Image: Gero Breloer/Associated Press
Most of the biggest Winter Olympics events happen in the evening â€" local time in Sochi, Russia â€" which means morning or early afternoon stateside. But plenty of action also happens during the day in Sochi, when folks in the United States are fast asleep. So we're here to catch you up on the stories you might have missed overnight so you won't miss a beat this morning.
A Gold Medal Tie?
Never in the history of the Olympics had women's downhill skiing seen gold medal tie. Until Wednesday.
Slovenia's Tina Maze and Switzerland's Dominique Gisin both finished the Sochi women's downhill course with identical times of 1 minute, 41.57 seconds. Maze was one of the race's favorites, while Gisin was more of an underdog contender. The two are good friends, however, and appeared to enjoy sharing the win together. They even held hands on the medal podium.
But wait! Was it really a tie? Daniel Baumat is the vice president of Swiss Timing, the company that officially keeps time for Olympic competitions. He admitted to the New York Times that, if pressed, they could probably name just one winner from Wednesdays race: “There is a more precise number, to the 10,000th. But the rule is to report to the hundredths. We follow the rule," he said.
Team USA Gets Off the Curling Schneid
The U.S. men's and women's curling teams got off to rough combined start of 0-5 during group play this week. The men's team, who we profiled in January, finally got an elusive win for Team USA, beating Denmark 9-5 on Wednesday. Team captain John Shuster credited the arrival in Sochi of his wife and 9-month-old son for the improved performance.
Ten countries are competing in the Olympic curling tournament, which after round-robin play (everyone plays everyone once) will narrow into a four-team tournament for medals. That begins next Wednesday.
Meanwhile, here's your daily update on the wacky duds favored by the Norwegian men. The team beat Germany 8-5 for its third straight win, this one earned while wearing knee-high knickers. "It was knickerbockers vs. lederhosen today," Norway's Christoffer Svae said after the match. "And the knickerbockers won.''
Norway's Christoffer Svae shouts sweeping instructions after delivering the rock during men's curling competition against Germany at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in Sochi, Russia.
Image: Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press
Get Ready for Awesome Skeleton Helmets
Skeleton competition â€" think a one-person, extra-dangerous, somewhat-bobsled-like contraption â€" begins Thursday and concludes with medal action Friday. On Wednesday, most skeleton athletes got in their last training sessions before the real fun begins. Skeleton athletes' helmets are probably the coolest bits of Olympic apparel around, so we're mainly just excited to see more art pieces like this one over the next few days.
Katie Uhlaender of the United States speeds down the track during the women's skeleton training at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
Image: Dita Alangkara/Associated Press
Costas Still on Injured Reserve
A day after breaking his streak of hosting 157 consecutive nights of Olympics primetime coverage, Bob Costas' gnarly infected eyes still have him sidelined. Matt Lauer will continue hosting on Wednesday, and it sounds like Costas is taking it day by day.
Ready for Some Ice Hockey?
The American women's team had a huge match against Canada in group play on Wednesday morning (at time of this writing, Canada beat Team USA 3-2), its second of the Olympics. The American men's team, meanwhile, takes the ice for the first time on Thursday against Slovenia. Coach Dan Bylsma on Wednesday named Jonathan Quick of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings as his starting goalie for the opening match. Quick got the nod over Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres and Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings. Tournament play begins next week for both the men and women.
What to watch for today: Wednesday's top events include the men's 1000m speedskating final, doubles luge, pairs free skate figure skating and the women's snowboarding halfpipe final. Here is a full schedule and streaming links.
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