Sochi, Russia

It has been a rough few days for Team USA here in Sochi. The team representing the world's lone superpower, winners of more medals than any other country at the last two Olympics, has lost ski races, moguls competitions, a cross-country sprint and a hockey game.

They've lost on snow and ice. They've lost while wearing skis, skates and snowboards. They've put their country in a deep hole in the medal race and allowed the likes of Norway and the Netherlands to nibble on them like slabs of pickled herring.

But despite their lack of trips to the podium, American Olympians are running a healthy surplus in another area: the sheer number of excuses being made—both by the athletes and by others on their behalf.

Melting snow! Lousy refs! Irrational judges! A bum wrist! Too much surfing!

Let's be clear: Some of these excuses are perfectly legitimate. Team USA ski-jumping world champion Sarah Hendrickson, who finished 21st in her event, had ACL surgery in August and essentially competed in Sochi on one leg. She can be forgiven for not earning a medal.

Some of the excuses seem plausible, but are a bit difficult to verify. On Tuesday, skier Bode Miller blamed his disappointing eighth-place finish in the men's downhill in part on his failure to get Lasik surgery the past year which, he said, left him with less-than optimal vision on a day of flat light on the hill.

One excuse was tantalizingly conspiratorial: After American speed skater Shani Davis finished eighth in the men's 1000 meters, U.S. national long-track team coach Ryan Shimabukuro said: "The fact that we're that far out, something's up."

He declined to say what that "something" might be.

Given their usual obscurity, many of these Olympians don't have advanced degrees in Innocuous Sound Bytes. So let's give them props for honesty. But the fact remains that it's the rare U.S. athlete in Sochi who has taken the same approach as two-time defending world cup sprint champion Kikkan Randall, who was eliminated in the quarterfinal of the freestyle sprint. She kept it painfully simple. "Unfortunately, I fell apart just before the finish line," she said.

But given the volume—and creativity—of the excuses by top U.S. medal hopefuls, here's a convenient guide:

The Snow Was Bad And I Couldn't Practice Enough

Shaun White, the two-time gold medalist in half pipe, finished fourth in Sochi as part of a major U.S. meltdown. White has been critical of the conditions at the Rosa Khutor venue. Earlier in the Games, he pulled out of the slopestyle competition to nurse an injured wrist and focus on the half pipe. After missing the podium in halfpipe, White lamented to NBC that the injury had kept him from practicing.

Those Ridiculous Judges

Hannah Teter, a 2006 gold medalist in snowboard halfpipe, came in fourth in Sochi, finishing .25 points (on a 100-point scale) behind teammate Kelly Clark. Afterward, she said she wuz robbed. "Obviously, I'm not super stoked on the judging," she said. "I just thought maybe I should have a little bit of a higher score, just because I did all the tricks big and clean."

Thinking Too Hard—And Maybe Too Much Surfing

Julia Mancuso, the silver medalist in downhill and combined at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, won a bronze medal in combined, but staggered in at No. 8 in the women's downhill. After the competition, she told reporters she is more of an "instinct skier" and that "thinking too much takes me out of my game."

Of course, that may not be the whole story: After her slalom run in the combined event, Mancuso explained that she hadn't competed in a slalom race all year. Let the record show that Mancuso has adopted an unusual training regimen that involves spending lots of time during the off-season in Maui where her pursuits include surfing, stand-up paddle-boarding and free diving.

A Mysterious Evil Force

Shani Davis, the two-time men's gold medalist in 1,000-meter speedskating, finished eighth in the event in Sochi. To be fair, Davis did say he had no excuses and that he was outskated. But as noted earlier, Davis's coach didn't buy that, insisting rather mysteriously that the U.S. team's poor performance only proves that "something's up."

Bad Snow—And Bad Eyes!

Miller, the five-time Olympic medalist, finished eighth in the men's downhill, despite dominating the field in training. Miller crossed the finish line a half-second behind the unheralded eventual gold medal winner, Austria's Matthias Mayer. Miller said that during the roughly 25 minutes between Mayer's run and his run, the snow became humid and slower, which cost him precious time. He also said the flat light on the mountain put him at a disadvantage, because he needs to get his vision corrected.

I'm Too Big and Strong

Hannah Kearney, the defending women's gold medalist in moguls and the world's top-ranked moguls skier, could only manage a bronze in Sochi. Needing a clean final run to win, Kearney made a mistake on an early bump that left her off balance. When she yanked her weight in the other direction to get back on track, she said that her strength and size (she is 5 feet 7 and 150 pounds) worked against her by forcing her to overcompensate in the other direction.

The Refs Blew It

After the U.S. women's hockey team lost 3-2 to archrival Canada on Wednesday, American forward Hilary Knight wasn't shy about assigning blame. She put it squarely on the referees who, Knight believes, screwed up on a Canadian scoring play at the net. "They made the wrong call," she said.

—Rachel Bachman and Joshua Robinson contributed to this article.

Write to Matthew Futterman at