Medal Count 2018 Olympics: Updated Tally, Predicting Winners for Friday Night
Friday at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, has already seen the Netherlands collect a gold medal in the speedskating thanks to Esmee Visser, while Hanna Huskova of Belarus also took the top prize in the freestyle skiing.
Here's what these results mean for the updated medal tally, with Norway still topping the table, while the Netherlands is now tied with Canada:
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U.S. audiences can get ready to watch finals in the Alpine skiing, figure skating and cross-country skiing. These events take place on Saturday morning in Pyeongchang but will be broadcast from 8 p.m. ET in the United States due to the 14-hour time difference.
Events can be live-streamed on the NBC Sports app. Meanwhile, the viewing schedule is available, per NBCOlympics.com.
Selected TV Schedule for Friday, February 16
(all times are ET)
8 p.m.: Figure skating, men's singles skating (NBC and NBCSN)
9 p.m.: Alpine skiing, ladies' super-G (NBC)
10:10 p.m.: Ice hockey, men's preliminary-round Group A: Canada vs. Czech Republic (NBCSN)
10:10 p.m.: Ice hockey, women play-offs quarterfinals: Olympic Athletes of Russia vs. Switzerland (CNBC)
Friday's Picks
Alpine skiing, ladies' super-G
Team USA's Lindsey Vonn will go for gold in the ladies' super-G for the Alpine skiing, but she faces strong competition from a loaded field. Specifically, the Austrian contingent featuring Nicole Schmidhofer and Anna Veith will be ones to watch.
However, Vonn can be buoyed by the desire to go out a winner in her fourth Winter Games. The 33-year-old claimed gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games and is well placed to add to her tally in Pyeongchang.
It will be important for Vonn to control a "daring, uncompromising racing style" that has led to treacherous falls as well as spectacular successes, per Bill Pennington of the New York Times.
If Vonn runs a smarter race, there's little reason to believe she won't end a glittering Olympic career with another gold medal.
Figure skating, men's singles skating
Yuzuru Hanyu may have too much class for the field in the men's singles skating event. The Japanese skater is entering these Games with an enviable pedigree as "the reigning Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion," per Rachel Lutz of NBCOlympics.com.
Hanyu is also healthy, having overcome a series of injuries this year. A fully fit world champion will be tough to beat for the rest, especially since he laid down a marker with his impressive display in Sochi four years ago.
Hanyu made an even bigger statement with his performance in the short program at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Friday. The 23-year-old "landed two quads and scored a Games-record 111.68—1.04 points shy of his world record," per Benjamin Blum of CBC Sports.
Of course, Hanyu ought to be wary about the presence of Canada's Patrick Chan, a silver-medal winner at the 2014 Games. Like Vonn, Chan is a decorated veteran with the added motivation of wanting to go out on a high.
However, things haven't gone to script so far, with Chan falling on triple axel in the short program to all but end his hopes of a medal in the free skate, according to Rosie Dimmano of the Toronto Star.
With Chan struggling, Hanyu may be focused more on the efforts of Spain's Javier Fernandez, ranked No. 2 ahead of this event, as well as fellow Japanese skater Shoma Uno.
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