The Golden Girls (and Guy) go for Gold

This Winter Olympics, I have something in common with a few of the athletes. It’s not my striking good looks in tights, but you’re close. This year in Sochi, three American athletes share my last name, Gold: Gracie, and siblings Arielle and Taylor Gold. And yes, they all traveled to Sochi to go for the gold. It’s like a pun-factory exploded in Russia.

As you can imagine, when learning of this coincidence, my family and I immediately became Winter Olympics fans. We Golds haven’t had this much to rally behind since 1992, when, actress, Tracey Gold hammed it up in Growing Pains. But the Golds are on an international platform now! As I watched the three surname-sharing athletes march through the opening ceremonies, I was filled with inspiration. I couldn’t help but think that if I met them in person, we Golds would totally hit it off and gab into the late hours of the night. All fantasies aside, here are real updates with my three favorite athletes. (Watch out for some spoilers).

Gracie Gold

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a02j4GeP24A

Gracie got off to a hot start on Sunday, collecting a bronze with her teammates in the Mixed-Team Figure Skating event. Her individual score of 129.38 was her highest in her international career. The near flawless performance was trumped only by Russia’s 15 year old newcomer, Julia Lipnitskaia, who became the youngest gold medalist in Olympic figure skating history. We’ll see more of Lipnitskaia and Gracie Gold in the coming days.

Arielle Gold

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix3irDzYulo

SPOILER ALERT

Unfortunate news broke out earlier today about Arielle, who was thought to be a gold medal contender in the Women’s Halfpipe. A crash during training on Wednesday left her with an unspecified shoulder injury, according to a U.S. spokesman. Arielle was forced to drop out of Olympic competition. Her teammate, Kaitlyn Farrington, went on to win the gold medal in the half pipe for the U.S.

Taylor Gold

Coming into the games after being crowned the Copper Mountain U.S. Grand Prix/World Cup champion, Taylor showed some promise for the Men’s Halfpipe. He received a score of 87.50 during qualification. However his Olympic dreams came crashing down with his board when he tried one last trick during his semifinal run. Taylor ran out of pipe and his board washed out on the landing. It was a disappointing end for a hopeful contender. After receiving a score of 60.75, Taylor left the scene without speaking to media or his coach.

The games are far from over, and there’s still a chance for a Gold to win the Gold.

Cover Photo Source:  rangizzz

Matt is a Junior Executive at SJG. He graduated from DePauw University in Indiana with a BA in communications. He hopes to one day become knowledgeable in enough areas to compete in a TV trivia game show with huge cash prizes. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, writing, comedy, photography, and asserting alpha male behavior on the basketball court.