Starting with Red Gerard's gold medal, the United States snowboarders have led the way in Pyeongchang, netting four of America’s five gold medals. This weekend, the skiers will try to catch up.
Two events could provide a medal haul for the U.S.: Men’s skiing slopestyle and men’s giant slalom. The Americans combined for four medals in the two events in Sochi, including a slopestyle sweep.
Here are four events to watch in Pyeongchang:
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1. U.S. Goes for Repeat Sweep
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Three Olympic medals have been awarded in the men’s skiing slopestyle event — and they all went to Americans. The event debuted in Sochi four years ago, and Americans took all three medals. Now, they’re hoping for a repeat sweep.
Gus Kenworthy, who won the silver medal four years ago, and Nick Goepper, who won the bronze, lead the U.S. contingent this time. McRae Williams rounds out the team.
Norway’s Oystein Braaten is expected to provide the stiffest competition. He won both X Games titles last season.
Watch live on NBC’s primetime coverage beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Watch the qualifying rounds on digital platforms at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Watch the elimination rounds on digital platforms at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday.
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2. Mr. GS Goes for Third Giant Slalom Gold
There’s a reason they call Ted Ligety Mr. GS. He was an Olympic gold medalist in the giant slalom, and he’s won three world titles. If he’s going to wind up on the podium in Pyeongchang, this is the event where it’s most likely to happen.
Of course, Mr. GS won all those medals and titles before a bad crash in 2016. He was sidelined for over a year recovering from an injured knee and back surgery. Now, at age 33, he’s trying to show he’s still one of the world’s best.
So far in Pyeongchang, he finished fifth in the Alpine combined, and he skied off the course in the super G.
For Ligety to win gold, he’ll have to beat one his longtime rival and friend, Austria’s Marcel Hirscher. Hirscher won an unprecedented sixth straight overall World Cup title last season, and his 55th World Cup victory in the giant slalom in January. He won the first Olympic gold medal earlier this week, in the Alpine combined.
Watch live on NBC’s primetime coverage beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Watch the first run on digital platforms at 5:15 p.m. Saturday.
Watch the second run on digital platforms at 8:45 p.m. Saturday.
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3. Jonathon Lillis Leaps Into Aerial Finals
American freestyle skier Jonathon Lillis made his Olympic debut ranked 10th in the world but he's now No. 1 in the rankings headed into the men's aerials finals. Lillis, the reigning world champion, nailed his quadruple twisting triple back flip Saturday with his first jump for a score of 127.44, the highest of the night. He'll have the advantage of going last on Sunday’s medal event.
China’s Qi Guangpu is also expected to contend for hardware. His teammate Jia Zongyang, Russian athlete Ilia Burov and Australia's David Morris also boasted high scores in qualifications.
The other two Americans in the event, Mac Bohonnon and Eric Loughran, failed to make it through qualifications, as did Anton Kushnir, the reigning gold medalist from Belarus.
Watch the aerials final on digital platforms at 3 a.m. Sunday morning.
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4. Bergsma Hopes to End Speedskating Struggles
A year ago, Heather Bergsma seemed destined to single-handedly end America’s speedskating struggles. She won 9 of 11 World Cup starts in the 1000m and 1500m distances, including world championships in both. She seemed a good bet to win multiple medals in Pyeongchang.
In the past year, though, she only won one World Cup race. And in her first two races in the Olympics, in the 1000m and 1500m, she finished in eighth place in both.
“I don’t feel quite as good as I did last year,” she told NBC Olympics. “I think it shows throughout the season.”
Now, if Bergsma is going to win a medal, she’ll have to do it in her weakest event, the 500m.
For the U.S., it’s more of the same: The Americans failed to win a speedskating medal in Sochi, and haven’t won one in Pyeongchang yet. Bergsma and teammate Brittany Bowe are America’s best bets in the 500m.
Watch the 500m race Sunday on digital platforms at 3:56 a.m.
