The 2018 Winter Olympics is now one week old. Competition has not disappointed, and in some cases, gone as planned.
Team USA’s first gold medal went to the 17-year-old snowboarder Red Gerard.
Gerard is the youngest American male to claim a gold medal at the Winter Olympics since 1928 – who saw this one coming?
I had a front row seat when Gerard joined Willie Geist on the TODAY Show.
Chris Mazdzer made history in the men’s singles luge as he took home a silver medal and became the first American to ever place.
Female snowboarder Jamie Anderson defended her slopestyle competition title cruising to another gold medal.
Anderson is the first woman to win two Olympic gold medals in snowboard.
Chloe Kim became the youngest woman to ever win an Olympic snowboarding medal when she won gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe. She turns 18 years old in April.
Shaun White brought home his third Olympic gold medal after crushing the men’s snowboard halfpipe. This comes just months after needing 62 stitches in his face.
Moments after receiving his medal, I had a chance to spend some time with him on our way to NBC’s TODAY Show set.
I don’t usually give others access to my social media, but when I do…
Team USA has totaled eight medals in all, while Germany has 15 and Norway has 18.
How about your DMV Olympians competing at PyeongChang 2018? I’ve been following them closely.
Elana Meyers-Taylor has been preparing for competition which begins Feb. 20 from 6:50-8:45 a.m. ET.
Garrett Roe and USA ice hockey are already in full swing with Olympic competition. The team is 1-1 through two preliminary games, including a 2-1 victory over Slovakia.
Roe logged 12:42 TOI.
Maame Biney, the first African American woman to qualify for Team USA in speedskating, fell short in her four-person quarterfinal heat with a time of 44.77 seconds, 1.28 seconds away from advancing to the semifinals.
Biney is set to compete in the women’s short track 1500-meter competition Feb. 17.
I caught up with her the night after failing to qualify inside NBC’s TODAY Show green room.
She remains upbeat and already motivated for the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
Thomas Hong, along with teammates Henry Krueger, JR Celski and Aaron Tran, finished third in the 5,000-meter short track speedskating relay heats on Feb. 13.
The finals in the men’s 5,000-meter relay is slated for Feb. 22 from 5-7:45 a.m. ET. Hong will compete for his first Olympic medal while representing the state of Maryland.
Freestyle skier, Ashley Caldwell, came up short failing to qualify for the women’s aerial final.
Here is video of her run, courtesy of NBC Olympics: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/ashley-caldwell-doesnt-qualify-womens-aerials-final.
NBCOlympics.com will live stream all Olympic competition.
There’s something about the Olympic spirit that delivers special moments time and time again.
With the world as its audience, the Games has proven to, once again, be the true pinnacle of sport.
There is still so much left out there. Hop on the Olympic train while you still can and…
Consider following along while I’m on the ground in South Korea:
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Last night, the small province of PyeongChang took the world by storm as it hosted the Opening Ceremony at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
It is well-documented by now that the Koreans have placed a major emphasis on the theme of unity and its signifance surrounding the Games.
On this night, though, unity seemed to be much more than just a theme.
Mid-way through the ceremony, Olympians from all 92 countries began to make the coveted walk out to the roars of the Olympic Stadium, each led by an esteemed flag bearer.
There were plenty of memorable moments to keep the internet busy.
The Nigerians are represented by their bobsled team for the first time in the country’s history.
The Russians entered the stadium led by a neutral Olympic flag hoisted in the air. They sported plain white uniforms with no sign of the country’s flag. This, of course, is a direct result of Russia’s doping scandal.
Pita, the shirtless Tongan who took social media by storm at Rio’s Closing Ceremony nearly two years ago, makes his Winter Olympics debut in cross-country skiing.
He carried his country’s flag out while shirtless and in sandals, naturally.
The USA broke a Winter Olympic record qualifying a grand total of 242 athletes. Erin Hamlin served as flag bearer.
The defining moment of the Opening Ceremony came when the 92nd and final team made its historic march.
The North and South Koreans entered the stadium under one unified flag. Together.
As conflicted Koreans digested this powerful gesture, the rest of the world was introduced to North Korean civilians in the most epic of ways.
I had a chance to take all of this in with several of my new local Korean friends.
This is what I tweeted during the ceremony:
“Both North & South Koreans marching together. Hard to describe this moment. My new Korean friends I’m with are completely silent. Taking in every second. Hands covering their mouths. #OpeningCeremony”
Historic. Surreal. Emotional. Captivating. The 2018 Winter Olympics.
Buckle up. It’s about to be a magical 18 days at PyeongChang 2018.
Consider following along while I’m on the ground:
Subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ8cG5WOlVaQ7rQv4Qt3awg?
view_as=subscriber.
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Join the conversation and use hashtags like #DMVOlympians & #PyeongChang2018
Less than a week in to my South Korea trip, here is what’s been going on:
One 15-hour flight to Seoul, South Korea.
One two-hour block gathering all of our jet lagged NBC crew together in the midst of large Korean crowds upon arrival.
One three-hour bus ride from Incheon International Aiport to the site of the Winter Olympics — PyeongChang in Gangwon Province.
This was the itinerary set in place to reach PyeongChang 2018 from Washington, D.C.
The quick turnaround starting work the morning after arrival was worth it.
It’s not exactly beach weather on this side of the world, but these views still lured us on in:
PyeongChang is on the very edge of South Korea’s east coast, about two hours from Seoul by train (Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics).
Far, far away from the coastal area is the Alpensia Resort looking down over the entire town and beyond.
On our way up to the top of the mountain, we stopped by a beautiful part of town right outside of PyeongChang’s Olympic Stadium.
Korean workers were sculpting these massive blocks of snow while on top of a frozen river that runs right through the middle of town.
I’m hearing that the finished product is expected to be breathtaking and magical, but here’s how it looked during prep:
One of the unique things about the Olympics is the fact that every representing country has a ‘house’ for athletes to gather in and hangout throughout the Games.
Check out the Swiss wooden house:
I had to stop for a photo of this beautiful resort near Alpensia:
