BRICKM’s at the Olympics

The Chinese figure skating pair, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, who are also husband and wife, won gold last night. The pair had actually retired from Olympic competition but came back for the gold in Vancouver. China actually made it a 1-2 finish after Pan Qing and Tong Jian claimed silver.

South Korea grabbed a handful of medals in the speed skating finals. South Korea’s Mo Tae Bum won gold in the 500 meter final, Lee Seung-Hoon snagged the silver in the 5000 meter final and Lee Sang-Hwu won gold in the Ladies 500 meter final. As of this morning, South Korea is just behind host country, Canada, with four total medals.

Of course, the Russians are a strong contender in many events but all eyes in Moscow were on the men’s hockey team last night as they blew out Latvia 8-2. Alexander Ovechkin, a native Muscovite, scored two goals in the rout. Next up for Russia is Slovakia on Thursday night.

The other remaining BRICKM nations, not considered winter countries, actually have a few athletes in the games. Brazil has a female snowboarder named Isabel Clark Ribeiro, this is her second Olympic games, she had a ninth place finish four years ago in Turino. India has a three winter athletes, luger Shiva Keshavan Kannan Palan, who received 29th place on that deadly luge track, Tashi Lundup, a cross-country skier who placed 83rd in the men’s downhill, and Jamyang Namgial, who has yet to race on the Alpine course. And last but not least is Mexico’s only athlete, Prince Hubertus of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, aside from being an actual Prince; he is an Alpine skier, a photographer, businessman and a pop singer (he sings under the name ‘Andy Himalaya’). A son of Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Ira of Fürstenberg, Hubertus was born in Mexico, of which his paternal grandmother was a native, too. He started the Mexican Skiing Federation in 1981 and has participated in a number of Olympic games but never made it to the podium.