Category Archives: Olympics

The U.S. men's hockey team lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Slovakia in the shootout Wednesday at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Meanwhile, Team USA captured gold and silver in the men's freeski slopestyle, as Alex Hall and Nick Goepper were 1-2 in the event.

We've got all the action covered:

Slovakia stunned Team USA in their Olympic men's ice hockey quarterfinal 3-2, tying the game in the final minute of regulation and then eliminating the tournament's top seed in the shootout Wednesday in Beijing. Former Boston Bruins winger Peter Cehlarik scored the lone goal of the shootout on Slovakia's fourth attempt, beating U.S. goalie Strauss Mann (34 saves).

The U.S. was unsuccessful on all five shots against Slovakia goalie Patrik Rybar (33 saves), including the final attempt by captain Andy Miele. The U.S. team leaves Beijing without a medal, making this three straight Olympics without one. Its last Winter Games hardware was the silver medal it won in Vancouver in 2010. Team USA hasn't won gold since its "Miracle on Ice" title in 1980.

While Team USA fans were mourning the upset, the mood in ice rinks around Slovakia was understandably celebratory. Miroslav atan, president of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation, shared a video that perfectly encapsulated the energy.

When the NHL opted out of the Winter Olympics, USA Hockey opted to bring a roster of mostly NCAA players to Beijing. For three games, it looked brilliant: The team finished first overall after group play (3-0-0), including a win over rival Canada, and had the best goal differential (plus-11) in the tournament. But that inexperience really caught up to the Americans in their stunning quarterfinal shootout loss to Slovakia, an 8-seed the Americans really should have put away.

After Sam Hentges' goal gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead in the second period, the Americans had 6 minutes and 38 seconds of power-play time that they squandered before Slovakia tied the game with less than a minute left in the third period. That included 58 seconds of 5-on-3 power-play time in the third period and another power play with less than five minutes remaining in the game. It was as if Slovakia was sticking its chin out, awaiting a knockout blow that never arrived.

Instead, Marek Hrivik scored with 44 seconds left in regulation, after Slovakia pulled Rybar, to tie the game. Cehlarik scored the lone goal in the shootout, and Rybar (33 saves) did the rest to eliminate the Americans.

There are other lingering questions from the loss. What if Brian O'Neill, a top-line forward and the only returning player from the 2018 Olympics, hadn't injured his foot on a blocked shot and left the game after just 9:16 of ice time? What if puck-moving defenseman Jake Sanderson, so solid in Team USA's win over Canada, had been available for that 3-on-3 overtime? Why on earth did coach David Quinn leave the brilliant Matty Beniers, his best player in overtime, on the bench for five shootout attempts?

In the end, those Miracle on Ice comparisons this U.S. team was getting were applicable -- in the sense that a scrappy underdog pulled a shocker against a top-seeded team. -- Greg Wyshynski

Canada's Charles Hamelin brought down the curtain on his short track speedskating career with a gold medal in the men's 5,000-meter relay Wednesday.

Canada's team of Hamelin, Steven Dubois, Jordan Pierre-Gilles and Pascal Dion finished in 6:41.257, edging South Korea by 0.422 seconds, while Italy took bronze.

The victory gives Hamelin six Olympic medals in his career on the ice. The win at the Capital Indoor Stadium saw him draw level with Cindy Klassen as Canada's most decorated Winter Olympian.

In a thrilling final, Canada led for much of the race as China crashed out to finish eight seconds off the pace. -- Tom Hamilton

American freeskiers Hall and Goepper took gold and silver, respectively, in freeski slopestyle Wednesday morning, the best finish for Team USA since Goepper was one-third of a U.S. sweep of the event in the 2014 Sochi Games.

"This is amazing," Hall said after the event as he and Goepper celebrated at the bottom of the course, draped in American flags.

Hall won the contest on his first run, which included arguably the most difficult and unique skill of the day: a pull-back 900, a trick in which Hall launched a double cork 1080 but stopped the spin early and pulled the rotation back to a 900 before landing. For his part, Goepper was the only rider to use the side takeoff on his second jump, a right double cork 1440. With his win, Hall earned the first U.S. gold medal in freeskiing in Beijing, while Goepper earned his third slopestyle medal in as many Games, and his second silver. Goepper is the only three-time medalist in the event. Jesper Tjader of Norway took bronze. -- Alyssa Roenigk

The U.S. lost a nail-biting 7-6 contest against Canada in women's curling, but not before putting up a fight.

After being down 4-1, the U.S. made a comeback, tying the game at 6 entering the 10th end, before Canada eked out a win by one point. Canada's Jennifer Jones executed a perfect 8-footer with her last rock draw for the win. The loss puts the U.S. women's record at 4-4. With a playoff position still attainable, they play Japan next.

The U.S. men are in a very similar situation. They fell to Italy 10-4 earlier in the day but are still in a position to make the playoffs. Tied for fourth place with the Russian Olympic Committee, the U.S. takes on Denmark next in a must-win situation. If the Americans do win, they'll have a 5-5 record in Beijing, the same record that took them to the playoffs at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. After the win, they would have to play the waiting game to see whether they make the playoffs, based on the performances of the nine other teams. -- Aishwarya Kumar

A week after taking silver in snowboard slopestyle at the Beijing Olympics, U.S. snowboarder Julia Marino withdrew from Monday's big air qualifier. On Tuesday on Instagram, Marino revealed why, writing that the International Olympic Committee had requested she cover the Prada logo on the base of her board or be disqualified from the event.

See the rest here:

Winter Olympics 2022 - Team USA men's hockey eliminated, U.S. goes 1-2 in slopestyle and more from the action in Beijing - ESPN

Great Britain's women's curling team powered to a 10-3 win over Japan to take gold on Sunday.

