Day 7 of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

By Aditi Sangal, Matias Grez, Ben Church, Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton and Patrick Sung, CNN

Updated 6:11 p.m. ET, February 11, 2022

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7:15 a.m. ET, February 11, 2022

Nils van der Poel wins gold in men’s 10,000m speed skating in world record time

From CNN's Homero de La Fuente

Sweden's Nils van der Poel skates on the way to a new world record during the men's 10,000m speed skating event on February 11. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Sweden's Nils van der Poel smashed his own world record in the men’s 10,000m speedskating event to secure his second gold medal of the Beijing Olympics on Friday.

Van der Poel’s time of 12:30.74, was over two seconds faster than the previous mark he set last February at the World Championships in the Netherlands.

After the race, van Der Poel said, "Going in, I thought I should be set to beat second. I was sticking to going after that. Technically, I didn’t have my best race, but physically, I am in great shape.

"I didn’t want to risk going too hard too early. With five laps to go, I felt like the world record was in reach, so I just went for that.

"I am very satisfied. This was the main goal when I started three years ago. It turned out a lot better than I could have ever imagined."

With the victory, the Swede became the first men’s speed skater to win the 5,000m and the 10,000m events at the same Winter Games since Dutch speed skater Jochem Uytdehaage in 2002.

Patrick Roest of the Netherlands finished with a time of 12:44.59 — 13.85 seconds behind the Swede — to win the silver medal. Italy’s Davide Ghiotto notched a time of 12:45.98 to claim the bronze.

The gold medal is the fifth for Sweden, which now sits one behind Norway and Germany’s six on the Olympic medal table.

6:56 a.m. ET, February 11, 2022

WADA to lodge appeal with CAS against RUSADA’s lifting of Kamila Valieva’s provisional doping suspension

From CNN's Aleks Klosok

The World Anti-Doping Agency headquarters in Montreal, Canada. (Marc Braibant/AFP/Getty Images)

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced Friday it will lodge an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in relation to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s (RUSADA) decision to lift a provisional suspension on figure skater Kamila Valieva following a doping violation.

WADA did not name Valieva in their statement, instead referring to “a Russian Olympic Committee figure skater.”

Per WADA’s Anti-Doping Code, doping violations involving adult athletes carry a mandatory public disclosure. Minors involved in doping cases (anyone under the age of 18) are considered “protected persons,” meaning their identity doesn't have to be disclosed publicly.

WADA confirmed that a sample was collected in competition by RUSADA on December 25, 2021 before being transported to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Stockholm for analysis.

“On 7 February, the laboratory reported that the sample had returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for the non-specified prohibited substance, trimetazidine,” WADA said in a statement.

“Accordingly, the athlete was notified by RUSADA on 8 February and provisionally suspended, effective immediately.

“Following a hearing on 9 February, the RUSADA Disciplinary Committee decided to lift the athlete’s provisional suspension, allowing her to resume participation in the Games.

“Under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code (Code), WADA has a right to appeal the decision to lift the provisional suspension before CAS and intends to do so on the grounds that the Code has not been correctly applied in this case,” the statement concluded.

5:27 a.m. ET, February 11, 2022

Nathan Chen tells CNN that first gold medal is "hard to put into words"

From CNN's Coy Wire, Nectar Gan and Simone McCarthy

American ice skater Nathan Chen won his first Olympic gold medal on Thursday, with a flawless performance in the men's single skating competition.

Chen, who had been the favorite going into the event, became the first American since Evan Lysacek in 2010 to win a men's figure skating gold medal.

After collecting his medal, he told CNN Sport that the victory was "hard to put into words" and the culmination of years of hard work.

Read more about Chen's journey to gold here.

5:19 a.m. ET, February 11, 2022

Michelle Gisin inspired to super-G bronze medal by Italian Olympic swimmer

From CNN's Matias Grez

Switzerland's Michelle Gisin competes in the women's super-G final on Friday. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images)

After clinching a bronze medal in the women's super-G on Friday, alpine skier Michelle Gisin revealed she had found an unlikely source of inspiration for her journey to the podium.

Last summer, the Swiss athlete — the Olympic combined champion from PyeongChang 2018 — had been hit hard by a bout of mononucleosis and began to fear her chances of participating at Beijing 2022 were over.

"I was struggling so hard, I almost couldn't make it up the stairs all day long," Gisin told the Beijing 2022 website. "I went downstairs once and then sat on the couch all day."

It was so hard, I couldn't do anything. I was in so much pain."

But it was during one of those days spent on the sofa watching the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games that Gisin's outlook began to improve.

There were a number of athletes that she began to draw inspiration from, but there was one in particular who stood out: Italian swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri.

"There was this Italian swimmer that also had mono a couple of months and weeks before and he got bronze in the 10km open water," Gisin said of Paltrinieri, who also won silver in the men's 800m freestyle in Tokyo.

"That was so amazing to see. It meant so much to me to see him compete because I was really deep, deep down in the hole and to see him achieve this gave me a lot of hope."

Italian Olympic skier Luca De Aliprandini, Gisin's boyfriend, got in touch with Paltrinieri and the swimmer was more than happy to offer his advice on coming back from mono.

"It's just way too beautiful that it all worked out," a delighted Gisin said.

4:50 a.m. ET, February 11, 2022

Beijing 2022 mascot Bing Dwen Dwen was a big hit... until it spoke

From CNN's Yong Xiong, Simone McCarthy and Ben Church

A staff member dressed up as Bing Dwen Dwen trying to enter a venue. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Mascots are a huge part of any Olympic Games and Beijing 2022 appeared to have struck gold with its playful panda design.

Fans were loving the character known as Bing Dwen Dwen as it danced around venues and appeared on posters across the world.

