Olympic Updates: McGuffie, USA Place Ninth in Four-Man Bobsled Competition
2/24/2018 11:46:00 PM | General, Olympics
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PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- MGoBlue.com will track the progress of six individuals with University of Michigan ties who are competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The participants include ice hockey alumni Andrew Ebbett (Canada) and Chad Kolarik (USA); men's bobsledder Sam McGuffie, a Michigan football letterwinner as a freshman in 2008; and ice dancers Evan Bates, Alex Shibutani and Maia Shibutani, all former U-M students.
Sunday, Feb. 25
BOBSLED: Former Michigan football player Sam McGuffie and his bobsled team claimed ninth place -- the best of Team USA's three sleds -- in the four-man competition with a cumulative time of 3:17.28. The quartet recorded its best run of the competition in the third heat, clocking 49.08 for the eighth-best time of the heat, but followed with a 16th-place time (49.77) in an overall slower fourth and final heat. German teams captured two of three Olympic medals, including gold with a cumulative time of 3:15.85 as Francesco Friedrich became the sixth pilot to win gold in both the two- and four-man events in the same Olympics. Germany and the Republic of Korea shared silver with matching 3:16.38 times.
Saturday, Feb. 24
BOBSLED: Former Michigan football player Sam McGuffie and his four-man USA bobsled team -- piloted by Codie Bascue -- improved on their showing from the training heats earlier in the week, clocking times of 49.02 and 49.34 to finish tied for 12th and 10th, respectively, in the first two of four official runs. The quartet sits in ninth place with an aggregate time of 1:38.43 -- 0.88 seconds behind first place. Germany currently has three teams inside the top five and leads with the team piloted by Francesco Friedrich, who could become just the sixth pilot to win gold in both the two- and four-man competitions in the same Games. The final two heats will start at 7:30 p.m. EST Saturday (Sunday morning in Korea).
Wednesday, Feb. 21
BOBSLED: Former Michigan football player Sam McGuffie transitioned to the four-man competition with the first day of training heats. Comprised of McGuffie, pilot Codie Bascue, Steven Langton and Evan Weinstock, the U.S. team finished 13th (49.75) and 14th (49.77) in their first two training heats -- nearly a half second off the German team of Nico Walther, Kevin Kuske, Alexander Roediger and Eric Franke, who had the fastest time in both heats, clocking 49.28 and 49.31. Training heats will extend two more days before the official four-man competition runs on Saturday and Sunday mornings (Feb. 24-25) in Korea (7:30 p.m. EST Friday and Saturday).
Tuesday, Feb. 20
ICE DANCING: Former U-M students Maia and Alex Shibutani took bronze in ice dancing with a 192.59 total after posting the third-best free dance score (114.86) of the day. That allowed them to leapfrog 2018 U.S. champions Zachary Donohue and Madison Hubbell, who held a slim .02-point edge on the "ShibSibs" after the short dance. Evan Bates, a 2013 Michigan graduate, and partner Madison Chock suffered a fall in the free dance and slipped from seventh place to ninth with a 175.58 total. Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (206.07) won the gold, while France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron (205.28) took the silver. » Full Story
Monday, Feb. 19
ICE DANCING: Former U-M students Maia and Alex Shibutani and 2013 Michigan graduate Evan Bates (with partner Madison Chock) performed in the short dance program, each finishing inside the top seven heading into the free dance. Performing to the Mambo, Cha Cha and Samba, the "ShibSibs" took fourth (77.73) and sit just .02 points out of medal position behind 2018 USA champions Zachary Donohue and Madison Hubbell. Bates and Chock skated to the Salsa, Rhumba and Samba and placed seventh (75.45), just .02 behind the Olympic Athletes from Russia pair of Dmitri Soloviev and Ekaterina Bobrova. Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (83.67) and France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron (81.93) hold the top spots, and only 3.5Â points separate third through eighth places.
BOBSLED: Former U-M football player Sam McGuffie wrapped up his Olympic debut in two-man bobsled with pilot Codie Bascue by placing 23rd in the third heat with their best time of the competition (49.90), but the USA duo remained in 25th place overall (2:30.09) and missed qualifying for the 20-team final heat by 0.59. Canada's Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz tied Germany's Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis for the gold medal (3:16.86), while the top American team was Justin Olsen and Evan Weinstock in 14th (3:18.54). Next up for McGuffie is the four-man bobsled, which starts with three days of training heats (Feb. 21-23) before the official competition Feb. 24-25.
Sunday, Feb. 18
BOBSLED: After finishing between 10th and 16th in each of the six training heats, the USA two-man bobsled team of former Michigan football player Sam McGuffie and Codie Bascue did not fare as well on day one of the official competition, coming in 25th in the first heat (50.03) and 25th again in the second (50.16). Going into tomorrow's final two heats, Bascue and McGuffie sit in 25th overall with an aggregate time of 1:40.19, 1.8 seconds behind first place and about a full second back of Team USA's Justin Olsen and Evan Weinstock in 12th (1:39.21).
Thursday, Feb. 15
BOBSLED: Former Michigan football player Sam McGuffie kicked off his first Olympic Games with the first of three days of training heats in the two-man bobsled. Brakeman McGuffie and pilot Codie Bascue clocked times of 50.12 and 50.55 to finish 11th and 16th, respectively, in the first two of six total training heats. After two more days of training heats, the two-man competition will be contested on Sunday and Monday (Feb. 18-19) with two heats each day.
Monday, Feb. 12
ICE DANCING: Two-time Olympians Maia and Alex Shibutani earned their first Olympic medals, helping the United States capture bronze in the team figure skating event. The duo finished second in the free dance (112.01), trailing only Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (118.10), and added nine more points the team's third-place total (62). Canada took the gold medal with 73 points, followed by the Russian athletes with 66 for silver. The "ShibSibs" are among the medal contenders for the ice dancing competition that will occur at 8 p.m. EST on Feb. 18-19.
Sunday, Feb. 11
ICE DANCING: Representing the United States in the team figure skating event, sister and brother Maia and Alex Shibutani placed second (75.46) in the short dance behind Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the reigning world champions and Olympic favorites. The "ShibSibs" contributed nine points toward the USA's team total (29) for the opening round, and the Americans sit in third place heading to the final round, trailing Canada (35) and the Olympic Athletes from Russia (31). Japan (26) and Italy (26) also moved on.
