Gold in search
He may have missed out on a medal, but US snowboarder Shaun White was the most searched athlete during Sochi.
XXII Winter Olympic Games
Pride on the podium
The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics cost a cool $51B and turned out to be 2014's second most searched sporting event. Host nation Russia topped the table with an impressive 33 medals, but there’s always more to an Olympic story…new heroes were discovered, obscure sports captured our imagination and fair play won through.
Some sports were cooler than others
Hockey was the most searched event of the Games, curling was swept aside by figure skating and wheelchair curling was the most searched Paralympic sport.
Also known as "chess on ice," curling involves sliding heavy granite stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area. Searches for 'curling' spiked almost 6x during the Games.
Wheelchair curling is a game of acute precision, played on the same ice as curling, but with stones thrown from a stationary position. Searches for the Paralympic sport doubled during March.
Brands took a stand
Russia’s controversial legislation prompted the UK’s The Guardian and Channel 4 to recolor their logos and Google to fly the rainbow flag. Searches for 'olympic charter' soared in February.
Time to thrive
One week into the Games, and as 'russia gay rights' spiked 43x in global search, US actress Ellen Page revealed her sexuality in an inspiring speech at the Human Rights Campaign in Las Vegas.
A stubborn snowflake
After an unexpected malfunction, Sochi's Opening Ceremony was searched more than the World Cup's.
Cool fundings
The Jamaican bobsled team captured our imagination with a crowdfunding campaign to finance their Olympic adventure. The digital currency dogecoin then spiked in search and made their Sochi dream a reality.
Sochi's most searched medalists this year:
- Kim Yuna, figure skating (South Korea)
- Yuzuru Hanyu, figure skating (Japan)
- Gracie Gold, figure skating (USA)
- Carolina Kostner, figure skating (Italy)
- Bode Miller, alpine skiing (USA)
Ice hockey triumphs
During the Games, more searches were made for 'ice hockey' than for 'vanilla ice,' 'ice cube,' 'iced tea' and 'iceland' combined.