Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Shani Davis fails to win medal despite suit switch



American Shani Davis, who won two speedskating golds and two silver medals at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Games, will leave Sochi without an individual medal — despite a last-ditch effort by the U.S. team to reverse their dismal performance to date by abandoning the Under Armour suit that was trumpeted as a game-changer.In his last attempt to win an individual medal in Sochi, Shani Davis abandoned Under Armour's so-called Mach39 speedskating suit, which was trumpeted as a game-changer for American athletes, and reverted to an older, familiar suit he'd used in world Cup'petition. But the result in Saturday's 1,500 meters was disappointing, with Davis finishing seventh among the 34 skaters to'pete to that point, with a time of 1 minute, 45.98 seconds. 

With six skaters remaining at Adler Arena, Poland's Zbigniew Brodka leads, with a time of 1:45.00.Speedskating has been a strength of U.S. Olympians for decades, accounting for 29 gold medals and 67 overall medals. And the U.Discount Sexy Chiffon One Shoulder Beaded Crystal Front Slit Sheath Evening/Prom DressesS. long track team was expected to do extremely well at the 2014 Sochi Games but has flamed out so far, with no athlete finishing better than seventh through six of 12 events.Puzzlement turned to alarm earlier this week when Davis, the world record holder and two-time Olympic champion in the 1,000 meters, finished eighth — nowhere near the podium.Davis dismissed a suggestion that Under Armour's allegedly revolutionary suits played his role.Wholesale Cheap Sexy chiffon strapless beaded Beach Evening/Prom Dresses But after team members took a secret vote about whether to abandon the suit mid-way through the Games and go back to the model that he used during the world cup season in hopes of jump-starting their performance, the U.S. made the change. 

It's unclear how Davis voted. Because Olympic rules require that all members of a country's team'pete in the same suits, all of the U.S. speedskaters have switched to the familiar suit.Jonathan Kuck,Wholesale Cheap Taffeta strapless Embroidery beaded Quinceanera Dresses DE2130 23, of Urbana, Ill., was the first American to'pete Saturday in the world cup suit, which is black with bright blue sleeves. Paired against Russia's Alexskeu Suvorov, Kuck finished in 1:50.19, more than four seconds off his opponent's pace, which placed him 15th among the 18 skaters to go at that point.A four-time Olympic medalist, Davis, 31, won gold in the 1,000m and silver in the 1,500m at both the 2006 and 2010 Winter Games. He finished outside the top 20 earlier in the week in the 500m, though that result didn't trigger alarms because he typically uses that race as training for his signature event, the 1,000 meters.


Mrs. Cloud-Forrest in her beige dress, for example,Discount Sexy Tulle Sweetheart Beaded Crystal Mermaid Evening/Prom Dresses did a dance-off with her mother, and her ceremony was led by a Tibetan Buddhist psychotherapist, she said.Stella Hernandez, 30, had many quirky touches at her November 2013 wedding to Diego Pinzon, 32, at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami. Ms. Hernandez works as a wedding photographer and said she didn't want to look like every other first-time bride."I feel like weddings are so cookie cutter now," she said.She chose a rose-gold gown from Bhldn and paired it with a vintage-style birdcage veil, made her own centerpieces out of paper flowers, and built a boutonniere out of bicycle cogs for Mr. Pinzon, who owns a bicycle shop. Mr. Pinzon wore a seersucker jacket and a polka-dot bow tie instead of a traditional tuxedo. 

Choosing not to wear white can create'plications and raise etiquette questions: Should a bride inform her fiancĂ©, and wedding guests, about her choice of color? Can she create a dress code for her guests? And can the bridesmaids wear white,Tulle v-neck applique floor length ball gown wedding/party dress as Pippa Middleton did?Keija Minor, the editor in chief of Brides magazine, advised against dressing bridesmaids in white. "I would suggest choosing a'plementary color for the bridesmaids, but don't put them in a color that is brighter than the bride's gown," said Ms. Minor, who added that a champagne hue is a safe choice.Kpoene' Kofi-Nicklin, the owner of Mignonette Bridal,Wholesale Cheap Beaded Organza Sequin Sexy Ball Gown Quinceanera Dresses Wedding Dresses a bridal salon in Chicago, said that 20 percent of its gown sales in 2013 were a color other than white, with the majority being "pinky blush," followed by silvery gray, green and blue from designers like Ms. Wang and Elie Saab. 

"Just about every girl who didn't pick a white gown put her bridesmaids in gray," Mrs. Kofi-Nicklin said. "It just makes the wedding gown pop."But if a bride wants to ensure she's the only one wearing a particular color on the big day, how does she get the word out to her guests? Ms. Post said: "If a bride chooses to wear pink, she can't dictate what her guests can wear, but she can request it. But what are you going to do, include a swatch of fabric with your wedding invitation? If you're taking a risk by not wearing a white wedding dress, you have to accept that some people may be wearing the same color as you."

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