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2010 Winter Olympics Wrap-Up: Katie Uhlaender Reflects On Closing Ceremony, Friend's Victory

Posted 3/2/10 11:30 am EST by in Sports

MTV News dispatched a team to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and not only got the inside scoop from some of the top athletes at the games but also made some friends along the way. We asked new pal skeleton participant Katie Uhlaender to write about her experience in Vancouver.

By Katie Uhlaender

The closing ceremony is always a moment of reflection. You think about all you have put into getting to the Olympic games, everything that happened, and are again presented with the opportunity to do it all over again. In the midst of all that, you have a mixture of emotions from all the athletes. For some, Vancouver was the last competition of their career, while for others it was a time of celebration in just making it or winning a medal. For a few, it was a huge disappointment to leave without having won.

As a member of Team U.S.A., it was a combination of disappointment, pride and inspiration for me. I obviously wish my competition had gone better, but when you consider everything the team has accomplished (37 total medals, the most any country has won in any Olympics in history), I was proud to be a part of that. There really are no words to express the pride I have in wearing U.S.A. at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

As the team gathered in the hockey arena to get ready to walk into the closing ceremony, I walked through the crowd to say goodbye to those I could and get pictures for proof of lasting memories. I hadn't seen my good friend [gold medal-winning bobsled driver] Steve Holcomb yet, and was texting him to try and find him. He is a friend that had been there for me through my father's death, drove up on weekends while I was unable to move or walk after shattering my knee cap and couldn't have a better understanding of how much it has taken for me to get to Vancouver. At the same time, I've been there for him through the complications of his sight loss, his possible retirement, girl troubles and the stress of competing on tour.

I finally saw him, standing there with his gold medal around his neck, and I was overwhelmed with emotion. I ran to him and gave the biggest hug ever. I told him, "Can you believe it? I couldn't be more proud of you." He looked at me and said, "You have no idea." At that point the wind must have blown or something and stirred up some dust, because both our eyes were filled with tears.

To watch one of my best friends win at the Olympics and to have been able to walk in both the opening and closing ceremonies with him as a part of Team U.S.A. is something I hope to experience again in Sochi. But next time, I hope our hug is accompanied by the clinking sound of both of our medals.

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The 2010 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony: Behind The Scenes With A Dancer

Posted 3/1/10 10:00 am EST by in Sports

MTV News dispatched a team to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and not only got the inside scoop from some of the top athletes at the games but also made some friends along the way. We asked dancer and Canadian TV personality Rachel David to blog about her experience performing at the closing ceremony, which featured performances by Michael Bublé, Neil Young, William Shatner and a host of other Canadian luminaries.

By Rachel David

Sunday night (February 28) marked the conclusion of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games here in Vancouver. But what does almost every closing to every big event have? A crazy-a-- party!

Being a hip-hop dancer for the closing ceremonies has been a party throughout every rehearsal, but Sunday was especially crazy. The entire day was such a surreal experience. From the moment I walked through security, I was greeted by happy smiling faces and those smiles continued on throughout the day.

Not only was it the last day of the 2010 Winter Olympics, but it was also the gold medal hockey match between rivals U.S.A. and Canada. I have never seen such an intense game in my life! To be backstage with hundreds of Canada's finest performers and watch them patriotically cheer on their sport was an experience in itself.

The actual closing ceremony was fascinating to watch. As a dancer, I had met all the other dancers and had seen their costumes but I didn't actually know what any of them actually did (everything was so top secret that no one was allowed to tell anyone what their actual roles were). I didn't see what everyone had been learning over the past seven months until I was backstage watching this extraordinary party.

I felt my biggest rush of adrenaline when I actually got into the stadium as I was running past artists such as Michael Bublé and Nickleback on my way to my pre-set position. It was then that everything started to really sink in. I remember standing seconds away from bursting out on stage and just feeling my heart pumping through my neon pink hoodie. As Kos started singing all I could think of was how proud I was to be performing because this was the first Olympics to ever have hip-hop and break dancing in it.

When I was on stage, I felt as light as a feather (thanks to my adrenaline) and when I got off my high continued. As I look back on this experience, all I can say is "Wow, I was just a part of one of the biggest shows ever put on in the entire world!" I can truly say dancing at the closing ceremonies was the icing on the cake and the perfect way to close my Olympic experience.

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Kaylin Richardson Didn't Win Gold In Vancouver But Is Trying To Score The 'Most Fun Athlete' Award

Posted 2/24/10 11:45 am EST by in Sports

MTV News dispatched a team to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and not only got the inside scoop from some of the top athletes at the games but also made some friends along the way. We asked skier Kaylin Richardson — who competed in the Ladies' Super Combined event — to write about her experience on the slopes in Vancouver.

