The Winter Olympics get underway in earnest on the weekend, with the Sochi Games offering up betting opportunities in such disciplines as biathlon and alpine skiing over the first couple days of competition.
Winter Olympics Betting Odds Calendar Posted For Key Sochi Events
The Sochi Games are starting and so is betting on the Winter Olympics. Snowboard champ Shaun White is out of one event and Mens Hockey odds continue to move based on injuries to key players like Steve Stamkos.
Cameron Spencer
As well, snowboarding will be getting lots of attention in the early going after American star Shaun White pulled out of an event Wednesday afternoon, throwing Winter Olympics odds makers into a tizzy.
White decided to withdraw from the men’s slopestyle snowboard competition, citing dangerous conditions on the course and a wrist injury he suffered on a practice run earlier in the week.
That takes White off the betting board for the event at the sportsbooks, with Mark McMorris of Canada considered the 3/1 favorite to win the competition on Saturday. Maxence Parrot, another Canadian rider, is listed at 5/1 odds, while White had been sitting at 9/1 odds.
Along with men’s slopestyle snowboarding there will be medals given out in four other sports in Sochi on Saturday - cross-country women’s skiathlon, freestyle skiing women’s moguls, men’s 5000m speed skating, and the men’s biathlon 10km sprint.
Martin Fourcade of France, an Olympic silver medalist back in 2010, sits as the 8/5 betting favorite for that gold medal.
On Sunday the Olympic Games schedule offers up several more gold medal opportunites, including the cross-country men’s skiathlon, the women’s biathlon 7.5km sprint, women’s 3000m speed skating, women’s slopestyle snowboard, and the figure skating team competitions for each of the men, women, and ice dancers - for the first time at the Olympics.
As well, Sunday also features the men’s downhill, with Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway the +178 favorite over American Bode Miller (+369) and Canadian Erik Guya (+800). Svindal won three medals in Vancouver, including silver in the downhill, while Miller picked up five medals in Vancouver including a bronze in the downhill.
Guay took the gold medal in the downhill at the world championships in 2011 but didn’t manage to win a medal in Vancouver.
Men’s singles luge and men’s ski jumping individual round out Sunday’s Sochi medal events.
Heading into the Winter Olympics Norway is the +121 favorite to win the most gold medals in Sochi, followed by the United States at +252, Russia at +333, Germany at +420, and Canada at +446.
In 2010 in Vancouver it was Canada that led the way with 14 gold medals, followed by Germany with 10, and the United States and Norway with nine. Russia trailed at just three.
2014 Olympic betting lines updated daily on all events, including Mens Hockey.
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