Olympics Link by Link
LINKS FOR THE 2012 SUMMER GAMES
- Official site of the London Olympics
- Schedule Chart (click on day-by-day list or grid for more detail)
- The Guardian newspaper updates with short takes of “The Best of the Web.”
- If you’re lucky enough to be in London for the Olympics – or want to pretend you are, here’s transportation information.
- Around the Rings — Site with updates on London Games.
- Some fun apps for your SmartPhone for the 2012 Summer Games
- Find out which athletes are celebrating a birthday each day. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you …
LINKS FOR THE 2010 WINTER GAMES
THE BASICS
- International Olympic Committee
- U.S. Olympic Committee
- Canadian Olympic Committee
- Around the Rings — Ongoing site that highlights articles on Vanconver Games
- The World Olympians Association
LOOKING AT THE 2010 WINTER GAMES
- Official site of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games (also available en Francais)
- The IOC’s site devoted to the Vancouver Games (official, but not very helpful)
Keep up with the pre-Games news:
- Vancouvervibez.com
- UK Eurosport Yahoo!: Heavy security planned for Vancouver
- UK Eurosport Yahoo!: Vancouver stockpiling swine flu jab
- Yahoo!: Jamaican bobsled team will be in Vancouver
- Vancouver getting top marks for artistic expression and technical difficulty
- Tickets for the lucky ones attending
SCHEDULES
- A grid calendar of Olympic events
- Sport-by-sport schedules (requires fair amount of clicking to see everything)
- Sport-by-sport listings (easier to read)
Pre-Olympics test event for Vancouver: 2009 World Police and Fire Games:
- VancouverSun.com – 2010 Winter Games
- VancouverSun.com: World Police, Fire Games give Vancouver Olympic a test
- VancouverSun.com – Vancouver wraps World Police, Fire Games
WINTER OLYMPIC HISTORY
- Want to know the bobsled gold medalists in 1948? *** This is the spot for you
- Read selected historical moments from Winter Olympics past written on deadline. From Eric Heiden to the Miracle on Ice, Torvill and Dean, Dick Button, Bonnie Blair and Jean Claude Killy
Some less golden but still memorable moments:
Some highlights from games past:
*** — The two-man bobsled winners in 1948 were Switzerland’s Felix Endrich and Friedrich Waller in 5:29.2. Team USA – Francis Tyler, Patrick Martin, Edward Rimkus, William D’Amico — took four-man gold in 5:20.1
SPORT BY SPORT
For each sport, the Vancouver and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sites give information on how the sport evolved, past and present equipment, competition requirements, what events will be held.
The IOC site even includes a flash animation demonstration of each sport.
- This links to IOC’s rundown of the events, click on links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver Biathlon
- For the latest news in the international biathlon world
- “Allen’s Biathlon Page” links to enough biathlon sites to keep you busy right through the men’s 20km
- Focused on previewing 2002, but this Washington Post graphic includes good general information
- U.S. Biathlon
- Meet Blogging Biathlete Lowell Bailey
- IOC’s rundown of the events, then click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver Bobsleigh
- Ignore the Salt Lake City-specifics and you can get good general information from this Washington Post graphic
- Although this is previewing ’98 Winter Games, check out the “Critical Moment” section
- FIBT — the international organization for bobsleigh
- U.S. Bobsled
- Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton — look for the spectator’s guide, previous ones have been terrific
- IOC’s rundown of the events, then click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver Curling
- Basic curling basics … truly basic
- Curling basics animations … if you know what you’re looking for already
- Not the best of the Washington Post graphics, but here it is.
- U.S. Curling
- Canadian Curling Association
- IOC’s rundown of the events, click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver Figure Skating
- Good detailing of 2002, including The Scandal. (But I just have to ask why the only photo is of the arena parking lot?)
