Category Archives: Olympics

10.17am EST 10:17

Adam Collins

And with that, Ill say goodbye. Thanks for your company - what a brilliant night in Beijing. Lets do it all again tomorrow. Bye!

10.16am EST 10:16

Ice Hockey: And back to Wukesong to finish the night, where Team USA have popped in a third goal - thats cream on the cake. Theyre 3-0 with just one minute to go, certain to face Canada in an All American womens gold medal match on Thursday. Finland will play off for the bronze medal against Switzerland on Wednesday.

10.13am EST 10:13

Curling: The coach has his say: Sweden land on a play of removing the Swiss guard first, opening up the house, then finishing with a draw shot. Part one goes to plan. Over to Alina Ptz - this is sudden death now, she has to move the Swedish stone with this her finish attempt. And does! Right. It all comes down to this: the Swiss have the shot but the dancefloor is open. But instead of the gentle draw Hasselborg opts to knock out the shot and it works! Sweden win 6-5 in the extra end, taking their record to 4-2. As for the Swiss, thats their first loss of the competition, now 5-1. Brilliant curling. That could well end up a preview a major medal match later this week.

Updated at 10.14am EST

10.07am EST 10:07

Curling: We pick up the extra end between Sweden and the Swiss with four stones to go, Sweden with the hammer. They currently have the decisive shot in position, sitting on the button with skip Anna Hasselborg piling the pressure back on to Alina Ptz, who takes a time out to weigh up her options. She gets under the guard but isnt able to curl it beyond the yellow - time for Swedens time out.

10.00am EST 10:00

Ice Hockey: A second goal for the USA! From the stick of veteran forward Hilary Knight, another member of that gold medal team in Pyeongchang. The assist goes to Savannah Harmon. So, they lead Finland 2-0 with 12 minutes to go in this semi final - the winner here goes on to play Canada in the gold medal final on Thursday.

9.57am EST 09:57

Bobsleigh: Let me shock you: Germany finish the first half of the mens two-man comp with pairs in first, second and fourth. An ROC combination breaks them up in third with the Swiss and Austrians in equal fifth. Well watch their medal runs closely tomorrow.

Updated at 10.05am EST

9.55am EST 09:55

Curling: In the other matches, Denmark finished their thrashing of ROC, winners 10-5 - the same in margin Koreas victory over Japan. But close one is Sweden v Switzerland - we join with one each to play; the latter have the hammer, down 4-5 but with a shot on the button. Sweden first... bang! Out goes the Swiss shot, replaced by their own - indeed, they have three points surrounding those Olympic rings. Curling perfection! says the commentator - I like her style. This has to be perfect as well from Alina Ptz... and is! To an extra end they go! And the hammer goes back to the Swedes.

9.46am EST 09:46

Curling: As you would expect from watching this contest, Canadas Jen Jones has to knock out the GB shot with her penultimate stone and it was never in doubt. Class. Over to Muirhead, two to go - can they engineer something very special? Not strong enough there - contact is made but the shots are still Canadas. They take a time out before their final stone of regulation, just to be sure - they erect a guard. You tell me how on Earth Eve Muirhead gets three there? asks Steve Cram somewhat rhetorically, drumming up what a Hail Mary might look like but its not to be - Canada take the shot and the victory, by a margin of 7-3. Both teams are now 3-3 after six matches.

9.35am EST 09:35

Ice Hockey: Cayla Barnes clinical finish - the USA taking full advantage of the power play when Finland were penalised for a trip - remains the only goal in their semi-final with one period to play.

9.33am EST 09:33

Curling: Korea finish the job against Japan, winning 10-5 to keep their destiny in their own hands for the later stages of the round robin. And Sweden go up 5-4 over the Swiss with one end to play, but the latter have the hammer - extra time surely beckons there.

9.26am EST 09:26

Curling: Three stones to go, ninth end. GB have both shot and a guard but the hammer is Canadas. Jen Jones hasnt quite nailed her penultimate shot though, placing it alongside another stone at the top of the house. Heres Muirheads opening for a steal - the most important moment of the night for her so far. From left to right she goes, around Canadas pair, and on the button. Well, thats two shots as it stands. The chances of Jen making two mistakes in a row are slim, says Steve Cram. She cant let GB steal two here - damage control? Left to right her direction too... and its absolutely perfect. Clinical. The GB stone is knocked away, the Canadians claim the point - they lead 6-3 with one end to go. GB have the hammer for it but they need three shots to finish for this to go to an extra end.

9.17am EST 09:17

Ice Hockey: With seven minutes to go in the second period of the womens second semi-final, the USA remain 1-0 up over Finland.

Updated at 9.21am EST

9.17am EST 09:17

Curling: Around the rinks we go once more, eight ends down.

9.15am EST 09:15

Bobsleigh: The BBC are sticking with the early stages of this event on their main channel - is this a Cool Runnings thing? Or because GB have a team in? Halfway through the second run, with the main men (including the three German pairs) still to come, Swiss pilot Michael Vogt has a provisional lead over the Austrias Benjamin Maier.

9.10am EST 09:10

Curling: Three shots to come in this seventh end and its four Canadian stones in the house. Super stuff from their skip Jen Jones to dislodge the only troublesome GB stone to this point. Eve is going to have to get this absolutely perfect, says Steve Cram on commentary. It works - just. GB have shot but theyre not quite on the button. Back to Jones - can she drive the red stone away again? Theres no guard in her way; a free hit - and shes bang on. She hasnt made a mistake this whole match, says Cram. So, the best Muirhead can hope for is one point with the final stone and gets the job done. They have inched the gap back to two points with two ends to go; Canada lead 5-3 and they take the hammer for the ninth.

9.04am EST 09:04

Ice Hockey: Team USA with the first goal of the semi-final! Early in the second period, Cayla Baynes - a veteran of the team that won gold at Pyeongchang - with the finish, via Hannah Brandts assist.

9.02am EST 09:02

Curling: Were reaching now-or-never for Team GB against Canada, down 5-2 with three ends to go. On the plus side, they have the hammer in this the eighth and again in the tenth to finish. Eve Muirheads team had a 3-2 record coming into this match against Canada, who are 2-3. Each foursome play each other - nine games in all. So, if GB dont get up here, theyll probably need to win each of their remaining three fixtures to advance to the medal rounds.

Updated at 9.11am EST

8.54am EST 08:54

Before we go back to the curling, the Daily Briefing is in! Theres no better one-stop-shop on these Winter Games than Martin Belams daily email. Sign up here to get it sent directly to your inbox.

8.49am EST 08:49

Once again, the biggest story from Beijing was off the ice. Specifically, the ongoing saga with Kamila Valieva. Sean Ingle is here with the latest, after the 15-year-old figure skater was cleared by the court of arbitration for sport to compete in the solo event.

8.45am EST 08:45

Curling: Updated scores from the Water Cube. Team GB remain in strife, unable to take full advantage of the hammer in the sixth end.

8.41am EST 08:41

Ice Hockey: No goals in the first period of the womens semi-final between the USA and Finland at Wukesong Sports Centre.

8.33am EST 08:33

The pictures are in. The best of day ten - enjoy some special work from the outstanding photographers covering the Games in Beijing.

