It’s Friday night in Vancouver there are two big time stars left to watch.
Men’s Short Track: 500m and Relay Gold Medal Finals – It’s a LIVE double dose of Apolo Ohno (Seattle, Wash.), as the short track star attempts to sprint for gold in the frenetic 500m, defending his 2006 title when he skated what he’s called “the perfect race”. Ohno became the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian in history after earning his seventh medal in the 1000m on Saturday. Also LIVE, Ohno will try to lead Team USA to victory in the wildest event of the short track competition, the men’s relay.
Women’s Alpine Skiing: Slalom Gold Medal Final – Team USA’s superstar Lindsey Vonn (St. Paul, Minn.) makes her fifth and final Vancouver appearance in the slalom, an event where one of her best friends, German Maria Riesch, is one of the favorites for gold. Vonn and Riesch have spent the last several Christmases together with Riesch’s family in Germany. The Austrians are always tough in this two-run technical event as well.
Bobsled: Four Man Competition – Team USA’s Steve Holcomb (Park City, Utah) and his vaunted “Night Train” sled with its trademark matte black finish have made USA-1 a gold-medal favorite in the four-man competition. Holcomb has emerged as one of the world’s best since having eye surgery in 2008 to correct a degenerative disorder that left him nearly blind. The race for gold on the world’s fastest track begin today.
Women’s Short Track: 1000m Gold Medal Final – 21-year-old Katherine Reutter, a Champaign, Illinois native who attended the same high school as speed skating legend Bonnie Blair, routinely trains in front of a Chinese flag, motivation for her to topple the dominant short track stars from China. LIVE tonight she could be skating for gold in her favorite event.
The men’s ice hockey semifinal round heats up as Team USA takes on Finland live on NBC and on NBCOlympics.com. The second semifinal game is live on CNBC and NBCOlympics.com between Team Canada and Slovakia.
NBC LATENIGHT:
Late night coverage includes the women’s snowboard parallel giant slalom gold medal final.
CABLE
MSNBC HIGHLIGHTS:
Men’s and Women’s Speed Skating: Pursuit Quarterfinals and Semifinals – The fastest men and women on skates come together LIVE for speed skating’s team events, the men’s and women’s pursuits. Three skaters per team race in tandem in head-to-head raceoff rounds as they try to advance to the Gold Medal Final, which will ultimately determine which elite speed skating nation is the deepest and fastest in the world.
CNBC HIGHLIGHTS:
Men’s Ice Hockey and Women’s Curling: LIVE coverage of the second men’s ice hockey semifinal between Team Canada and Slovakia, with a berth in the Gold Medal Final at stake. Plus, make no mistake, the Canadians are curling-crazed, and the atmosphere should be phenomenal as the top two teams in the world clash for gold, LIVE.