This was skipper Eve Muirhead's fourth Olympics and she finally has the gold she's so desperately wanted. The feat came 20 years after Great Britain's last gold in curling, which came back at Salt Lake City 2002 when Rhona Martin's rink won there.

"This is a moment I've dreamed of as a young child," Muirhead said. "To have this moment now, and know that I followed in Rhona's footsteps and have this gold medal around my neck, is something very, very special."

Muirhead's team of Vicky Wright, Jennifer Dodds, Hailey Duff and alternate Mili Smith, were dominant against Japan and the key moment came in the seventh end when Great Britain took four, to take a 8-2 lead. And they closed the match out to take a dominant 10-3 triumph.

The gold for Muirhead sits alongside her bronze from Sochi 2014 and helps mend the heartbreak of losing two semifinals. "It was emotional for sure," Muirhead said. "I managed to hold (the tears) until the flag was getting raised.

"It's a moment that I've been waiting for for so many years. The girls have helped me become a better curler. They've also helped me become a better person and without them I wouldn't be here."

The women's team secured their knockout spot by the thinnest of margins after winning five of their nine round-robin matches. Heading into the final batch of games, Muirhead's team needed to beat the ROC and rely on results elsewhere going their way. With the win-loss record-equalling out between Britain, Japan and Canada, it came down to the Draw Shot Challenge (which takes place before every game and rewards teams closest to the button) and Britain secured their spot in the semifinals by fewer than 10 centimetres ahead of Canada.

They then came back from four stones down in the first end to edge past Sweden 12-11 with the match needing an extra end.

And against Japan, the women picked up two points in the first end and controlled the scoreboard from there. They effectively clinched it in the seventh with that four to take an 8-2 lead, bringing the biggest cheer yet from the British fans in the crowd.

Japan could only manage one point in the eighth. When Muirhead took two in the ninth, the Japan captain Satsuki Fujisawa slid over to bump fists and concede. Another roar arose from the crowd, which included Great Britain's men's silver medalists.

Go here to read the rest:

Winter Olympics 2022: GB claim gold with victory in women's curling final - ESPN

Figure skating was first contested in the Olympic Games at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Since 1924, the sport has been a part of the Winter Olympic Games.

Men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating have been held most often. Ice dance joined as a medal sport in 1976 and a team event debuted at the 2014 Olympics. Special figures were contested at only one Olympics, in 1908. Synchronized skating has never appeared at the Olympics but aims to be included.[1]

Figure skating was first contested as an Olympic sport at the 1908 Summer Olympics, in London, United Kingdom. As this traditional winter sport could be conducted indoors, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved its inclusion in the Summer Olympics program.[2] It was featured a second time at the Antwerp Games,[3] after which it was permanently transferred to the program of the Winter Olympic Games, first held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.[2]

In London, figure skating was presented in four events: men's singles, women's singles, men's special figures, and mixed pairs. The special figures contest was won by Russian Nikolai Panin, who gave his country its first ever Olympic gold medal.[4] He remains the event's sole winner, as it was subsequently dropped from the program.

Ice dance joined as a medal sport in 1976, after appearing as a demonstration event at Grenoble 1968.[3]

A team event debuted at the 2014 Olympics.[5] It consists of two segments: qualification and finals. During qualification each team has one men's single skater, one ladies' single skater, one pair, and one ice dance couple skate their short program/dance. Before the finals, each team is allowed to replace up to two skaters/couples. The final consists of each skater/couple skating their free program/dance. Results are determined by placement points.[6]

The number of entries for the figure skating events at the Olympic Games is limited by a quota set by the International Olympic Committee. There are 30 participants in each singles events (ladies and men), 20 pairs, and 24 ice dance duos.

Skaters must represent a member nation of the International Skating Union and reach the age of fifteen before July 1 of the previous year. They are also required to be citizens of the country they are representing.[7] Competitors have until just before the Olympics to receive citizenship. Since nationality rules are less strict for the ISU Championships, sometimes skaters who have competed at World or European championships are not eligible for the Olympics.

80% of the Olympic spots (24 men/ladies, 19 dance couples, 16 pairs) are allotted to countries according to the results of the previous year's World Figure Skating Championships. A country may have a maximum of three entries per discipline. Countries earn two or three entries by earning points through their skaters' placements. The points are equal to the sum of the placements of the country's skaters (top two if they have three). If a country only has one skater/couple, that skater/couple must place in the top ten to earn two entries and in the top two to earn three entries. If a country has two skaters/teams, the combined placement of those teams must be 13 or less to qualify 3 entries, and 28 or less to qualify two entries. The remaining places are awarded to one skater/couple each from countries that failed to get multiple places, in order of their skaters' placement in the world championships.

Following the World Championships, countries that have not qualified an entry in a particular discipline receive another opportunity in an international competition held in the autumn (usually the Nebelhorn Trophy) prior to the Olympic Games. Six spots are available in men's singles, six in ladies' singles, four in pairs, and five in ice dance. At some Olympics, the host country is automatically entitled to one entry in each discipline, e.g. in 1994,[8] 2010,[9] and 2018 if minimum scores are achieved.[10] If a country receives a spot by being the host, one fewer spot is available in the autumn qualifying competition.

