The Spirit of Sarah:Sochi Olympics Halfpipe Ski Finals

The spirit of Sarah Burke,the late and legendary Canadian freestyle skier,loomed large in the finals of the women's halfpipe ski event Thursday at the Sochi Winter Olympics.It was Burke who initially pushed ESPN to include the event in its Winter X Games and,later,convinced the International Olympic Committee to include it in the Sochi 2014 Games.She died at age 29 on January 19,2012 of injuries received January 10 in a training accident at Park City,Utah,suffering irreversible damage to the brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest,and a torn vertebral artery.
In the course of her career,she won four gold medals and a silver at the Winter X Games,plus the World Championship in halfpipe in 2005.In 2007,she received the ESPY award for Best Female Action Sports Athlete.She married fellow skier Rory Bushfield in 2010.*
Emotions over Sarah flowed in the hearts of the skiers who had personally known her Thursday.Her parents were among the spectators at Sochi,and consider the skiers to be family.*
Sarah's the reason we're all here,said Team USA's Maddie Bowman,20,of South Lake Tahoe,California.Without Sarah,none of us would be Olympians.Sarah inspired us on snow or off snow.I think she would have been proud of how all the girls rode tonight.*
Bowman won the first gold medal in the new Olympic discipline with her clean and seamless run,followed by Marie Martinod of France,29,silver,and Japan's Ayuna Onozuka,bronze.With Bowman's victory and that of David Wise the day before,the US swept the gold medals for the event.
American Brita Sigourney also performed some remarkable tricks at up to 34' off the ground,but a slight mistake on one landing kept her off the medal stand.*
The US led the medals count as of Thursday night with 25.Russia was second with 23,and the Netherlands held third with 22.Norway had the most gold medals(10).

Where To Invest;Sochi Medal Count;Julia Mancuso

We'll end the year with high single digit gains,predicts Kevin Mahn,President and CIO at Hennion&Walsh Asset Management.I think there is upside,but I believe there's more pullback in the market because we haven't reached certainty about the debt ceiling and the market hasn't adjusted to new Fed Chairman Janet Yellen yet.*
I think this is the year for diversification again.People forgot about asset allocation last year,with the market up 30%.You have to be nimble.You have to be active,and you can't concentrate on just one asset class.You have to look at alternative assets like gold and REITs.I would say the housing recovery isn't over,with the REITs.We actually favour Europe over the US this year,even though we're bullish on the US,Mr.Mahn said on CNBC.*
Sochi Winter Olympics Total Medal Count as of Friday morning:
1.Canada 7
1.Netherlands 7
1.Norway 7
2.Russia 6
3.USA 5
4.Austria 3
4.Czech Republic 3
5.France 2
6.Germany 2
6.Sweden 2
Canada has the most gold medals(3).*
America's Julia Mancuso,29,won the bronze in the women's Super Combined alpine skiing event,which combines downhill with slalom.She now has won each Olympic medal in her career,including two bronze,making her the most decorated female alpine skier in US history.I can't even believe it,Mancuso said.It was such a tough slalom.*
The effervescent Mancuso attributes her Olympics success to having grown up in the Squaw Valley ski resort of Lake Tahoe,California,site of the 1960 Winter Olympics.Jamie Anderson,who won the first gold medal in the female slopestyle snowboard event the day before,also hails from the Lake Tahoe area.*
Canada's Charles Hamelin won his third gold medal in the 1500 meter speedskating event,tying the record for most gold medals won in a single event.Hamelin,29,is from Sainte-Julie,Quebec.

Sochi:Snowboarders Begin Quest For New Gold

Even before the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics,snowboarders began their quest for the first gold medal in the new Olympics event of slopestyle snowboarding,which resembles moguls freestyle skiing.Snowboarders must ride down some metal rails and up some huge slopes in the extreme sports event.No American men scored high enough in the qualifying runs to make it directly to the finals.Canada's Maxence Parrot and Great Britain's Jamie Nicholls did make it.
American Women fared better.Jamie Anderson of Lake Tahoe,California and Karly Shorr go directly to the finals.Also making it straight through were Australia's Torah Bright and Canada's Spencer O'Brien.Northern Europe was the only other region to have qualified for the finals in Thursday's round,being represented by snowboarders from Austria,Switzerland,Norway,Sweden and Finland.*
The semifinals will be on Saturday for those who didn't score high enough for the finals,such as American men Ryan Stassel,Sage Kotsenburg and Charlie Guldemond,along with women Jessika Jenson and Ty Walker;British man Billy Morgan,as well as women Aimee Fuller and Jenny Jones,age 34;New Zealand's Rebecca Torr,Christy Prior,Stefi Luxton and Shelly Gotlieb;and Canadian Jenna Blasman.*
The beautiful Caucasus Mountains peaks of the Mountain Cluster alpine venues seem to have abundant natural snow this winter,but the Russians have stockpiled a vast amount of snow just in case.*
No incidents of any kind marred the opening of competition in the seaside resort of Sochi,Russia.