Winter Olympics Diary Day Two: Hosts struggle to keep pace with US
Our man in the Olympic Village explains why Whistler is suffering at the hands of the Pineapple Express, tips a Canadian to win gold for Australia and reports on the hosts’ struggle to keep up with their rivals’ impressive start.
“The host nation, currently sixth on the medal tally with one silver medal, has work to do if they are to keep up with their biggest rivals, the US.”
It’s a strange feeling now that it’s all here. I moved to Whistler back in 2004, shortly after Vancouver had won the bid for the 2010 Winter Games. Tonight, as I walk from one end of Whistler Village to the other in the pouring rain, I’m thinking what many Whistler locals are thinking: “Where is the reliable February weather of previous years?”
Coastal British Columbia is currently suffering at the hands of the Pineapple Express, a warm, wet weather system that strikes the West Coast during El Niño years. Two years ago we had snow from one end of the Valley to the other. Last year was a tough snow year for Whistler, but there were a lot of sunny days. Ironically, 2009 was an amazing snow year for the Vancouver resorts, including the snowboard and freestyle venue Cypress Mountain.
But it never was going to be perfect. Today’s postponement of the Men’s Downhill is testament to the Whistler’s fickle weather. From ‘96 to ‘99 the FIS World Cups were cancelled in Whistler due to poor visibility and too much snow.
Tonight’s weather in Vancouver threatened to postpone the Women’s moguls final, but luckily the strong winds blew the fog away allowing sufficient visibility to run the event. There was disappointment for the Canadians with their first gold medal hopeful Jennifer Heil having to settle for silver, American Hannah Kearney won the gold with a stellar run with no visible errors.
The euphoria of the opening celebrations has passed. It’s time to get down to business. The host nation is currently sixth on the medal tally with one silver medal. Canada has some work to do if they are to keep up with their biggest rivals, the US.
Best Bet: Men’s Freestyle Moguls Gold Medal- Dale Begg-Smith. At healthy odds of 2.92, the number one World Cup ranked mogul skier is Canadian born but competes for Australia. Begg-Smith is on the mend from an injury but will likely repeat his exceptional gold-winning run he made in Torino in 2006.
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