David Leggat: Ice age since we won a medal and it's still chilly

Kiwi Rhys Thornbury brakes in the finish area after his first run during the men's skeleton competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Photo / AP

With each passing day, the thought grows stronger: This will be another barren Winter Olympics for New Zealand.

There have been six previous editions of the snowy Games when New Zealand have returned home empty-handed, since Annelise Coberger wrote her name large in the country's Olympic pantheon at Albertville, France in 1992.

She may be unsung compared with the legends of the summer Games - Snell, Halberg, Walker, Loader, Tait, Adams, Bond and Murray and a dozen others - but she still has one claim to fame: the others are packaged together in a block of athletes who triumphed in warmth and sunshine.

She alone won her gong in cold and wintry climes. New Zealand have eight days left to find another medal to join Coberger and give her some company at the top of New Zealand's winter podium.

There are actually nine days remaining, but New Zealand won't figure in the curling, bobsled, cross-country skiing and ice hockey on the final day.

There have been some decent performances, none more so than snowboarder Carlos Garcia Knight, who finished fifth in the slopestyle event.

But there are still speed skaters, Peter Michael, Reyon Kay and Shane Dobbin in their fancied team pursuit discipline, and halfpipe freeskiers to come.

Before the Games began, New Zealand's chef de mission Pete Wardell was bullish on what lay ahead, tipping a couple of medals to come the country's way.

Given New Zealand's history, he might have been pushing the boat out a touch.

Still, by the end of next week, the pessimism of the previous paragraph may require an uppercut or two being self-administered to the writer for daring to doubt.

There have been some cracking stories unfold, and sleaze, courtesy of American star Shaun White.

The three-time Olympic champion, known by the amiable moniker of the Flying Tomato, may go by other nicknames after allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

There is some truly grubby stuff out there, which won't be reproduced here, surrounding White and his time in his band Bad Things.

This week the charmless snowboarder, sued two years ago by the former drummer of his band, for sending her sexually explicit text messages, described the allegations as "gossip".

Given the world climate over anything to do with sexual harassment, it was a smart alec, witless way to deal with the issue. He did apologise, but the stain will remain.

Anyway (some of) the money in this wallet is on the skating trio and brothers Byron and Beau-James Wells in the freeski halfpipe next Thursday afternoon to deliver. Let's face it, it's about time.