Showtime at the Iceberg, Kostelic's Minefield, Dutch Dominance, and Juicin' while Shootin': Sochi Day 17

     After all the drama, suspense, and wonder that we were treated to at the Iceberg Skating Palace, we came back one more time on Saturday for the Ice Skating Exhibition Gala.  This is where the contestants from the competition come back onto the ice one final time and skate another program in exhibition.  This exhibition set is more showy than the competitive one, with the skaters adding props to their performances.  Additionally, there aren't as many technical pieces(i.e. jumps) in this as there are in the competitive performances.  Adding to the showiness, Tara Lipnski and Johnny Weir were calling the festivities, and they were wearing their typical coordinated decorations, which this time were matching flowers.

     Moving away from the Iceberg and to another venue we'll be seeing for the last time, the Men's Slalom Finals were being held at Rosa Khutor.  Ted Ligety was fresh off of Gold in the Giant Slalom, and so eyes were on him to have a repeat performance in the Slalom. However, that was not to be, as Mario Matt of Austria finished with the Gold in that race. Irrespective of any competitive highlights, the real star of the Final wasn't even an Olympian.  Instead, it was a man by the name of Ante Kostelic, who served as the course setter for the Slalom Finals. His job is to craft the course so as to make it interesting and challenging.  And boy did he ever. Over the 2 runs, 13 skiers either fell or skied off of the course at various points.  If you've got that many people going off course, I would say that the setter did well.  So while Mario Matt may have technically won this, I would say that the big winner of this one was Ante Kostelic.

     Meanwhile Speed Skating officially wrapped up, and the Dutch added to their trophy case.  They won both the Men's and Women's Team Pursuit, giving them a total of 23 Medals in Speed Skating.  Another fact of note from Saturday came from the Biathlon Women's Mass Start, when it was announced today that one of the German competitors had tested positive for a banned substance, which led to Germany being stripped of its 4th-place result.  As it was only 4th, this did not effect any Medal counts.  Check back later for the exciting conclusion to these Games!