Today, we should have been at women's snowboard cross at the Bohang Snow Park, but instead we are going to go to women's 5,000 meter speed skating. This is an evening event and after nearly two weeks of going non-stop in Korea, we are starting to wear down. We don't get up until about 9:30 AM. By then, everyone has gone. But we notice that Sunny has left us a New Years Day card. Lunar New Year is a really big deal in Korea and all of Asia. Sunny has been cooking nearly non-stop whenever she has been home for the last two days. This morning, the whole family took all of the special food items Sunny has prepared and went to her in-laws for brunch to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Dog.
I work on the blog. Yes, I know that it seems like I don't produce them very often for all the time I say I am working on it, but I'm doing the best that I can. Anyway, around 1 PM, we decide that we have to get something to eat. Today, we decide to check out the CU. I'd say that CU is the 7/11 of Korea, but they are here too. CU is the largest convenience store chain in Korea and there is one just outside the gates of Sunny's apartment complex.
This store is a little larger than the one that we visited that is in Sunny's complex. But that just means that there are more aisles with unfathomable stuff. We gravitate toward the products that have pictures on the labels. We are both trying to get something with noodles in them and I'm trying to avoid ones that are too spicy - not an easy in a country where it seems like the brush their teeth in hot sauce!
We get back to Sunny's apartment. Beth seems to have gotten some sort of fish-based bowl with rice. It comes with a small packet of chili oil - a sure sign that the dish is already spicy (would you like that hot or hotter?!). I had been looking for a chicken-based dish, but it appears that it is pork-based. But it doesn't have a chili oil pack and does have noodles - success!
We just finished eating when Sunny and family arrived. Of course, she wants us to try all of the things that she's cooked despite our protests that we've already eaten. Since we've barely eaten enough to keep us going on this trip, this is not the worst problem to have. I wish I had thought to take a picture of all of the special items. But I will describe the most memorable ones. One was marinated baby squid. One was a fiddlehead fern dish called gosari namul and the third was a layered sort of concoction like a terrine and was composed of alternating strips of beef and asparagus on what we think was a fish cake base. I get the feeling that Sunny is not really keen on cooking, but these all tasted really good.
I worked a little more on the blog while watching the first two runs of women's skeleton on TV - we'll be at the Olympic Sliding Center for the final two runs tomorrow evening. I am happy to see that while the Germans have all three sliders in the top 6, there are two women from Great Britain and one from Austria that have great chances of getting a medal.
Around 4 PM, it is time to get ready to head for the Gangneung Olympic Park. After the high winds of the last several days, it is a little less windy today. My phone tells me that it is about 7 C (45 F), but it doesn't feel that warm with a damp breeze blowing. The buses are on a holiday schedule today and we just missed the last one for the next 2-3 hours so we end up walking.
This gets us to the train station just in time for dinner at.., you guessed it, Taste Local food court! Fortunately, the different groups inside (we think that they all must be from different local restaurants) seem to change what they offer every day. We have boiled corn, which unlike the broiled corn, does not come on a stick. This makes it a little more challenging to eat without making a mess, but does get us some vegetables. I also get some more bulgogi to avoid the spice factor. Beth went for fish cakes on a stick which had the advantage of getting to pick one of two or three different dipping sauces. Beth chose what looked like a soy based one. While we are there, I notice that one of the older women is looking at me. When I catch her eye, she point to the Olympic pin that I gave her several days ago!
Outside the train station, we are stopped by three members of the Helping Hands group - two Americans and one Korean. We know that these are mostly faith-based groups, but they are friendly and are not pushing religion, at least on us. Beth learns that one of the women is from Utah and the other grew up in Colorado, not far from where we lived in Monument while Beth was stationed at the Air Force Academy. The Korean guy wants a selfie with me. I learn that he works in social services. We tell them how appreciative we are of having people who can speak English and help new arrivals learn to navigate the trains, buses and taxis. I give them each a pin and we head up the hill to the Olympic Park.
When we approach the security line to the park, we notice really long lines off to the right. These go to ticket sale offices. Officials had worried that the Korean people were not interested enough in the Olympics going on in a small corner of the east coast to buy tickets. But perhaps they need not have worried because it appears that a lot of people buying tickets are locals.
I've decided to avoid any hassles with security and left my large lens at home. It will be interesting to see whether I can get good pictures with the smaller lens.
It is dark when we get into the park and I try to get a good picture of some of the art that is in the park. Here is a view of the giant speed skating boot:
The writing is a little too bright, but it says hello in dozens of different language. There are also a series of animations that play on these screens. It is hard to see, but at the bottom of the skate is a statue of a speed skater. It has apparently become a thing to take a selfie with the skater because there are about a dozen people lined up to get that shot.
