Japan's Asami Hirono crashes in the Snowboard Ladies' Slopestyle Final as heavy winds took the alpine events "hostage."getty images
Fierce winds at the Pyeongchang Games led to "postponements of competition and difficult conditions for some events that are continuing as scheduled," according to Madhani & Armour of USA TODAY. Monday's women's giant slalom was postponed because of "strong winds and will now take place Thursday." The men’s downhill on Sunday was "moved for the same reason" to Thursday. The women’s snowboard slopestyle went on as scheduled on Monday, but the winds "wreaked havoc with only five of the 25 riders able to complete their first of two runs." POCOG spokesperson Sung Baik-you warned that more postponements of ski competitions are "possible for the days ahead with 20 mph gusts in the forecast through Wednesday." IOC Dir of Communications Mark Adams added that committee officials "weren’t concerned that the postponements would have an impact on completing all the Games on time" (USA TODAY, 2/12). In Salt Lake City, Christopher Kamrani wrote the winds are "taking the first few days of these Games by hostage," throwing one of the "most popular portions of the Games into a blustery flux." The rest of the week could "potentially lead to more postponements," and the alpine events will start to be "stacked atop one another at the various venues" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 2/12).
NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT: The AP's Stephen Wade reported IOC President Thomas Bach on Monday described the Olympics as "off to a great start" and "dismissed the fact that high winds forced the first two Alpine skiing races to be rescheduled for later in the week when the cold and wind is expected to moderate." Bach: "These cancellations do not worry us at all. The international federations, with whom we have talked, they have told us there is no reason to worry. We have two weeks to go. We are an outdoor sport and we manage these kind of cancellations" (AP, 2/12).
SAFETY SHOULD COME FIRST: The AP's Eddie Pells reported Monday will go down as "one of the most unpleasant, dangerous days snowboarding has ever seen." Hundreds of fans "streamed toward the exits" while the women's snowboard slopestyle was ongoing, and the stands were "half empty as the afternoon wore on, with wind chills dipping to 5 degrees and below." Of the 50 runs, 41 "ended with a rider on her backside, or in a face plant, or ... in a slow ride toward the bottom after simply pulling up because they couldn't build enough speed to reach the crest of a ramp" (AP, 2/12).
WAS IT NECESSARY?: The GLOBE & MAIL's Cathal Kelly wrote Canadian snowboarder Spencer O'Brien said that "none of the riders had been consulted about going ahead, which is typical at professional events." O'Brien: "At the very least ... our opinions are taken into consideration. And that wasn't done here, on either day. I think 90 percent of the women did not want to ride today." The event went on as scheduled because NBC and other broadcasters have their schedules "written in ink for months." Sponsors have "trucked VIP clients in from around the world to stand on a ski hill on a specific day, and goddammit they're going to see some snowboarding" (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/12).
