Many of the big Winter Olympics events happen after dark in Sochi, Russia, which means morning or early afternoon stateside. But plenty happens during the day in Sochi, too, so by the time Americans get out of bed, they're already hours behind on Olympics news. But fear not, dear reader: We're here to catch you up on the stories you may have missed overnight, so you can get a gold meal in sports talk around the watercooler on Wednesday morning.
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Ted Ligety Takes Home the Gold
American skier Ted Ligety won gold in the men's giant slalom in impressive fashion Tuesday afternoon, giving Team USA its first gold medal in alpine skiing at this year's games. Ligety, 29, won the super combined at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, making him the first American man in history to win two golds in alpine skiing and the first American man to ever win the Olympic giant slalom.
Ligety's final time of 2 minutes, 45.29 seconds beat out silver medalist Steve Missillier of France by 0.48 seconds. Alexis Pinturault, also of France, finished third for the bronze medal. Other Olympians were quick to congratulate Ligety on Twitter. Here's a snapshot:
Awe yeah @tedligety! #goUSA— Mikaela Shiffrin (@MikaelaShiffrin) February 19, 2014
Impressive Mr GS Ted Ligety!!!— Aksel Lund Svindal (@akselsvindal) February 19, 2014
Amazing skiing @tedligety clutch performance. Well deserved gold medal.— Bode Miller (@MillerBode) February 19, 2014
Bode Miller Calls It a Games
Speaking of Miller, the American skiing great is done in Sochi. Miller hurt his left knee, which already had a troubled injury history, during his first run of Wednesday's giant slalom. He pulled out of that event, effectively ending his Olympics run.
The 36-year-old Miller won bronze in the super-G last weekend, making him the oldest ski racer to win an Olympic medal. He has won a total of six medals in his career, making him the U.S. record-holder in Olympic alpine skiing. Miller will race the rest of skiing's World Cup season this year, U.S. skiing officials said. But seeing him at another Olympics seems like a long shot at best.
IOC to Pussy Riot: Be Quiet
Militia members used whips to forcibly shut down a performance by the Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot on Wednesday, hours after an International Olympic Committee spokesperson publicly told the activist group not to protest Olympic venues. This is just the latest episode in the ongoing saga of Pussy Riot. Two members of the group were recently released early from a two-year prison sentence for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred." Many view Pussy Riot's persecution as a representation of Russian President Vladimir Putin's perceived intolerance of women's rights, gay rights and free speech.
Pussy Riot reportedly was attacked by militia with whips in downtown Sochi, about 20 miles from where Winter Olympics events are held. The band was preparing to perform, according to the Associated Press, when militia smashed a guitar and removed Pussy Riot members' trademark balaclava masks. On Tuesday, two members of the group were arrested and briefly detained by Russian police for reasons unclear.
Earlier Wednesday, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said that Olympic "venues are not the places to have demonstrations" and that Pussy Riot demonstrations at Olympic sites would be "wholly inappropriate."
Your Faithful Hockey and Curling Updates
Both ice hockey and curling continue to march toward their respective medal-round apotheoses. In women's curling, Canada and Sweden will face off for the gold medal in a rematch of the 2010 Olympic championship. The men's semifinals (Canada versus China, and Sweden versus Great Britain) begin on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET.
In women's hockey, Team USA and Canada square off Thursday for the gold medal in another 2010 title rematch. On the men's side (full bracket here), Sweden beat Slovenia to move on to the semifinals. Team USA plays the Czech Republic and Canada plays Latvia in a pair of quarterfinal match-ups beginning Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET. But Wednesday's biggest news was Finland shocking Russia in a 3-1 quarterfinal upset. That's a horribly disappointing loss for the host country and one can only imagine Vladimir Putin's reaction to the news.
Figure Skating to a Bieber Soudtrack? Maybe, in 2018
Next time you watch figure skating -- which, let's be honest, will be the 2018 Winter Olympics -- the sport will look a whole lot different. Actually, scratch that -- it will sound a whole lot different. Beginning next season, men, women and pairs skaters will be able to choreograph their routines to music with lyrics; until now, only instrumental tracks were allowed. The move is intended to help the sport appeal to younger fans.
“We have to innovate,” Katia Krier, a coach for France’s figure skating team, told the New York Times. “Our sport is already losing viewers, but we have to give people the desire to watch us. I think this could help."
That means you could see routines set to Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Led Zeppelin and even Tupac. We're curious to see what that looks like -- in four years.
What to watch for Wednesday: Elimination matches in hockey, men's curling semifinals and women's figure skating will all be streaming live during American working hours for your convenience. The event to watch, though, is likely women's bobsled, beginning at 11:15 a.m. ET. American Lauryn Williams looks to become the first women, and just the second person ever, to win gold medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics. As always, you can find the day's full event schedule and links to live streams right here.