Day 7 of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami won her first Olympic gold medal on Friday, finishing first in the women’s super-G event in alpine skiing. It’s the first super-G Olympic gold medal for any Swiss athlete, female or male.

Gut-Behrami, who won bronze earlier in these Olympic Games in giant slalom, now has three Olympic medals to her name. She also won bronze in downhill at Sochi 2014.

Silver goes to Mirjam Puchner of Austria, while Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin wins bronze.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka — who shocked the sports world four years ago at the Pyeongchang Games when she won gold in both snowboarding and alpine skiing events — missed the podium Friday, finishing fifth. She did, however, defend her parallel giant slalom Olympic title earlier this week.

After starting the Olympics with two shocking DNFs (did not finish), American superstar skier Mikaela Shiffrin crossed the finish line for the first time in the Beijing 2022 Games, finishing ninth.

Social media users in Japan gushed over the heartfelt hug shared between Japanese snowboarder Ayumu Hirano, who won gold today at the halfpipe, and American icon Shaun White, who finished fourth in his last-ever Olympics.

One Twitter user said the hug made them cry, and appeared to represent the symbolic passing of the baton from a legend to an emerging star.

Another social media user alluded to how White and Hirano — athletes from different generations — had grown up competing alongside one another. 

While tweets in Japanese praising Hirano’s gold flooded Twitter on Friday, many also took to the platform to thank White for inspiring them to take up snowboarding.

Japanese snowboarder Ayumu Hirano said he had achieved "one of my childhood dreams" after winning gold at the halfpipe on Friday.

"It hasn't sunk in yet," the 23-year-old said.

After being dissatisfied with his first two runs, he dove into the third and final run, and "I did what I wanted to do right at the end," he said. He had been in silver medal position after the second run, trailing Australia's Scotty James — "but I managed to express my anger well at the end," he said.

The gold medalist also competed alongside his younger brother Kaishu Hirano, 19, who finished ninth and pulled off a massive jump meters into the air. "Us brothers making this stage and winning it myself was also great for both of us," Ayumu Hirano said.

He also paid tribute to five-time Olympian Shaun White, who ended his snowboarding career with a fourth-place finish at age 35.

In a statement on Friday, the International Testing Agency (ITA) that leads the anti-doping program for the Beijing Winter Olympics said 15-year-old skater Kamila Valieva had failed a drug test taken in December.

The sample was taken at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in Saint Petersburg on Dec. 25, but it took until Feb. 8 for a laboratory in Sweden to report it had detected a banned substance — one day after the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) won gold at the team even in Beijing.

Valieva was immediately given a provisional suspension by Russia's anti-doping agency, which automatically prohibits athletes from participation in all sports.

Valieva challenged the suspension on Feb. 9 and at a hearing that same day, the Russian anti-doping agency decided to lift the provisional ban — allowing her to continue competing at the Olympics, according to the ITA statement.

The ITA added that since the sample was collected by the Russian agency ahead of the Games, the case was not within the jurisdiction of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and not managed by the ITA. However, the IOC has the right to appeal the decision to lift her suspension — which it and the ITA are now doing.

So who won the team event? Though the ROC team won gold, it remains unclear if the drug test controversy could see the medal revoked. "The decision on the results of the ROC team in the Team Figure Skating event can be taken ... only after a final decision on the full merits of the case has been taken," the ITA statement said.

Is Valieva allowed to compete? This is also yet undetermined, though she has been seen training on the rink since the scandal broke. If allowed to continue competing, Valieva is tipped to win the women's figure skating event next week.

The International Testing Agency (ITA) has confirmed that 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva failed a drug test taken in December, ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Valieva, who helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) take home gold in Monday’s figure skating team event, was allowed to compete despite failing the test, according to the ITA. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) lifted the provisional suspension that had been placed on her over the matter — clearing her path to the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is now appealing RUSADA’s decision, according to a statement from the ITA released Friday. 

Some context: Russian newspaper RBC Sport reported on Wednesday that a failed drug test was taken in December and has only come to light during the Winter Olympics — sparking a scandal that continues to delay the medal ceremony of the team event.

American snowboarder Shaun White thanked his supporters and fellow competitors after placing fourth in the halfpipe final on Friday, saying, "This is it for me."

White announced last week he is retiring after the Beijing Games, citing a number of injuries that had built up over his illustrious career spanning more than two decades.

He fell on his final run today, adding afterward that he was having difficulty in his back leg. "It was giving out on every run, I don't know why," he said. "Maybe it was the pressure, maybe it was just exhaustion. Really challenging, but that's OK, that's it, I'm done. I'm so thankful for my career, thankful to China for having us."

He added that though he wishes he could have nailed his last run, he was proud of the runs he completed.

"It's been a journey, I'm just so happy, and thank you all from the bottom of my heart. A lot of emotions are hitting me right now, the cheering from the crowd, some kind words from my fellow competitors at the bottom, I'm so happy," he added.

Team USA's alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin completed her first race at the Beijing Olympics on Friday, competing in the women's super-G — but she won't be on the podium.

Shiffrin had crashed out of her first two events, the slalom and giant slalom — a massive disappointment for the champion, who has previously won Olympic gold in both events. And she came into these Games with high hopes of making history as the first US alpine skier to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics.

"It feels like a really big let down," Shiffrin said on Wednesday following the second crash.

She had a good start at the super-G today — but lost time as she made her way through the course, placing provisional eighth. The event is ongoing.

The Beijing Olympic Committee identified 11 new Covid-19 cases among Games-related personnel on Thursday, it said in a statement Friday.

Of the new cases, two were found in airport arrivals and nine from people inside the “closed loop” system, which separates Olympic athletes, staff and participants from the Beijing public.

Seven of the new cases involved athletes or team officials, five of which were already inside the closed loop system.

Since the bubble officially began on Jan. 23, officials inside have administered more than 1.17 million Covid tests for 13,275 arrivals, the statement said.

Czech snowboarder and alpine skier Ester Ledecka had hoped to win another historic double — a gold medal in both sports — but her hopes were dashed today on the ski slopes.

She became the first athlete to win a gold medal in both snowboarding and alpine skiing four years ago at the Pyeongchang Games, which she was looking to repeat in Beijing. Her chances looked good after she won gold in snowboard parallel giant slalom on Tuesday — but she failed to medal at the women's super-G alpine skiing competition.

The other athlete to watch today is USA's Mikaela Shiffrin, who has had a tough start to the Olympics after crashing out in her first two events: the slalom and giant slalom.