

Because CPC stopped wearing her hats.

No, seriously — I don’t. Read the book and see for yourself.

Any other questions?

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‘ENDURING SPIRIT’ IS OUT

Posted on by Beau Dure

kindle-spiritThe book is only at Amazon for now. But you don’t need a Kindle to read it! Amazon offers apps for every platform you might possibly have — tablets, phones, laptops.

Over the next few weeks, I will be working to make it available on other ebook platforms. I declined Amazon’s exclusivity offer, which includes a couple of incentives, so that I would reserve the rights to publish it elsewhere.

I might do a print version at some point, but it would be a limited run. If you have any thoughts on what might make a print version worthwhile, let me know.

The good news is that the ebook is only $5.99.

I thanked 91 people by name in the acknowledgments at the end of the book, but I could’ve gone on and on. Thanks to everyone who has taken an interest in this book along the way, and I hope you enjoy it.

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