A little further along, we see the set for the NBC Today show. Evening in Korea is morning in New York so the set is swarming with people getting ready for today's show. We continue on to the speed skating oval. Usually, Olympic speed skating is a very hot ticket so we were pleased, and a little surprised, to be able to buy tickets for this event yesterday. When we get inside the oval, we understand why. There are only six heats (12 athletes) competing : 2 each from Holland, Canada and Japan and 1 each from the US, Belarus, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic and Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) with none from Korea. Nevertheless, there are a good number of Korean spectators who may have bought tickets to whatever event they could get so the stands are quite full. We are pleased to see that our B level tickets (which cost half of what our A level tickets for the 3,000 meters cost) are in the 6th row on the corner right after the finish line.
The 5,000 meter race is ten and a half laps so I get a lot of chances to get pictures. In the first pair, we have Maryna Zuyeva:
from Belarus against our first Dutch skater Annouk Van Der Weijden:
I work on the blog. Yes, I know that it seems like I don't produce them very often for all the time I say I am working on it, but I'm doing the best that I can. Anyway, around 1 PM, we decide that we have to get something to eat. Today, we decide to check out the CU. I'd say that CU is the 7/11 of Korea, but they are here too. CU is the largest convenience store chain in Korea and there is one just outside the gates of Sunny's apartment complex.
This store is a little larger than the one that we visited that is in Sunny's complex. But that just means that there are more aisles with unfathomable stuff. We gravitate toward the products that have pictures on the labels. We are both trying to get something with noodles in them and I'm trying to avoid ones that are too spicy - not an easy in a country where it seems like the brush their teeth in hot sauce!
We get back to Sunny's apartment. Beth seems to have gotten some sort of fish-based bowl with rice. It comes with a small packet of chili oil - a sure sign that the dish is already spicy (would you like that hot or hotter?!). I had been looking for a chicken-based dish, but it appears that it is pork-based. But it doesn't have a chili oil pack and does have noodles - success!
We just finished eating when Sunny and family arrived. Of course, she wants us to try all of the things that she's cooked despite our protests that we've already eaten. Since we've barely eaten enough to keep us going on this trip, this is not the worst problem to have. I wish I had thought to take a picture of all of the special items. But I will describe the most memorable ones. One was marinated baby squid. One was a fiddlehead fern dish called gosari namul and the third was a layered sort of concoction like a terrine and was composed of alternating strips of beef and asparagus on what we think was a fish cake base. I get the feeling that Sunny is not really keen on cooking, but these all tasted really good.
I worked a little more on the blog while watching the first two runs of women's skeleton on TV - we'll be at the Olympic Sliding Center for the final two runs tomorrow evening. I am happy to see that while the Germans have all three sliders in the top 6, there are two women from Great Britain and one from Austria that have great chances of getting a medal.
Around 4 PM, it is time to get ready to head for the Gangneung Olympic Park. After the high winds of the last several days, it is a little less windy today. My phone tells me that it is about 7 C (45 F), but it doesn't feel that warm with a damp breeze blowing. The buses are on a holiday schedule today and we just missed the last one for the next 2-3 hours so we end up walking.
This gets us to the train station just in time for dinner at.., you guessed it, Taste Local food court! Fortunately, the different groups inside (we think that they all must be from different local restaurants) seem to change what they offer every day. We have boiled corn, which unlike the broiled corn, does not come on a stick. This makes it a little more challenging to eat without making a mess, but does get us some vegetables. I also get some more bulgogi to avoid the spice factor. Beth went for fish cakes on a stick which had the advantage of getting to pick one of two or three different dipping sauces. Beth chose what looked like a soy based one. While we are there, I notice that one of the older women is looking at me. When I catch her eye, she point to the Olympic pin that I gave her several days ago!
Outside the train station, we are stopped by three members of the Helping Hands group - two Americans and one Korean. We know that these are mostly faith-based groups, but they are friendly and are not pushing religion, at least on us. Beth learns that one of the women is from Utah and the other grew up in Colorado, not far from where we lived in Monument while Beth was stationed at the Air Force Academy. The Korean guy wants a selfie with me. I learn that he works in social services. We tell them how appreciative we are of having people who can speak English and help new arrivals learn to navigate the trains, buses and taxis. I give them each a pin and we head up the hill to the Olympic Park.
When we approach the security line to the park, we notice really long lines off to the right. These go to ticket sale offices. Officials had worried that the Korean people were not interested enough in the Olympics going on in a small corner of the east coast to buy tickets. But perhaps they need not have worried because it appears that a lot of people buying tickets are locals.