8.25am EST 08:25

Ice Hockey: Were about halfway through the opening period in the second semi-final of the womens tournament, Team USA taking on Finland - no score as yet. The winner here earns the right to play the brilliant Canadian outfit for gold - they thrashed the Swiss 10-3 in the first semi earlier today. When these teams met last week in the group, the Americans won 5-2. In their quarter finals, the USA knocked off the Czechs 4-1 and Finland hammered Japan 7-1.

8.22am EST 08:22

Curling: Were into the eighth session of the the womens round-robin tournament. Here are the progress scores and, in brackets, where the teams sat on the table coming into these clashes.

All matches are halfway through with five ends complete. Of most interest so far, Team GB have plenty to do from there under the leadership of Eve Muirhead - they cant drop this match.

8.15am EST 08:15

Bobsleigh: The BBC also stuck with the bobsleigh - the first of four runs, 24 hours away from the medals being decided - rather than taking the ski jumping final on the main channel. And on the red button, its the curling - again, well ahead of medal time. Anyway, that first run is complete with results just as I summarised half an hour ago with the Germans in first, second and fourth. The Team GB pair, piloted by Brad Hall, sit in 11th position - 0.67 off the pace.

8.11am EST 08:11

Thats the final medal event of day ten. Austria, with their fifth victory of these Winter Games, jump into fifth spot with 15 medals. Norways nine gold medals - seven in the cross-country skiiing and biathlon events - keep them at the top of the pops with nine.

8.08am EST 08:08

Ski jumping: Slovenia stay well clear of Norway with a 127m jump from Peter Prevc. So, its all down to Austria, Manual Fettner - the man who won silver on Saturday - with the final jump of the night. Hes up, hes flying... its 128m. Its going to be so close - we await the marks. Its enough! 119 points earn Austria gold by eight points.

Norway miss out on a medal by 0.8 points.

Updated at 8.19am EST

8.02am EST 08:02

Ski jumping: The big four to come, here we go. For Germany, its Karl Geiger - the bronze medallist in the solo event on the weekend. Is is over 130m? Not quite, 128m. Theyre relying on the style points to bridge the three-point gap to Norway. Over to Lindvik, the champion on Saturday... and hes short! How short? Glum faces in the Norwegian camp... 126m. Is that enough for them to stay ahead of Germany in bronze? It comes down to style marks again... Germany keep their noses ahead by 0.8 of a point! 922.9 to 922.1. Just Slovenia and Austria to jump for gold. A thrilling finish this event.

7.57am EST 07:57

Ski jumping: Quick aside - why are style points even a thing in ski jumping? Im not the first to make this observation, but surely it should be about getting as far as you can, however you can? Ill stop now.

7.56am EST 07:56

Ski jumping: A big third round! Austraia, Slovenia and Norway are on the podium for now with one jump to go - with the wind dropping, the major players were really able to turn the heat up.

The top four are in contention for medals, they are:

1. Austria 823.72. Slovenia 818.43. Norway 806.54. Germany 803.9

Norway have the singles champion, Marius Lindvik, to come. The last jumps are in reverse order of their current position.

7.50am EST 07:50

Bobsleigh: 20 of the 30 pairs have completed their first run in the two-man event with the German teams sitting first, second and fourth. They hurtle down twice today and finish the job tomorrow.

7.47am EST 07:47

Ski jumping: We are halfway through the final and Slovenia are back into top spot, overtaking Austria with Cene Prevc collecting 126 of the best with his jump. Norway remain in the bronze position but theyre 22 away from second; the Germans have jumped from six into fourth but theyre 35 points off the lead. Then well out of the medals for now: Japan and Poland, 50 points adrift, ROC 90 away from Slovenia, and Switzerland, easily out of contention. The Eurosport commentator remains scathing about the officiating, specifically the barriers they have been released from at the top.

7.37am EST 07:37

Ski jumping: A lot of wind; the conditions arent great for going huge in the first jumps of the final. Austria and Poland are over 119 but most of the rest of the field are closer to 100. Austria (578.1) lead Slovenia (575.1) and Norway (565) as they begin the second of four legs. The TV commentator is very critical of the barrier they are taking off from, saying they should be given more room to build up speed because of the wind. Indeed, hes unhappy full stop.

7.24am EST 07:24

Ski jumping: To the final of the mens team event! 11 became eight in the first round of the final with the Czech Republic, the USA and China eliminated. At the other end of the table, the qualifiers are:

1. Slovenia 2. Austria3. Norway (defending champions)4. Germany 5. Japan6. Poland7. Not Russia8. Switzerland

The scores from the first round all count, added to the second jumps for a grand total. Just 8 metres separate the top four so far. Go!

7.19am EST 07:19

Bobsleigh: The BBC screened the first heat of the two-man event live instead of the freestyle aerials final. Anyway, the its four runs for the men - two tonight then two tomorrow. Keep your eyes on the Canadians, the Latvians and, of course, the Germans. Can they continue their extraordinary run at the sliding centre? Sure enough, their two pairs are first and second to set the standard early on.

Updated at 7.26am EST

7.15am EST 07:15

Freestyle aerials: Ashley Caldwell (USA) is the fourth jumper in a row to go opt for the back full-full-full but she ends up as Peel did on her back! Thats gold for China with with Mengtao Xu the only athlete to stick the landing on the big jump when it mattered most! Gold for China! At age 31, shes finally at Olympic champion. And what a response, roaring into the Beijing night sky. Love to see it.

Caldwell finishes fourth. Hanna Huskova, what a mighty jump to lead the final, earns silver after gold in 2018 and Team USAs Megan Nick will collect the bronze for her clean back full-double-full.

Updated at 7.21am EST

7.10am EST 07:10

Freestyle aerials: Mengtao Xu! Its the same jump as Peel and Fanyu but that is the way to land it! Quite outstanding. Surely she moves to the top with a 4.293 hit so sweetly? She does! Just! 108.61! The Chinese jumper is into first position with only Ashley Caldwell to come. The American held her nerve in the final of the teams event and will need to do so again here. Brilliant drama.

7.08am EST 07:08

Freestyle aerials: Kong Fanyu (CHN) with the same jump as Peel, the back full-full-full... and the result is the same! In her case, a faceplant at the end. 59.67, it isnt to be for the local athlete. Huskova, the defending champ, will definitely win a medal. Over to Mengtao and Caldwell to work detmine the colour it will be.

Updated at 7.08am EST

7.06am EST 07:06

Freestyle aerials: Launching into a 4.293 degree triple, Laura Peels taking a huge risk with this. And shes up high, so very high... too high in the end, the Australian unable to stick it at the business end. 78.56 is the score - deep disappointment, but she gave herself every chance to take gold if that went right. Credit for that.

7.03am EST 07:03

Freestyle aerials: Nick Megans degree of difficulty is 3.525, not up with Huskova on that measure, but shes got it right! 93.76. Will that be enough for a medal? The pressure is now on Laura Peel - the most important moment of the Australias career is coming up now.

