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The US Did Worse Than Expected At The Winter Olympics

The U.S. was reportedly 14 medals short of its target.
Posted at 9:40 AM, Feb 26, 2018

If you watched the Winter Olympics and didn't see as many American medalists as you expected, you're not alone. The U.S. Olympic Committee was disappointed with their performance, too.

The U.S. won 23 medals in Pyeongchang. That's well short of the 37 medals the American execs targeted, according to an Associated Press report. This included worse-than-expected showings in sports like figure skating and Alpine skiing.

But Lindsey Vonn, a bronze medalist in Pyeongchang and one of the most decorated skiers ever, says medal counts take things out of context. 

"To quantify how many medals you have, I think, is not appropriate and doesn't respect the athletes and what they've put in to be at these games," Vonn said.

Vonn has a point; there were plenty of U.S. Olympians who made history this time around. The U.S. leaves Pyeongchang with its first-ever gold medal in cross-country skiing, its first medal in men's singles luge, and its first gold medal in curling.

As for the others, the sports at the Olympics are so different you can't really point to one particular reason for the poor showing. Sometimes, it's just not your Olympics.