Lindsey Vonn, Malinin vs. Sato, and how quickly we move on

Veteran sportswriter Richard Deitsch takes an international view of the Olympics.

First there were the screams from CBC alpine skiing analyst Erin Mielzynski, then fear and concern for Lindsey Vonn. It was horrible but you could not turn away, a global audience watching the end of an Olympic dream and possibly an iconic sporting career. 

Next, the buzzing of a medical helicopter, followed by an airlift and flight over the finish line. There was Vonn’s fellow American skier, Breezy Johnson, having to sit forever after a historic downhill run, knowing her U.S. teammate had just been airlifted away but also wondering if her time could hold. There were images from the crowd, a perfect distillation of our modern moment. 

Those closest to Vonn, her family, sitting in bewilderment, and with obvious concern. 

Snoop Dogg, the ubiquitous NBC Sports correspondent, peered into the distance, looking forlorn. Others waved to the cameras, happy to see themselves on a Jumbotron, as if they were in the 500 level at Rogers Centre on a summer Toronto day. 

There were 23 skiers yet to come, all attempting to focus on their race and Olympic dreams. Crashes are part of the sport but this one was also different given who crashed. The AP later reported Vonn underwent an orthopedic operation to stabilize a fracture reported in her left leg.

It was a surreal morning on the Cortina d’Ampezzo course. But also an honest one. The cruelty and joys of sport at the highest level — and people moving on to the next event, to the next show, including the Super Bowl in the evening. 

Hours after Vonn’s crash in Cortina, we saw an absolutely brilliant show in the figure skating event at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Assago. It came down to the final skater, Japan’s Shun Sato, trying to pass the U.S. Quad God, Ilia Malinin. Both skated brilliantly, each gold-medal worthy. The American did just enough to win. In the crowd, Novak Djokovic, a God himself on another surface, applauded thunderously. 

It was a fascinating, memorable day. Vonn went for it — and I admire that. She had earned that right based on her results. Same with the right to choose to put her body under any strain. Of course there is hubris in her decision but there is also no greatness without that self-belief. 

Who will star on Monday?

Monday is a big day for the Instagram crowd as well as those who love speed skating. The women’s 1,000 metres features Dutch star Jutta Leerdam, who has 5.1 million followers on the social media site. A seven-time world champion, Leerdam is also part of a famous couple in Internet culture. Her fiancé is the promoter-boxer Jake Paul and they are a pair who chronicle their lives to either your amusement or annoyance (or both). 

Leerdam’s Dutch teammate, Femke Kok, is a sprint specialist who holds the world record in the 500m. Japan’s Miho Takagi is the defending Olympic champion in the 1,000m. The Americans are strong in the race with Brittany Bowe (at age 37) and Erin Jackson, who won gold in the 500m in Beijing. The Leerdam-Paul connection ensures that this race is going to get attention beyond the usual Olympic junkie crowd. It’s scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Olympic imagery

► BBC alpine analyst Chemmy Alcott provides viewers a crazy POV of the Olympia delle Tofane course. 

► Vonn received a lot of well wishes from people online including this guy whose name might ring a bell. 

► Even if you are one of the great speed skaters in the world and a host country hero, you cannot escape the demands of a two-year-old. 

Check out this Instagram post by Breezy Johnson from Jan. 2022. 

Numbers to know

2.5 million — Average viewership in Canada of Friday’s opening ceremony on CBC, RDS, Sportsnet and TSN, an increase of 221 per cent over Beijing four years ago.

21.4 million — NBC and Peacock’s average viewership for its coverage Friday, up 34 per cent from Beijing, according to preliminary data from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

40 — Age of Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl, whose gold medal in parallel giant slalom makes him the oldest individual gold medalist in Winter Olympics history at 40 years and 115 days. He topped the previous record holder —biathlon legend Ole Einar Bjørndalen. (Hat tip: Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports research).

2 — Times that the Super Bowl and the Winter Games occurred on the same day. (It also happened in 2022.)

.04 seconds — Margin of victory in the women’s downhill for American 

Breezy Johnson, the smallest margin ever outside of the 2014 tie between Slovakia’s Tina Maze and Dominique Gisin of Switzerland. 

What we’re reading around the web

► A Super Bowl starting at 12:30 am.? Welcome to the Olympic-sized problem for fans in Italy. By Tim Reynolds of the AP.

► How this generation of Olympic women erased the idea that motherhood is the end of a gold medal dream. By Dana O’Neil of CNN Sports.

► Lindsey Vonn, pushing to the end, didn’t need storybook ending to inspire. By Tim Layden of NBC Sports.

► I was preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Then I got news that changed everything. By Joannie Rochette for The Athletic.