7.02am EST 07:02

Freestyle aerials: Hanna Huskova wont be giving up her title without a fight! The Belerusian lays down an absolute beauty to start this super final, her back lay-full-full is stuck to perfection. And its 107.95! Thats the best jump of the competition so far... have that!

7.00am EST 07:00

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Winter Olympics day 10 as it happened - The Guardian

The mascot of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Bing Dwen Dwen, made his debut in 2019 at the Shougang Ice Hockey Arena in Beijing. Xinyu Cui/Getty Images hide caption

The mascot of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Bing Dwen Dwen, made his debut in 2019 at the Shougang Ice Hockey Arena in Beijing.

BEIJING One of the stars of this year's Winter Olympic Games is its mascot: a fluffy panda named Bing Dwen Dwen.

The stuffed animal version has become so sought after that people are camping overnight to buy it.

Outside one of Beijing's largest official Olympic merchandise store on a recent day, the line is long and growing longer despite a loudspeaker blaring the same line over and over: All Bing Dwen Dwen stuffed animals have sold out for the day.

Li Zhaoyang's still on his Lunar New Year break from high school, and he says he joined the line just to get in on all the buzz around Bing Dwen Dwen. He wants to collect the panda mascot as an Olympics memento.

One small problem I tell him: Bing Dwen Dwen is sold out. Even the 500 pandas allotted for pre-sale orders have been nabbed by people who lined up outside the store the night before.

Even those customers aren't so lucky. They will only be able to pick up their orders during the last week of February, after the Olympics Games have ended.

Bing Dwen Dwen, or "ice chubster" as his name roughly translates to, has skyrocketed in popularity all of a sudden, in part due to scarcity. Factories churning out soft collectibles are limiting production. The shortage has fueled a kind of mindless mania on social media for all things Bing Dwen Dwen.

Outside the Olympics store, Rose Ling and her young daughter also say they are in line simply to see what all the fuss is about.

Staff members dressed up as Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen (left) and 2022 Paralympics mascot Shuey Rhon Rhon stand in front of the Main Media Center last month in Beijing. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images hide caption

Staff members dressed up as Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen (left) and 2022 Paralympics mascot Shuey Rhon Rhon stand in front of the Main Media Center last month in Beijing.

"The line was huge just a few minutes ago," she says. "It wrapped around the corner just a few minutes ago, so we jumped in only to find out Bing Dwen Dwen is sold out."

For the more open-minded, there are other options. The Beijing Olympic Committee designed a Paralympics mascot named Shuey Rhon Rhon, a dancing red lantern available in cute, stuffed animal form as well.

But no one seems very eager.

"Xue Rongrong is just too ugly," says Roger Li, who's come with his friend to see what other Olympics-themed tchotchkes they can buy given Bing Dwen Dwen is beyond their purchasing power.

Scalpers are selling the swaddled up panda for up to Rmb2000 (about $300) he says, but then catches himself: "Am I allowed to say that for broadcast? Do you need an answer that's more in line with Chinese socialist values?" he asks NPR.

By the time I got into the Olympic souvenir shop, only a few gold bracelets and pins were left. No Bing Dwen Dwen. I could, however, sign up for a new credit card to enter a lottery for a chance to win one of the coveted bears.

Aowen Cao contributed research from Beijing.

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A fluffy panda mascot is all the rage at the Winter Olympics - NPR

As the Winter Olympics come to a close in Beijing, the Special Olympics of Texas is hosting its own weekend of winter games across the Lake Travisarea. With events in floorball, volleyball, powerlifting and cycling, athletes will travel from across the state for two days of competition and camaraderie on Friday and Saturday.

The sporting events will mostly take place on Saturday in venues across the Lake Travis region. On Friday, the main event is the kickoff reception at the Lakeway Resort and Spa from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Sarah Ribeiro, the director of development for Special Olympics of Texas, said she expects about 300 people to attend the event and hopes members of the community will come out in full force to celebrate the games.

Our CEO will be speaking, our board will be speaking, well hear from athletes. There's a silent auction. It's just basically a party, a celebration because weve been closed for two years (for COVID-19), and so we really would like to have the community involved in that.

More: Special Olympics Texas bringing state games to Lake Travis area in February

Details about how to RSVP and donate for the kickoff can be found online at sotx.org.

The athletic events take place throughout the day on Saturday, with many running all day from around 8 a.m. to about 5 p.m.

Floorball and volleyball will take place at Hill Country Indoor in Bee Cave, while powerlifting and cycling can be viewed at Bee Cave Middle School. An invitational golfing tournament will be at theFalconhead Golf Club. For more details about timing and location for each event can be found online at sotx.org/winter-games-schedule.

Shawn Britt, the executive director for the central and southern region of Special Olympics Texas, said anyone can attend any event for any amount of time with no tickets or reservations required.

This is the first games in two years so the athletes will be really excited if they can get fans out there cheering them on, she said.

Britt said spectators are also welcome to visit the Athletes Village at Hill Country Indoors, where participantswill spend time while not competing.

The event will also include health screenings at Hill Country Indoors, Britt said.

Athletes can get screened for dental vision, podiatry, she said. We have physicians donate their time as part of that and athletes come out with free glasses, dental referrals, sometimes when we do the hearing, they come out with hearing aids.

More: Lake Travis area weathers storm, ice without incident as people hunker down

The two-day sporting event will be capped off with a victory celebration at Star Hill Ranch,15000 Hamilton Pool Road inBee Cave. The evening starts with dinner from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by the victory dance from 7 to 9 p.m. Britt said of all the weekends festivities,she is most looking forward to the victory celebration.

We have what's called the Law Enforcement Torch Run where other police officers come out and they light the cauldron to celebrate the games, she said. The athletes get to hang out and visit with each other because they haven't seen each other in two years. This is our first state competition in two years, so the athletes are looking forward to getting back together and seeing each other.

See the article here:

In the Olympic spirit? Heres a guide to watch the Texas Special Olympics in Lake Travis area - Austin American-Statesman

Viewers tuning into the Winter Olympics will likely notice a group of athletes who will be competing not under their own flag, but rather under the iconic five-ring Olympic banner, and there is a specific reason why.

Those athletes are competing under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee, or ROC for short. That's because Russia received a two-year ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2019 for its state-sponsored doping program. Between Dec. 17, 2020, and Dec. 17, 2022, no athlete can represent Russia at the Olympics, Paralympics or World Championships.

The ban was originally set to last four years, but the Court of Arbitration for Sportreduced itto two years.

The years-long doping scheme was first revealed in 2016 by a whistleblower and included at least 15 medal winners from the 2014 Olympics, held in Sochi, Russia.

In 2017, the International Olympic Committee suspended Russia. After an appeal by several Russian athletes who were not linked to the scheme, the Court of Arbitrations for Sport allowed Russian athletes to participate in global competitions as neutral competitors. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Russian athletes who passed drug tests competed under the "Olympic Athletes from Russia," or OAR, delegation.

Russian officials have long denied wrongdoing in connection with the case.

Watch all the action from the Beijing Olympics live on NBC

As part of the sanctions, ROC team uniforms cannot contain the Russian flag, but are allowed to be based on Russias national colors. If their uniforms say Russia, they must also include neutral athlete or something equivalent in the same size.

