Natalie Geisenberger wins third consecutive luge singles gold
From CNN's Aleks Klosok
Germany's Natalie Geisenberger cemented her status as one of the most successful lugers of all time as she stormed to a third consecutive Olympic singles luge title on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old now has a total of six medals to her name, five of which are gold.
Geisenberger ties Italy’s Armin Zöggeler for the most Olympic luge medals won (6) and equals the record of German luger Georg Hackl, who won three successive Olympic men's titles in 1992, 1994 and 1998.
She missed the 2019-20 season to give birth to her first child, Leo, in May 2020.
After 18 months away from the sport, she returned to training in September, winning her first race back at the Nations Cup in Innsbruck in November.
Compatriot Anna Berreiter claimed silver, while Tatiana Ivanova of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) won bronze.
9:40 a.m. ET, February 8, 2022
Italy wins historic mixed doubles curling gold with victory over Norway
From CNN's Aleks Klosok
Italian pair Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner sealed their country’s first ever curling medal at a Winter Olympics with gold in the mixed team doubles, defeating Norway 8-5 on Tuesday.
The pair have gone through the entire competition in Beijing unbeaten having won all nine preliminary games, a semifinal against Sweden and now the final against Norway.
After their win, Mosaner said: "This is an important moment, we managed to win a gold medal and this is an incredible thing.
"But above all the 11 wins and the zero defeats, this is the biggest and most beautiful thing."
Perhaps most important to Constantini, though, was how their run led to a wider awareness of curling in Italy.
"This is the beauty of it," Constantini said. "We managed to get people more curious (about our sport). Lots of Italians and fans are following us and are proud of us. We could feel all their support."
The historic run to the gold also saw Constantini and Mosaner knock out 2018 champion Canada in the round robin stage.
Norwegians Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten, bronze medalists in PyeongChang four years ago, were unable to see off the resolute Italians and took silver.
Sweden’s Almida de Val and Oskar Eriksson claimed bronze earlier on Tuesday with a 9-3 victory over Great Britain.
8:25 a.m. ET, February 8, 2022
Norwegian Johannes Klæbo defends Olympic title in men's free sprint cross-skiing
From CNN's Wayne Sterling
Norwegian Johannes Klæbo defended his Olympic title in men's cross-country freestyle sprint at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on Tuesday.
Klæbo is the first athlete to ever win consecutive gold medals in cross-country skiing men's sprint free.
"I think it's a special moment, for sure. Last couple of weeks has been quite stressful. We had some Covid in the team and my coaches are staying at home," he said after his win.
"So a lot of difficult times but being able to defend the Olympic gold from last time and having this amazing fight with Federico (Pellegrino) today was special. It was a lot of fun out there."
The 25-year-old captured his fourth Olympic gold medal after winning three at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.
Italian Federico Pellegrino earned silver, while Alexander Terentev of the Russian Olympic Committee took bronze.
7:49 a.m. ET, February 8, 2022
These two US athletes to watch are yet to compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics
From CNN's Sana Noor Haq
Beijing 2022 is already seeing new world records and masterful displays across different sports. But here are two US athletes to watch, who are yet to compete at the Winter Olympics
Chloe Kim: Snowboarder
It seems Chloe Kim was destined for Olympic glory, having started snowboarding at the age of four.
The story goes that her father immigrated from South Korea to the US with $800 in hand, later giving up his job to support his daughter's snowboarding ambitions.
Kim was 17 years old when she won the women's halfpipe event at PyeongChang 2018, making her the youngest woman to earn an Olympic gold medal in snowboarding.
She's scheduled to compete in the women's halfpipe event at this year's Games.
Erin Jackson: Speed skater
World No. 1 speed skater Erin Jackson's hopes of competing at Beijing 2022 were nearly dashed when she failed to qualify for the 500m during the US Trials in January.
However, Jackson received a spot after compatriot Brittany Bowe renounced her place, saying at the time, "No one's more deserving than her to get an opportunity to bring Team USA home a medal."
But in a fortuitous twist, Bowe will still be able to compete in the 500m after the US picked up an extra spot when some countries returned quota slots for the event.