The selection of representatives is at the national governing body's discretion. Some countries rely on the results of their national championships while others have more varied criteria. This may include reaching a certain placement at the European Figure Skating Championships and the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.[8]

Updated after the 2022 Winter Olympics.[11]

As of 2022, Russia surpassed the United States in ranking the most amount of medals than any other country in figure skating. However the medal count below still ranks the United States first. As Russia competed under the Russian Empire, Soviet Union, Unified Team, Russian Federation, Olympic Athletes from Russia, & Russian Olympic Committee. Having won a total of 60 medals of which are 30 gold, 21 sliver, 9 bronze. Viktor Petrenko 1988 Bronze Medal & 1992 Gold Medal in Men's singles, who represented the Soviet Union & Unified Team is excluded from this count as Petrenko is Ukrainian[12] and would later represent Ukraine at the 1994 Olympics. This count only applies to Russian athletes as the majority of Soviet figure skaters are Russian or were born in Russian SSR.

The number in each box represents the number of figure skaters the nation sent.

General

Specific

Media related to Figure skating at the Olympics at Wikimedia Commons

Go here to read the rest:

Figure skating at the Olympic Games - Wikipedia

The final medals of the 2022 Winter Olympics are still on the line, but with one of the busiest nights of the Games wrapping up, which country is in the lead?

Medal history has been made in more ways than one during the Winter Games.

Norway broke the record for most gold medals at a single Olympic Winter Games and, most recently, Elana Meyers Taylor earned her fifth Olympic medal, making her the most decorated African American Winter Olympian.

Meanwhile, some of the top spots on the medal count ranking are in a tight race for the finish.

At the 2022 Games there are 109 gold medals in total, up from 102 in Pyeongchang four years ago and a far cry from the 16 on offer at the first Winter Olympics at Chamonix in 1924.

The United States came to Beijing with the second-most Winter Olympics medals with 305.

Over 300 medals will be awarded to Olympians participating in the 2022 Winter Games.With 15 sports and 109 events, ranging from skiing to bobsledding to figure skating, world-class athletes will go for gold during a two-week global competition on the grandest stage.

1. Norway 35 (15 gold, 8 silver, 12 bronze)

2. ROC - 31 (6 gold, 11 silver, 14 bronze)

3. Canada - 25 (4 gold, 8 silver, 13 bronze)

4. Germany - 24 (11 gold, 8 silver, 5 bronze)

5. United States - 24 (8 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze)

Norway leads the way with the most gold and overall medals.

The Russian Olympic Committee has the second-most medals with 31.

The U.S. endured five days of grueling competition - with some disappointing upsets - to finally bring home its first gold medal last week.

Lindsey Jacobellis slid to victory in thewomen's snowboard cross, putting an end to Team USA's gold-less streak at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The three-time Olympian took home bronze, while her teammate Rosie Brennan came in fourth.

Snowboarder Julia Marino won the United States first medal on Saturday, but it was not gold.Madison Chock and Evan Batesadded another silver medal to the team's count after their stunning galactic-themed ice dance Sunday night.

Jaelin Kauf won the Olympic silver behind Australia's Jakara Anthony during the women's moguls finals, and Ryan Cochran-Siegle clinched another silver medal, adding to the USA's total count, in men's super-G, on Tuesday.

Jessie Diggins secured the fifth medal for Team USA - the bronze in women's individual sprint, cross-country skiing. She made history here, becoming the first American to win a medal in the cross-country skiing individual sprint event.

Nathan Chen earned gold in the mens singles figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Games. He clinched the title by receiving a 332.60 total score, giving him a 22.55-point victory over silver-winning Yuma Kagiyama of Japan.

Chloe Kim wasted no time showing off why she is the reigning gold medalist as she blew the competition away with her first run of the final halfpipe event - securing her spot at the top of the podium and women's halfpipe history.

The United States won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in the mixed teams aerial event at the Winter Olympics.

The trio of Ashley Caldwell, Chris Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld scored a total of 338.34, beating out China for the gold. It's the first gold medal in aerial freestyle skiing for the U.S. since 1998.

Mixed team snowboard cross made its Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Games and Team USA also won the first-ever gold medal in the event.

Erin Jackson ended a medal-less day for the U.S. on Sunday with her win in the 500-meter final.

Alpine Skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle took home a silver medal in the Super-G on Monday, 50 years after his mom Barbara Cochran won gold at the 1972 Winter Olympics.

Megan Nick scored bronze in women's aerials early Monday morning, Kaillie Humphries won the first-ever gold in the womens monobob and teammate Elana Meyers Taylor joined her on the podium with a silver medal and American duo Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue earned bronze in the ice dance event.

Team USA scored a bronze in the men's speed skating team pursuit, marking a surprising finish for the world record holders.

Team USA then had a 1-2 punch atop the mens freeski slopestyle podium. Hallearned gold andGeopperearned silver.

Team USA fell short in the women's ice hockey gold medal match,losing 3-2 to CanadaWednesday night to earn silver in Beijing.

American Brittany Bowe then captured that elusive individual medal, winning bronze in the women's 1000m speed skating race.

The men's freestyle skiing halfpipe podium at the 2022 Beijing Olympics featured not one but two U.S. skiers.

Team USA'sDavid WiseandAlex Ferreiratook one spot each, with Wise winning silver and Ferreira taking bronze.

Elana Meyers Taylor made history on Saturday, becoming the most decorated African American Winter Olympian with five medals when she won bronze in the two-woman bobsled with a combined time of 4:05.48 alongside Sylvia Hoffman.

Although some events are finished, medals will still be awarded in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, bobsledding, curling and hockey.

See the original post here:

Olympic Medal Count: Heres Who Has the Most 2022 Winter ...

My 18-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter are both black diamond skiers, having relished the sport almost since they learned how to walk, first at Blue Hills Ski Area, then in the White Mountains and the Rockies. He is also a co-captain of his high school track team, competing nationally. She is a volleyball player and participates in several track events.

In a previous world, they would have been devouring everything Olympics. But they have zero interest. They simply cannot relate to the professionalism of the Games, and, frankly, they cannot relate to the serial flouting by the Russians of basic sportsmanship and the rules.

