In the Olympics, just like any other sporting event, there are favorites and underdogs. Some countries have established reputations of winning in figure skating and bobsled, while others are happy just to come away with a medal. During the 17 days of competition in Vancouver, streaks were snapped, and upsets were plentiful. Here are the five biggest surprises of the 2010 Winter Games.
1. Apolo Ohno's stunning sixth: Given American speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno's prowess, it wasn't surprising that he won his sixth career medal in the men's 1,500−meter short−track event on the second day in Vancouver. But just moments before Ohno crossed the finish line and flashed six fingers to the crowd, he was mired in fourth place behind a trio of South Koreans who looked poised to sweep the podium. Then, on the final corner, Lee Ho−Suk swept his countryman Sung Si−Bak off the track, leaving the former disqualified and the latter in fifth place. Lee Jung−Su still earned gold for South Korea, but Ohno and fellow American J.R. Celski were more than happy to cruise onto the medal stand.
2. Canadian goalies come up short: Although the Canadians returned men's hockey glory to their country by defeating the Americans in overtime on Sunday, shaky goaltending nearly proved to be their undoing. For a country that has produced net−minding legends such as Patrick Roy and Glenn Hall, porous pads are hardly the norm. But after future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur was unable to contain the United States in a surprise 5−3 defeat during the earlier rounds of competition, Team Canada was forced to turn to backup Roberto Luongo. The two−time Vezina Trophy nominee performed admirably but consistently struggled to gather the puck cleanly, and had the Americans been better able to capitalize on rebounds, Sunday's game might have had a different result.
3. Russians shut out in figure skating: Coming into the Olympics, if you had to place a bet on a country winning gold in a particular sport, Russia in figure skating was as safe a choice as any. In pairs, the Russians had compiled an era of dominance since 1964, finishing atop the standings 12 consecutive times. Russia also had 2006 gold medal winner Evgeni Plushenko in the men's event and world No. 8 Alena Leonova, a dark horse in the ladies' competition.
Yet, at the conclusion of the women's free skate on Thursday, Russia had just one medal (Plushenko's silver) to show for its efforts. The top pair of Yuko Kavaguti and Aleksandr Smirnov finished fourth, overshadowed by Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China. Then Plushenko was upset by Evan Lysacek, despite objections that the American did not attempt a quadruple jump. And the ladies' spotlight belonged solely to South Korea's Kim Yu−Na, as Leonova finished a disappointing ninth.
4. Rebensburg upstages giant slalom field: If you hadn't heard of Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg before Thursday's women's giant slalom event, you weren't alone, because the 20−year−old had never won a major race. But thanks to increasingly dense fog at Whistler, Rebensburg — sixth after the first run — was able to shoot up the leaderboard, leaving a pack of Austrians in the wake of her first victory in international competition.
5. Americans enjoy breakthrough in Nordic combined: After a decade of hard work and a fourth−place finish in Salt Lake City in 2002, the U.S.'s Nordic combined squad finally has some medals to show for its mettle. In the normal hill event, Johnny Spillane was outpaced by France's Jason Lamy−Chappuis by just four−tenths of a second, finishing second to win his first−ever Olympic medal.
The Americans — led by Spillane, Brett Camerota and veteran world champs Billy Demong and Todd Lodwick — earned silver in the relay event, using excellent jumps to set themselves up for the cross country segment. Finally, by taking advantage of a fierce tailwind that impeded many of their rivals in the large hill event, Demong and Spillane took gold and silver, respectively. Demong was also rewarded with the honor of carrying the American flag in the Closing Ceremony on Sunday night.