Even though Jackson has only been speed skating for five years, she's a favorite for gold in the women's 500m and women's 1,000m events.
You can read more about our athletes to watch below.
Dutchman Kjeld Nuis defends men's 1,500m speed skating title in Olympic record time
From CNN's Wayne Sterling
Dutch speed skater Kjeld Nuis defended his title in the men's 1,500m race in an Olympic record time.
Nuis finished in 1:43.21, breaking the mark set by American Derek Parra at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
The 32-year-old is the first person since 1994 to successfully defend his Olympic title in the men’s 1,500m.
This is Nuis' third Olympic gold medal. He also won the men's 1,000m at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.
Silver went to Thomas Krol of the Netherlands, while Kim Min-seok of the Republic of Korea claimed bronze for the second straight Winter Games.
7:38 a.m. ET, February 8, 2022
Sweden's Sundling seals gold with commanding win in women’s cross country freestyle sprint
From CNN’s Aleks Klosok in London
Sweden’s Jonna Sundling picked up her first gold medal of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics by winning the women’s cross country freestyle sprint on Tuesday.
The world champion was in imperious form beating her compatriot Maja Dahlqvist by almost three seconds.
Jessie Diggins of the United States, who won gold in the women's team sprint in 2018, claimed bronze.
6:53 a.m. ET, February 8, 2022
Reporters press Eileen Gu over her citizenship. See how she responds
From CNN staff
Freestyle skier Eileen Gu, who won gold in the big air competition on Tuesday, was asked after the event if she was still a US citizen having chosen to represent China at the Winter Olympics.
It's unclear whether Gu renounced her American citizenship – usually a requirement for Chinese naturalization – since the country does not allow dual citizenship.
The 18-year-old has never publicly commented on the status of her American citizenship, though an article on the official Olympic site referred to her "dual nationality" in January.
6:43 a.m. ET, February 8, 2022
Mouat "proud" to fly the LGBTQ+ flag at the Winter Olympics
From CNN's George Ramsay
There will be a record number of out athletes – at least 36 – competing at the Winter Olympics in Beijing this year, according to SB Nation blog Outsports.
Among them is British curler Bruce Mouat, who has been speaking during the Games about coming out in 2014.
“It’s weird to look back and think I wouldn’t have come out eventually,” Mouat said after beating China in the mixed doubles round-robin group match on Sunday.
“I don’t know where I would be, but I’m not sure if I would have been as confident as I am right now.
“I’m a very proud person and I like to have a little joke and a laugh and be proud of who I am and who I’ve become because of it.”
Mouat and mixed doubles partner Jen Dodds missed out on a bronze in the mixed doubles after a 9-3 defeat against Sweden on Tuesday but will compete again in the men’s and women’s competitions later in the Games.
Mouat, who is 27 and competing at his first Olympics, has been seen sporting rainbow laces in Beijing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.
“Bruce is an amazing person,” Dodds said of her partner. “It doesn’t matter if he’s straight, gay, whatever, he is just an amazing friend, one of my best friends.”
Maillet produces masterful display to win France’s first gold medal of Beijing Games
From CNN's Aleks Klosok
France has its first gold medal of the Beijing Games courtesy of Quentin Fillon Maillet who won the men’s 20 km biathlon event at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre on Tuesday.
The Frenchman, who is the current World Cup overall leader, came home in a winning time of 48 minutes and 47.4 seconds – this despite suffering two shooting penalties.
"Maybe it looked easy, but it was so hard today. With two misses in the shooting, I never expected the victory – maybe the podium," Maillet said.
"It's hard to relish the victory right now because the race is not finished, but I'm starting to feel the emotions of the victory. It was amazing," he added. "A lot of work, a lot of energy for this. Thank you to my family, my friends, my partner, my teammates, for all their work and all the people who helped me on my way to becoming Olympic champion."
Maillet finished almost 15 seconds clear of Anton Smolski, who wins Belarus’ first medal of the Games.
Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø, who won this event at PyeongChang 2018, claimed the bronze medal.