The women’s alpine skiing super-G at the Winter Olympics proved to be a significant challenge Saturday when a total 18 out of 49 skiers were unable to complete the event.
Switzerland’s Lara Gut is among those who are blaming the course for what she calls “a disaster.”
“This is a disaster, it was a shame for everybody,” Gut said, according to The Daily Mail. “The last part was a bit much. Everybody was crashing around. It’s difficult to stay on your skis, you are constantly losing them. I don’t know if this is the best way to show off our skiing. It’s not a race, you are just trying to come down.”
The skiers who didn’t finish the race were disqualified after veering off course and failing to make it through the required gates.
Austria’s Anna Fenninger and Nicole Hosp took gold and bronze, respectively, while Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany won the silver medal. Julia Mancuso was the top American finisher, finishing eighth.
“For my run, I think I watched too many people have bad runs and it got to me,” Mancuso said. “The hardest thing for me to overcome — even though I am feeling good on my skis and got that first medal which was magical — I lack a little bit of confidence from not having good results in the start of the season.”
The location of the games has been criticized because of Sochi’s balmy temperatures, which cause marked changes in the snow conditions for athletes. Temperatures in Sochi have reached 60 degrees at some points during the Winter Olympics.
Photo via Twitter/@ESPN_Alyssa
Photo of the day
#DawnsEarlyLight
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Tweet of the day
T.J. Oshie killed it in Sochi Saturday, scoring each of Team USA’s four shootout goals.
[tweet https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedSports/status/434708265490866176 align=’center’%5D
Video of the day
A musical remix to figure skating. Take a listen.