By Kaylin Richardson

Four years of preparation. One day of racing. That is the name of the game at the Olympics. Every athlete has worked incredibly hard to fulfill her destiny on the world stage in pursuit of a glory that occurs only once in a lifetime. We throw ourselves down mountains, skate on razor sharp weapons and — perhaps most crazy of all — we wear ridiculously tight, unflattering outfits. We are the superheroes of reality.

I have had the opportunity to fight crime and unseat super-villains on two U.S. Olympic teams. In Torino four short years ago, I competed in the Alpine Combined event and owned ... 17th place. After 2006, I evaluated my place in this crazy elite world of winter sports and decided to commit myself to ski in the 21st Olympiad in Vancouver.

Like I said above, over the last four years much of what I did revolved around that singular goal. And now, for me, the long road I've traveled reached its destination. I competed in the Alpine Combined Event on February 18. I came. I raced. I conquered ... 17th place. Sound familiar?

Don't jump to conclusions — it was expertly orchestrated. Coordinating my movements just so to have a repeat performance was extremely complicated.

OK, I jest, but in all honestly I am very proud of myself. Due to uncooperative weather, I only got one fractured training run on the Downhill course (I really could have used the three that were originally scheduled). Having watched the Downhill race, I was privy to the nerves (and "Holy s---!" reactions) that accompany viewing your contemporaries wreck left and right. It wasn't the most calming pre-race affair, but the next day I made it down with the moves of a jungle cat. My respectable 17th aside, the U.S. Ski Team reigned victorious again with Jules (Mancuso) sitting pretty on her second silver medal in two days. I am always one to give credit where it is due. I am one of the best skiers in the world, although it also feels very cool to be associated with the best U.S. Ski Team in history.

Now this blog seems to be all business, but the last few days have been anything but. My new (and arguably more intense) quest after racing in my event has been claiming the indisputable "Most Fun Athlete" award at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. As of right now, it has only been self-proclaimed, but after having a dance-off with Russian silver medal-winning figure skater Evgeni Plushenko and being mistaken for gold medalist and media-darling Lindsey Vonn on multiple occasions (one of which supplied my crew and I with a very generous bottle of champagne), I am gaining more and more support by the minute.

I will nobly continue to sway the good people of Whistler with my enthusiasm and entertaining antics. Every giggle can make a difference, so please get behind my campaign.

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Olympic Ice Dancing Features Canadian Victory, Linkin Park

Posted 2/23/10 8:05 am EST by in Sports

Despite the fact that everybody seems to hate NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, there have still been compelling television moments. Take Monday night (February 22) for example: In the midst of hypnotic images of ski jumping and freestyle aerials, the focus of the evening was on ice dancing. It's an event that has been dominated by Russia ever since joining the Olympics ranks in 1976, but Monday's competition saw the rise of Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue, the Canadian pair who surged to the top and took the gold medal. Meryl Davis and Charlie White, an American team who have been partnered up for 13 years, took the silver medal, while Russia's Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin — the reigning world champions — settled for bronze.

Unlike plain old figure skating, ice dancing focuses more on storytelling, coordination, lifts and holds rather than jumps and twists. There's also a heavy focus on music — in fact, one of the reasons why the American pair grabbed such a big score in their final skate was because they managed to meld their choreography so well with the music (sadly, said music was a series of tunes from "Phantom of the Opera" — apparently, some aspects of ice dancing are still stuck in 1988).

In fact, most of the musical selections were pretty safe, as a majority of the teams stuck to well-worn classical pieces. However, there was at least one truly bold choice during the skating last night. Brits Sinead and John Kerr gave something of a retirement performance (they declared that this would be their last Olympics) set to a remix of Linkin Park's "Crawling" (they used "Krwlng," from LP's 2002 remix album Reanimation). The commentators noted that it was a big chance, and while their scores didn't put them on the medal podium (they finished in 20th place), they deserve a thumbs up for injecting a little edge into the evening.

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The U.S. Olympic Hockey Team's Win Over Canada Was Fueled By Kings Of Leon

Posted 2/22/10 1:45 pm EST by in Sports

As we noted this morning, the United States men's Olympic hockey team overcame tremendous odds to defeat Canada by a score of 5-3 yesterday. The U.S. team will now advance to the top seed of the quarterfinals, adding another wrinkle to an already unusual Olympic tournament.

