Jeremy Bloom and Hannah Kearney
The pair were supposed to be certain medalists in the men’s and women’s moguls. And after that, Bloom was going to the NFL combine and into the draft.

Unlike a lot of other stories, Bloom and Kearney weren’t over-hyped. They were legitimate — right up until the competition started.

Both blew jumps in their runs, Bloom finishing sixth and Kearney not even qualifying for the finals. The magnitude of the let-down was nearly as great as that of the women’s hockey team.

Women speedskaters
This isn’t about disappointment, because there weren’t any real medal hopefuls on this squad to start with, and therefore no underachievers. Still, given the seven medals won by the men’s team and the traditional strength of American women’s speedskating, the failure to produce even one athlete who could compete for a medal will long remain a black eye for the sport in the United States.

What were they doing the past four years?

Lindsey Kildow and Daron Rahlves
As with the speedskaters, it’s not fair to call the failure of both Rahlves and Kildow to medal a bust. But they were major disappointments, even if they weren’t really to blame.

NBC VIDEO What went wrong with the U.S. ski team? Feb. 23: "Today" show host Matt Lauer speaks with Picabo Street about the future of the U.S. ski team. Today Show Olympics

Kildow was the best skier on the women’s Alpine team and a threat to win multiple medals, but on her first training run for the downhill, she crashed spectacularly and had to be carried off the mountain. Nothing was broken, but she had deep and massive bruising of her thigh and buttocks — vital muscles for skiing. She tried her best, but the injury prevented her from winning.

Rahlves was the fastest in the first men’s training run in the downhill and pronounced himself the favorite. Then he changed skis just before his run and finished well behind the leaders. It was a tactical error that led to a major disappointment.

Rahlves also failed to medal in any other race, including the Super G, in which he was one of the favorites.

Johnny Weir
He’s last on this list, but certainly not least. The top U.S. figure skating hope came to Turin without great hopes of a gold medal — Evgeni Plushenko had that one in the bag. But, after a spectacular short program propelled him into second place entering the free skate, there was every reason to believe he would take something home from the Games.

But Weir missed a change in the bus schedule, got to the arena later than planned, and, when he got on the ice, discovered he had left his “aura” back in the Olympic Village. He was so disconsolate, he couldn’t bring himself to leap or spin in anything other than a desultory manner completely at odds with the French bordello theme of his skating costume. He did manage a good cry when it was over and he was out of the medals.

A week later, he skated in the extravaganza in which all the skaters put on a show for the paying customers. With no judges and no expectations and nothing to win, he was, of course, spectacular.

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