Canada in Sochi- Day 15 Preview

The second last day of competition will feature 8 sets of medals handed out, but not too many chances for Canada to rise to the top, barring unexpected great performances. Canada needs golds in 4-man bobsleigh and Men’s Hockey on the final day in order to have a shot at an overall medal standing victory.

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Speed Skating- Men’s 5000m Team Pursuit (Finals 8:51am EST)

Canada (Vincent De Haitre, Lucas Makowsky, Mathieu Giroux and Denny Morrison) will race for 3rd place in the ‘B’ final against Team Poland. Canada’s has fared better than Poland in the past, and has a good shot for a bronze here.

Medal Chance: 70%

 

Snowboarding- Women’s Parallel Slalom (Qualifiers 12:15am EST, Playoffs 4:15am-5:46am)

Caroline Calve is Canada’s best hope in this event. She is ranked 6th on the world tour, and she will be joined by Arianne Lavigne and Msrianne Leeson in the field of 32 that will attempt to make it into the top 16 elimination rounds.

Medal Chance: 10%

 

Snowboarding- Men’s Parallel Slalom (Qualifiers 12:42am EST, Playoffs 4:27am-5:50am)

Matthew Morison is ranked 17th on the World Cup circuit, and in this volatile event that is enough to be in the medal mix. Mitchell Lambert and the 5-time vet Jasey-Jay Anderson will also compete again for Canada in the sharper-turning parallel event.

Medal Chance: 5%

 

Alpine Skiing- Men’s Slalom (Run 1 7:45am EST, Run 2 11:15am)

117 skiers will participate in the first run of the slalom, including Canadians Michael Janyk, Trevor Philp, Phillip Brown, and Brad Spence. Janyk is 28th on the world tour and has won medals in large events in the past, but he is a longshot to do so in Sochi.

Medal Chance: 4%

 

Biathlon- Men’s 4×7.5km Relay (9:30am EST)

Canada’s foursome of Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, Nathan Smith, Scott Perras, and Brendan Green will compete in the final biathlon event against 18 other countries. A top 10 finish is the goal here.

Medal Chance: 2%

 

Cross-Country Skiing- Women’s 30km Mass Start (4:30am EST)

Emily Nishikawa, Amanda Ammar, Heidi Widmer, and Brittany Webster will ski for Canada in the women’s ski marathon. None of them are likely to contend.

Medal Chance: 1%

 

Hockey- Men (10:00am EST)

Team USA will face Team Finland for bronze. Canada will get the day off to recover for Sunday’s gold medal game after a huge 1-0 over the Americans on Friday.

Medal Chance: 0%

Speed Skating- Women’s 3000m Team Pursuit (Finals 9:14am EST)

Canada will race for 5th place in the ‘C’ final. The team (Ivanie Blondin, Brittany Schussler, Christine Nesbitt, and Kali Christ) suffered a disappointing loss to Team Russia on Friday in the quarter-finals, missing a chance to defend their 2010 gold medal.

Medal Chance: 0%

Canada’s 4-man bobsleigh teams begin Run 1 at 11:20am EST and Run 2 at 1:00pm. Canada will have 3 sleds in the competition that is a medal hope for Canada on Day 16

Canada in Sochi- Day 9 Medal Preview

Only 5 sets of medals will be dolled out on Sunday, and the best chance for Canada to build on their twelve opening medals comes early in the morning.

Snowboarding- Snowboard Cross (Seeding 2:00am EST, Playoffs- 4:15am)

Olympic and World Champion Maelle Ricker will be joined by world class teammate Dominique Maltais in a great opportunity for Canada. The nature of sno cross is very unpredictable with at least three knockout rounds where a simple bump can eliminate you.

Medal Chance: 92%

 

Alpine Skiing- Men’s Super G (1:00am EST)

The Canadian cowboys will take another shot at breaking the alpine curse. Jan Hudec (7th in World Cup Standings for Super G), Erik Guay, Manuel Osborne-Paradis, and Morgan Pridy will go for Canada.

Medal Chance: 15%

 

Speed Skating- Women’s 1500m (9:00am EST)

Christine Nesbitt has a shot if she can improve on a strong performance she already laid down in the 1000m. Brianne Tutt, Kali Christ, and Brittany Schussler will also skate for Canada.