The Russian flag also cannot be flown in an official capacity at the Games and the national anthem can't be played. Any Russian athlete that wins a gold medal during the Olympics will see the Olympic flag raised and hear Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovskys Piano Concerto No. 1 will play at medal ceremonies.

Despite the sanctions and scrutiny, two OAR athletes failed doping tests at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and were later punished, including mens curler Alexander Krushelnitskiy, who failed his test after winning a bronze medal in mixed doubles. He was suspended for four years, and he was stripped of his bronze medal.

The 2022 Games in Beijing will mark the final Olympics that the Russian athletes will have to compete under the ROC banner.

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EXPLAINER: This Is Why Russian Athletes Are Competing as the ROC at the Olympics - NBC Chicago

Fall away left footer. DNF. 'Kiss and Cry.'

Sometimes picking up sports terminology can feel like learning a foreign language. The jargon was developed out of necessity to communicate complex ideas quickly, according to David Caldwell, a linguist who teaches at the University of South Australia.

Below, we've defined some common words and phrases that may leave you scratching your head as you watch our Olympic coverage on NBC and Peacock.

The shoes that lugers wear are called booties. In luge, perfect aerodynamics could be the split-second difference between winning a medal or not, so lugers footwear is optimized to reduce drag and help athletes get as much speed as possible.

This snowboarding move is when a rider grabs the edge of their board between their legs while keeping one leg extended.

A 1080 is when an athlete makes three rotations in the air. A double cork 1080 includes two flips and a twist.

This is a simple one. DNF means did not finish. It's usually used in sports as an acronym that indicates an athlete didn't finish an event they started.

Getting lost in aerials is when you lose track of where the ground is.

"That's a scary feeling, but I really wouldn't call it dizziness," American freestyle skier Christopher Lillis said. "It's more like I don't know when the ground is going to hit me."

"Getting lost" is similar to the "twisties" in gymnastics.

In curling, hack weight is a shorthand way to refer to the force and momentum required for the stone to travel to the end.

No, it's not a weapon or a tool. In curling, a hammer is a name for the last shot of an end, or round. Sometimes, teams that want to control their destiny with that last shot will strategize to gain control of the hammer.

A hockey hat trick happens when a player scores three goals in a game. When that happens, fans tend to throw a cascade of hats onto the ice, especially if the player is on the home team. A natural hat trick is when a player scores three goals in a row in one game, according to the National Hockey League.

The acronym for the International Olympic Committee. The IOC is the authority for everything concerning the Olympic Games. The IOC supervises, supports and monitors the Games and ensures that all of the rules are respected and followed.

The sport of figure skating adopted the term "Kiss and Cry" in the 1980s. It described the area where figure skaters and their coaches await scores to be announced after they perform.

"It's a place where you can celebrate or cry depending on how the program went and depending on how the scores went," American figure skater Nathan Chen told NBCLX.

It is now an official part of the International Skating Union Regulations.

You may have noticed athletes wearing "kiss and cry" badges in figure skating events at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Here is what they mean.

This is when a snowboarder rotates at least 540 degrees and does a front flip. The name of this move comes from skateboarder Mike McGill.

Shaun White is credited with crafting the double McTwist for a 720 degree rotation that earned him a gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

After a fall on his first run on Tuesday, Shaun Whites solid second run earned him a spot in the mens snowboard halfpipe final.

Named after Canadian snowboarder Michael Michalchuk, this move is when a snowboarder does a backflip on the halfpipes backside wall.

Both a skiing event and a feature of the course. They are bumps or mounds of snow that require serious skill and dexterity to navigate with grace. The term mogul is actually adapted from the German word "Mugel," which means small hill.

Freestyle skier Jaelin Kauf explains everything you might want to know about mogul skiing, the ultimate test of turns and aerial moves.

A quad, or a quadruple, in figure skating is when the skater jumps into the air and spins around at least four times.

ROC stands for Russian Olympic Committee. It's a group of athletes who aren't allowed to compete under their own flag, but instead under the five-ring Olympic banner.

The reason? In 2017, international officials reached a decision that Russian athletes would compete with the altered name and flag because they had found the country had engaged in a state-sponsored doping program, providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs.

214 athletes are competing for the ROC, or Russian Olympic Committee, in Beijing.

Russian officials have denied any wrongdoing in connection to the case.

The 2022 Games in Beijing will be the last time Russian athletes will have to compete as ROC, officials said.

Skiing out means missing a gate at any point during a ski race. During the Winter Olympics, this means instant elimination from the event, even if it spans multiple runs. Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin "skied out" of two races at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

U.S. Alpine Skier Mikaela Shiffrin did not finish her first run in the Slalom on Tuesday.

In alpine skiing, the super-G stands for super giant slalom, an event that combines the speed of downhill with the more precise turns of giant slalom. Theres less of a vertical drop than the downhill and gates are placed closer together. Each skier makes one run down a single course and the fastest time wins.

Skier Paula Moltzan explains the different disciplines of alpine skiing, how fast ski racers can go and how she gets to the top of the mountain (other than by chairlift).

Switch refers to when a snowboarder is riding backwards and a cork is an off-axis rotation and if a rider inverts twice, its a double cork.

Trimetazidine, also known as TMX, was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list back in 2014. It's typically prescribed to treat angina, which is chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart.

However, it can help athletes, too. "According to knowledge of the pharmacology and mechanism of TMZ action, TMZ can be used by athletes to improve physical efficiency, especially in the case of endurance sports," scientists wrote in a 2014 paper on abuse of the drug by Polish athletes.

NBC Sports reported that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance. What is trimetazidine and have athletes been caught using it before?

This snowboarding move is when an athlete speeds up on the side of the halfpipe and makes three spins while twisting above the pipe. With moves like this, theres really no way to correct yourself if something goes wrong, according to Team USAs Taylor Gold.

With the tricks that have preceded this one, theres usually a way of getting out of it if it goes wrong, Gold said. With this one, theres really no way of getting out of it.

In snowboarding, a number refers to the degrees of rotation in a spin. A 1440 is a combination of flips and sideways twists.

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Winter Olympics Glossary: Kiss and Cry,' McTwist, the ROC and More - NBC Bay Area

A dictatorship persecutes a minority but secures a propaganda coup by hosting the Olympics. The US Olympic committee plays along, the athletes say politics is none of their business and US corporations look the other way so they can make money.

But the 2022 Beijing Olympics are not the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Theyre worse and not just for the democracies, who are caught flatfooted once more.

The legend of 1936 is largely true. Jesse Owens really did outpace the master race in the foot race. The Nazis really did pull off a propaganda coup. They had Albert Speer and Leni Riefenstahl on their agitprop team, and Joseph Goebbels, the inventor of the Big Lie training technique, as head coach.

Speers stadium designs and Riefenstahls camerawork remain the unacknowledged templates of modern bread and circuses. To this day, budding dictators who dream of going for gold in the autocracy Olympics start their day with the Goebbels workout.

But thats as far as it goes for the parallels between Berlin then and Beijing now.

