Mikaela Shiffrin highlights what to watch on Day 2 – Pasadena Star News

BEIJING — Mikaela Shiffrin’s first occasion of the Beijing Olympics is the one she gained 4 years in the past.

The American star is about to defend her title within the large slalom, which shall be a part of prime-time protection of the Winter Video games on Sunday on NBC – though anybody who desires to observe to the top ought to plan on being up late. The second of the 2 large slalom runs is scheduled to begin after midnight Jap time.

The staff determine skating competitors additionally wraps up Sunday night time, and the lads’s slopestyle snowboarding ultimate may very well be one other spotlight within the U.S. after Purple Gerard gained that occasion in 2018.

Listed here are some issues to observe (all instances Jap):

ALPINE SKIING

The enormous slalom is the primary showdown between Shiffrin and Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova, whose rivalry is anticipated to stretch throughout a number of snowboarding occasions at these Olympics. Vlhova completed thirteenth at Pyeongchang in 2018 on this occasion, however she gained the world title a yr later.

Shiffrin’s two medals in 2018 had been her gold in large slalom and a silver in mixed, and she or he additionally gained the slalom in 2014.

The primary large slalom run is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. and shall be carried reside on NBC. The second run will air reside on the community’s late-night protection. USA Community may also have reside protection of the primary run.

FIGURE SKATING

The staff occasion can also be a part of NBC’s reside protection in prime time. That competitors finally ends up with the pairs’ free skate, free dance and ladies’s free skate.

The 5 international locations that advance to that stage are allowed to make a most of two substitutions to their lineups. American ice dancers Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue turned within the high efficiency of the rhythm dance, after they skated to a Janet Jackson medley.

SNOWBOARDING

The U.S. has gained each males’s slopestyle snowboarding occasions on the Olympics – Gerard in 2018 and Sage Kotsenburg in 2014. 5 of the six medals in these years went to North Individuals.

NBC plans to point out the slopestyle ultimate throughout its late-night protection.

BIG AIR

Freestyle snowboarding now consists of Massive Air – an occasion that was just for snowboarders in Pyeongchang. NBC and USA Community are exhibiting qualifying for the ladies’s competitors reside in prime time, and qualifying for the lads shall be reside throughout USA Community’s late-night protection.

Opponents will soar at Massive Air Shougang, a repurposed metal and iron mill that now holds the world’s solely everlasting Massive Air facility – and does so inside Beijing’s metropolis limits. Momentary constructions have been constructed for occasions at Boston’s Fenway Park and Atlanta’s Truist Park in recent times because the mountain sport tries to increase its attain into metropolitan areas.

U.S. freeskier Colby Stevenson has criticized these scaffold-supported momentary jumps as “fairly sketchy.” Critiques for the Shougang soar – positioned subsequent to a trio of deserted cooling towers – have been optimistic.

“They stunning a lot simply spliced a mountain soar and put it in a metropolis,” teammate Alex Corridor stated. “It’s fairly good wanting.”

NO LOCK

German luge star Felix Loch is a two-time Olympic champion in singles, however his bid for a 3rd straight title collapsed in surprising vogue when he bumped a wall on the ultimate run in 2018. He’s again, though he faces robust competitors from countryman Johannes Ludwig, amongst others.

The ultimate two runs in males’s luge shall be aired throughout the 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. time slot on USA Community and in prime time on NBC.

ALSO OF NOTE

The U.S. ladies’s hockey staff faces Switzerland reside at 8:10 a.m. on USA Community, with an encore presentation at 5 p.m. …