7 to Watch: Shiffrin, Shaun and the Fletcher Bros

San Diegans will be rooting for two hometown Olympians Tuesday as Carlsbad’s Shaun White competes in the halfpipe final and Ramona’s Chris Knierim competes in pairs figure skating short program. Here are our “7 to Watch” in Pyeongchang for Tuesday:  Budget Allotment for Infrastructure Could Help Local Roadways 1. Shaun White Aims for 3rd Gold in the HalfpipeTeam USA’s Shaun White, Japan’s Ayumu Hirano and Australia’s Scotty James are top contenders for the gold in Pyeongchang. Boater Finds Body of Musician Who Fell Off Crystal Pier At 30, White’s going up against the sport’s younger generation. Hirano is 19, while James is 23.The Carlsbad native has even referred to himself as “the old guy.” ‘Small Miracle’: SDPD Lt. Describes Police Car Crash White’s teammates, 23-year-old Ben Ferguson and 19-year-old Jake Pates, are making their Olympic debuts.Watch live on NBC 7, with coverage beginning at 5 p.m. PT Tuesday, or on digital platforms at this link.2. Figure Skaters Together on the Ice — and at HomeAlexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim were named the sole U.S. pair skaters for the Pyeongchang Games in January after a tough journey to the Olympics. The couple met in 2012, when then-Alexa Scimeca split from her first partner, and the following year earned a silver medal at the 2013 U.S. Championships. They married in 2016, but soon afterward she needed multiple abdominal surgeries for a life-threatening condition; they missed most of the 2016-17 season’s competitions.Now, they are expected to compete four times in Pyeongchang. On the opening day of the figure skating team event, they finished fourth in the pairs’ free skate.On Tuesday night, the couple will compete in the short program to “Come What May” from “Moulin Rouge.”No doubt, San Diegans will be rooting for our hometown Olympian. Chris Knierim is from Ramona and started skating as a child at the San Diego Ice Area.Watch live on NBC 7, with coverage beginning at 5 p.m. PT Tuesday, or on digital platforms at this link. 3.  Mikaela Shiffrin Finally Will Ski (If the Wintry Weather Cooperates)Two days later than expected, Mikaela Shiffrin will make her Pyeongchang debut on Wednesday morning (Tuesday night in the U.S.).After the giant slalom race was postponed due to dangerous winds Monday, Shiffrin will first ski in her signature event, the slalom. Shiffrin was the youngest-ever Olympic slalom champion at the Sochi Games at age 18, and she’s the first woman to win three consecutive slalom world titles in 78 years. She hopes to become the first person to win the slalom gold medal twice in a row.This will be Shiffrin’s first race of a busy schedule — she’ll be back on the mountain Thursday morning (Wednesday night in the U.S.) for the giant slalom. Skiing two races in two days shouldn’t be a problem for Shiffrin — World Cup races are often held on consecutive days. She is the favorite for a medal in slalom and giant slalom — and she might add the other three individual women’s races to her Pyeongchang itinerary.Lindsey Vonn, another standout American skier, will not compete in the slalom.Watch live on NBC 7, with coverage beginning at 5 p.m. PT, or on digital platforms at this link. 4. Fletcher Brothers Bring Sibling Rivalry to the Slopes in Cross-Country Skiing, JumpingBryan and Taylor Fletcher continue their sibling rivalry on the slopes in the Nordic combined event, a mixture of ski jumping and cross-country skiing. Bryan Fletcher, 31, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 4 and kept his mind off chemotherapy sessions with ski jumping. After he turned to the Nordic combined, his younger brother, Taylor, followed. Taylor Fletcher made his Olympic debut in Vancouver; both brothers competed in Sochi. Germany is the country to beat. The Nordic combined is dominated by five-time World Cup winner and Olympic gold medalist Eric Frenzel of Germany, who won the normal hill event in Sochi, placed 10th in the large hill competition after he got ill and helped Germany will silver in the team event. Other top competitors include: Johannes Rydzek of Germany, a two-time Olympian in the sport, winning team silver and bronze medals; Jason Lamy-Chappuis of France, a gold medalist in the Nordic combined; and Jorgen Graabak, the Olympic gold medalist on the Nordic combined large hill. Watch live on NBCSN beginning at 11:30 p.m. PT Tuesday or on digital platforms at this link.5. U.S. Men’s Hockey Team Needs No Miracles: CoachThe U.S. men’s hockey team has not won a gold medal since the “Miracle on Ice” team of 1980, but on Monday the team’s coach told reporters, according to The Los Angeles Times: “To win we don’t need a miracle. We need to be at our best for two weeks.”For the first time since the 1994 Olympic Games, NHL players will not be part of the teams’ rosters. Team USA makes its Pyeongchang debut Wednesday morning against Slovenia.The Russians are favored for the gold medal, with NHL-level talent such as Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Slava Voynov and Nikita Gusev, all of whom play in the major Russian professional league. The team has been called the “red machine” and it’s the one to beat.Watch Team USA take on Slovenia live on NBCSN at 4:10 a.m. PT Wednesday or on digital platforms at this link.6.  Arielle Gold Gets Sweet Redemption Americans Arielle Gold and Kelly Clark battled for the bronze medal. Ultimately, Gold bumped Clark out of third by landing a frontside 1080 in her final run.It was a comeback story of sorts. Gold was forced to withdraw before the competition even started at the 2014 Games after a scary fall in the halfpipe during practice resulted in a dislocated shoulder.On the Today Show Tuesday, the Colorado native said she knew she had the potential to get to the medal stand. “Confidence is key in this situation,” Gold said. Watch the interview and hear how Gold said she used visualization to achieve her success here.7. Hamlin Retires After Historic Luge CareerErin Hamlin, America’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony, was unable to defend her bronze medal in singles luge Tuesday, coming in sixth in the competition that will be her last. Hamlin is retiring after the Pyeongchang Games, her fourth Olympics. The medal she won at the 2014 Winer Olympics was Team USA’s first Olympic singles luge medal in the sport’s 50-year Olympic history. Fellow American Emily Sweeney crashed in the final round of sliding, bringing the competition to a halt as she received medical attention, but she was ultimately able to walk off the track. Defending Olympic champion Natalie Geisenberger of Germany won another gold. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
Source: NBC San Diego