The Nazis health and fitness schlock went over big with the global audience. But they were also pumping the blood and iron to pacify the German public. The 1936 circus was a win-win for Adolfs athletes. The foreigners went home praising the Germans for being so hospitable (they were only following orders: The Fhrer had told them to be friendly).

And the International Olympic Committee, in its wisdom, granted Germany the 1940 Winter Olympics. The Germans got the message that sport is war in shorts and prepared to storm the podium until they stormed Poland instead and the games were canceled.

Compare that with Beijings lose-lose this winter. The Chinese arent massing in the streets to greet the foreign talent. Theyre not massing anywhere at all: Their government wont let them leave their homes.

The trains might run on time in China, but Chinas COVID vaccines are failures. The domestic audience for these games is in permanent COVID camp. In the race to exit COVID, China is winning the wooden spoon, on track to running it until 2023. You dont get gold for breaking the record for the longest lockdown and drawing the worlds attention to your failures is an Olympic-sized own goal, perhaps the biggest since Jesse Owens broke the tape in Berlin.

Foreign audiences arent falling for it either. Sure, weve seen echoes of 1936 in the inability of our dimwitted sportspersons to realize when theyre being played for propaganda, the hypocrisy of corporations like Coca-Cola and Nike, who patronize us with wokery while they flatter the proprietors of the biggest captive market in history, and the cowardice of a Democratic administration that issues a diplomatic boycott, which is a great way of insulting the hosts without actually achieving anything.

But look at the viewership: The Winter Olympics are a turn-off. On Wednesday, NBC admitted that this ordeal on ice has scored the lowest viewing figures in Olympic history, down nearly half from the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Unlike in 1936, Americans arent buying this. And while 1936 was all about masking the nature of Nazi Germany, this year, what we see is what were about to get.

The main event at these Olympics was Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping ending their long grudge match and agreeing to tag-team President Joe Biden. Xi and Putin upstaged the opening ceremony by issuing a marathon, 5,000-word communiqu. Its a blueprint for sweeping the board and driving the United States and the other Western democracies out of the global running. The last time two dictators agreed to share the winners spoils like this, it was Hitler and Stalin joining forces in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939.

The Russian president has a black belt in judo, and hes certainly thrown the Americans off-balance in his warm-up bout in Ukraine. The Chinese president is an accomplished mixed martial artist too: In January, he broke his own record for throwing jet fighters into Taiwans airspace.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden cant get off the starting blocks, and Kamala Harris talks a good game but doesnt turn up for the heats. Our leaders are setting new records in incompetence and theyre just not putting in the hard hours of training. They snooze, we lose.

Dominic Green is the editor of The Spectators world edition.

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The Beijing Olympics are not the Berlin Olympics theyre worse - New York Post

BEIJING They were the feel-good story of the Winter Olympics in 2018: young women from a remote farming county who catapulted South Korea to curling glory by winning its first Olympic medal in the sport.

Then, that same year, the team the Korean press had nicknamed theGarlic Girls (in a nod to the iconic produce of their region) shocked the country by accusing their coaches of verbal and psychological abuse.

Nine months after their victory at the Games, the team called a surprise news conference during which they aired their grievances against their two coaches and the father of one of the coaches, who was also the vice president of the Korean Curling Federation.

The Garlic Girls said the trio swore at them, berated them if they interacted with other athletes, banned them from using social media and withheld their prize money. They also tried to sideline the team captain, Kim Eun-jung, after learning of her plans to start a family.

To be honest, Im not completely sure if were over this yet, Kim Kyeong-ae, a team member, wrote in an email to The New York Times as she prepared for the Beijing Winter Olympics this month.

While some of South Koreas top athletes have grown used to decades of harsh training and abuse, a younger generation has started to push back, inspired at least in part by the Garlic Girls.

Their news conference helped revive painful discussions about the mistreatment of athletes in South Korea, where nepotism, exploitation and misconduct have been common for decades. Elite sports in the country are notoriously hierarchical, with men often on top and athletes told not to question orders.

In 2008, the governments National Human Rights Commission said nearly 80 percent of student athletes in middle and high schools had been subjected to physical and verbal abuse from their coaches and older teammates.

After the Garlic Girls spoke out, there was an outpouring of other accounts of abuse, including from Shim Suk-hee, a member of South Koreas national short-track speedskating team and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, who said she had been repeatedly raped by her former coach. (Last year he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.)

Several female athletes in judo, taekwondo and wrestling also came forward to accuse their male coaches of sexual abuse.

In February 2019, after an investigation, the government said that most of the allegations made by the Garlic Girls were true. The two coaches and Kim Kyung-doo, the curling official, were banned from the sport for life.

And for the first time ever, South Korea appointed three foreign coaches to lead the womens, mens and mixed double curling teams at the Olympics. The Garlic Girls are set to compete against Canada in Beijing on Thursday in a round-robin match.

Although we cant know of and change all the corruption in the sporting world, at least in this sport we can reveal what has been going on in the hopes that it wont happen again, wrote Kim Kyeong-ae, 28, in her email.

Feb. 15, 2022, 4:57 a.m. ET

But those who speak out risk being sidelined or criticized. Coaches have immense control over their athletes, who are recruited at a young age and live in dormitories. Many of them are taken out of school and feel they have no career options if they fail.

Oh Ji-hoon, a former speedskater who has trained in both the United States and South Korea, said that Korean athletes typically dont question their coaches methods of discipline and training because they get used to it from a young age.

In Korea, training programs are way more intense than those of the U.S., Mr. Oh said. There is less leeway, much less flexibility and, candidly, its fairly common for coaches to yell at skaters.

After the curling team went public with their accusations, Peter Gallant, a Canadian coach who guided them to their silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, publicly backed the players.

Mr. Gallant is now the teams head coach, and curling experts say his experience is likely to propel the Garlic Girls to greater heights. The team adores him, referring to him as Appa, or father in Korean. In an email, Mr. Gallant noted that the level of respect the curlers have for those who are older than them is so high that nothing is really questioned during practice.

That is not necessarily good. A coach wants his athletes to ask questions, he added.

Four of the five Garlic Girls come from Uiseong, a farming community and a seemingly unlikely site for a sporting revolution. The rural town of 53,000 people uses a cartoon garlic bulb as the county mascot.

The Garlic Girls have said their previous coaches often made them feel ashamed for not coming from a major city. Its useless training people from the countryside, they recalled being told.

Uiseong, however, is home to one of South Koreas first curling facilities, built in 2006 after a former government official saw the sport on a trip to Canada.

Kim Eun-jung, the captain, and currently ranked seventh in the world, fell in love with the sport after trying it during gym class in middle school. She encouraged her classmate Kim Yeong-mi to join, who was followed by her younger sister, Kim Kyeong-ae.

Kim Cho-hi, the only team member not from Uiseong, also started curling in middle school, but in Gyeonggi Province, just outside of Seoul.

Because they all have the same surname, the Garlic Girls are also known as Team Kim. To differentiate themselves, each chose a nickname honoring their favorite breakfast food. Ms. Kim Eun-jung is Annie, the name of a yogurt brand. Kim Yeong-mi is Pancake, while her sister, Kyeong-ae, is Steak. Kim Cho-hi is ChoCho, a nod to chocolate cookies, which she loves to eat for breakfast. Kim Seon-yeong is Sunny, for sunny-side-up eggs.