But Bing Dwen Dwen supporters got quite the shock after hearing it speak with a deep male voice on a program aired Tuesday by state broadcaster CCTV.

"I have been hurt... when I opened (the online shopping platform) Taobao and wanted to buy a Bing Dwen Dwen key ring, I would think of the voice of a middle-aged man," one social media user wrote.

"I don't want to hear the 'uncle' voice of the Bing Dwen Dwen. It's just a little cute panda," said another.

Olympic mascots are not meant to talk under International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidelines in order to maintain a gender neutral status and, after the latest backlash, you can understand why...

Read more about the Bing Dwen Dwen drama below:

Beijing's cute Olympic mascot was a crowd favorite in China -- until it started talking

By Yong Xiong and Simone McCarthy, CNN

4:26 a.m. ET, February 11, 2022

Snowboarder Shaun White calls time on his iconic Winter Olympic career

From CNN's Ben Church

Shaun White ended his stellar Olympic career with a fourth-placed finish in the men's snowboard halfpipe final on Friday.

The American snowboarding icon has been the face of the sport since 2006 when he won gold in his Olympic debut but decided to call it a day after struggling with injuries in recent years.

The 35-year-old fell on his final Olympic run, adding afterward that he was having difficulty with his back leg.

Despite not managing to make the podium at Beijing 2022, White can look back on an illustrious career full of flair, success and emotion.

Take a look at White's career in pictures below:

Photos: Snowboarding legend Shaun White

3:43 a.m. ET, February 11, 2022

Here are the medal events scheduled for the remainder of Friday

From CNN's Matias Grez

There's still plenty of action remaining on Day 7 of the Winter Olympics, with multiple gold medals up for grabs.

Later this morning (or evening in Beijing), the women's biathlon 7.5km sprint begins at 7:43 a.m. ET (8:43 p.m. Beijing time) and the women's 1,000m short track speed skating final gets under way at 8:55 a.m. ET (9:55 p.m. Beijing time).

Then it's the turn of the men's skeleton final run, which takes place at 8:55 a.m. ET (9:55 p.m. Beijing time).

Currently in progress are two more finals: the men's cross-country skiing 15km classic and the men's 10,000m speed skating.

3:38 a.m. ET, February 11, 2022

It's 4:30 p.m. in Beijing. Here's a catch up of today's key moments

From CNN's Jessie Yeung

Shaun White finishes fourth in the snowboard men's halfpipe final on Friday. (Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images)

Day 7 of the Winter Olympics saw a packed morning of big names and stunning performances, as well as an emotional farewell from a sporting icon. If you missed it, here are the key moments from today so far:

A legend bows out: American snowboarder Shaun White, who has now competed in five Olympic Games and won gold in three, placed fourth in the halfpipe today — his final competition before retirement. He has reshaped the sport and left a lasting legacy on the next generation of snowboarders; after the win, he thanked supporters and said snowboarding has been "the love of my life."
An emerging star takes gold: Japan's 23-year-old snowboarder Ayumu Hirano won gold in the halfpipe after a perfect run that included the triple cork 1440 — the first time that move has ever been completed in Olympic history.
Passing the baton: After the halfpipe event ended, White and Hirano hugged at the bottom — a moment that quickly went viral, with many on social media saying it marked the end of one era and beginning of the next.
The younger Hirano: 19-year-old Kaishu Hirano, Ayumu's younger brother, also competed in the halfpipe final. Though he didn't reach the podium, he pulled off a massive meters-high jump, looking for several seconds like he was suspended in mid-air — eliciting roars from the crowd.
Double gold hopes dashed: Czech snowboarder and alpine skier Ester Ledecka already won gold at the snowboard parallel giant slalom on Tuesday — but missed the podium at today's super-G alpine skiing competition, ending her bid for back-to-back Olympic double golds.
Relief at last: American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin completed her first event today at the super-G competition. Though she placed ninth, she said afterward it was "a really big relief" to finish the run at all, after crashing out of two events earlier this week.
Drug test scandal: The International Testing Agency (ITA) confirmed today that 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva failed a drug test taken in December, ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The positive test results were only announced on Tuesday, one day after the Russian Olympic Committee won its team event with Valieva; it's not clear what is behind the lag. Valieva had immediately been given a temporary suspension by the Russian anti-doping agency — but she challenged the suspension and it was lifted the next day, a decision now being contested by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Meanwhile, the medal ceremony for the team event is postponed until the matter is settled.

2:12 a.m. ET, February 11, 2022

Russian Olympic Committee says it will take action to keep Kamila Valieva's "honestly won" gold medal

From CNN's Hannah Ritchie and Teele Rebane

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is “taking measures” to keep its “honestly won Olympic gold medal” in Monday’s team figure skating event, despite its star athlete Kamila Valieva’s doping violation, it said in a statement Friday.

Valieva, 15, submitted her sample in December to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), which was then processed by a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory in Sweden — but the lab didn't announce the positive result for a banned substance until Tuesday this week. The reason for the delay is unclear.

The teenage prodigy is now at the center of controversy. Valieva was suspended immediately on Tuesday — but RUSADA lifted its provisional ban the next day following a challenge by the skater. The International Olympic Committee is now contesting that decision by the Russian agency.

Responding to the pending case, the ROC said Valieva had “repeatedly passed doping tests” while in Beijing.

“The doping test of an athlete who tested positive does not apply to the period of the Olympic Games. At the same time, the Athlete repeatedly passed doping tests before and after December 25, 2021, including while already in Beijing during the figure skating tournament. All the results are negative,” the ROC statement said.
“The Russian Olympic Committee is taking comprehensive measures to protect the rights and interests of the members of the ROC Team, and to keep the honestly won Olympic gold medal,” it continued.