Team USA Scores Seven Medals in Early Winter Games

By Anna Hewitt
February 13, 2018

Chris Mazdzer is a member of the USA Men’s Luge Team.

The United States is off to an early start in their medal count, with their first medal of the Olympics won by a 17-year-old.

Red Gerard, from Silverthorne, Colorado, won the Men’s Slopestyle Snowboarding event. After his second out of three runs, he was in last place on the leaderboard. Red descended his last time, wowing the judges, however, there were still riders at the top waiting to go. Shockingly, he held onto the gold position with a total of 87.16 to end the event.

Adam Rippon and Mirai Nagasu, members of the U.S. Figure Skating Team, both stand with bronze medals around their neck.

The U.S. scored another gold for the Women’s Team. Jamie Anderson, 27, defending gold medalist of the 2014 Sochi Games, obtained her second gold medal in the Women’s Slopestyle Snowboarding.

Following Anderson, Chris Mazdzer competed in the Men’s Singles Luge. Before the games, he was frustrated with his performances, however picking up a silver for the United States is nothing to be ashamed of. Mazdzer is the first American to ever make the podium in this dangerous event.

Chloe Kim, a favorite in the Women’s Halfpipe, controlled the leaderboard from the beginning.

The U.S. Figure Skating Team represented us well. Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon, Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu, Alexa Scimeca Knierim, Chris Knierim, Maia Shibutani, and Alex Shibutani participated in the Team Figure Skating Event. They finished in third, winning a bronze medal.

To continue, the U.S. Women’s Halfpipe Snowboarding added another two medals to the count: one gold and one bronze. Chloe Kim, from Long Beach, California, completed her first run with a huge score of 93.75, which landed her in first place for the entire competition. Her final score was a 98.25.

Arielle Gold won a bronze medal in the Women’s Halfpipe event.

The second medal in Women’s Halfpipe was won by 21-year-old, Arielle Gold. She finished the event with a total of 85.75 points. This was her second Olympics, and she suffered a dislocated shoulder in practice while waiting to compete in Pyeongchang. Arielle had the same injury in the Sochi Olympics. She pushed through and won a bronze medal this year.

Shaun White’s goal was to make a comeback in this year’s Olympics. He wanted to win finish with no regrets with his performance. Recently, Shaun had a bad accident in the halfpipe, and he was scared about risking his health if he kept competing. Everyone is glad he decided to continue, as he landed the U.S. another gold medal in the Men’s Halfpipe Snowboard. This medal was the United States’ one-hundredth Winter Olympic Gold.

Shaun White, 31, won his third Olympic gold medal.

The United States is currently in fifth place in the medal count. Germany is leading with a total of twelve.