Olympic Speedskating Schedule 2018: Updated Info for Men, Women Events
The United States' hunt for its first medal in speedskating since 2010 has been unsuccessful so far, but there's hope that will change during the second week of competition at Gangneung Oval.
The women's medal drought, which extends back to 2002, is in danger of continuing after Heather Bergsma took eighth in her two best events, the 1,000- and 1,500-meters.
Over on the men's side, anticipation is building ahead of the mass start, an event in which Joey Mantia is the favorite to take gold.
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While the Americans have struggled in most events, the Netherlands has flexed its muscle with six different athletes winning gold in seven speedskating events in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Speedskating Schedule
Sunday, February 18
Men's team pursuit quarterfinals (6 a.m. ET)
Women's 500-meters (6:56 a.m. ET)
Monday, February 19
Women's team pursuit quarterfinals (6 a.m. ET)
Men's 500-meters (6:53 a.m. ET)
Wednesday, February 21
Women's team pursuit semifinals (6 a.m. ET)
Men's team pursuit semifinals (6:22 a.m. ET)
Women's team pursuit finals (7:52 a.m. ET)
Men's team pursuit finals (8:11 a.m. ET)
Friday, February 23
Men's 1,000-meters (5 a.m. ET)
Saturday, February 24
Women's mass start semifinals (6 a.m. ET)
Men's mass start semifinals (6:45 a.m. ET)
Women's mass start final (7:30 a.m. ET)
Men's mass start final (8 a.m. ET)
Mantia Is Best Hope for American Success in Pyeongchang
The American focus has shifted toward the final event on the speedskating schedule, as Mantia hopes to claim first place in the mass start.
The newest event in long-track speedskating is comparable to the chaos normally experienced in short-track speedskating.
Mantia, who is the defending world champion in the event, started out his Olympic program with an eighth-place finish in the men's 1,500-meters.
Although the result wasn't what he wanted, Mantia is trying to stay positive with three events left in Pyeongchang, per Team USA's Emily Giambalvo.
"I'm not going to go home today [to] feel sorry for myself and have my head between my legs," Mantia said. "I'm going to pick up the pieces, watch some video and figure out what I need to do to fix it."
Mantia's next event is the team pursuit, which begins on Sunday with quarterfinals leading up to Wednesday's final.
The 28-year-old skates in the men's 1,000-meters in a week's time on February 23 before leading the mass start on February 24.
He is hoping to avoid the fate Bergsma experienced in her marquee events, as she collected a pair of eighth-place finishes.
Bergsma admitted that she isn't feeling the same way she did a year ago, when she took gold at the World Championships in the 1,000- and 1,500-meters, per NBCOlympics.com's Nick Ziccardi.
"I don't feel quite as good as I did last year," Bergsma said. "I think it shows throughout the season."
How Many More Medals Can the Netherlands Win?
The Netherlands has put together the best team performance in any sport in Pyeongchang with its collection of six Olympic championships.
The Dutch were expected to thrive in South Korea after earning 23 medals, eight of which were gold, in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, but few thought the dominance would be this widespread.
Ted-Jan Bloemen, the lone non-Dutch gold-medal winner, has Dutch roots, but he decided to compete for Canada after not receiving the proper support in his eyes from the Dutch program.
Of the five remaining events on the schedule that were contested in Sochi, four of them were won by the Netherlands four years ago.
With the best collection of skaters in the men's and women's events, the Dutch should be the favorite in both team pursuits.
The event in which the Dutch might be the most vulnerable is the women's 500-meters, which was won by Lee Sang-hwa of South Korea in 2014.
At the European Championships in January, the highest-placed Dutch skater in the sprint event was Letitia de Jong in sixth place.
Mantia poses a challenge in the men's mass start, while South Korea's Kim Bo-reum and Japan's Nana Takagi are two of the favorites to take the first-ever gold in the women's mass start.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from Olympic.org and ISU.org.
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