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Olympic Names In The News: Ligety Leaves Big Legacy On U.S. Skiing

In N.Y., Bill Pennington notes if yesterday's giant slalom was U.S. skier Ted Ligety's "last Olympic appearance," he would leave a "legacy as a vital force in skiing" in the U.S. Ligety is the "only American male to win two Alpine Olympic gold medals," and he also has "worked hard to drag ski racing out of tedious, old-style ways." He "co-founded a helmet, eyewear and snow sports accessories company called Shred." He said the goal of the company was "bringing a youthful vibe back to skiing -- something the snowboarding movement stole from us" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/19).

BY HER SIDE: CBS' Dana Jacobsen noted U.S. speedskater Erin Jackson was able to have her father "by her side" in Pyeongchang following "online T-shirt sales to raise travel funds and a last-minute sponsorship" from IOC TOP sponsor Bridgestone. Jackson is the "first African-American woman to compete for the U.S. in long-track speedskating" and is part of "what's being hailed as the most diverse U.S. Winter Olympic team" ("CBS This Morning: Saturday," CBS, 2/17). 

GOING BEHIND THE MIC: In K.C., Aaron Rose noted Chiefs G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is serving "as a reporter for Radio-Canada" during the Games. Duvernay-Tardif is planning to complete his degree to become a physician this offseason, and the Quebec native pitched Radio-Canada on the idea of "combining his medial knowledge with athletic experience to tell stories about what athletes endure at the Olympics." While Duvernay-Tardif has "always been interested in journalism," he is "realizing it's harder than it looks" (K.C. STAR, 2/18).

MAKING MORE INROADS: Togo cross-country skier Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean said that the "record number of African countries competing in Pyeongchang proves the continent is warming to sports on snow and ice." She said that "nothing should hold the continent back from trying to carve out a place for itself at the Winter Games." That comes despite the "obvious challenges for Africa in producing winter sports athletes" (REUTERS, 2/19). Meanwhile, NBC's Dylan Dreyer asked the Nigerian bobsled team if it was true their quest "started with a wooden bobsled and crowdfunding." The team's Seun Adigun said, "We have a wooden bobsled that's named 'The Mayflower,' and then we went to GoFundMe in order to try and generate the funds, and it actually attracted some outstanding sponsors" ("Sunday Today with Willie Geist," NBC, 2/18).

A CRAZY GAME OF POKER: Rock band O.A.R. has "become unexpectedly and overwhelmingly relevant again" during the Games with the Olympic Athletes from Russia competing under the same initials. Lead singer Marc Roberge said, "When the games started the phone calls started coming in, the emails, the texts -- now to the point where every single morning I have a funny run-in with somebody about it. ... It's the most coverage we've had ever." The Olympics buzz "couldn't have come at a better time for the band," which is releasing a new single today (MASHABLE.com, 2/16).

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