Each day throughout the Winter Olympics, we'll bring you a daily rundown on what to expect and a look at key story lines in Sochi.



What to watch today, Tuesday, Feb. 18

While you were sleeping (spoilers):

Vermontâs Alex Deibold pulled in a bronze medal in Tuesdayâs crossboard finals. Deibold made the final run by narrowly fending off teammate Trevor Jacob in the semi finals. France's Pierre Vaultier won gold, while silver went to Nikolay Olyunin of Russia.

In womenâs giant slalom, Mikaela Shiffrin, a product of Vermontâs Burke Mountain Academy, came up just short in her quest for a medal, finishing fifth overall. The 18-year-old, making her Olympic debut, has another shot in the slalom, a discipline in which she is the world champion.

Sloveniaâs Tina Maze won her second gold of the Games with giant slalom total time of 2:36.87. Silver went to Austriaâs Anna Fenninger; bronze to Germanyâs Viktoria Rebensburg. The USâs Julia Mancuso did not finish the first run.

In short track speed skating, Korea, Canada, and Italy placed 1-2-3 in the womenâs 3,000 meter relay.

All three events can be seen as part of NBCâs prime time package Tuesday evening.

Norwayâs Emil Hegle Svendsen won gold in the menâs 15 K mass start biathlon. American Tim Burke placed 21st overall.

In menâs ice hockey, Slovenia beat Austria, 4-0, in the qualifying round, and moves on to play Sweden in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Medal watch:

The halfpipe freestyle skiing event makes its Olympic debut in Sochi Tuesday, with Americans Aaron Blunck, David Wise, Lyman Currier, and Torin Yater-Wallace among the competitors (prime time, NBC).

The eyes of hockey fans across the country will be glued to NBC Sports Network at noon, when the Czech Republic takes on Slovakia in the qualifying round. The winner will move on to play Team USA in the quarterfinals. Also at noon, Switzerland plays Latvia for the right to face Canada (MSNBC), and Russia and Norway square off to decide who will play Finland (7:30 a.m., NBCSN).

Medals will also be handed out in nordic combined and menâs speed skating (10,000 meters, 3 p.m., NBC).

Tweets from the athletes:

Melroseâs Steve Langton after winning a bronze medal in the two-man bobsled.

Tonight I lived my dream. Thank you to everyone who has supported & believed. This incredible journey would not have been possible w/o you. — Steven Langton (@StevenLangton) February 17, 2014

Two-man driver Steve Holcomb:

Oh yeah, this is what it feels like when you wake up to a dream come true. #2manOlympicMedal — Steven Holcomb (@StevenHolcomb) February 18, 2014

Alex Deibold on winning bronze:

Thank you to everyone who has supported me, I wouldn't be here with out you. All that hard work & sacrifice was totally worth it. #grateful — Alex Deibold (@adeibold) February 18, 2014

Team USA hockey player Julie Chu chimed in:

Huge congrats to @adeibold winning bronze. We were on the edge of our seats watching! — Julie Chu (@juliechu13) February 18, 2014

Meryl Davis after ice dancing her way to the USâs first gold medal in ice dancing:

Words just aren't enough to express my gratitude for today... @CharlieaWhite #sochi2014 thank you! 🇺🇸✌️ pic.twitter.com/xB3qFtASX0 — Meryl Davis (@Meryl_Davis) February 17, 2014

Partner Charlie White:

I should be asleep right now, but instead I'm like "whaaaa?!" Perfect image for how I feel! http://t.co/5OlGwKL8FP — Charlie White (@CharlieaWhite) February 18, 2014

Aaron Blunck preparing for the first-ever Olympic skiing halfpipe event:

Photo of the day: