Day 3 of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

Chinese short track speed skater Ren Ziwei won gold in the men's 1,000m short track speed skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on Monday.

Hungarian Shaolin Sandor Liu crossed the finished line first, but after an official video review, Liu was given a yellow card and two penalties for illegally changing lanes and causing contact with Ren.

This is Ren's second gold medal of the Games. He also won in the mixed team short track speed skating relay.

Silver went to Chinese Li Wenlong. Liu's younger brother, Shaoang Liu of Hungary, claimed the bronze medal.

With four laps to go, the race initially was halted due to debris on the ice. 

Slovenia won the mixed team ski jumping gold medal at the Beijing Games on Monday.

The event was making its debut at the Games with 10 teams – or National Olympic Committees (NOCs) – taking part, each represented by two men and two women. 

The Slovenian team of Nika Kriznar, Timi Zajc, Ursa Bogotaj and Peter Prevc scored a total of 1001.5 points.

It’s the second medal of the Games for Kriznar and Bocataj, who won bronze and gold respectively in the women's normal hill competition on Saturday.

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) took the silver medal with 890.3 points and Canada the bronze with 844.6 points.

Germany were favorites for the event but failed to reach the final after individual silver medalist Katharina Althaus was disqualified for a suit violation.

For most, a dog is a man's best friend.

But for select few, they're also integral to a competitive sport — welcome to the world of sled dog racing.

Debuting as a demonstration sport at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, 90 years later, the sport is still alive and barking as dogs pull their harnessed drivers, or mushers, around courses across the globe.

Most popular in the Arctic regions of North America and Europe, any mention of sledding and the breeds of dogs involved — huskies, malamutes and similar Nordic breeds — always come with the association of snow.

Yet Matt Hodgson, Great Britain's first world champion in purebred sled dog racing, is living proof that a relative lack of snow is no barrier to success when passion is involved.

Based in the occasionally cold but rarely arctic southeast of England, Hodgson has developed his childhood fascination with dogs of the far north into Infury Dogs — a five-time medal winning sled dog team.

Though disrupted by the pandemic — with a December trip to Belgium canceled following the Covid surge of the Omicron variant — the sport has taken Hodgson and his dogs around the world.

Travel restrictions willing, Sweden calls for the World Championships in March, with the tantalizing prospect of competing at the Östersund Ski Stadium in Östersund.

Now, 10 years shy of the 100th anniversary of sled dog racing at the Winter Olympics as a demonstration sport, talk continues to swirl of the sport one day making a return to the Games.

Hodgson says the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports (IFSS) has been petitioning the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but he holds his own reservations on the suitability of the sport for Olympic status — fearing a "can of worms" opened up by logistics, finances and the very nature of the sport.

Read the full story here.

Armed with nothing but two skis, skeleton fabrics and a helmet fit for a Daft Punk comeback tour, there are humans hurtling down the sides of mountains faster than an F1 car.

Blink and you'll miss them, some of the fastest non-motorized humans on the planet — speed skiers.

Speed skiers are effectively plummeting through the sky.

In 2016, Italy's Ivan Origone flashed down a run of the La Forêt Blanche resort in France, clocking an average of 254.958 kmph (158.42 mph) across his last 100 meters to set a new world record.

For perspective, the World Air Sports Federation states that the terminal speed of the human body freefalling in a stable, head down position is between 240 and 290 kmph (149.13 and 180.2 mph.)

Unsurprisingly, such descriptions dictate that, though skiing generally is wildly popular, speed skiing is very much a niche vocation.

Whereas jockeys riding horses will aim to keep themselves as light as possible, athletes on speed skis are maximizing strength and heaviness. Weightlifting, squats and deadlifts formed the backbone of a program designed to build dense muscle.

Strength conditioning also serves another vitally important purpose — surviving crashes.

F1 drivers are dressed to minimize damage. McLaren's F1 driver's overalls for example — made from a heat and flame resistant fiber — can resist exposure to direct fire for 15 seconds, supported by flame-resistant boots and gloves.

Speed skiers are afforded no such protection. With clothing designed for speed and speed alone, crash injuries can be horrific.

Concussions, broken arms and legs — the diagnoses are endless, but friction burning is the most commonplace injury.

In 2016, during a World Cup training run in France, Great Britain's Jan Farrell crashed at 216 km/h (134.2 mph) and proceeded to skid for roughly 1,150 feet — over three-and-a-half football pitches — leaving him with second-degree burns.