The Olympics have been dying a slow death for decades since professionals were allowed into the arena. This years production, with its snowboard jump located next to the dismally grey site of a former steel mill in Beijing, and with its blatant rules-bending to accommodate Russians who, it would seem, publicly torture child athletes, has assured that my children and many others will never again watch, nor care about, the Olympics. (Me too.)

Our gratitude to the brave souls who stepped up to the plate in a lonely battle to prevent the Olympics from being held in Boston (A courageous No, Kevin Cullen, Metro, Feb. 18).

Clint Smith

Lexington

Wouldnt one photo of sobbing Valieva have been enough?

I was appalled to see the picture of Kamila Valieva in tears on the ice on the front page of Friday mornings Globe (Down and out: Russian skaters collapse keeps doping issue off the podium) and again on the front of the Sports page. Experience and research teach us that trauma victims are retraumatized by the repetition of the event or its aftermath, and in my opinion, this is a case of a traumatized girl, suspected to have been given illicit drugs by her so-called handlers, and then left alone on the ice to deal with all the stress it has caused.

Why are you so invested in showing her abject grief? This is the Olympics, and its about competition and good sportsmanship. How about showing a picture of the podium with the three medalists who skated beautifully?

Jessica Schendel

Wayland

Bitter irony in doping scandal over Russian skater

Astonishingly talented Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned heart medication. One irony is that, by all appearances, the medication has helped break her heart. The other irony is that the people suspected of having doled out the medication to a 15-year-old athlete, and who then treated her with astonishing cruelty, are the ones who lack a functioning heart.

Jape Shattuck

Newport, R.I.

Gender equality probably will remain just out of reach

I applaud the efforts of womens groups supporting gender equality in the Olympics (Gender equity gaining in Olympics, but hasnt caught up yet, Tara Sullivan, Sports, Feb. 1). The inequity is evident in other sports, notably tennis, and there is a simple solution. Start by asking: Why is it always the womens final on Saturday and the mens final on Sunday?

Greg Hamill

Sudbury

The rest is here:

Winter Olympics stagger to a close - The Boston Globe

Kamila Valieva was confronted by her coach as she stepped off the ice on Thursday.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

The president of the International Olympic Committee on Friday called the treatment of a teenage Russian figure skater by her coaches chilling a day after the skater, Kamila Valieva, tumbled out of medal contention at the Beijing Olympics with an error-strewn performance in the womens singles competition. The comments quickly drew an angry response from a top Russian government official.

Breaking his silence on the Valieva case more than a week after it was first revealed that the 15-year-old skater had tested positive for a banned drug, the president, Thomas Bach, shared at a news conference in Beijing that he had been uncomfortable watching the young Olympian melt down during her free skate Thursday night. Valieva had entered the night as the gold medal favorite but stumbled and fell repeatedly to sink to fourth place and miss out on a medal entirely.

I was very, very disturbed yesterday when I watched the competition on TV, Bach said a day after the end of the womens competition. The remarks were his first public comments on Valievas case since the news of her positive test early last week became the dominant story line of the Games.

You could feel that this is an immense, immense mental stress, Bach added, and maybe she would have preferred to leave the ice and to leave this story behind her.

Russias deputy prime minister, Dmitry Chernyshenko, quickly responded, saying Bachs comments were inappropriate and wrong.

Valieva, whose Olympics became a crucible of expectations, innuendo and pressure after it was revealed she had failed a doping test before the Games, was in tears after her performance. Her anguish only grew when she left the ice and her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, immediately began interrogating her in Russian in a scene that was captured by television cameras.

Why did you stop fighting? Tutberidze asked. Explain it to me. Why? You let it go after that axel. Valieva did not reply.

Tutberidze was the coach of all three Russian women competing in the womens singles final. After Valieva tearfully finished her free skate, her teammate Anna Shcherbakova, the gold medal winner, sat alone on a white sofa, looking solemn despite her victory. She later said she felt empty inside. Alexandra Trusova, the silver medalist, disappointed that she hadnt won, resisted coaches who tried to urge her onto the ice for the winners ceremony. Trusova later said she missed her mother and her dogs.

Bach said it was chilling to see the coldness with which Valieva was received by Tutberidze and other Russian skating officials after her performance.

All of this does not give me confidence in this entourage of Kamila, Bach said, neither with regard to what happened in the past, nor as far as it concerns the future.

In an emailed statement, Chernyshenko, Russias deputy prime minister, said he was deeply disappointed to see Bach weave his own fictional narrative on the feelings of our athletes, and then present these publicly as the voice of I.O.C.

Bach and Chernyshenko know each other well. Chernyshenko was the president of the local organizing committee for the 2014 Sochi Games, and he was on an Olympic organizing committee for the Beijing Games before he was removed after Russias state-sanctioned doping scheme at the Sochi Games was revealed.

The Russian sports minister, Oleg Matytsin, defended his nations coaches in comments reported by the Russian television network RT.

The personality of a trainer largely determines the results of the athletes. We have gold in the team competition, Matytsin said, though no medal has been awarded in team figure skating because of Valievas positive test. He said Russia had also won gold and silver in the individual competition, a silver medal in dancing, and I hope that there will be medals in the pairs as well.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed Valieva to continue competing in the Olympics despite her having tested positive for a banned substance, a heart medication, several weeks before the Games.

Bachs I.O.C., along with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Skating Union, the sports governing body, had filed an appeal with the court seeking a suspension for Valieva.

The court dismissed their appeal in large part, it said in a report released Thursday, because of a failure by a Stockholm laboratory to process Valievas sample quickly.

She still could face penalties, but it could take months to fully resolve her case.