The team was an underdog going into the 2018 Winter Olympics, but pulled off upsets against Canada and Switzerland, two curling powerhouses. Almost overnight, the Garlic Girls became a sensation in a country that knew little about curling.

In the past two years, the pandemic has made practice challenging. Several competitions were canceled. And unlike teams from countries where curling has long been popular, the Garlic Girls often must travel abroad for competitions and training, which has meant dealing with quarantines and spending more time away from home.

But Mr. Gallant said the teams experience with their previous coaches prepared them for the future, even with the pandemic. In an interview with Rocks Across the Pond, a curling podcast, he said there was no question that it created a kind of toughness in them.

To do what they did, to make everything public, took a lot of courage and effort, he said. No matter what they face now, its not going to be as bad as that.

Sui-Lee Wee reported from Beijing and Jin Yu Young from Seoul.

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How the Garlic Girls Overcame Abuse to Return to the Olympics - The New York Times

ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULATGetty Images

Less than a year after the postponed Tokyo Olympics, the Beijing Olympics began on February 3 with a small audience. The U.S. is participating in a diplomatic boycott of the Games, which means no government officials will be in attendance, but sent 224 athletesthe largest delegation from any participating country. The Winter Olympics are typically a smaller affair than their summer counterpart, with 2,874 athletes participating representing 91 different countries. (As opposed to 11,656 athletes last summer from 206 nations.)

Here are some photo highlights from the 19 days of competition in Beijing.

Day 10: Monobob

Gold medalist Kaillie Humphries of Team United States (L) and Silver medalist Elana Meyers Taylor of Team United States (R) celebrate during the women's monobob bobsleigh finals.

Day 10: Women's Freestyle Skiing

Dominique Ohaco of Team Chile performs a trick during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualification.

Day 10: Ice Dancing

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of Team France skate during the ice dance free dance event.

Day 10: Ski Jumping

Dominik Peter of Team Switzerland competes during the men's team ski jumping.

Day 10: Ski Jumping

Stefan Kraft, Daniel Huber and Jan Hoerl and Maneul Fettner of Team Austria celebrate winning the gold medal at the men's ski jumping final.

Day 9: Speed Skating

Erin Jackson of Team United States reacts after winning the gold medal during the Women's 500m.

Day 9: Women's Freestyle Skiing Aerials

Akmarzhan Kalmurzayeva of Team Kazakhstan performs a trick on a practice run ahead of the Women's Freestyle Skiing Aerials Qualification.

Day 9: Speed Skating

Team Canada skate during the men's team pursuit quarterfinals at National Speed Skating Oval.

Day 9: Curling

Agnes Knochenhauer, Anna Hasselborg and Sofia Mabergs of Team Sweden compete against Team United States during the Women's Curling Round Robin Session.

Day 9: Cross Country Skiing

Friedrich Moch of Team Germany competes during the Men's Cross-Country Skiing 4x10km Relay.

Day 9: Snowboard Big Air training

Katie Ormerod of Team Great Britain performs a trick during a Snowboard Big Air training session.

Day 8: Speed Skating

Cornelius Kersten of Team Great Britain and Ivan Arzhanikov of Team Kazakhstan skate during the Men's 500m at National Speed Skating Oval.

Day 8: Ice Dancing

Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto of Team Japan skate during the ice dance rhythm dance event.

Day 8: Snowboard Mixed Team Cross

Gold medalists Lindsey Jacobellis (L) and Nick Baumgartner (R) of Team United States celebrate during the mixed team snowboard cross finals flower ceremony at Genting Snow Park.

Day 8: Snowboard Mixed Team Cross

Lindsey Jacobellis of Team United States (R) and Michela Moioli of Team Italy (L) cross the finish line during the snowboard mixed team cross final.

Day 7: Women's Super G

Mikaela Shiffrin competes during the Women's Super G in Yanqing China.

Day 7: Ski Jumping

Halvor Egner Granerud of Team Norway competes during the men's large hill individual trial round for qualification at the National Ski Jumping Center in Zhangjiakou, China.

Day 7: Men's Snowboard Halfpipe

Shaun White's Olympic career comes to an end at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Day 7: Men's Snowboard Halfpipe

Shaun White embraces his coach JJ Thomas after finishing fourth during the men's snowboard halfpipe final.

Day 7: Women's Ice Hockey

Team Canada huddles prior to the start of the game against Team Sweden during the women's ice hockey quarterfinal match.

Day 7: Men's Skeleton

Zheng Yin of Team China slides during a men's skeleton heat.

Day 7: Short Track Speed Skating

Suzanne Schulting of Team Netherlands competes during the Women's 1000m Final A.

Day 6: Women's Snowboard Halfpipe

Gold medalist Chloe Kim of Team United States wipes away a tear during the women's snowboard halfpipe final flower ceremony.

Day 6: Women's Snowboard Halfpipe

Chloe Kim after winning gold.

Day 6: Men's Skeleton

Tomass Dukurs of Team Latvia slides during the Men's Skeleton heats.

Day 6: Figure Skating

Nathan Chen skates during the men's single free skate competition.

Day 6: Figure Skating medal ceremony

Nathan Chen of Team United States with his gold medal during medal ceremony for the men's singles figure skating competition.

Day 6: Men's Snowboard Cross

Athletes compete during the men's snowboard cross quarterfinals at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, China.

Day 6: Figure Skating

Yuma Kagiyama of Team Japan skates during the men's single free skate competition.

Day 5: Women's Snowboard Halfpipe

Mitsuki Ono of Team Japan performs a trick during the Women's snowboard halfpipe qualification.

Day 5: Women's Skeleton training

Valentina Margaglio of Team Italy slides during Women's Skeleton training at National Sliding Centre.

Day 5: Short Track Speed Skating

Shaoang Liu of Team Hungary, Steven Dubois of Team Canada, Semen Elistratov of Team ROC, Adil Galiakhmetov of Team Kazakhstan and Daeheon Hwang of Team South Korea compete during the Men's 1500m Final A.

Day 5: Women's Slalom

Gold medalist Petra Vlhova of Team Slovakia celebrates on the podium.

Day 5: Men's Ice Hockey

Goalkeeper Simon Hrubec #11 of Team Czech Republic defends the goal against Team Denmark in the first period during the Men's Preliminary Round Group B match.

Day 4: Speed Skating

Sergei Trofimov (L) of Team ROC and Emery Lehman (R) of Team United States skate during the Men's 1500m.

Day 4: Men's Skeleton training

China's Yin Zheng takes part in the men's skeleton training at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre.

Day 3: Figure Skating Team Event

USA's Alexa Knierim and USA's Brandon Frazier compete in the pair skating of the figure skating team event.

Day 3: Figure Skating Team Event

Japan's Kaori Sakamoto competes in the women's free skate of the figure skating team event.

Day 3: Figure Skating Team Event

Karen Chen of Team United States reacts after skating during the women's free skate.

Day 3: Curling Mixed Doubles

Rachel Homan of Team Canada competes against Team Italy.

