US Women Pull Off Major Olympic Upset

Lindsay Vonn takes bronze in final Olympic downhill
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 21, 2018 6:50 AM CST
US Scores First-Ever Cross Country Gold
Medalists in the women's downhill, from right, Norway's Ragnhild Mowinckel, silver, Italy's Sofia Goggia, gold, and United States' Lindsey Vonn, bronze, pose during their medals ceremony at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018.   (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The American women's cross-country ski team pulled off a major upset in Pyeongchang Wednesday, winning gold in the team sprint—the first-ever medal for the US women's team. The only other American to win a cross-country ski medal was Bill Koch, who won silver in the 30-kilometer race in 1976, the AP reports. For Kikkan Randall on the American team, it was her first medal in 18 attempts, which Washington Post reporter Adam Kilgore tweets is an Olympic record. In other Olympics news:

  • New medal record. Marit Bjoergen and her Norwegian teammates took the bronze in Wednesday's team sprint race, giving her the record for most decorated Winter Olympian in history, the BBC reports. The 37-year-old's 14 medals include four from Pyeongchang, and she could still win one more.

  • Skating domination. American figure skaters Mirai Nagasu, Karen Chen, and Bradie Tennell finished 9th, 10th, and 11th in the women's short program, making it highly unlikely that any of them will win a medal, the Washington Post reports. Russians Alina Zagitova, 15, and Evgenia Medvedeva, 18, have dominated the competition, though observers aren't sure which one will get gold and which will get silver.
  • USA out. The American men's hockey team will be going home without a medal after losing to the Czech Republic in a 3-2 quarterfinal shootout, CBS reports. The hard-fought loss makes this the team's second Winter Olympics in a row without a medal.
  • Final race? Lindsay Vonn took the bronze in what is likely to be the American's final Olympic downhill race, reports ESPN. "I wish I could keep going. I wish this wasn't my last Olympics, but it is," the 33-year-old said, "So I'm trying to accept that and deal with the emotions of that and enjoy the ride."
(More 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics stories.)

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