The Gold Standard, Day 1: Jamaican bobsledders ready to inspire

Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell of Jamaica speed down the track during their first run of the women's bobsled World Cup race in Innsbruck, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017. (Kerstin Joensson/AP)

It may not be possible to catch all the best moments in a single day of the Olympic Games, but we’re going to try. Every day, we’ll award medals for standout achievements at (and around) Pyeongchang 2018 and feats that may or may not be recognized on the podium (and may or may not even be of an athletic nature).

Here are our picks for Day 1, which includes some dominant performances by some of the world’s finest female athletes.

Gold medal for making journalists cry…
…Goes to Jamaican bobsledder Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian, whose incredible words during a Pyeongchang press conference brought tears and applause from all in attendance.

Fenlator-Victorian was part of the United States’ bobsleigh entry in Sochi in 2014, but chose to represent her father’s native Jamaica a few years ago with the goal of promoting diversity in sport and helping make Olympic history.

Thirty years after the Jamaican men’s foursome arrived in Calgary and inspired Cool Runnings, Fenlator-Victorian will pilot the nation’s first-ever women’s entry in the sport, along with teammate Carrie Russell. And unlike the Cool Runnings crew, these women are here to really compete.

Watch out for Mr. Cool Bolt—that’s the name of their sled—when women’s bobsleigh hits the track on Feb. 15.

Continuing on the theme of strong female leads…

Gold medal for making women’s Olympic history…
…Goes to Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen, who earned a silver medal in the women’s 15-kilometre skiathlon — the first medal event of the Games.

With that silver, the 37-year-old now has 11 career Olympic medals (six gold, four silver, one bronze), making her the most decorated female winter Olympian ever. She first reached the Olympic podium in Salt Lake City in 2002, winning silver, and has won at least one medal in five straight Games including five medals (three of which were gold) in Vancouver 2010 and three more golds in Sochi 2014. Amazing.

“I am here to take medals,” Bjorgen told reporters. “It is my fifth Olympics and still to be there, I am happy with that. I am happy to be here at my age.”

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Gold medal for uniting in the name of sport…
…Goes to the unified women’s Korean hockey team, which hit the ice for the first time in these Olympics and demonstrated what these games are about.

North and South Korea joined forces to put together its women’s Olympic hockey team back in January due to a political accord and a desire to show good will in the name of sport. This is the first time the divided nations have ever joined forces on a single team in any Olympic sport.

Though Korea lost the lopsided matchup against Switzerland, it was a victory for the Olympic spirit.

Gold medal for non-stop scoring…
…Goes to Swiss women’s hockey player Alina Muller, who registered a whopping four goals to open up Switzerland’s tournament against the unified Korean team.

Muller needed less than 10 minutes to score a natural hat trick in the first period, and later added her fourth to help Switzerland to the 8-0 win. She finished the game with six points, tying the record shared by Canadians Cherie Piper (Turin 2006) and Jayna Hefford (Vancouver 2010) for most point in a single game.

At just 19 years old (!) this is Muller’s second Olympic tournament — she was only 15 when she helped the Swiss women to Olympic bronze in 2014. We’re sure this isn’t the last we’re hearing about this incredible force.

Gold medal for being GIF-able….
…Goes to the unified Korean cheer squad in attendance for the Korea-Switzerland hockey game.

The 200-member cheer team sang, danced and clapped their way through the game at Kwandong Hockey Centre, quickly becoming the most GIF-able squad in these Games so far.

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