I've decided to avoid any hassles with security and left my large lens at home. It will be interesting to see whether I can get good pictures with the smaller lens.
It is dark when we get into the park and I try to get a good picture of some of the art that is in the park. Here is a view of the giant speed skating boot:
The writing is a little too bright, but it says hello in dozens of different language. There are also a series of animations that play on these screens. It is hard to see, but at the bottom of the skate is a statue of a speed skater. It has apparently become a thing to take a selfie with the skater because there are about a dozen people lined up to get that shot.
A little further along, we see the set for the NBC Today show. Evening in Korea is morning in New York so the set is swarming with people getting ready for today's show. We continue on to the speed skating oval. Usually, Olympic speed skating is a very hot ticket so we were pleased, and a little surprised, to be able to buy tickets for this event yesterday. When we get inside the oval, we understand why. There are only six heats (12 athletes) competing : 2 each from Holland, Canada and Japan and 1 each from the US, Belarus, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic and Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) with none from Korea. Nevertheless, there are a good number of Korean spectators who may have bought tickets to whatever event they could get so the stands are quite full. We are pleased to see that our B level tickets (which cost half of what our A level tickets for the 3,000 meters cost) are in the 6th row on the corner right after the finish line.
The 5,000 meter race is ten and a half laps so I get a lot of chances to get pictures. In the first pair, we have Maryna Zuyeva:
from Belarus against our first Dutch skater Annouk Van Der Weijden:
We learn that in the 5,000, the key is to keep your lap times below 33 seconds for as long as you can. It is clear from the beginning, no surprise to us or the throng of Dutch fans, that Van Der Weijden is the stronger skater. She stays under 33 seconds for the first six laps and comes home in a time of 6:54.17; about 10 seconds faster than Zuyeva. You can see the mixture of pain and gratitude for her fans in this picture:
I have said that one of the things that I like about the Olympics is seeing people perform at a level that they do not believe that they are capable of. This was a great example as both skaters record their best times for this season and Van Der Weijden sets a personal best for this distance as well. This is really extraordinary because most speed skating records are set at high altitude ovals like Salt Lake City and Calgary where air resistance is lower and the ice is faster.
In the second heat, American Carlijn Schoutens:
(a dual citizen born to Dutch parents) races against Jelena Peeters from Belgium:
By the way, Peeters's right skate is not broken. These are the clap skates. The idea is that the hinged heel allows the skate to stay on the ice for a longer amount of time and more efficiently uses the skater's legs. They were first developed around the turn of the 20th century, but not commonly used until the 1996/7 season when the Dutch women starting using them - and breaking records. Now nearly all skaters use them.
Knowing that the Gangneung ice was likely to be pretty slow, the US Skating Federation opted to hold their Olympic trials in Milwaukee rather than on the faster Salt Lake City oval in the hopes of finding skaters who would thrive in these ice conditions. Unfortunately, this strategy does not work. Schoutens goes out slightly faster and leads Peeters until about 1,000 meters to go. At that point, Peeters keeps her lap times under 35 seconds while Schoutens tires badly at the end given Peeters the victory in a season best time of 7:10.26 to Schoutens's 7:13.28.
The third pair features Takagi Nana from Japan:
I have said that one of the things that I like about the Olympics is seeing people perform at a level that they do not believe that they are capable of. This was a great example as both skaters record their best times for this season and Van Der Weijden sets a personal best for this distance as well. This is really extraordinary because most speed skating records are set at high altitude ovals like Salt Lake City and Calgary where air resistance is lower and the ice is faster.
In the second heat, American Carlijn Schoutens:
(a dual citizen born to Dutch parents) races against Jelena Peeters from Belgium:
By the way, Peeters's right skate is not broken. These are the clap skates. The idea is that the hinged heel allows the skate to stay on the ice for a longer amount of time and more efficiently uses the skater's legs. They were first developed around the turn of the 20th century, but not commonly used until the 1996/7 season when the Dutch women starting using them - and breaking records. Now nearly all skaters use them.
Knowing that the Gangneung ice was likely to be pretty slow, the US Skating Federation opted to hold their Olympic trials in Milwaukee rather than on the faster Salt Lake City oval in the hopes of finding skaters who would thrive in these ice conditions. Unfortunately, this strategy does not work. Schoutens goes out slightly faster and leads Peeters until about 1,000 meters to go. At that point, Peeters keeps her lap times under 35 seconds while Schoutens tires badly at the end given Peeters the victory in a season best time of 7:10.26 to Schoutens's 7:13.28.