Visit link:

What Happened Yesterday at the Olympics - The New York Times

Olympics Day 16: Final bobsled runs and pairs free skate in figure skating

Updated: 3:22 PM EST Feb 19, 2022

Hide TranscriptShow Transcript

there's a wide range of ages of competitors at the olympics, proving that age really is just a number. Nick baumgartner is the oldest Olympian on team USA and one gold during the mixed team snowboard cross with partner lindsey Jacobellis, he became the oldest american to medal at an olympic games, he told ESPN you're never too late to take what you want from life, But he is almost 10 years younger than the oldest Olympian, Germany's Claudia Pechstein, the 49 year old speedskater turns 50, just two days after the Olympics end. The youngest Olympian to compete is the Czech Republic ski jumper and a Zika Indra cova. She is just 15 years old. She did not medal, but it is clear from these other olympians, but that she still has plenty of years ahead to compete.

Olympics Day 16: Final bobsled runs and pairs free skate in figure skating

Updated: 3:22 PM EST Feb 19, 2022

Day 16 of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games will consist of the third and final runs of the two-woman and the third and final runs of the four-man events in Bobsled and the pairs free skate in Figure Skating.Bobsled The two-woman final runs in Bobsled will happen on Day 16. And athletes in the four-man bobsled competition complete their final runs at Yanqing National Sliding Centre.Figure SkatingTop Olympic figure skaters showcase their skills in a creative, unscored event at the Capital Indoor Stadium.

Day 16 of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games will consist of the third and final runs of the two-woman and the third and final runs of the four-man events in Bobsled and the pairs free skate in Figure Skating.

The two-woman final runs in Bobsled will happen on Day 16.

And athletes in the four-man bobsled competition complete their final runs at Yanqing National Sliding Centre.

Top Olympic figure skaters showcase their skills in a creative, unscored event at the Capital Indoor Stadium.

Follow this link:

Olympics Day 16: Bobsledding and figure skating

Skier Eileen Gu of Team China has been a breakout star of the Beijing Winter Olympics. She won three medals two gold and one silver and has been a voice for women's equality at the Games. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images hide caption

Skier Eileen Gu of Team China has been a breakout star of the Beijing Winter Olympics. She won three medals two gold and one silver and has been a voice for women's equality at the Games.

BEIJING When Eileen Gu, the freestyle skier from California who competes for China, stepped to the microphone after winning two gold medals and a silver, she was introduced as "the princess" of the Beijing Games.

The Chinese media has dubbed Gu the 'snow princess.' The 18-year-old is a remarkable athlete spinning and twisting through the air above the halfpipe.

She's also the breakout star of these Winter Olympics, dominating news coverage inside China and emerging as an international sports brand.

Gold medalist Eileen Gu, competing for China, poses on the podium during the venue ceremony after the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe on Friday. Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Gold medalist Eileen Gu, competing for China, poses on the podium during the venue ceremony after the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe on Friday.

"Huge honor to be the first free skier to podium in three events as a woman," Gu told reporters at the packed news conference. "It also makes me very hopeful about what the next generation can accomplish."

This is the kind of story Olympic officials love to highlight. Women have made enormous gains from the first Winter Games a century ago when only a handful of women competed.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams says gender balance is now nearly equal. "We have a record number 45.4% women competing [in Beijing]," he said.

That gradual evolution reflects work by international sports officials who added a new women-only event this year, the monobob sled competition, as well as more mixed events where men and women compete together.

"It sends a signal from the IOC [International Olympic Committee] to the national Olympic committees that they need to build up the capacity of their women teams and invest in their women's teams, their women's athletes," Adams said.

The IOC has also gradually shifted its approach to broadcasting the Games. All the television images from Beijing are filmed by the IOC's own in-house operation known as the Olympic Broadcasting Services. That footage is then distributed to networks that pay like NBC in the U.S.

The OBS has faced criticism in the past for sexualizing female athletes but the organization's head Yiannis Exarchos says they've gotten better at showing women in ways not tilted by gender.

"It's not about who is beautiful or attractive," Exarchos said. "It's about portraying huge athletes whether they are men or women."

But while participation and representation of women at the Olympics have improved, critics point out there's a dark side to how women are treated at the Games.

Women have fewer events, which means fewer chances to medal. They typically earn less money. There are also far fewer women coaches and top sports executives.

This lack of power was highlighted in Beijing by the case of Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian figure skater who found herself at the center of an international doping scandal.

The head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, acknowledged that Valieva appeared incapable of making decisions about her own fate.

"Maybe she would have preferred to just leave the ice and just have this story behind her," he said.

Other women figure skaters reacted to Valieva's case by calling for more protections for young women and girls in their sport.

Gu, the star skier, said this week she believes progress is needed in other sports as well.

"Extreme sports we all know are heavily dominated by men and it has not had the kind of representation and sporting equity that it should," Gu said.

"I think that as a young biracial woman, it is super important to ... push the boundaries. That's what paves the paths for the next generation of girls."

Gu said she's made the decision to focus more of her time away from skiing, writing a book and enrolling at Stanford University.

One footnote about gender balance at these Games.

While women compete in fewer events than men, the majority of U.S. gold medals at these Winter Olympics have been won by American women, in events where they competed alone or in mixed sports with male partners.

U.S. speed skater Erin Jackson of skates to victory to win the gold medal in the Women's 500-meter on Feb. 13 at the Winter Olympics. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images hide caption

U.S. speed skater Erin Jackson of skates to victory to win the gold medal in the Women's 500-meter on Feb. 13 at the Winter Olympics.

Link:

Women are the stars (and the victims) of the Beijing Olympics - NPR

BEIJING (AP) The Latest on the Beijing Winter Olympics:

___

Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China shattered their own world record for a short program at the Beijing Games on Friday night, giving them the narrowest of leads over Russian rivals Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov heading into the free skate to decide the Olympic champion.