More commonly caused by direct exposure to fire and boiling water, partial thickness burns can be excruciatingly painful, yet incredibly, Farrell was back out on the slopes again a day later.

Over time, the burns healed, but the psychological scarring endured.

Once unflappable and having never crashed at such a speed, almost overnight Farrell's confidence was rocked — a critical issue in a discipline with little room for self-doubt.

"I was quite good at not crashing and not being scared — after that, everything changed," he said. "Most of us who've crashed take some time to come back. It took me over a season and I had to go do psychological training and really rethink my mindset of how I skied."

The sport has made just one appearance at the Winter Olympics — as a men's and women's demonstration event at Albertville in 1992 — and Farrell believes that while the potential is there, speed skiing needs to "do its homework" before an official return is viable.

Read the full story here.

Italy’s Arianna Fontana defended her women’s 500m short track speed skating title on Monday but only after the final was restarted.

Fontana fell within the first lap causing the race to be restarted.

Once the action was again underway, Fontana seized the lead from reigning world champion Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands with just a lap to go and held on to seal gold – the second of her campaign at the Beijing Winter Games.

It’s Fontana’s 10th Olympic medal of her career.

Schulting finished in the silver medal position with triple Olympic medalist Kim Boutin from Canada in bronze.

American-born Chinese figure skater Zhu Yi broke down in tears following her free skate performance in the team event on Monday.

The 19-year-old Zhu — who came under heavy criticism on Chinese social media after falling in the short program — fell twice in Monday’s event as she placed fifth for her routine with 91.41 points.

Amid the abuse she received after the short program, many questioned why Zhu was chosen to represent China at the Winter Olympics over an athlete born in the country.

The Russian Olympic Committee's Kamila Valieva placed first in the free skate as she wrapped up the gold medal for her team.

US-born Chinese athletes have come under intense public scrutiny during these Games.

In contrast to the treatment of Zhu during her first Olympics, freestyle skier Eileen Gu – who was also born in California and is a year younger than Zhu – has charmed the Chinese public with her fluent Mandarin and familiarity with Chinese culture.

In the process, Gu has become the unofficial face of Beijing 2022 and is tipped to win at least one gold medal for China.

ROC figure skater Kamila Valieva made history on Monday after she became the first woman to land a quad at the Winter Games.

The 15-year-old executed a quad Salchow — which involves four complete rotations in the air.

She then went on to land a quad toeloop and triple Axel in the same routine, though she fell on her second quad toeloop attempt.

Read more about Valieva's achievements here.

Valieva is one of the youngest athletes taking part in this year's Winter Olympics but she is not the youngest.

You can read more about the youngest and oldest participants at Beijing 2022 here.

Mikaela Shiffrin says Monday was one of the "most turbulent days I have ever experienced" after crashing out of the giant slalom at Beijing 2022.

The three-time Olympic medalist got a Did Not Finish on her first run after failing to complete the course, ending any hopes of a medal in the event, which was won by Sweden's Sara Hector.

The event was marred by a scary fall from fellow American Nina O'Brien after she lost her balance before the finish.

"We’re so heartbroken for [Nina O'Brien] she showed so much heart and fire in her skiing today, and it all got shredded to pieces on the final turn," Shiffrin wrote.

"The warrior that she is, she will get back stronger and speedier than ever, with the same upbeat and kind attitude that is trademark Nina," she added.

"But tonight we’re all just sad and crossing our fingers for the best news possible."

The US Ski and Snowboard team said O'Brien is now alert and responsive. 

Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst says she is "really proud" after becoming the first athlete to win an individual gold medal in five separate Olympics.

The 35-year-old was victorious in the women's 1,500m speed skating event on Monday but still remembers her first gold medal from 2006.

Wüst, who now sits in third place alongside Norway’s Bjørn Dæhlie on the all-time Winter Games medal list with 12, also broke the Olympic record for the women's 1,500m event.

"This is just amazing. There's a lot of different emotions going through my mind right now. I mean, it's just bizarre that I was able to pull it off once again. 

"The whole week, I have been feeling great. I skated very well, and I knew I could trust myself. I was confident that I was able to do it today.

"To then have a race like this one is just incredible. I just have no words for it."

Despite still being at the top of her game, the speed skater has said she will retire this season — making Beijing 2022 her last Olympic Games.

She says her last race will be the World Cup final in her home country on March 12.

"Age is just a number, hey? It's just about how you feel," she said, before confirming she would "leave on top. I will quit."