Day 3: Men's Freestyle Skiing - Big Air

Nicholas Goepper of Team United States performs a trick during the qualification rounds of the men's freestyle skiing big air competition at Big Air Shougang.

Day 3: Figure Skating Team Event

Canada's Vanessa James and Canada's Eric Radford compete in the pair skating part of the figure skating team event.

Day 3: Women's Giant Slalom

USA's Mikaela Shiffrin disqualifies in the first run of the women's giant slalom.

Day 3: Figure Skating Team Event

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of Team United States skate during the ice dance part of the figure skating team event.

Day 2: Men's Freestyle Big Air training

An athlete performs during the Freestyle Skiing Big Air training session.

Day 1: Women's Ice Hockey

Team United States celebrate their 5-0 win over Team ROC during the Women's Preliminary Round Group A.

Day 1: Men's Freestyle Skiing Big Air training

A scene from the Men's Freestyle Skiing Big Air Training session.

Day 1: Women's Short Track Speed Skating

Kim Boutin of Team Canada, Petra Jaszapati of Team Hungary and Maame Biney of Team United States compete during the Women's 500m Heats.

Day 1: Men's Freestyle Skiing Moguls

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The Best Photos from the 2022 Beijing Olympics - TownandCountrymag.com

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

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The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says Chinas selection of a Uyghur athlete to help deliver the Olympic flame in Beijing was an attempt by Chinese officials to distract from global attention on its human rights violations.

The United States is staging a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics, sending athletes but not the traditional delegation of dignitaries, citing Chinas alleged systemic and widespread abuse of ethnic and religious minorities in its western region, especially Xinjiangs predominantly Muslim Uyghurs.

Chinas selection of cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang for the honor of being a final Olympic torchbearer at the ceremony that opened the Winter Games was a big surprise.

To U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, that choice was an effort by the Chinese to distract us from the real issue here at hand, that Uyghurs are being tortured, and Uyghurs are the victims of human rights violations by the Chinese.

And she told CNNs State of the Union that we have to keep that front and center.

The U.S. says China is committing genocide in its treatment of the Uyghurs. China denies any abuses and says the steps it has taken are necessary to combat terrorism and a separatist movement.

The American diplomat says we have made clear that crimes against humanity are being committed in China.

She added: It is important that the audience who participated and witnessed this understand that this does not take away from what we know is happening on the ground there.

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President Joe Bidens national security adviser says the United States did not go around the world knocking on every country door trying to organize a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in China.

The U.S. did not send a delegation of dignitaries to Beijing but is allowing American athletes to complete. Major U.S. allies like Britain, Australia and Canada followed suit, also citing human rights abuses by the Chinese government. But an array of world leaders did attend the opening ceremonies.

Sullivan told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday that the Biden administration made a statement of principle about what we, the United States, were going to do. He says some nations joined the U.S. and others made a different decision.

But he cited the broad level of alignment among like-minded democracies coming together on a range of challenges that China poses, whether its in the realm of military aggression or in the realm of economic coercion or in the realm of human rights.

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Johannes Ludwig of Germany is the Olympic champion in mens luge, adding that to the World Cup overall title he won this season.

Its the 11th time in 16 Olympics that a German man counting the days of East Germany and West Germany in there has won the luge title. Wolfgang Kindl of Austria was second and Dominik Fischnaller of Italy was third.

Ludwig led after all four heats. He set the tone for Sundays final two runs of the competition by setting a track record leading off the third heat, putting more pressure on everyone else in the field to catch him.

Nobody did. Only Kindl came close. Chris Mazdzer was the top American, finishing eighth.

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Jakara Anthony of Australia has captured the womens moguls title at the Beijing Olympics.

Anthonys back flip with a grab at the bottom of the course sewed up the gold medal Sunday on the Secret Garden Olympic course. Her score of 83.09 edged American Jaelin Kauf, who had been poised to pick up the first gold medal for Team USA in China.

Russian athlete Anastasiia Smirnova earned the bronze while defending champion Perrine Laffont of France finished fourth.

The 23-year-old Anthony joins Dale Begg-Smith as the only Aussies to win the Olympic event. Begg-Smith earned his title at the 2006 Turin Games.

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Japans Ryoyu Kobayashi has won Olympic ski jumping gold on the normal hill.

Kobayashi jumped last and best, clearing 99.5 meters (326 feet) and had 129.6 points thanks to his graceful style from start to finish that won over the judges.

Austrias Manuel Fettner won silver and Dawid Kubacki of Poland earned bronze.

Two-time ski jumping gold medalist Andreas Wellinger is missing the Beijing Games because he tested positive for the coronavirus last week, clearing the way for a new champion in China

Earlier in the night, Turkish ski jumper Fatih Arda pciolu refused to say if the crescent and star on his blue skis was a statement in support of Chinas Uyghur community. The design on the skis used Saturday seemingly represented East Turkestan, the region home to Uyghurs. pciolu finished deep in the field of 50.

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Turkish ski jumper Fatih Arda pciolu refused to say if the crescent and star on his blue skis was a statement in support of Chinas Uyghur community.

The design on the skis used Saturday seemingly represented East Turkestan, the region home to Uyghurs.

I dont want to answer about those questions, pciolu said Sunday night after jumping in the first round of the Normal Hill competition.

pciolu switched skis on Sunday, saying the pair he had were for the competition.

Im a sportsman, he bristled. I do just my job. The other things, I dont care about. Its not my job.

Human rights groups say the Beijing government has oppressed members of the Uyghur Muslim minority on a massive scale.

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Finland mens hockey player Marko Anttila remains at an isolation hotel at the Beijing Games after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Coach Jukka Jalonen says nothing has changed with Anttila, who recovered from COVID-19 last month and has been unable to produce two negative tests that would allow him to return to the team. Jalonen and Finland players say Anttila is fully healthy and has no symptoms.

Jalonen confirmed Anttila is Finlands only player in isolation.

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Defending champion Mikaela Shiffrin will set off seventh on the first run of the womens giant slalom at the Beijing Games on Monday.

Shiffrins main rival, Slovakian Petra Vlhova, will ski first.

The 26-year-old Shiffrin is bidding for a third Olympic gold medal. It would be a first for Vlhova, and a first in Alpine skiing for Slovakia.

Sara Hector, who leads the World Cup giant slalom standings, starts just before Shiffrin. The Swedish skier is also looking for a first Olympic medal.

The two-leg giant slalom will be raced at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Beijing time on The Ice River course at Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center.

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Two-time Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu has arrived in Beijing two days before hes due at Capital Indoor Stadium for the start of the mens program.

The Japanese star is trying to become the first figure skater since Swedens Gillis Grafstrom in 1928 to win three straight titles.

Hanyu took a similar approach four years ago in Pyeongchang, when he remained at his Canadian training base until two days before the start of his program. But that was pre-pandemic, and Hanyu took a risk that upon arrival in Beijing he would return the negative COVID-19 test required of anyone entering the Olympic bubble.

Hanyu is coming off his sixth Japanese championship in December. The Winnie-the-Pooh-loving wunderkind is expected to try the quad axel during his free skate, a 4 1/2-revolution jump that has never been landed in competition.

