Live updates from the 2022 Beijing Olympics – Associated Press

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

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

___

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.

See original here:

Live updates from the 2022 Beijing Olympics - Associated Press