From Nathan Chen's bounce back chance and Mikaela Shiffrin's defense of slalom gold, to a crash-stricken snowboard star and soon-to-be retired skeleton racer's medal run, plus a freestyle skier with a Texas connection, there was no shortage of must-see action on Day 6 of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
Chen Stumbles Again But Advances to Final With Teammates Rippon, Zhou
After a shaky debut, Nathan Chen stumbles again in Pyeongchang, falling three times to finish 17th in the men’s short program.
[[472226703, R]] Leading up to the Games, Chen said he’s worked to improve every aspect of his performance, adding "more passion in my skating and more of a connection to the music.” But can he find momentum after two sub-par starts?
Chen, a pre-games favorite, missed on all his jumps, plummeting to 17th place with a tentative and passionless showing.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
Chen’s teammates will advance, finishing above the 18-year-old. Veteran Adam Rippon, 28, lived up to his flair for the dramatic programs, performing to techno song "Let Me Think About It" by Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand, earning him seventh. Seventeen-year-old teammate Vincent Zhou finished the short program in 12th.
Chen, Rippon and Zhou will go for gold Saturday morning (Friday night in the U.S.).
Must-See: Adam Rippon Asks for Xanax After Olympic Debut | Nathan Chen falls in team event short program
Heavy Favorite Shiffrin Struggles in Slalom, Finishes Fourth
Mikaela Shiffrin, the heavy favorite to win the women's slalom and claim her second gold medal in as many days, missed the podium and finished in fourth place in Pyeongchang on Friday.
[[472227583, L]] Shiffrin’s fourth-place finish is an astonishing upset, as the slalom is her specialty: Last year, she became the first woman to win three consecutive slalom world titles in 78 years and she won gold in Sochi.
Frida Hansdotter of Sweden took gold, Wendy Holdener of Switzerland took silver and Katharina Gallhuber of Austria won bronze.
The 22-year-old American vomited before her first run, saying her nausea was "kind of sudden" and "almost felt like a virus.” Although she used the break between runs to rest up (literally—she is known for her love of napping) second run wasn’t enough to get on the podium.
The day before, Shiffrin took gold in the giant slalom.
Must-See: Mikaela Shiffrin stares down lofty gold medal goals
John Daly Misses Out on Skeleton Gold
[[474106753, C]]
Skeleton racer John Daly, a Long Island native, will leave his third Olympics without any hardware.
[[472226823, R]] The Olympian finished in 15th place after his third run Thursday night, and put him 3.18 seconds back from leader Yun Sung-Bin. He'll get to compete in a fourth and final run, but there is little to no chance the 32-year-old -- or fellow Team USA racer Matt Antoine, who sits in 13th place -- will make the podium in Pyeongchang.
Daly had been to two prior Olympics, but hasn't medaled in either one. To be fair, he was almost in the running in Sochi but his sled jerked out of the starting point and he skidded. He retired after finishing 15th at Sochi, but then came back and returned to skeleton racing in 2016.
Watch: Yun Sungbin Winds Olympics Gold, South Korea's First in Skeleton
Must-See: Flashback -- John Daly's Heartbreak in Sochi
Redemption Denied: Lindsey Jacobellis Fails to Medal in Snowboard Cross
Lindsey Jacobellis, the most decorated women’s snowboard cross athlete ever, will finish her fourth Olympics just like the first three: without a gold medal.
[[472228043, L]] Jacobellis, a five-time world champion, reached the finals of the event, then held onto a lead for the first two-thirds of the race. But she faded late, and finished in fourth place.
Italian Michela Moioli, France's Julia Pereira De Sousa Mabileau and the Czech Republic's Eva Samkova finished in the top three.
For Jacobellis, it's just the latest moment in a disappointing Olympic career. It began 12 years ago, in Torino, when she seemed to have the gold medal wrapped up, with a huge lead down the race’s final stretch. But she tried a flashy move off a jump and fell, and settled for silver.
Since then, the Olympics have been her kryptonite. She crashed in early rounds in both 2008 and 2012, and failed to reach the final.
And now, one more disappointment: A solid run, but a finish just off the medal stand.
Watch: Lindsey Jacobellis Doesn't Medal in Snowboard Cross
Must-See: Lindsey Jacobellis Says "Every Experience is a Learning Experience"
Two Americans Make Aerials Final; Ashley Caldwell Out
American freestyle skiers Madison Olsen and Kiley McKinnon made the aerials final, but Ashley Caldwell, the current world champion, did not.
Olsen is ranked at only 17th this season but is considered an up-and-comer in aerials.
Caldwell, who had struggled for most of the past year, ended her hopes of medaling in the Pyeongchang Games by placing 11th in the qualification round. Her “all-or-nothing” attitude didn’t pay off when she attempted the jump with the highest degree of difficulty in the first qualification round but failed to accomplish a clean landing.
Texas Connects Us to Caldwell, her parents now live in Houston.[[472229013, R]]
She finished second in the World Cup rankings in 2015 and won the World Cup title in 2016, and then won the gold medal at the 2017 world championships in March. But she’s struggled since, and finished 2017 ranked 10th in the world.
Watch: Caldwell Goes Big, Falls in Aerials
Must-See: Aerial Skiers Explain What Happens During a Jump
