Winter Olympics Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

These Athletes From The Northwest Are Going To The 2022 Winter Olympics

By Tom Banse January 24, 2022

Washingtonians Corinne Stoddard of Federal Way (third from left) and Eunice Lee of Bellevue (third from right) punched their tickets to Beijing at the 2022 U.S. Olympic Short Track Speedskating Team Trials in December.

The presence of eleven skiers, skaters and sliders with ties to the Pacific Northwest should add intrigue to the 2022 Beijing Olympics, although the upcoming sports spectacle beset with extreme COVID precautions, a diplomatic boycott and scarce snowfall hardly needs more drama. Several late additions to the Team USA Olympic roster upped the regional representation at next Read More

Pipeline Of Short Track Speedskaters From Washington To Olympics Grows Longer

By Tom Banse January 20, 2022

Inline skating coach Darin Pattison proudly stands beside some of the many photos of one of his proteges, Olympic short track speedskater Corinne Stoddard of Federal Way, WA, at the Pattison West roller rink in Stoddard’s hometown.

A roller skating rink in Federal Way, Washington, has a remarkable track record of minting future ice skating Olympians. It started in the 1990s and 2000s with four-time Olympic long track speedskater K.C. Boutiette and short track gold medalist Apolo Ohno. The streak will extend to an eighth consecutive Winter Olympics when a new short track speedskater on Team USA named Read More

Skiers, Hockey Stars With Northwest Ties Champing At Bit To Qualify For 2022 Olympics

By Tom Banse October 19, 2021

An Olympic torch lighting ceremony in (Ancient Olympia,) Greece on Monday started the countdown to the next Winter Olympics. Those games will unfold in Beijing three-and-a-half months from now. Olympic hopefuls from the Northwest are undeterred by controversies swirling around the host country. Read More

No Medals, But Golden Memories For Northwest Athletes At 2018 Winter Olympics

By Tom Banse February 27, 2018

Western Washington University student Breezy Johnson competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in women's downhill and Super-G. CREDIT: SARAH BRUNSON / U.S SKI & SNOWBOARD

The Winter Olympics ended Sunday under a shower of fireworks with athletes waving flags and dancing exuberantly to K-Pop music. None of the 13 athletes with Pacific Northwest roots who competed in PyeongChang won a medal. But they seem to be coming home happy anyway.Read More

Bobsled Offers Last Realistic Chance Of Medal For Northwest Olympians

By Tom Banse February 22, 2018

File photo. Sam Michener of Gresham, Oregon, head up in back, is the last hope for the Northwest to bring home a medal from PyeongChang. CREDIT: SAM MICHENER

The four-man bobsled competition at the Winter Olympics this weekend offers the last realistic chance for a Pacific Northwest athlete to bring home a medal. None of the 12 Northwest Olympians in South Korea has stood on the podium so far in these Winter Games.Read More

U.S. Women’s Hockey Team Wins Gold, Beating Canada In Penalty-Shootout Thriller

By NPR News February 22, 2018

The American women won for the first time in 20 years, after tying the score late and forcing overtime against their archrival, Canada. Then it went to a penalty shootout.Read More

More Ways Than Ever To Watch The Olympics, And Fewer Are Watching In Prime Time

By NPR News February 21, 2018

Prime-time viewership is lower than it was for the Sochi Winter Games, though NBC is still drawing more viewers in prime time than its competitors.Read More

Northwest Raised And Trained, But Competing Under Foreign Flags At Olympics

By Tom Banse February 20, 2018

File photo of PyeongChang Olympic Plaza. CREDIT: KOREA.NET

If you've been watching the Winter Olympics, you may have noticed athletes native to one country competing for a different country's team. In fact, there are three Northwest-raised and trained Olympians who are competing under foreign flags.Read More

Not Just For Olympians: Luge Sledding Comes To The Northwest

By Tom Banse February 16, 2018

Recreational luge sledding happens on groomed trails rather than an icy chute as used in the Winter Olympics. CREDIT: LOUP LOUP SKI BOWL

Now that the Winter Olympics have you pumped about snow sports, you might head into the hills for some real, live athletic feats. Conveniently, a ski area in north central Washington state has set up a luge sledding course.Read More

Not Just For Olympians: Northwest’s Ski Jumping Heritage Alive In Leavenworth

By Tom Banse February 14, 2018

In the heyday of ski jumping at the Leavenworth Ski Hill, competitors climbed a walkway to the top of the large ski jump. CREDIT: SKI HERITAGE FOUNDATION

If you're looking for an adrenaline-packed event to watch on TV during this year’s Winter Games, you’ll almost certainly be drawn to ski jumping. It’s a sport where the competitors speed down a ramp at nearly 60 mph before soaring hundreds of feet through the air.Read More

Jamie Anderson Repeats, Winning Olympic Gold In Slopestyle

By NPR News February 12, 2018

Gold medalist Jamie Anderson of the United States celebrates during the victory ceremony for the snowboard slopestyle, at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. CREDIT: CAMERON SPENCER/GETTY IMAGES

Strong winds forced a change: instead of snowboarders getting three runs to net a best score, they got just two tries. Jamie Anderson needed only one — and, she said, "my lion power."Read More

Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony: Pyeongchang Welcomes The World

By NPR News February 9, 2018

Fireworks go off at the start of the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. CREDIT: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The Winter Olympics opening ceremony took place Friday evening in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Luger Erin Hamlin was Team USA's flag-bearer at the ceremony.Read More

Bigger Than Ever, And More Diverse: Team USA At The 2018 Winter Olympics

By NPR News February 9, 2018

The U.S. squad, 242 strong, has more women than ever. It also includes 10 African-Americans, 11 Asian-Americans and the first two openly gay athletes to compete for the U.S. at a Winter Olympics.Read More

Excited for the Olympics? Warm Up For The 2018 Games With Ravel, Gershwin And Rachmaninoff

By Jessie Jacobs February 6, 2018

This year’s Olympics will sound slightly different – the PyeongChang games will be the first in which figure skaters can use music with vocals during their performances. But classical music […]Read More

Northwest-Raised Skiers Among 3 Sets Of Siblings On U.S. Olympic X-C Team

By Tom Banse February 2, 2018

Athletic talent runs in the family on the U.S. Olympic team headed to South Korea for the 2018 Winter Games. There are three sets of siblings on this year's Olympic cross-country skiing squad—two of which have Northwest roots.Read More

Team USA To Wear Northwest Wool At Winter Olympics Ceremonies

By Tom Banse January 23, 2018

When Team USA marches into a South Korean stadium for the Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies next month, they'll be swathed in Northwest wool. Team sponsor Ralph Lauren used wool from an Oregon ranch for the patriotic sweaters, mittens and hats.Read More