Much of the credit for the unlikely victory goes to goaltender Ryan Miller, whose day job is with the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and who racked up 42 saves in a tense and heated match-up. Of course, Miller didn't do it alone: He had support from his able-bodied teammates, as well as a hand from Angus Young and Jared Leto.

Like many elite Olympic athletes, Miller uses music to help get him into the game-time mindset. "It varies, but a lot of the time it's a lot of modern rock mixes," Miller told MTV News in Vancouver. "I've been listening to Kings of Leon for a long time — ever since they had mustaches and long hair, so I like that they've had some success. I like that 30 Seconds to Mars has new stuff out. I like Silversun Pickups, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, stuff like that."

Teammate Ryan Callahan — a forward who plays with the New York Rangers — likes it a little older and heavier. "I keep it more old-school and simple," Callahan said. "AC/DC and Metallica get me really pumped up and ready to go. I like listening to that stuff before the games."

The men play again on Wednesday, but on Monday (February 22), the women get the chance to continue the U.S. hockey run in Vancouver. The U.S. will play Sweden in a semifinal game, and you can bet that an eclectic mix will help the ladies get ready to play. "On my iPod, I like to listen to hip-hop," forward Kelli Stack told MTV News. "I have a lot of Lil Wayne, Drake, Jay-Z and Eminem. But in the locker room, it's a little bit of everything, so a little bit of hip-hop, a little bit of country."

What would you play in the locker room to get ready for an Olympic hockey game? Leave your ideas in the comments!

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Lil Wayne, Kings Of Leon Help Pump Up U.S. Olympic Hockey Teams

Posted 2/18/10 6:00 pm EST by in Sports

By Nick Neofitidis

I'm a really huge hockey fan, so yesterday when I got to interview four members of our U.S. Olympic women's and men's hockey teams, I was pretty excited. However, there is one drawback to being a stand out supporter of Team USA Hockey, especially at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Canadians love (and I mean love) their hockey. All the niceness we learned about? Here comes the big asterisk.

That being said, I wanted to make sure our men and women hockey players are taken care of while at the games. So when I got men's team forward Ryan Callahan and goalie Ryan Miller on the microphone at the Team USA house downtown, I went right to my biggest concerns for them.

"Fellas, please tell me that while you are warming up they are not blasting any Celine Dion or Michael Bublé!" Once Calli and Mills (we hockey fans like to shorten names, trust me) got a good laugh out of my questions, they assured me they were too focused and didn't even hear what was playing. Women's team forwards Hilary Knight and Kelli Stack also reassured me of the same. That was quite a relief, because I did not want to have to drop the gloves and go toe to toe with the Canadian team. (Those guys are huge.)

With the stadium music crossed off my list of concerns, I asked everyone what music they liked to listen to in the locker room or on the Ipod before a big game. The men went right to rock and roll, with Kings of Leon, 30 Seconds to Mars, AC/DC and Metallica leading the way. As for the ladies, the're no Taylor Swift on these iPods. These ladies are bumping some serious hip-hop: Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Drake and Eminem. Now that's hardcore.

Unfortunately, I will have left Vancouver before both teams play Canada. But you can be sure I will be listening, watching and cheering all the way. Good luck, Team USA!

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Meet Olympic Athlete Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, Ghana's 'Snow Leopard'

Posted 2/18/10 4:05 pm EST by in Sports

By Adam Stewart

If you remember the origins of one of the film "Cool Runnings," you recall the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, where the inspirational story of the first Jamaican bobsled team came unfolded. Lone Ghanaian Olympian Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong is the 21st century equivalent: An unlikely nation competing in a sport dominated by countries where it, you know, snows. The "Snow Leopard," as he is known to his home nation, is part of just a small handful of Winter Olympians to ever hail from Africa.

With no funds whatsoever provided by his native land, Kwame relies solely on the philanthropy from private corporations and his original (and very cool) clothing line. Leopard Sports Limited is the brand that the he and the ski team from Ghana have developed to pave Kwame's road to his Olympic dream. But those spots aren't just for show — they carry a two-fold symbolism that is true to both his roots and charitable passions.

Embedded in the design are native Ghanaian symbols that represent faith, versatility and strength. The actual spots themselves tie into his own personal philanthropy with the funds Team Ghana has raised above and beyond the cost of the games. Kwame has become heavily involved in the conservation efforts of the Snow Leopard Trust located at the Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, U.K. Now that is truly an example of embracing the good will and awesome power of the Olympic spirit here in Vancouver.

