Pyeongchang 2018

BOWE SKATES TO FIFTH-PLACE FINISH

Florida Atlantic’s Brittany Bowe opened her 2018 Olympic Winter Games speedskating program with a fifth-place finish in the 1500m. The former basketball student-athlete finished the race with a time of 1:55.54, a little over one second behind the Netherlands’ Ireen Wust, who took gold after crossing the finish line in 1:54.35.

Bowe’s top-five finish is a significant improvement from her showing in Sochi, where the Florida native placed 14th in the same event. Today’s race was 2.77 seconds faster from her time of 1:58.31 in 2014. Most recently at the 2018 U.S. Long Track Speedskating Olympic Trials, she won the event in 1:55.92 – a mark she also topped in the oval today.

One of three U.S. athletes competing in the race, Bowe registered Team USA’s highest finish. Teammate Heather Bergsma clocked in at 1:56.74 for eighth, while Mia Manganello finished 22nd in 1:59.93.

Bowe hits the ice again on February 14 to compete in the 1000m. The FAU alum finished second in this event at the 2018 Long Track Olympic Trials to qualify to race in PyeongChang.

Biathlon

Vermont’s Lowell Bailey put up Team USA’s second-highest finish in the men’s biathlon 12.5k pursuit, crossing the finish line in 32nd with a time of 36:43.3. Bailey, who finished one place higher than he did in the 10k sprint, battled the elements and five shooting penalties to finish in the top 35. Teammates Tim Burke and Leif Nordgren finished 17th and 50th, respectively.

In the women’s biathlon 10k pursuit, former Dartmouth rower Emily Dreissigacker crossed the finish line in 47th. The lone U.S. athlete to compete in the event finished with a time of 35:36.7, tallying four shooting penalties through the course of the race. 

Figure Skating

Mirai Nagasu became the first U.S. female figure skater to land a triple axel at an Olympic Winter Games, to help catapult Team USA to a bronze in the team event. The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs athlete who represented UCCS in collegiate competition during her time in school, brought in a personal-best score of 137.53.