- Skip this Washington Post graphic. There’s lots better information below
- This is the best run-down I’ve found on the web explaining and illustrating (including video) of the elements of figure skating
- Jumps
- Spins (Site also has other basic information on skating)
- Technique Videos
- Figure Skating Jump Glossary
- U.S. Figure Skating
- Skate Canada
- Golden Skate (the forum is particularly good)
- Frogs on Ice
- The Competitive Figure Skating FAQ: Rules and Regulations is particularly good
- IOC’s rundown of the men’s and women’s events, click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver Ice Hockey
- Some good info on Olympic rules in this Washington Post graphic
- Although this is not specific to Olympic rules, it provides a good introduction to hockey
- Tips for watching hockey
- The preview section is aimed at 2002, but the Rules Differences section at the bottom is useful
- USA Hockey
- Hockey Canada (a powerhouse for men’s and women’s)
- IOC’s rundown of luge, click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver luge
- Brief and basic intro to luge
- More info on Vancouver Luge
- USA Luge
- Pretty illustration, but useful info for Vancouver watchers? Not so much in this Washington Post graphic
- Lugers to watch in Vancouver
Also look at information underCross-Country Skiing and Ski Jumping for the individual components of the combined.
- IOC’s rundown of Nordic combined; click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver Nordic combined
- The International Skiing Federation’s site
- Team USA
- Washington Post graphic
- Explanation of scoring
- News, updates, athletes to watch
- IOC’s rundown of skeleton, click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver skeleton
- They promise it’s coming soon — hope so, because the 2006 was, by far, the best guide for watching skeleton
- Scroll past bobsleigh for background on skeleton
- Washington Post graphic has good illustration of the start
- Skeleton shares an international organization with bobsleigh
- And it shares its USA organization with bobsled (American for bobsleigh)
- Read New Zealand slider Louise Corcoran’s blog
- The International Skiing Federation’s site for all kinds of skiing. Cranky site and wasn’t useful, but maybe you’ll have better success
- Team USA for all kinds of ski competition
- Keeps up with the latest news in the run-up to Torino
- IOC’s rundown of alpine skiing; click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver alpine skiing
- Washington Post graphic packs in lots of information
- Recaps 2002 results. Under “Venues and Events” skip “Venues” since that’s all Salt Lake, but read the info on Alpine Skiing’s individual events
- Skip down to “The Finer Points” for some guidance on watching ski races
- “A Short History of Alpine Skiing” — that’s the title and there’s definitely history, but short? Nope
- The Snow Leopard of Ghana
- IOC’s rundown of cross-country skiing; click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver cross-country skiing
- Good job of breaking down what’s also called x-c
- How to watch a cross-country race (First, wear lots of clothes …)
- Washington Post graphic; lots of info but ignore the dates, which are for 2002
- A different behind-the-scenes view from the 2002 Olympics
- IOC’s rundown of snowboarding; click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver snowboarding
- International Ski Federation
- 2010 Snowboarding controversy
- Washington Post graphic
- Skip the 2002 recap, get down to the background material
- Snowboarding glossary
- Snowboarder Chris Klug’s site is commercial, but his Pro Tips, Anatomy of a Turn — and more — give insight to the sport
- More commercials, but scroll down to “terms and tricks”
- Who can resist a crayon picture of a snowboarder?
- IOC’s rundown of freestyle skiing; click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver freestyle skiing
- International Ski Federation on freestyle
- Scroll past the 2002 recap to find background information
- The rules — yes, it’s freestyle, but there are still rules
- A look at making Olympic freestyle skiing runs
- IOC’s rundown of ski jumping; click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver ski jumping
- The International Skiing Federation’s site; includes news on pre-Olympics season
- Team USA Nordic/jumping
- Washington Post graphic — more than a pretty picture, has lots of information
- Good background material after a 2002 recap — including that no women are jumping
- IOC insists on keeping women out of ski jumping — only Winter Games event they’re barred from
- Scroll down to questions ski jumpers are most often asked. Lower still for fun trivia
- Purists should not look at this — it’s about Eddie the Eagle
- Understandable breakdown between long course and short track
- USA Speedskating (Short Track and Long course)
- Speedskating 101
- IOC’s rundown of speed skating (long course), click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver long course
- Washington Post graphic packs in a lot of info on long course
- Skip the look back at 2002 — the last 4 paragraphs are worth the trip
- The West Allis Speedskating Club. Because to many who follow sports, West Allis, Wis., IS speedskating
- Eric Heiden’s golden legacy (look for his connection with short-track in 2002)
- IOC’s rundown of short track, click around on the links on the right to explore more
- Vancouver short track
- Forget the top part (previewing 2002) and get down to “Finer Points” (includes long-course)
- Wild and crazy 2002 boiled down to a few sentences. Sigh
- Basics only in this Washington Post graphic. Where’s the strategy?
- Ah-hah! Here’s both strategy and technique
