Pre-Olympics News (Feb 6 - Feb 22)

[powderjunkie]

Once the events start there is a whole forum section for discussion, but perhaps a thread here would be good until then.

Some hijinks in skeleton qualifying:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/26/sport...x-newtab-en-us

Skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender says she should have been going to the 2026 Olympics in Italy next month. As a veteran of five Winter Games from 2006 to 2022, sliding in Turin, Vancouver, Sochi, PyeongChang and Beijing, the American would have made history by competing in a sixth.

What denied her entry to the Milan-Cortina Olympics was her final qualification event in the North American Cup earlier this month at Lake Placid, where several Canadian competitors were withdrawn at the last minute. Despite Uhlaender winning the race, the sudden reduction in the number of athletes competing had reduced the amount of qualification points available, leaving her just short.

Uhlaender accused the Canadian team and its coach, Joe Cecchini, of intentionally withdrawing the athletes, deliberately manipulating the field to benefit one of their own sliders’ bids for qualification.

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton denied anything untoward, telling CNN Sports in a statement, “BCS remains confident that its actions were appropriate, transparent, and aligned with both athlete welfare and the integrity of the sport.” Cecchini didn’t respond to CNN Sports’ request for comment.

Skeleton’s governing body also dismissed Uhlaender’s complaint, but she wasn’t the only athlete to have been negatively impacted at Lake Placid and, since then, an increasing number of national teams have rallied behind her.

I'm not sure why any athlete would spend any time in a ####hole fascist country if it didn't benefit them. Hard to feel bad for this American crybaby considering she already did the Olympics in Italy 20 freaking years ago!

[Bigtime]

ICE Agents Set to Have Security Role During Winter Olympics in Italy, Prompting Uproar

https://variety.com/2026/sports/glob...ly-1236642001/

The prospect of ICE agents in Italy following the recent killings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis has sparked strong polemics.

The controversy comes amid political backlash in Italy over footage that surfaced on social media on Sunday of two Italian state broadcaster RAI journalists who were reporting in Minneaolis for a RAI show called “In Mezz’Ora.” Their car was stopped and surrounded by ICE agents who threatened to break their car window and extract them from the vehicle. Italy’s centre-left opposition on Sunday called on the country’s right-wing government, headed by premier Giorgia Meloni, to protest to the U.S. over the incident

On Tuesday, Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said that ICE agents were “not welcome.”

“This is a militia that kills … It’s clear that they are not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about it. Can’t we just say no to Trump for once?” the mayor said in an interview with Italy’s RTL 102.5 radio.

[Locke]

That Mayor is probably out of luck. Italy's Federal Government is probably very on-board with this and they're probably the ones that kicked in the majority of the funding.

[powderjunkie]

Flag bearers announced yesterday:

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/w...pics-9.7063893

Mogul skiing is still great, but not as great as great as when Jean Luc Brassard was throwing daffies.

[puffnstuff]

Kingsbury >>> Brassard

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Flag bearers announced yesterday:

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/w...pics-9.7063893

Mogul skiing is still great, but not as great as great as when Jean Luc Brassard was throwing daffies.

He is, in large part responsible for the shape of my knees today.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

He is, in large part responsible for the shape of my knees today.

You owed him money did you? You never want to owe the French money...

[Manhattanboy]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Once the events start there is a whole forum section for discussion, but perhaps a thread here would be good until then.

Some hijinks in skeleton qualifying:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/26/sport...x-newtab-en-us



I'm not sure why any athlete would spend any time in a ####hole fascist country if it didn't benefit them. Hard to feel bad for this American crybaby considering she already did the Olympics in Italy 20 freaking years ago!

Well this thread started well.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

He is, in large part responsible for the shape of my knees today.

Better him than Tonya Harding.