Olympics Daily Guide: What to watch Thursday, Feb. 15

The United States added another gold medal from the 2018 Winter Olympics to its trophy case, and will try to add a few more on Thursday to catch up with the competition. And while the snowboard gold medal sweep didn’t materialize, the women’s snowboard cross event gives Team USA another shot at claiming a boarding medal.

The U.S. competitors in the men’s snowboard cross final on Wednesday weren’t able to make it to the medal podium, with Nick Baumgartner and Mick Dierdorff finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. But tonight, it’s the women’s turn — and they are the real stars of this event.

Olympic legend Lindsey Jacobellis will compete in her fourth Winter Games, and is looking for her first medal since 2006 — she crashed out during the snowboard cross semifinal heat in both 2010 and 2014. But Jacobellis isn’t the only veteran on the team. Faye Gulini will be making her third Olympic appearance on the slopes, despite having yet to win a medal. Both women are favored among the field.

Before snowboard cross gets into their quarterfinal heats on Thursday, American John Daly will dive head first into the men’s skeleton final two runs. The skeleton is one of the more incredibly dangerous and “what the hell are you doing?!” events at the Olympics, but Daly manages to make the intense competition light-hearted and fun. He might not be favored to medal — finishing at 51.23 (No. 13) in his first run, and 51.15 (No. 13) in the second — but he isn’t letting that stop him from enjoying the opportunity.

The men’s figure skating short program will also get underway Thursday night with the first of two competitions for a medal. One of the burgeoning celebrities to come out of the Pyeongchang Games is figure skater Adam Rippon, and all eyes will be on him.

He’s dominated headlines, from his fantastic Olympic debut during the team event, to joining Elmo on Sesame Street, there is no denying he is the new face of men’s skating. He can multitask with the best of them. He has been funny and talented since age 12. And was one of the first openly gay men to win a Winter Olympic medal.

You can find live streaming of all events at NBC’s Olympics site.

Event: Men’s skeleton
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Online Streaming: NBC Olympics | FuboTV

Event: Men’s figure skating: short program
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Online Streaming: NBC Olympics | FuboTV

Event: Men’s alpine skiing: super-g
Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Online Streaming: NBC Olympics | FuboTV

Event: Women’s snowboard cross
Time: 10:15 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Online Streaming: NBC Olympics | FuboTV

Event: Men’s CC skiing: 15km individual
Time: 1 a.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Online Streaming: NBC Olympics | FuboTV

The United States is up to eight total medals thus far in Pyeongchang, thanks to Mikaela Shiffrin’s gold medal run in the women’s giant slalom. In addition to Shiffrin’s skiing gold, five of the eight medals have been won in snowboarding events, one silver in men’s luge, and a bronze in team figure skating.

Team USA continues to hold down the No. 5 spot among medal-winning countries, but there has been some movement in the top four. Pulling out to a two-medal lead is Norway (16) at the top, with Germany (14) claiming the No. 2 spot from the Netherlands (11), who is now tied with Canada (11). The American team will have some catching up to do, but they could add to the medal count on Thursday, with the men’s skeleton runs 3 and 4 (7:30 p.m. ET), the men’s alpine skiing super-g (9 p.m. ET), the women’s snowboard cross (10:15 p.m. ET), and, for the late-night crowd, the men’s cross country skiing 15km individual (1 a.m. ET).

Cross country skiing has never really been the United States’ bread and butter, but the best shot we’ve got at earning a medal in the men’s 15km individual event is with Noah Hoffman. Back for his second Olympics, he finished at No. 31 during the Sochi Games in 2014, and will compete in two events during his time in Pyeongchang.