3

Last night I watched the women's snowboard cross event of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

After the semifinal races and before the final race (officially known as the "Big Final"), NBC showed what they called a consolation race - the "Small Final". This race included the 4th through 6th place finishers of the two semifinal races.

I know some events will have a consolation match that determines who wins the bronze medal. But this "Small Final" race determined who finished in 7th through 12th place. What is the point of that? Why does it matter who finishes in 7th through 12th place?

Improve this question
9
  • 1
    Was coming in to ask that same question. Woo. You get into the small final and can get as high as 7th place. When your olympic dreams just got crushed, I don't see much of a point. Theory: The event still gives point for the world championship/season of snowboard cross, so 7-12 place is still relevant, but not for the olympics per say. – Fredy31 Feb 16 '18 at 17:34
  • And people WANT to still race the small final. In the Mens Snowboard cross, one guy had his hand bandaged in place so he could run it. I mean, it can be fun to run one more run in the olympics, but if my hand was killing me because of a bad fall, and had no chance of medal in that run, I would just call it a day. – Fredy31 Feb 16 '18 at 17:36
  • @Fredy31 Your first comment is enough of an answer to post as one, in my opinion. – user14817 Feb 16 '18 at 17:49
  • @user257138 Only if it is verified that the small final is indeed relevant to the snowboard cross season. – pacoverflow Feb 16 '18 at 17:57
  • 2
    Exactly. Sports seems to be kinda lax on that kind of thing, but I'm coming from Gaming, and there, well if you don't have some hard evidence, you're gonna be crucified :p – Fredy31 Feb 16 '18 at 19:11
4

It turns out that the Small Final would matter in the rare situation that 4 or more competitors in the Big Final are disqualified. If that happened, then they would award the remaining medal(s) to the top finisher(s) of the Small Final.

This situation happened yesterday in the Women's Short Track Speed Skating 3000M Relay. Four teams participated in the main final (the "A Final"). However, two of those teams ended up being disqualified, so they awarded the bronze medal to the winning team of the "B Final", which had been run to determine 5th through 8th place.

Improve this answer
0

At the Olympics those who come 4-8th receive Olympic diplomas. I am guessing it is proof that you are in the top 8 of your sport, so it matters for sponsorship etc...

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    But there are other events that do not know who came in 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th place. – pacoverflow Feb 16 '18 at 22:57
  • they do know who came in those places. they might not have an extra competition but they have ways of determining the top 8. – Yosef Mordechai Coleman Mar 12 '18 at 6:59

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.