Medal Chance: 7%

 

Biathlon- Men’s 15km Mass Start (10:00am EST)

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, Nathan Smith, Scott Perras, and Brendan Green try again for Canada in the first of the mass starting biathlons. Le Guellec picked up a 5th earlier in the Olympics in the 10km Sprint.

Medal Chance: 5%

 

Cross-Country Skiing- Men’s 4x10km Relay (5:00am EST)

Canada will have a fairly low ranked team of the 16 countries in this four-racer event. Ivan Babikov, Jesse Cockney, Graeme Killick, and Len Valjas will ski for Canada.

Medal Chance: 3%

 

The Men’s Hockey preliminaries wrap up tomorrow. Canada will play Finland at 12:00pm EST, if they win they will clinch a bye past the qualification knockout round.

It’s the second last day of curling round-robin games and both Canadian teams will face the USA. The Men at 12:00am EST while the Women play at 5:00am EST (in what will be a tougher challenge). The men will then take on China (6-1) at 10:00am EST in their final round robin match. Two wins would guarantee a spot in the sem-finals.

Canada’s two-man bobsleigh teams will do their first two runs tomorrow (11:15am EST, 12:50pm). Canada 1 consisting of Lascelles Brown and Pierre Lueders is a legitimate contender.

Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue will skate the short program in the Figure Skating Ice Dance competition at 10:00am EST. Two other Canadian couples will also compete.

Canada in Sochi 2014- Day 7 Medal Preview

After an underachieving Day 6, Canada will be looking for a bounce back day, and will have a solid opportunity to do so. Six sets of medal will be given out.

Figure Skating– Men’s Pairs (10:00am EST)

Three time defending World Champion Patrick Chan will skate his Free Program from second place, 4pts behind Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu. Chan caught a break when Russian superstar Evgeni Pluschenko pulled out with back injury he sustained in warm up. Barring absolute disaster, Chan will medal tomorrow, it is only a matter of colour. Kevin Reynolds will start 15th after the Short.

Medal Chance: 98%

 

Skeleton- Women (Run 3 10:45am EST, Run 4 11:50am)

Sarah Reid sits 8th and Melissa Hollingsworth 16th after a disappointing first two runs. Reid trails bronze by 8 tenths of a second, and recovery for a medal isn’t likely. Reid picked up a 3rd place at the 2013 World Championships.

Medal Chance: 5%

 

Cross-Country Skiing- Men’s 15km Classic (5:00am EST)

Canada’s Alex Harvey goes for a second try at a medal, though his chances are unlikely. Graeme Killick, Devon Kershaw, Ivan Babikov will also compete.

Medal Chance: 4%

 

Biathlon- Women’s 15km Individual (9:00am EST)

The Canadian four get back at it again this morning for a third time this Olympics. Megan Imrie, Zina Kocher, Rosanna Crawford, and Megan Heinicke aren’t expected to medal, though there is an outside shot.

Medal Chance 3%

 

Alpine Skiing- Men’s Super Combined (Downhill 1:00am EST, Slalom 6:30am EST)

Morgan Pridy will be Canada’s lone entrant in the two run Super Combined. His best World Cup finish is 21st.

Medal Chance: 1%

 

Freestyle Skiing- Women’s Aerials (Qualification 8:45am EST, Finals 12:30pm)

Canada won’t have a competitor in this event. Their chance will come in Men’s Aerials on Monday.

Medal Chance: 0%

 

Canada’s Men’s Hockey Team will be back in action tomorrow verse Michael Grabner and Team Austria at 12:00pm EST.

The Men’s Curling Team faces a strong Norway team at 12:00am EST while the women have a day off.

4 Canadians will compete in the Men’s Large Hill Qualification Round at 12:30pm EST

Canada in Sochi: Day 4 Medal Preview

Day 4 features 8 sets of medals, and mostly uphill sledding for Canada to get on the podium.

Freestyle Skiing- Ladies Slopestyle (Qualification 1:00am EST, Finals 4:00am)

4 time X-games Gold Medallist Kaya Turski will be a favourite to medal for Canada in this brand new Olympic event. Dara Howell and Yuki Tsubota will also challenge for Canada in a relatively small field of only 22 athletes.

Medal Chance: 90%

 

Luge- Women’s Singles (Run 3 9:30am EST, Run 4 11:20am)

Canada’s Alex Gough and Kimberley McRae sit 5th and 6th after the first two runs. Gough (pronounced Gawff) sits only 0.25 seconds out of bronze, and finished second on the World Cup tour, so a comeback is plausible.

Medal Chance: 35%

 

Speed Skating- Ladies 500m (Race 1 7:45am EST, Race 2 9:34am)

Christine Nesbitt’s first event but not her strongest. Canada not likely to medal despite a full field of 4 athletes also including Anastasia Bucsis, Marsha Hudey and Danielle Wotherspoon.

Medal Chance: 8%

 

Cross-Country Skiing- Men’s Sprint (Qualification 4:25am EST, Final 8:30am)

Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey headline this four round event for the Canadian cross-country skiers. Harvey sits 8th on the World Cup tour and has reached the podium this season. Len Valjas and Jesse Cockney will represent Canada as well.

Medal Chance: 7%

 

Snowboarding- Men’s Halfpipe (Qualification 5:00am EST, Semis 10:00am, Final 1:30pm)

Brad Martin headlines the Canadian team in Shaun White’s Olympic swan song. Crispin Lipscomb and Derek Livingston will also compete.

Medal Chance: 6%

 

Biathlon- Women’s 10km Pursuit (10:00am EST)

Rosanna Crawford, Zina Kocher, Megan Imrie, and Megan Heinicke will give it their second shot in the 10k.

Medal Chance: 5%

 

Ski Jumping- Ladies Normal Hill (1st Round 12:30pm EST, Final Round 1:35pm)

Artsuko Tanaka and Taylor Henrich will compete for Canada in the event that fought and ultimately lost for inclusion in Vancouver four years ago. Neither are favourites to medal out of a field of 30 jumpers in another new Olympic event.

Medal Chance: 5%

 

Cross Country Skiing- Women’s Sprint (Qualification 5:00am EST, Final 8:22am)

2006 Gold medallist Chandra Crawford will compete in her third Olympics though likely won’t come away with a medal. Daria Gaiazova, Heidi Widmer, and Perianne Jones will also race for the red and white.

Medal Chance: 4%

 

The Curling teams will face Sweden tomorrow in tough round-robin match-ups                      (Women 12:00am EST, Men 5:00am EST)

Pairs Figure Skating Short Programs: Moscovitch/Moore-Towers, Radford/Duhamel. (10:00am EST)

 

Sochi Day 3: Medal Preview

There are 5 sets of medals being handed out on Monday and Canada has a few strong chances. Here they are, listed by likelihood of a Canadian medal:

Freestyle Skiing- Men’s Moguls (Qualification 9:00am EST, Finals 1:00pm EST)

Alex Bilodeau will look to defend his Olympic Gold from Vancouver, though his strongest challenge may come from teammate Mikael Kingsbury. Philippe Marquis and Marc-Antoine Gagnon round out the Canadian group of 4.

Medal Chance: 95%

Short Track Speed Skating- Men’s 1500m (Heats 4:45am EST, Semis 6:04am EST, Finals 7:05am EST)

Brothers Charles and Francois Hamelin get their first crack at the podium on Monday morning. Charles was this year’s world cup winner at this distance. Michael Gilday will also represent Canada.

Medal Chance: 85%

Biathlon- Men’s 12.5km Pursuit (10:00am EST)

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec will look to improve upon his 5th place finish in the 10km Sprint on Saturday. Nathan Green and Brendan Smith will round out the Canadian contingent in this stagger start event.

Medal Chance: 10%

Alpine Skiing- Women’s Super Combined (Downhill 2:00am EST, Slalom 6:00am EST)

This event will be Canadian star Marie-Michelle Gagnon’s first shot at the podium, though not her strongest. She sits 17th on the current world tour in this discipline.

Medal Chance: 5%

Speed Skating- Men’s 500m (Round 1 8:00am EST, Round 2 9:55am EST)

Muncef Ouardi, William Dutton, Jamie Gregg and Gilmore Junio will give it their all in the sprint distance on the long track, though they are not likely to medal.

Medal Chance: 3%