The third pair features Takagi Nana from Japan:
and Isabelle Weidemann from Canada:
From the outset, it is clear that Takagi does not have it today and finishes in a time of 7:1745. On the other hand, Weidemann has a really good skate. For a while it looked like she would challenge Van Der Weijden for the lead, but gradually falls farther and farther behind; finishing in a time of 6:59.88. But this time is fast enough for her to move into second place.
After the ice resurfacing intermission, the first heat is Oshigiri Misaki from Japan versus one of the up-and-comers of the Dutch women's program, 22 year old Esmee Visser:
After going through the first 1,000 meters (2.5 laps) in a relatively slow 1:26.48, she hit the afterburners. Her next eight laps were 32.48, 32.37, 32.16, 32.22, 32.19, 32.15, 32.25, 32.23 taking her from nearly 3 seconds behind Van Der Weijden to nearly 2.5 seconds ahead. At that point, it was clear that she would move into first place. It was only a question whether she would set a track record as well. She finished in a time of 6:50.23 to set a season's best, a personal best (by more than 5 seconds) and yes, she got the track record as well. Oshigiri tried gamely to keep up with Visser, failed, but still ended up with a season's best time of 7:07.71.
Here is Esmee after the race:
Notice that she doesn't look that happy. I guess that exhaustion will do that to you. But I think that she also knew that the currently Olympic and World record holders were skating in the last two pairs so it was too soon to be celebrating.
We had thought that our previous visit to speed skating was our last chance to see one of the true legends of the sport, Germany's Claudia Pechstein, perform. But our last second tickets gave us another chance. There are a lot of people who are down on Pechstein because she was a product of the East German doping machine. The fact that she still holds the Olympic record of 6:46.91 set in Salt Lake City in 2002 is evidence for how far ahead she was compared to everyone else. But, now, a week before her 46th birthday, she is still putting down fast times and is still ranked 5th in the world despite much more rigorous drug testing. In the 5th heat, Pechstein is racing against Ivanie Blondin from Canada:
Pechstein has obviously decided to give her final race everything she has and after 6 laps, she is slightly ahead of Esmes's pace. But this fast pace is too much for her and she fades badly over the last few laps to finish in a time of 7:05.43. Blondin, who is ranked #1 in the world at 3,000/5,000 meters, trails Pechstein slightly over the first half of the race, but takes advantage of opportunities to use Pechstein as a windbreak on the straightaways. When Pechstein slows, Blondin keeps going and gradually pulls away to finish in a time of 6:59.38 to move just ahead of her countrywoman Weidemann into 3rd place with only one pair left to go. Here is Pechstein at the end of the race:
We will miss her.
In the final pair is the #3 ranked skater in the world, Natalia Voronina. Normally, she would be skating for Russia, but in this Olympics, she is an Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) because of the Russian doping scandal. Only Russian athletes who have been extensively tested in countries other than Russia have been cleared for these Olympics. We know that one of the Russian curlers has already tested positive at these Games, but we hope that Natalia is clean. In any case, she will have her hand's full because she is skating against world record holder and the #2 ranked skater in the world, Martina Sáblíková from the Czech Republic. Sáblíková had finished 0.5 seconds out of the medals in the 3,000 meters so this is her last chance for this Olympics to add to her collection of 5 Olympic medals. Here are the two skaters near the beginning of the race:
This was really a good race. Sáblíková and Voronina stayed within a half second of each other throughout the first two-thirds of the race. But both skaters remained about 1.5 seconds behind Esmee's pace. With the gold medal decided, this turned into a race for silver and bronze. With two laps to go, Sáblíková puts on a push:
just as Voronina is tiring and finishes in a time of 6:51.85 to take the silver medal. Voronina guts out the final lap and finishes in a time of 6:53.98 to take the bronze medal by 0.19 seconds over Van Der Weijden. Both skaters times are season's bests.
A lot of people say that while you win gold and bronze, you lose silver. But that is in head-to-head matchups. Sáblíková is clearly thrilled with her silver:
Some time later, we find out why. Through most of the fall, Sáblíková has been dealing with a back injury and has only been training for the past six weeks. So, she went from not being sure that she would even make it to the Olympics to winning a silver medal!
We'd hope to look around the Olympic Park on our last visit here, but all of the pavilions close at 10 PM so we begin the walk back to the train station. Here is the view looking down from the top of the hill toward the train station:
When we get back to the train station, there are a lot of people in the taxi queue with suitcases. It is clear that there are still a lot of people coming into town even as we are getting ready to leave. We see one group take 3 taxis to fit all of their suitcases so it takes a long time to get a ride. But after a week of chaos in the queue, there are finally signs of order. We notice several members of the Helping Hands are now asking passengers where they are going and translating that to the taxi drivers to help speed things up.
