Best of Beijing (USA Edition)

Beijing 2.0 is history, our second straight Olympics that just felt off.  The COVID restrictions and lack of fans really did have an impact on the atmosphere and the entire experience.  But, once again, they pulled it off, and the athletes delivered with numerous spectacular performances.

As usual, several of those performances were turned in by Team USA.  Americans won eight gold medals, a pretty standard number for the Winter Games, which may end up becoming nine depending on whether the team figure skating are reallocated or not.  Some were expected.  Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim were supposed to dominate and did.  Some weren't.  Mixed team aerials?

And some of the best performances weren't even gold medal winners.  You had Jessie Diggins winning two medals and Elana Meyers Taylor coming out of COVID quarantine to win a silver and a bronze.  They're right up there along with Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim among my Beijing Top 10 for Team USA.  Here they all are.

10. Shaun White says goodbye: In his fifth and final Olympics, Shaun White didn't medal.  It didn't matter.  Because the guys who beat him grew up watching him win gold in Torino.  And Vancouver.  And PyeongChang.  They're his legacy.  He's meant that much to his sport.

9. Ryan Cochran-Siegle's surprise silver: It wasn't the best Olympics for the U.S. alpine ski team.  Mikaela Shiffrin's 0-for-6 was well documented.  There was one exception, though.  Ryan Cochran-Siegle.  He won the only American alpine medal of the Games--a silver in the Super G, the same event in which his mom won Olympic gold 50 years ago.

8. Jessie Diggins makes more history: How did Jessie Diggins follow up a 2018 Games that saw her (along with Kikkan Randall) become the first American to win Olympic gold in cross country skiing?  By becoming the first American cross country skier to win two medals in the same Olympics, just the second and third individual medals for the U.S. in the sport.  What's more impressive, she did it in the longest (silver in the 30 km) AND shortest (silver in the sprint) events on the women's program.

7. Men's hockey's surprise run: When the NHL announced that it wasn't sending its players to Beijing after all, USA Hockey only had about six weeks to put together a men's team.  They turned mainly to the minor league and college ranks, and they ended up with a pretty good squad.  So good, in fact, that they were the only team to go 3-0 in pool play, including a win over Canada.  Sure, it ended with a shootout lose to eventual bronze medalist in Slovakia in the quarterfinals.  But it was quite a ride nonetheless!

6. From "O Canada" to "the Star-Spangled Banner": Bobsledder Kaillie Humphries won three Olympic medals, including two gold, while representing Canada.  She became an American citizen in December.  And in her first Olympics representing the United States, Humphries won a third career Olympic gold, this time in the new monobob event, which aired live immediately after the Super Bowl.  A fitting conclusion to Super Gold Sunday!

5. Chloe Kim repeats: Chloe Kim was just 17 when she won gold in the women's halfpipe in PyeongChang.  What would she do for an encore in Beijing?  How about scoring a 94.0 (out of 100) in her first run of the final and becoming the first woman to repeat as Olympic champion in the event...in dominant fashion?

4. Nathan Chen's brilliance: We knew we were in for something special with Nathan Chen before the Opening Ceremony had even taken place with that spectacular short program in the team event!  He was even more spectacular in the men's event, blazing to a gold medal that he was expected to win and everyone knew was his the second his program ended.  Quite the story of redemption after his disappointing PyeongChang Games.

3. Elana Meyers Taylor's wild two weeks: Elana Meyers Taylor was supposed to carry the American flag in the Opening Ceremony.  She couldn't because she was in quarantine after testing positive for COVID.  She got out of quarantine in time for the monobob competition and won silver.  She then added a bronze in two-woman to become the most decorated Black American Winter Olympian ever.  Then, to top it all off, she got the chance to carry the American flag after all...in the Closing Ceremony.

2. Lindsey Jacobellis' redemption (x2): Back in 2006, Lindsey Jacobellis was on her way to Olympic gold when she attempted a showboating trick on the last jump, fell and finished with silver.  She carried that memory from Torino to Vancouver to Sochi to PyeongChang.  Then in Beijing, at her fifth Olympics, she finally got that Olympic gold 16 years later!  She added another in the new mixed team event, where her partner was 40-year-old Nick Baumgartner, who had a tear-filled interview after he was eliminated in the quarterfinals the men's event, not knowing if it was his last chance at the Olympics.  Turns out, it wasn't.  After the mixed team final, his tears were for a very different reason.

1. Erin Jackson strikes gold: To me, there was no better American story in Beijing than Erin Jackson.  Jackson, the No. 1 ranked skater in the world in the 500 meters, failed to make the team in the event after stumbling at Olympic Trials and finishing third.  However, Brittany Bowe gave up her spot, giving Jackson the chance to compete in Beijing.  She took full advantage of the opportunity, setting an Olympic record and becoming the first American woman to win speed skating gold in 20 years.

There were so many more memorable moments for Team USA at Beijing 2.0, but those are my top 10 favorites.  Coming up tomorrow, the Best of Beijing international edition.  Stay tuned...