Sochi Day 12: USA Takes Medal Count Lead

Sochi is nine hours ahead of the eastern United States—12 hours ahead for the people out west—making it difficult for the average Olympic viewer to catch a lot of the events live. That’s where we come in.

Everyday we’ll be posting daily updates on what happened while you were sleeping, what’s coming up later in the day, and what’s on the docket tomorrow, as well as any relevant GIFs, tweets and interesting articles.

What You Missed

Alpine Skiing – Men’s Giant Slalom: Ted Ligety scored another gold for the Americans, vaulting them over Russia into first place on the medal leader board. With his dominant performance, Ligety became the first man to win two gold medals in Alpine Skiing, his other coming in the 2006 Turin Games. Steve Missillier and Alexis Pinturault of France captured silver and bronze behind him.

What’s About to Happen (All times EST, * signifies a medal round):

*Biathlon – Mixed Relay (9:30 a.m.)
*Bobsleigh – Women’s (11:15 a.m.)
Men’s Hockey – USA vs. CZE (12:00 p.m.)

Three must-reads:

1. Members of Pussy Riot released after being detained in Sochi.
2. Ukrainian athletes are shocked by the violence in their native country.
3. Lolo Jones isn’t the only one to have competed in both Winter and Summer Olympics. 127 others have as well.

Tweet of the day

A Canadian beer company producing special USA hockey cans is, uh, interesting?

GIF of the day

Goalie hip check!

Medal Count as of February 18, 8:40 a.m. EST (total gold, silver, bronze)

1. United States: (21) 7, 4, 10
2. Russia: (21) 6, 8, 7
3. Netherlands: (20) 6, 6, 8
4. Norway: (19) 8, 4, 7
5. Canada: (17) 4, 9, 4

Notable events Tuesday (in chronological order, * signifying a medal round):

*Freestyle Skiing – Men’s Ski Cross (5:41 a.m.)

*Nordic Combine – Team Large Hill – Cross-country (6:00 a.m.)

*Curling – Women’s Final (8:30 a.m.)

*Figure Skating – Ladies Free Skate (10:00 a.m.)

*Women’s Hockey Final – USA vs. CAN (12:00 p.m.)

*Freestyle Skiing – Ladies’ Halfpipe (12:30 p.m.)