Sui and Han, who won the short program at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games before settling for the silver medal, scored 84.41 points to their orchestral suite from the film Mission: Impossible 2. That topped the record of 82.83 points that they set during the short program of the team competition earlier this month.

Tarasova and Morozov, who are coached in part by the controversial Eteri Tutberidze, also would have broken the record with their short program. Instead, the fourth-place finishers in Pyeongchang were 16-hundredths of a point behind.

___

The start of the Olympic mens curling final between Britain and Sweden has been pushed back 45 minutes to accommodate TV viewers in Europe.

The match will be played at 2:50 p.m. on Saturday, rather than 2:05 p.m. Sweden is seven hours behind Beijing, and Britain is eight hours back.

The womens bronze medal match will take place afterward at the original start time of 8:05 p.m.

Organizers also said that the mens victory ceremony will now take place at the Ice Cube curling venue, instead of the medals plaza. Canada beat the United States for the bronze on Friday.

___

Russian figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze was back rink-side for the pairs competition Friday, hours after she was criticized by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach for her callous attitude toward Kamila Valieva after the womens free skate.

Tutberidze helps to coach the Russian pairs team of Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii.

Valieva, the 15-year-old at the center of a doping scandal, crashed out of the womens program without a medal Thursday night. As she exited the ice, Tutberidze was caught on camera berating her in Russian.

Bach never identified Tutberidze by name, but he did refer to Valievas coaches and said during his Friday news conference that there appeared to be a tremendous coldness and that it was chilling to see this.

___

Figure skater Timothy LeDuc became the first nonbinary American athlete to compete at the Winter Games, joining up with Ashley Cain-Gribble for a strong short program to open their pairs competition Friday night.

Their score of 74.13 points was a season best and put them squarely in the top 10 entering Saturdays free skate.

The 31-year-old LeDuc came out as nonbinary last year. The term is used to describe a person who does not identify as exclusively male or female, and can also encompass agender, bigender, genderqueer and gender-fluid.

Last year, Canadian womens soccer player Quinn became the first openly transgender and nonbinary Olympic medal winner when the team earned gold in Tokyo. Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, skateboarder Alana Smith and cyclist Chelsea Wolfe also were among at least 186 openly LGBTQ participants during the Summer Games.

___

Elana Meyers Taylor has been picked to be a flagbearer again. And this time, shell be able to take the job.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced Friday night that the four-time Olympian bobsledder will carry the American flag into Sunday nights closing ceremony of the Beijing Games.

The announcement was synched to Meyers Taylors first run in the womens bobsled event. As soon as she crossed the line in the first heat, the USOPC revealed that she was the flagbearer pick.

Meyers Taylor was chosen to be one of the flagbearers for the U.S. at the opening ceremony on Feb. 4 but could not participate because she was in isolation following a positive COVID-19 test. That spot went to speedskater Brittany Bowe instead, who led the U.S. delegation into the opening alongside curler John Shuster.

___

The last Alpine skiing race of the Beijing Olympics has been rescheduled for an hour earlier than planned because of strong wind in the forecast.

The mixed team parallel event is now set to start at 10 a.m. on Saturday Beijing time, instead of 11 a.m.

The wind is supposed to top 20 mph (30 kph.)

The team event involves men and women from each participating country and is the last chance for American Mikaela Shiffrin to pick up a 2022 Winter Games medal.

Only one of the 10 athletes who earned individual Alpine golds in Beijing was listed on the team rosters released Friday: Austrias Johannes Strolz. He won the mens combined last week and also picked up a silver in slalom on Wednesday.

There is a 16-team bracket but only 15 nations entered, so top-ranked Austria will get a first-round bye.

The first-round matchups are United States vs. Slovakia, Switzerland vs. China, Italy vs. Russia, Norway vs. Poland, France vs. Czech Republic, Germany vs. Sweden, and Slovenia vs. Canada.

___

Johannes Thingnes Boe looked like his old self again, dominating from the start and holding his composure through the four shooting stages to win the Olympic gold medal Friday in the biathlon mass start race.

The Norwegian great threw his arms in the air as he crossed the line in 38 minutes, 14.4 seconds.

Martin Ponsiluoma of Sweden only missed one target in the last shooting and left the range chasing Boe. He earned silver, 40.3 seconds behind Boe. Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen of Norway shot clean in the last shooting and took bronze, finishing 1:12.5 behind.

___

Thomas Krol has won gold in the 1,000 meters, giving the Netherlands its third straight Olympic speedskating title in the event.

Krol was timed in 1 minute, 7.92 seconds.

Laurent Dubreuil of Canada took silver. Haavard Lorentzen, the 2018 silver medalist, earned bronze.

The Netherlands earned its fifth gold medal in 12 events in Beijing with one day of competition remaining.

In 2014, Stefan Groothuis won the 1,000 and Kjeld Nuis followed with a victory in 2018.

___

Sixteen years after he won the Olympic curling gold medal, Brad Gushue is going back to Canada with bronze.

The Canadians capitalized on a missed final shot by American and reigning Olympic champion John Shuster in the second-to-last end that turned a one-point edge into an insurmountable 8-5 lead.

Gushue won gold in Turin in 2006. Back then, he shared a podium with Shuster, who won bronze.

This time, the Canadian skip knocked his American counterpart off of it.

The Americans took a 5-4 lead with two points in the sixth, then Canada scored two in the eighth to take the lead. With the United States holding the last-rock advantage in the ninth, Shuster tried to knock loose two Canadian rocks in the scoring area but missed.

