Delays due to fog meant that a total of seven gold medals were available on Tuesday in Sochi and the slopes were once again kind to Team USA.
The pair of medals came in Snowboard Cross and the Ski Halfpipe, including a gold for David Wise who threw down a big run of 92.0 to set the pace. He managed to avoid worsening conditions to secure a top finish and put USA back into the medal standings.
Snowboard
Alex Deibold of Team USA captured bronze after an injury riddled 2013 season made it unclear whether he could have an impact in Sochi. It was an emotional day for the snowboarder, who dedicated his win to Chelone Miller, late brother of American skier Bode Miller.
France captured their third gold medal of the games at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park with Pierre Vaultier bouncing back from a 10th place finish in Vancouver in 2010.
Medal | Country | Name |
Gold | France | Pierre Vaultier |
Silver | Russia | Nikolay Olyunin |
Bronze | USA | Alex Deibold |
Alpine Skiing
Tina Maze of Slovenia won her second gold medals of the games with a win in the Women's Giant Slalom. She posted a time of 2:36.87, just seven one-hundredths of a second above the silver medal winner.
Team USA finished in fifth place with Mikaela Shiffrin a quarter of a second outside the podium.
Medal | Country | Name |
Gold | Slovenia | Tina Maze |
Silver | Austria | Anna Fenninger |
Bronze | Germany | Viktoria Rebensburg |
Biathlon
There weren't many surprises in the medalists, but a shock ending that almost cost Norway gold following a premature celebration. It was an unbelievable ending to a great race, which saw Emil Hegle Svendsen hold on, resulting in a silver from France.
Medal | Country | Name |
Gold | Norway | Emil Hegle Svendsen |
Silver | France | Martin Fourcade |
Bronze | Czech Republic | Ondrej Moravec |
Nordic Combined
Any event with cross country skiing elements have been big for Norway, who have won a total of 14 medals in these sports.
That occurred again in the Nordic Combined on Tuesday when a 1-2 finish added to the Norwegian medal tally. The win vaunted the country into second in the standings, threatening Germany in first place.
Medal | Country | Name |
Gold | Norway | Joergen Graabak |
Silver | Norway | Magnus Hovdal Moan |
Bronze | Germany | Fabian Riessle |
Speed Skating
Two events took place on Tuesday with the short track hosting the Women's 3000 m relay. It featured a shock disqualification of China, which took the team out of the silver medal position and pushed them off the podium. This allowed Italy to sneak in and Korea continued its domination of the event.
Medal | Country |
Gold | Korea |
Silver | Canada |
Bronze | Italy |
The Netherlands continued a complete domination of the regular track with another sweep in the Men's 10000 m. An Olympic Record fell in the event and for a while it appeared that a World Record could be in the cards until Sven Kramer fell off in the final laps to take the silver.
Medal | Country | Name |
Gold | Netherlands | Jorrit Bergsma |
Silver | Netherlands | Sven Kramer |
Bronze | Netherlands | Bob De Jong |
Freestyle Skiing
David Wise of Team USA captured gold following a stellar 92.0 in his first run to lead the podium.
Snow fell steadily during the final of the Men's Ski Halfpipe, which caused problems for competitors who were forced to deal with uneven ground inside the pipe. It slowed down skiers which proved problematic, especially in the second run.
Medal | Country | Name |
Gold | USA | David Wise |
Silver | Canada | Mike Riddle |
Bronze | France | Kevin Rolland |
More on the Winter Olympics:
• SB Nation's Winter Olympics medal tracker | Meet Team USA
• Godfrey: The high anxiety of the Canadian hockey fan
• Spencer Hall: You'll never be a secret Scaninavian
• Norway loses in curling, and the pants are gone
• Hockey: Men’s schedule | All 12 men’s rosters | USA roster analysis