This all comes from a huge Akon fan who spends most of his time training in his home land on skis designed to roll on grass. Not bad for a guy whose native land never sees a snowflake. And with this crazy lack of snow at the 2010 Winter Olympics, maybe those grass skis of his will come in handy!

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Silver Medalist Julia Mancuso Teaches Sway Olympic Code

Posted 2/18/10 3:15 pm EST by in Sports

In the days before skier Julia Mancuso won her silver medal on Wednesday (February 17) with a stellar downhill performance that was topped only by teammate Lindsey Vonn's odds-defying run, she met up with MTV News' very own Sway to teach him all the right and wrong lingo when it comes to talking to the skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Apparently Sway wanted to look cool in front of the other skiers and Julia was nice enough to let him in on their secret language.

"So 'GS' stands for 'giant slalom,' which I guess has bigger turns than slalom," she explained to Sway, who eagerly took in the lesson from the silver medalist. "There's 'Super G,' I guess that's a code word for an event that's like GS, but a little faster."

And then she taught him the most important lesson of all: Do not call them alpine skiers! Okay! "And then I guess another thing, we always say skiing. We never say we're alpine skiers. Like we're ski racers and that's alpine skiing," she warned her student. "Yeah, don't be like 'Are you an alpine skier?' Be like 'You race downhill?'"

With the lesson learned, Julia also shared her secret to victory: "I guess I've always competed in everything and I love it and it takes a little bit of time management especially now with some canceled races," she said. "We're gonna be crammed into a smaller period of time, but I'm still stoked. I'm ready." As her performance on Wednesday proved, she was right.

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At The U.S. Olympic Snowboarding House, It's Always A 'Party In The U.S.A.'

Posted 2/17/10 6:00 pm EST by in Sports

By Adam Stewart

The Olympic Village isn't the only place where athletes congregate, reside and catch all the Winter Olympic action. Members of the U.S. Snowboarding team are all shacking up together in a swanky West Vancouver pad where they harness their inner chi and prepare to kick some beaver tail up on the trails of Cypress Mountain.

I caught up with 20-year-old Halfpipe phenom and second time Olympian Elena Hight on Tuesday afternoon (February 16) in downtown Vancouver. Not only is the medal hopeful the first ever female snowboarder to land a 900 in competition (that's two-and-a-half rotations), but she did so at the tender age of 13. That's pretty amazing, especially for a girl who lived on the sunny beaches of Hawaii until the age of six. The blond boarding beauty and I chatted and she gave me an insider's view on what goes on inside the walls of what is arguably the coolest team house at the 2010 Winter Games.

Unique to most of the other teams, the U.S. Snowboarders are a solidified unit that travels the globe and competes nearly year round in events such as the World Cup and the X-Games. That sort of camaraderie has built them into a truly inseparable family unit. So what does a family do to stay focused and get pumped for some of the most exciting events in the games? They rock out to Elena's favorite jam: Miley Cyrus' appropriate American anthem "Party in the U.S.A." I was with Elena when she says "There really is no other team here at the Olympics like the [U.S.] Snowboard team." Can we please come hang with you guys? We like to think that we're like no others as well!

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The Top Five Things MTV News Has Learned At The Vancouver Olympics

Posted 2/17/10 10:50 am EST by in Sports

By Nick Neofitidis

The Winter Olympics march on, but MTV News' time in Vancouver is nearly up. We've still got plenty more to come, including insights from snowboarders, members of the men's and women's hockey teams and whoever else we happen to run into here in not-nearly-snowy-enough British Columbia. We've certainly learned a thing or two about the Olympics — in fact, here are the top five things we've taken away from our time here so far.

5: When In Rome
As we have been saying it all week: From our trip to Granville to the folks at Whistler, Canadian people are super nice. I'm a New Yorker at heart, so my tough skin sometimes can come out a bit when I'm in a new city. But in Vancouver, I don't have a choice. I could curse Wayne Gretzky's name to the death and not ever hear someone from across the way tell me to shut it. (For the record, I love Wayne Gretzky, so my my Canadian brethren can rest easy).

4: Team USA Is Awesome
We have interviewed a ton of athletes during our stay here so far. From the lunatic Skeleton athletes like Katie Uhlaender to our new buddy Will Brandenburg (who made a last ditch effort to get Taylor Swift to be his valentine). We even talked to Hannah Kearney, who was the proud recipient of the U.S. team's first Olympic Gold Medal and who is a pretty diehard Red Sox fan. One thing is for sure: Our athletes are fun and down-to-earth people.

3: "Nice" Is Only 95 Percent Of The Time
OK, so about number five. Read More...

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