That gave Gushue two points, with one end to go. Canadas third-to last shot cleared all of the American rocks out of the target area, leaving no chance for the U.S. to tie the match, and Shuster immediately conceded.

___

Justine Braisaz-Bouchet moved to the front with strong, patient shooting and stayed there with her cross-country skiing to win the womens biathlon mass start race at the Olympics.

A bitter wind affected the field as they lined up each time to shoot, but Braisaz-Bouchet only missed once in the last standing shooting and skied out of the range in first place. She held on and crossed the line carrying a French flag in 40 minutes, 18 seconds.

Norwegian teammates Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland missed two targets each in that last bout and left the range together, 48 seconds behind the Frenchwoman. Eckhoff chased hard and crossed the line for the silver, trailing Braisaz-Bouchet by 15.3 seconds.

Roeiseland took bronze her fifth medal at the Beijing Games.

Roeiseland is the second biathlete, male or female, to win a medal in all four individual events at an Olympics, matching Norwegian great Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. She also won gold in the mixed relay.

___

Ryan Regez led a 1-2 finish by Switzerland in the Olympic skicross final at Genting Snow Park.

Regez grabbed the lead early and never relinquished it along a course filled with bumps, jumps and rolling terrain. He raised his arms in triumph shortly after crossing the finish line.

His teammate, 36-year-old Alex Fiva, finished with the silver medal and Russian athlete Sergey Ridzik grabbed the bronze.

As a kid, Regez always thought his future was in Alpine skiing, more specifically the downhill. When that didnt pan out, he started an apprenticeship as a structural draftsman before discovering skicross.

It paid off in gold.

In the small final, Italian skicross racer Simone Deromedis won the heat with a little bit of flair. He was coming off the last jump and did the splits before crossing the finish line.

___

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has criticized Russian figure skater Kamila Valievas entourage for their tremendous coldness toward the 15-year-old skater after her mistake-filled free skate at the Beijing Olympics.

Bach says it was chilling to see on television. Valieva, who has been at the center of a controversy over a positive doping test, finished fourth overall despite placing first in the womens short program earlier in the week.

The IOC president did not name Valievas coach, Eteri Tutberidze, who was seen on camera telling a visibly upset Valieva Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting?

Bach says you could feel this chilling atmosphere, this distance.

Tutberidze and other members of Valievas entourage will be investigated over the teenagers positive test for a heart medication ahead of the Olympics.

Bach says the pressure on Valieva was beyond my imagination.

___

Eileen Gu captured gold in the womens ski halfpipe final on a breezy and cold morning to become the first action-sports athlete to earn three medals at the same Winter Olympics.

Gu warmed up with a score of 93.25 on her first run, before going even higher and even bigger to post a 95.25 her second. For her third and final pass, and with the contest locked up, she took a nice leisurely stroll.

The standout American-born freestyle skier who represents China already possessed a gold from big air and a silver from slopestyle.

Defending Olympic champion Cassie Sharpe of Canada finished second and her teammate Rachael Karker earned the bronze. Teenager Hanna Faulhaber was the top American finisher in sixth place.

___

Germanys Francesco Friedrich took part in the final day of four-man bobsled training at the Beijing Olympics on Friday, one day after suggesting he might skip the session.

Friedrich was the first sled down the hill on Friday for the final training session. That may have played a role in his decision to take part. Friedrich was one of the last sleds to get on the ice Thursday during four-man training and afterward the three-time Olympic champion expressed concerns about the conditions of the track.

He likely enjoyed what he saw Friday. Friedrich started the day with a run of 58.98 seconds. That was his fastest in five trips down the Yanqing Sliding Center ice in his four-man sled this week.

Hes the overwhelming favorite for gold in the four-man event that starts on Saturday.

Some top sliders did choose to skip training Friday, including Canadian teammates Justin Kripps and Chris Spring, Germanys Christoph Hafer and Latvian veteran Oskars Kibermanis. Its not unusual for veterans to opt out of a training session, in order to preserve their bodies and sleds for the looming two days of competition.

___

Eileen Gu posted the highest score in her first run of the womens ski halfpipe final as she bids to become the first action-sports athlete to capture three medals at the same Winter Games.

The standout American-born freestyle skier who represents China already possesses a gold from big air and a silver from slopestyle.

On a blustery and cool day, Gu turned in a solid run and scored a 93.25 to easily lead the way. Defending Olympic champion Cassie Sharpe of Canada sits in second place after the opening run of three and her teammate Rachael Karker was in third. American teenager Hanna Faulhaber was in fourth.

The temperature hovered around 3 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 16 Celsius) with an 11 mph wind.

___

The judges who let Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva compete at the Beijing Olympics despite a positive test for a banned substance blamed anti-doping officials for a failure to function effectively.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport, in a newly published 41-page document explaining their decision, cited an untenable delay at the testing laboratory in Sweden.

It meant Valievas positive test for a heart medication was only revealed during the Olympics despite her urine sample arriving in Stockholm on Dec. 29. The labs staffing was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her lawyers suggested she was contaminated because her grandfather uses the banned heart medication she tested positive for.

The judges full verdict was published early Friday, hours after the 15-year-old Valievas mistake-filled free skate dropped her from the lead to finish fourth in the Olympic womens individual event.

___

The International Testing Agency says Ukrainian bobsledder Lidiia Hunko has tested positive for an anabolic steroid at the Beijing Games.

The ITA says she failed a drug test after competing Monday. She placed 20th in womens monobob.

Hunko is the third athlete to test positive for doping at the Beijing Olympics and the second from Ukraine, after cross-country skier Valnetyna Kaminska.

All three ITA cases in Beijing have detected a steroid.

The 28-year-old Hunko placed second in the 2016 Worlds Strongest Woman contest, according to her official Beijing Olympics athlete biography.

