The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi have come to a close, and the two weeks of frosty action brought several great moments that fans will likely remember for quite some time. Each day had its fair share of memorable events, but here are 10 of the best from the Sochi games.
U.S. vs. Canada in Women's Hockey: This one didn't go so well for the good ol' U.S. of A., but there's no denying that the gold medal game in women's hockey was tense, dramatic and ultimately thrilling. Yes, Canada came back from a late deficit and stunned America, but the game was a classic.
Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir: Seriously, these two were amazing together every time they were on screen. Reports indicate they'll be back for the next Winter Olympics, and we're all for it.
The Dutch own the planet at Speed Skating: The athletes from the Netherlands swept the podium in four separate speed skating events in Sochi. That's 12 out of 12 medals. We're no math experts, but that's pretty impressive.
Bode Miller's tears: Bode Miller may have underperformed in the Olympics (he didn't earn a medal until the second half of action), but his emotional interview with Christin Cooper became the real subject of debate with regard to the U.S. skier. He appeared on the Today show and said he had no problem with her personal questions about his deceased brother, which some called unprofessional.
Bob Costas' pink eye: This clearly has nothing to do with athletics, but it was technically part of the Olympics, so we're counting it. Honestly, this became a much bigger deal than it should have, as Costas was just trying to work through the problem. But the time off definitely did him, and the viewers, some good.
The Dufour-Lapointes dominate moguls: Three sisters from the Dufour-Lapointe family competed against each other on the highest possible level in the women's moguls at the Sochi games. Justine and Chloe earned gold and silver, respectively, in the final event, while Maxime came up short of the podium when she wiped out on her second run. It's hard enough for one family member to become an Olympian, but three in one sport is even more rare.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White: This duo earned the first Olympic gold medal for the U.S. in ice dancing and earned world record scores in the short dance, free dance and total combined scores. These two lived up to the hype and then some.
Noriaki Kasai wins first medal in 20 years: The Japanese ski jumper had not won a medal since the Lillehammer games in 1994, but he broke that cold streak in Sochi with a silver medal in the individual large hill event and a bronze in the team event. He finished just 1.3 points short of Poland's Kamil Stoch in the individual event, and a win would have made him the oldest gold medalist in the history of the Winter Olympics. And he's not slowing down, as he plans to come back for his eighth Olympics in 2018.
Vic Wild wins gold, Russian wife wins bronze: Washington native and alpine snowboarder Vic Wild claimed the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association was not supporting him enough, so he became a Russian citizen after he married fellow snowboarder Alena Zavarzina in 2011. The two captured gold in the 2014 Winter Olympics, as he took gold in the men's parallel giant slalom mere moments after his wife won bronze in the women's event. And this all happened with Justin Reiter, the only U.S. snowboarded in the event, cheering him on as he went for the gold. Reiter, Wild's former U.S. teammate, has occasionally lived out of his truck in order to afford the sport.
U.S. Men's Hockey recaptures some Lake Placid magic: It wasn't quite the Miracle on Ice, but the U.S. men's hockey team put on a classic with Russia in which St. Louis Blue's winger T.J. Oshie made four of six shots in a shootout to lift the U.S. to a 3-2 victory. President Obama tweeted the player, who gained 130,000 followers in the hours after the game, and Oshie did a media tour after his heroics earned a memorable win for the U.S. Let's all just pretend the Canada and Finland games never happened, okay?
What were your favorite moments from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi? Let us know in the comments below.
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