Sports: Tough day to be a US female Olympic athlete

Lindsey Kildow who had crashed on the Alpine downhill earlier in the week and was hospitalized crashed again today. Excerpt:

Kildow's tough Olympics took another nasty turn when she lost her balance midway through the run and fell on her backside. Although the wipeout was nothing compared to her free-falling crash in training for the downhill -- a crash that required an airlift to a Torino hospital -- Kildow lay there for a moment, then worked her way to the sideline.

"I couldn't go five gates without having to sob and recuperate because my back hurt so bad," Kildow said. "I just can't ski the way I want, so it's really frustrating, but I'm happy to be here."

She called her fall a potential "blessing in disguise" because, instead of racing Saturday, she'd be able to rest and for Sunday's super-G.

Kildow is truly a competitor. No one would have blamed her if she decided to take some time to recover. Instead, she went out there to compete knowing she wasn't at her best and would not win. She nonetheless finished eighth in the downhill. Americans love winners but we also love fighters who go out there and push the envelope giving it their best no matter what.

The USA Women's curling team finished second last year in the world championships raising expectations. The past week has been a hard lesson on competing on the world stage. They suffered two previous losses by just one point each in the extra end. Today's loss was another one point extra end heartbreaker. Rooting for the "Curlgirls" to keep at it in their three remaining games and keep up the competitive spirit.

Both USA and Canada's women's ice hockey teams knew the footsteps of the other nations were getting closer. Team USA didn't plan on it overtaking them today when Sweden defeated them in the shootout after going to a 2-2 tie.

I had previously posted a profile on Chanda Gunn the USA goalie. With a shootout where the cameras would be on the goalie, I could picture in my mind that Chanda would take the loss very hard. And indeed, in this ESPN.com story, we find that she felt that burden deeply yet found it within herself to lead her team in the ceremonial handshake and to express her loyalty to her teammates. Excerpt:

Gunn had been the hero of last spring's World Championships, when the Americans defeated Canada in a shootout to win their first gold medal at that tournament. This time, she raced to the bench as the Swedes spilled onto the ice and flung down her gloves and mask.

She appeared headed for the dressing room when coach Smith stopped her, and she returned to the ice for the ceremonial handshake, actually leading her teammates before disappearing quickly into the changing area.

"I was the only person who could have won or lost the shootout for my team, and we didn't win, so I wasn't feeling great," Gunn said later, her voice cracking, eyes red. "The first thing I wanted to do was get off the ice. The last place I wanted to be was hanging around the celebrating."

Asked what her teammates had said to console her, Gunn sobbed. "My teammates. I wouldn't choose 19 other people in the world to play beside," she said. "They're all very supportive of me."

I'm sure her coach and her teammates told her, you didn't lose this one. We have won as a team and today we lost as a team. Chanda, you are one of the reasons we got this far. Have yourself a good cry, we all will. Do what you need to do to unwind. Get some sleep. We'll be back to take on the Finns and we'll need you and we will do it together.

But the athlete feeling the heat from the critics (and I would imagine she is her own worst critic) the most has to be Lindsey Jacobellis who on her way to a gold medal crashed in snowboard cross finishing second for the silver.

Her gaffe is joining the list of unfortunate events ripe for criticism and mocking.

Initially, she gamely tried to stick to the "cover story" that she was trying to get more stability while in the air. But in the end, she had to fess up and be a stand up girl and own up to her blunder. Excerpt:

In the moments after the race, Jacobellis insisted it was pretty much standard operating procedure and that she did it only to "create stability."

A few hours later, in a conference call, she held to that point, but also conceded there might have been some showboating going on.

"I was having fun," she said. "Snowboarding is fun. I was ahead. I wanted to share my enthusiasm with the crowd. I messed up. Oh well, it happens."

I would imagine that Lindsey's friends and family are telling her: Here is a big bear hug. There are enough people beating you like a pinata and you are beating yourself up over it. You'll be the punch line of a lot pithy sports headlines and the video of today's event is going to live on for decades in blooper shows. In time, the hurt will go away. But for now, no doubt about it, some people will judge you on this one thing alone and be quite harsh about it. Those people aren't your friends. You know who you are and that your life isn't this one thing.