___

More AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The rest is here:

Olympics Live: China pair breaks figure skating world record - Associated Press

BEIJING Theyre doing it again.

Norway, with a population of just five million, is executing its quadrennial triumph over the rest of the world.

It may not surpass the historic 2018 Pyeongchang Games, when Norway won 39 medals, eight more than its closest competitor, Germany, which has 16 times as many people.

But its close.

Norway won its 15th gold medal of the Beijing Games on Friday, a record for a single country at a Winter Olympics. That total put it seven ahead of Russia (population 144 million) in the overall medals table through Friday, and five ahead of Germany (population 83 million) in the race for the most golds.

Its most recent triumph came in mens biathlon, but Norway also has medals in ski jumping, Nordic combined, speedskating and cross-country and freestyle skiing.

We have a strong team, said Kjetil Jansrud, the champion Alpine skier. We always do.

More than strong. Norway is now so successful it has become the winter sports beacon. American skiers, both Alpine and cross-country, have trained with Norwegian athletes on the same mountains and glaciers for years. Every year, the country brings 150 of the top international junior cross country skiers to a camp to learn technique and train with the sports top coaches. Norway has had a partnership with Britain to develop and share wax technology for Nordic skiing.

During the last four years though, several countries have sent their top sports leaders to study the countrys methods well, the ones its specialists will share highlighting the latest step in Norways elite winter sports hospitality.

After watching what Norway did in Pyeongchang, I just told my team we are going over there, and we are going to figure out what the hell is going on and what they are doing, said Luke Bodensteiner, then the director of sport for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, the national governing body for skiing.

And so, that spring, Bodensteiner and top executives went to visit their competition.

Norways willingness to offer tutorials to competitors may seem strange, but, while it wants to win, it also wants to make sure the winter sports its prizes are thriving, and that will only happen if the competition is tough.

Bodensteiner and his team left Norway after a week confident that any country could build a Norwegian-style winter sports machine. All it would take is 30 years and a complete overhaul of the systems that develop young athletes.

He also had a sneaking suspicion that Norway was keeping its most valuable information to itself.

Norway, for instance, was far ahead of competitors in developing the most aerodynamic suits for skiing. It pioneered the use of GPS sensors to help Alpine skiers find the fastest line down the mountain. Its cross-country skis are reliably the fastest, the result of endless testing and retesting.

While the rest of the world trained Alpine skiers like sprinters, focusing on building explosiveness, Norwegian coaches and trainers discovered that Alpine racing was more like a 3,000-meter run. So Alpine skiers started training more like distance runners, taking long bike rides and doing creative aerobic training circuits in the gym.

The countrys research is now starting to pay off in summer sports as well. In Tokyo, Norways men won gold medals in track in the 400-meter hurdles and the 1,500.

Feb. 19, 2022, 9:29 p.m. ET

For Norway, everything changed after the 1988 Calgary Games, where it won just five medals, none of them gold. That was an unacceptable outcome for a country where children begin to ski and walk around the same age.

Norway, which had quickly transformed from a middling economy built around fishing and farming into a petroleum-rich nation, started plowing money into Olympiatoppen, the organization that oversees elite Olympic sports.

It also doubled down on its commitments under its Childrens Right in Sports document, which guarantees and encourages every child in the country access to high-quality opportunities in athletics, with a focus on participation and socialization rather than hard-core competition.

Norways well-funded local sports clubs, which exist in nearly every neighborhood and village, do not hold championships until the children reach age 13.

Its largest national skiing event, the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, which began in 1892, includes a race for elite adult skiers but not youngsters. Children join the course when they want and there is no official time keeping for them. The coaches, both the professionals and parent volunteers, have to undergo formal training.

There just seems to be a lot more emphasis on including everybody, said Atle McGrath, a 21-year-old Norwegian Alpine skier whose father, Felix, competed in Alpine for the United States at the 1988 Olympics. Whether or not you are really good or not, its pretty much the same experience for everyone.

Jim Stray-Gundersen, a former surgeon and physiologist who is the sports science adviser to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, lived in Norway, where his father grew up, for five years while working as a scientist with Norways Olympic athletes. He said a priority of the country is to build a culture of health and regular exercise, and its competitive prowess flows from that.

Its how you produce psychological satisfaction, healthy life habits, and stellar athletes over time, and its very much in contrast to how we do it and dont do it in the U.S., he said.

Youngsters who do not exhibit special talent stay involved, and some of them bloom as teenagers, long after children in more competition-driven countries might have moved on to the cello. McGrath, for example, did not excel until he was 17.

Norwegians also tend to relish outdoor life and activity, during both the summer months when the sun shines for nearly 22 hours, and during the long, cold, dark winters.

Felix McGrath, who grew up in Vermont, said his son first showed an affinity for skiing when he was 8 or 9 years old and would spend hours going off homemade ski jumps in the front yard, though he continued to play soccer and baseball and cross-country skied.

At 14, he got serious about Alpine skiing but people barely paid attention to his results at races until he was at least 16 and attending a special, public school for aspiring Alpine skiers.

Atle was always pretty good but he was never winning consistently, McGrath said. He was sort of that guy that was always hovering a teeny bit behind the best kids and always showing up and working hard and getting better.

Atle McGrath did not win a medal in these Games, but he did display some Norwegian spirit. On Wednesday he skidded past a gate in his second slalom run and came to a dead stop. But instead of skiing off the course, he took two steps up the hill, went back around the gate and continued down the slope. He crossed the finish line 12 seconds behind the leader but still raised his arms in triumph.

That is, after all, what Norwegians do at the Olympics.

See original here:

Norway Out in Front in Medal Count at Winter Olympics - The New York Times