Turin 2006 Notebook
TURIN, Italy – Jeremy Bloom knows today may be his last competitive skiing event. He hopes it’s not his last time in the athletic limelight.
The U.S. moguls skier will attempt to win gold today, then head home to begin training for next week’s NFL Combine.
The former Colorado wide receiver gave up football after a battle with the NCAA over his skiing sponsorships. Now he hopes to return to his first love.
“It could be my last ski event,” Bloom said. “And if so, I would walk away with a huge smile on my face when it comes to skiing. I feel very fortunate to be able to have the experiences I’ve had. This opportunity here is incredible.
“But I look forward to immediately after this putting my heart and my passion into something that in my opinion was taken from me.”
Some people thought Bloom was crazy for continuing to ski. Why risk a lucrative NFL career to chase a medal?
“I love to ski, I love to compete,” he said. “For me, there really isn’t a bigger honor than to represent our country in the Olympics and walk in the Opening Ceremony.
“I think a lot of that gets lost in our celebrity-crazed culture and the constant desire to win. It’s really not about who finishes first but the experience and the camaraderie. We get to be around so many athletes from different countries who give most of their lives, not for money and not really for glory, but because they love to do it.
“It’s a really incredible feeling. That was a big draw for me to come back. And two-time Olympian sounds pretty cool, too.”
Bloom already has individual workouts scheduled for NFL teams after the combine. He said he knows he needs to add some weight for the NFL scouts, but believes that won’t be a problem.
As for the comparison between the two sports, Bloom said there isn’t much of one. When he gets to the gate today, he’ll be more relaxed than standing at the 20-yard line waiting for a punt.
“There’s not much like returning a punt,” he said. “I know no one is running to take my head off here.”
*
The U.S. men’s speed skating success has not translated to the women’s side yet. In yesterday’s 500-meter race, Jennifer Rodriguez was America’s best finisher, coming in 10th with a time of 77.70 seconds. Her time was 1.13 behind Russia’s Svetlana Zhurova, who won the gold.
Chris Witty, the Opening Ceremony U.S. flag bearer, finished 28th.
*
Samantha Retrosi of Saranac Lake was released from the hospital yesterday a day after her horrific luge crash. She suffered a concussion and a cut on her chin, and will not compete in the Games.
—
TV SCHEDULE
All Times EST – Subject to change
TODAY
MSNBC – Live: Men’s hockey: Sweden vs. Kazakhstan; Canada vs. Italy; Finland vs. Switzerland; Germany vs. Czech Republic; Russia vs. Slovakia, 5 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
USA – Live: Women’s curling: USA vs. Denmark, 8-11 a.m.
USA – Live: Men’s hockey: USA vs. Latvia, 3-6 p.m.
NBC – Speed skating Women’s Team Pursuit; Short Track Speed skating Women’s 500m Semifinal, 4-5 p.m.
CNBC – Men’s curling: USA vs. Italy, 5-8 p.m.
NBC – Alpine Skiing Women’s Downhill Final; Freestyle Skiing Men’s Moguls Final; Short Track Speed skating Women’s 500m Final, Men’s 5000m Relay Semifinal and Men’s 1000m prelims; Luge Men’s Doubles Final; Nordic Combined Team Final: Ski Jumping Large Hill; Cross Country Women’s Team 4x5km Relay, 8-11:30 p.m.
NBC – Speed skating Men’s Team Pursuit; Medals Plaza Award Ceremonies, 12:05-1:30 a.m.
NBC – Primetime replay, 1:30-5 a.m.
TOMORROW
USA – Live: Biathlon Women’s 7.5km Sprint Final; Men’s curling: USA vs. Sweden; Tape: Men’s Snowboarding Cross, 6-11 a.m.
MSNBC – Live: Men’s hockey: Finland vs. Italy; Czech Republic vs. Switzerland; Sweden vs. Russia; Slovakia vs. Latvia; Canada vs. Germany, 6 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
USA – Live: Men’s hockey: USA vs. Kazakhstan, 3-6 p.m. NBC – Cross Country Women’s 10km Final; Speed skating Women’s Team Pursuit Semifinals; Speed skating Men’s Team Pursuit Semifinals, 4-5 p.m.
CNBC – Women’s curling: USA vs. Sweden, 5-8 p.m.
NBC – Figure Skating Men’s Free Skate Final; Men’s Snowboarding Cross Final; Speed skating Women’s Team Pursuit Final; Speed skating Men’s Team Pursuit Final; Skeleton Women’s Final, 8 p.m.-Midnight
NBC – Medals Plaza Award Ceremonies, 12:35-2 a.m.
NBC – Primetime replay, 2-5 a.m.
—
Medals table (after 22 medal events)
Nation G S B Tot
Norway 1 5 5 11
Russia 4 3 2 9
United States 5 2 0 7
Germany 4 1 2 7
China 0 2 3 5
Netherlands 1 2 0 3
Canada 1 1 1 3
South Korea 1 1 1 3
Italy 1 0 2 3
Austria 0 2 1 3
Finland 0 1 2 3
Sweden 2 0 0 2
France 1 0 1 2
Estonia 1 0 0 1
Croatia 0 1 0 1
Czech Republic 0 1 0 1
Latvia 0 0 1 1
Switzerland 0 0 1 1
ALPINE SKIING
Men’s Combined
GOLD: Ted Ligety, Park City, Utah
SILVER: Ivica Kostelic, Croatia
BRONZE: Rainer Schoenfelder, Austria
BIATHLON
Men’s 10km Sprint
GOLD: Sven Fischer, Germany
SILVER: Halvard Hanevold, Norway
BRONZE: Frode Andresen, Norway
CROSS-COUNTRY
SKIING
Men’s Team Sprint
GOLD: Sweden (Thobias Fredriksson, Bjoern Lind)
SILVER: Norway (Jens Arne Svartedal, Tor Arne Hetland)
BRONZE: Russia (Ivan Alypov, Vassili Rotchev)
Women’s Team Sprint
GOLD: Sweden (Anna Dahlberg, Lina Andersson)
SILVER: Canada (Sara Renner, Beckie Scott)
BRONZE: Finland (Aino Kaisa Saarinen, Virpi Kuitunen)
LUGE
Women’s Singles
GOLD: Sylke Otto, Germany
SILVER: Silke Kraushaar, Germany
BRONZE: Tatjana Huefner, Germany
SPEEDSKATING
Women’s 500
GOLD: Svetlana Zhurova, Russia
SILVER: Manli Wang, China
BRONZE: Hui Ren, China