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Nils van der Poel gave Sweden its first Olympic speedskating medal since 1988, pulling off a stunning comeback to win gold in the 5,000 meters at the Beijing Olympics.

Van der Poel was a big favorite coming into the event as the reigning world champion with an undefeated record in the distance events on this seasons World Cup circuit.

He lived up to the hype in the 12 1/2-lap race at the Ice Ribbon oval, turning on the speed at the end to overcome Patrick Roest of the Netherlands with an Olympic record of 6 minutes, 8.84 seconds.

Roest had skated about an hour earlier in the sixth of 10 pairs, initially breaking the Olympic mark in 6.09.31.

It looked as though van der Poel would come up short, too. Then the Swede kicked it into another gear.

He thrilled the sparse crowd by slicing into Roests time with each stride. Turns out, van der Poel had just enough time to win gold.

The bronze went to Norways Hallgeir Engebraaten in 6:09.88.

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Sven Kramers quest for a fourth straight speedskating gold medal in the 5,000 meters ended quickly.

The 35-year-old Dutchman skated in the first pair of the day at Beijings Ice Ribbon and finished the grueling race in 6 minutes, 17.04 seconds. Two pairs later, both skaters posted faster times.

Kramer was the first male skater to win the same event at three straight Olympics, but hes no longer the worlds dominant long-distance performer at the oval. Four years ago, he won gold at Pyeongchang in 6:09.76.

Kramer plans to retire after the Beijing Games, but he still has a couple of events to go. Hell also compete in the mass start and team pursuit.

No matter what, Kramer is already assured of leaving the sport as the most decorated speedskater in Olympic history with nine medals over the last four Olympics, including four golds.

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The Australian mixed doubles curling team of Dean Hewitt and Tahli Gill pulled off a dramatic first win in their first Olympics when they beat Switzerland hours after it appeared they would be headed home because Gill returned a series of positive COVID-19 tests.

Greeted by an occasional chant of Aussie Aussie Aussie! by a spectator in the mostly empty Ice Cube, Hewitt and Gill beat Switzerlands Martin Rios and Jenny Perret 9-6. Gill had the big knockout shot to secure a 3-end, or three points, in the sixth end to tie the game at 6-6.

The first-ever Olympic curling team from Australia improved to 1-7. Their final game is against their coach, defending gold medalist John Morris of Canada and his new partner, Rachel Homan.

The Australian Olympic Committee announced earlier in the day that Gill and Hewitt would be heading home after Gill, who had COVID-19 before the games, returned a series of positive tests. But the committee said the Medical Expert Panel determined Gills levels fell within an acceptable range. Gill said she was not infectious.

The Aussies got a call about an hour before the game that they could play and jumped into a cab to get to the venue. Gill said she had to grab her uniform out of her suitcases, which were already packed.

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Russian skier Alexander Bolshunov pulled away from the pack early to win gold in the 30-kilometer skiathlon.

Bolshunov, the World Cup points leader in distance races, grabbed a Russian Olympic Committee flag in the final stretch and waved it in the air as he crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 16 seconds.

Bolshunov and Iivo Niskanen of Finland led the race through the first four classic ski laps but Russias Denis Spitsov passed Niskanen once they were on the freestyle legs.

Spitsov stayed out front and secured the silver, 1 minute, 11 seconds behind Bolshunov. Niskanen held on for the bronze 2 minutes back.

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Chinese teenager Su Yiming had the surprise top score in the mens Olympic slopestyle qualifying round.

Throwing a triple cork, the sort of trick most riders save for finals, Su finished with a score of 86.80. It topped his idol, Mark McMorris of Canada, and defending Olympic champion Red Gerard, who also both advanced to Mondays final.

The 17-year-old Su clapped his hands in excitement after finishing his first-round run as a sparse audience in the stands cheered. Su won a big air competition in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in December. His best slopestyle finish on the World Cup circuit was sixth on New Years Day.

Gerard wound up fifth in qualifying and McMorris second. The top 12 riders moved on.

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Alpine skiings power couple will have a busy day on the Olympic slopes as long as the wind calms down, that is.

Mikaela Shiffrin and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde are now both supposed to race Monday after the mens downhill was pushed back a day because of too-strong gusts at the scheduled start Sunday. Shiffrin and Kilde are dating.

Kilde is considered the man to beat in the downhill. The Norwegian leads the World Cup standings in that event and was fastest during training in China on Friday.

Shiffrin is the defending Olympic champion in the womens giant slalom, which already was on the Alpine program for Monday.

The two-leg GS will be raced at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on the technical slope at Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center. In between those runs, the downhill will be held at noon on the speed slope about a half-mile away.

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The Australian mixed doubles curling team received a late reprieve and returned to competition at the Beijing Olympics after an earlier announcement that it would head home after Tahli Gill returned a series of positive COVID-19 tests.

The Australian Olympic Committee said Gill and Dean Hewitt could continue under the close contact provisions.

We are thrilled for Tahli and Dean and I am delighted that our headquarters team continued pressing her case, after earlier advice that the pair could no longer compete, said Geoff Lipshut, head of the Australian delegation.

Gill and Hewitt, representing Australias first-ever Olympic curling team, were back at the Ice Cube in time to play Switzerland in the round robin competition. They are winless in seven games.

Gill contracted COVID-19 prior to the games. Ongoing testing alternated between negative and positive. She had been allowed to compete under the close contact arrangements after discussions with the IOC and games organizers. The AOC said earlier Sunday that initial attempts to return Gill to competition were rebuffed by the IOC and health authorities.

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The International Olympic Committee says Olympic officials will meet with Netherlands state broadcaster NOS, which has been frustrated by fallout from its journalist being manhandled by a games security official during a live report.

NOS, which pays rights fees for the Beijing Olympics, disputed comments made Saturday by an IOC spokesman that it was contacted about the incident.

In a rare public criticism of the IOC by an official rights holder, NOS said none of its management nor reporter Sjoerd Den Daas had spoken to anyone from the Olympic body.

China-based Den Daas was pushed away from the camera by the guard while broadcasting live on Friday evening before the opening ceremony.

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Live updates from the 2022 Beijing Olympics - Associated Press

The 2022 Beijing Olympics have arrived, and they come at a unique time just months after the Summer Games took place in August after being delayed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the United States is geared up and ready to compete in the Winter Olympics as they hope to once again come out of the event atop the medal count.

Do not fret at being less than prepared for these Winter Games. CBS Sports is here to track the entire event from the Opening Ceremony this past Friday to the Closing Ceremony on Feb. 20. In this space, you can find everything you need to know about Team USA's performances, from Shaun White trying to end his Olympics career with a gold medal to the women's hockey squad vying for their second consecutive first-place finish.

These key links will get you started in your journey, while the live updates below will chronicle every bit of important news plus the major events and medal opportunities that Team USA achieves over the course of the two-week Games.

Olympics 2022: Medal count | Daily schedule| Men's hockey | Women's hockey | Shaun White|Mikaela Shiffrin

Team events and medal rounds | All times Eastern

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Winter Olympics 2022: Team USA schedule, live results tracker, United States medal count from Beijing Games - CBSSports.com