espnW Blog: 2014 Sochi Olympics
Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesLet me tell you, it is pretty cool to be in a training group with the athletes who'll be my biggest competition at the 2014 Sochi Games. I just wrapped up a great month in Scottsdale, Ariz., training alongside the reigning world-champion bobsled duo, Canadians Kaillie Humphries and Chelsea Valois.
Mike Hewitt/Getty ImagesIn about nine months, my teammates and I will make history: We'll be the first female ski jumpers to participate in the Olympics, as the sport makes its debut at Sochi 2014. Though we've had a World Cup circuit for two seasons and world championships since 2009, it's just not the same as getting our Olympic moment.
Courtesy of Hilary KnightHilary Knight is a forward on the U.S. women's hockey team that won gold April 9 at the world championships.The past week and a half has been a whirlwind of activity, ending with a victory against Canada for the world championship.
Courtesy of Julie ChuWinning as a team never gets old, but sometimes it’s just a bit more satisfying when there are some speed bumps and detours on the road to the gold medal. That was definitely the case for USA Hockey at the World Championships.
Courtesy of Julie ChuLast April, my teammates and I walked away from the World Women’s Hockey Championships with a silver medal after losing to Canada in overtime in a hard-fought final. Losses are never enjoyable, but this one involved falling short in extra time against our biggest rivals in front of a home crowd in Burlington, Vt.
Richard Bord/Getty ImagesI just got back home from France 15 minutes ago, so I'm pretty ready to crash, but I wanted to give the download from my season-ender at the X Games in Tignes. It was a tough contest, so I was psyched to walk away with the win.
Courtesy Elana MeyersIt’s official: The season is over. We wrapped up in mid-March with a pretty fun finale — a friendly co-ed national championship race where I teamed up with my fiance Nic Taylor as brakeman to race against Katie Eberling (my brakeman at the world championships this year) and Steve Holcomb, the No.
AP Photo/Mikhail MetzelAfter being on the road for what seemed like forever, I had about a week where I was able to relax and decompress at home in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., before I headed to the X Games in Tignes, France.
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)I've finished my last week of training and am now in London, Ontario, for the World Championships, which start on Thursday for the ladies. Since my lackluster performance at nationals, I did what any right-minded elite-level athlete would do: I obsessed about it.
Richard Heathcote/Getty ImagesYou may not know this about Sochi, the site of next year’s Olympic Winter Games, but it’s actually a summertime resort. It’s on the Black Sea, and it’s where a lot of Russians take their vacations.
Don CookExactly one year before the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, our team arrived in Sochi, ready for snowy weather and a world-class competition: The Sochi World Cup and Olympic test event would be held a week later, on Feb.
Jennifer Graylock/Getty ImagesOver the past several months, I’ve been taking mental notes on the questions people have been asking me in media interviews, on Twitter or just between friends and I’ve decided to try to answer them all.
Fabrice Cofrini/AFP/Getty ImagesThe last thing you want to hear almost a year after ACL surgery and a little more than a year before the Olympics is, “I’m not even sure you have an ACL.”That’s what my doctor told me on Dec.
Courtesy Emily CookOne of my goals as an athlete is to go into each competition feeling prepared and confident. I love planning, so setting strategies to reach my goals makes me feel in control. I have always considered this to be one of my strengths, but I was reminded early this season that sometimes success requires a serious deviation from the drawing board.
AP Photo/Let the -- countdown to the -- Games begin. A year from today, Sochi will kick off the 22nd edition of the Winter Olympics, hosting 98 medal events in 15 winter sports. There’s a wide temperature range across the vast Russia landscape, and some officials are concerned about the mild Sochi climate.