From the outset, it is clear that Takagi does not have it today and finishes in a time of 7:1745. On the other hand, Weidemann has a really good skate. For a while it looked like she would challenge Van Der Weijden for the lead, but gradually falls farther and farther behind; finishing in a time of 6:59.88. But this time is fast enough for her to move into second place.
After the ice resurfacing intermission, the first heat is Oshigiri Misaki from Japan versus one of the up-and-comers of the Dutch women's program, 22 year old Esmee Visser:
After going through the first 1,000 meters (2.5 laps) in a relatively slow 1:26.48, she hit the afterburners. Her next eight laps were 32.48, 32.37, 32.16, 32.22, 32.19, 32.15, 32.25, 32.23 taking her from nearly 3 seconds behind Van Der Weijden to nearly 2.5 seconds ahead. At that point, it was clear that she would move into first place. It was only a question whether she would set a track record as well. She finished in a time of 6:50.23 to set a season's best, a personal best (by more than 5 seconds) and yes, she got the track record as well. Oshigiri tried gamely to keep up with Visser, failed, but still ended up with a season's best time of 7:07.71.
Here is Esmee after the race:
Notice that she doesn't look that happy. I guess that exhaustion will do that to you. But I think that she also knew that the currently Olympic and World record holders were skating in the last two pairs so it was too soon to be celebrating.
We had thought that our previous visit to speed skating was our last chance to see one of the true legends of the sport, Germany's Claudia Pechstein, perform. But our last second tickets gave us another chance. There are a lot of people who are down on Pechstein because she was a product of the East German doping machine. The fact that she still holds the Olympic record of 6:46.91 set in Salt Lake City in 2002 is evidence for how far ahead she was compared to everyone else. But, now, a week before her 46th birthday, she is still putting down fast times and is still ranked 5th in the world despite much more rigorous drug testing. In the 5th heat, Pechstein is racing against Ivanie Blondin from Canada:
Pechstein has obviously decided to give her final race everything she has and after 6 laps, she is slightly ahead of Esmes's pace. But this fast pace is too much for her and she fades badly over the last few laps to finish in a time of 7:05.43. Blondin, who is ranked #1 in the world at 3,000/5,000 meters, trails Pechstein slightly over the first half of the race, but takes advantage of opportunities to use Pechstein as a windbreak on the straightaways. When Pechstein slows, Blondin keeps going and gradually pulls away to finish in a time of 6:59.38 to move just ahead of her countrywoman Weidemann into 3rd place with only one pair left to go. Here is Pechstein at the end of the race:
We will miss her.
In the final pair is the #3 ranked skater in the world, Natalia Voronina. Normally, she would be skating for Russia, but in this Olympics, she is an Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) because of the Russian doping scandal. Only Russian athletes who have been extensively tested in countries other than Russia have been cleared for these Olympics. We know that one of the Russian curlers has already tested positive at these Games, but we hope that Natalia is clean. In any case, she will have her hand's full because she is skating against world record holder and the #2 ranked skater in the world, Martina Sáblíková from the Czech Republic. Sáblíková had finished 0.5 seconds out of the medals in the 3,000 meters so this is her last chance for this Olympics to add to her collection of 5 Olympic medals. Here are the two skaters near the beginning of the race:
just as Voronina is tiring and finishes in a time of 6:51.85 to take the silver medal. Voronina guts out the final lap and finishes in a time of 6:53.98 to take the bronze medal by 0.19 seconds over Van Der Weijden. Both skaters times are season's bests.
A lot of people say that while you win gold and bronze, you lose silver. But that is in head-to-head matchups. Sáblíková is clearly thrilled with her silver:
Some time later, we find out why. Through most of the fall, Sáblíková has been dealing with a back injury and has only been training for the past six weeks. So, she went from not being sure that she would even make it to the Olympics to winning a silver medal!
We'd hope to look around the Olympic Park on our last visit here, but all of the pavilions close at 10 PM so we begin the walk back to the train station. Here is the view looking down from the top of the hill toward the train station:
When we get back to the train station, there are a lot of people in the taxi queue with suitcases. It is clear that there are still a lot of people coming into town even as we are getting ready to leave. We see one group take 3 taxis to fit all of their suitcases so it takes a long time to get a ride. But after a week of chaos in the queue, there are finally signs of order. We notice several members of the Helping Hands are now asking passengers where they are going and translating that to the taxi drivers to help speed things up.
Steps for the day: 15,772
