Day 13 of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

Thursday marked another action-packed day at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. For those sleeping during the competitive events — which occurred during late night or early morning hours for many US viewers— here is a tidy recap.

⛸ Russian teen embroiled in doping controversy finished in fourth place

Russian teen figure skater Kamila Valieva suffered several falls during her free skate routine, resulting in a fourth-place finish in Beijing. Valieva’s struggles mean that there will in fact be a medal ceremony in the event — one headlined her fellow Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team members, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, who finished first and second respectively. Japanese skater Kaori Sakamoto earned the bronze.

Valieva has been at the center of controversy as a positive December drug test cast doubt on whether she’d be permitted to compete. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cleared her to compete on Monday. The IOC, however, had announced that if Valieva earned a podium position, the Games would not hold a medal ceremony. That awkward reality never came to pass.

Amid chants of “Kamila, Kamila, Kamila” ringing through the venue, the Russian left the rink with tears in her eyes, wrapping up an emotional and incredibly trying Olympic experience.

🏒 Canada bests USA in women’s hockey, avenges 2018 heartbreak

Canada defeated Team USA 3-2 in the women’s hockey gold medal match, the latest edition of the heated rivalry between the two North American neighbors.

Since the inception of the Olympic event 1998, either Canada or the US has taken home the top prize. This time around it’s Canada — who skated to an early 3-0 lead — earning gold, in the process avenging Team USA’s penalty shootout victory in PyeongChang four years ago.

Team USA took gold in ’98, then two decades later in ‘18. Canada, meanwhile, won in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and now, in 2022.

⛷ Mikaela Shiffrin falls again, suffers third Beijing DNF

Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympic nightmare continues in Beijing as the US skier crashed out once again, this time in the alpine combined slalom. The American favorite has suffered falls in three of her Olympic events — the giant slalom, the slalom, and now, the alpine combined slalom — resulting in a trio of DNF’s (did not finish.)

“I think that I actually had a really good start and got into my tempo, my rhythm, quite well,” Shiffrin said following Thursday’s event.

Shiffrin was hoping to earn multiple medals in Beijing after taking a gold each in 2014 and 2018. She has one final event still to come, Saturday’s mixed team parallel slalom competition.

The headlines were dominated by the dramatic women’s singles free skate event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, but there were six gold medals at stake on Thursday. Here’s a look at who won.

Alpine Skiing: Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin won the women’s alpine combined slalom.

Figure Skating: Russian Olympic Committee’s Anna Shcherbakova captured the gold at the women’s single skating event.

Freestyle Skiing: Sweden’s Sandra Naeslund took the top podium spot at the women’s ski cross big event.

Ice Hockey: The sport concluded its course at Beijing with Canada women’s win.

Nordic Combined: Norway won the team gundersen large hill/4x5km, cross-country event.

Speed Skating: Japan’s Miho Takagi won the women’s 1000m event.

Here’s where the official Olympic medal count stands so far.

Here’s a look at the best photos from day 13 of the Winter Games:

Take a look back at the best photos from the Olympics so far.

Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc are preparing to compete in their first Winter Olympics – the pinnacle of their eventful, and often challenging, figure skating careers.

LeDuc left professional skating for two years in 2014 and spent time working on a cruise ship, while Cain-Gribble was ready to retire from skating before switching from singles to pairs with LeDuc in 2016.

At times, both have found themselves at odds with skating’s norms: Cain-Gribble because of her physique (at five-foot-six she is taller than most women competing in pairs skating) and LeDuc, who identifies as gay and nonbinary, because of their sexuality.

“For a long time, Timothy and I didn’t see ourselves represented, and so we didn’t quite feel like we belonged,” Cain-Gribble told CNN ahead of the Games.

“And for a long time, people had things to say about us. Even when we teamed up, they had a lot of things to say about my body or about Timothy’s sexuality. People still will make those comments.”

But together, the pair have forged what Cain-Gribbe calls “a very inclusive environment,” veering away from some of figure skating’s long-standing traditions in order to be their “true selves.”

That involves performing a lot of the same moves in their routines, wearing the same colors and patterns and choosing not to portray romantic stories.

“There’s nothing inherently wrong with those stories, but often they’re centralized and seen as the only narratives that you can portray, the only story that’s worthy of being a champion or being successful,” LeDuc told CNN.

“Ashley and I are just different in that way; we’ve never done a romantic story and we’ve never been a romantic pair. We’ve always been about equality and showing two amazing athletes coming together to create something beautiful.”

Having won the US national title last month, Cain-Gribble and LeDuc – who is set to become the first out, nonbinary athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics, according to Team USA – will compete in the pairs competition in Beijing when it gets underway on February 18.

Hear more from Cain-Gribble and LeDuc in the video below:

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04:51 - Source: cnn

US alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin posted several screenshots on her Instagram account in what appears to be her calling out critics following another disappointing outing at the Beijing Olympics.

Shiffrin registered her third did-not-finish (DNF) at the Games after falling during the alpine combined event.

On Thursday, the 26-year-old published five posts on her Instagram Stories with the first four showing words and phrases written in text filled with harsh criticism, including “choker,” “Can’t handle the pressure,” “Arrogant,” and “Disgrace. Unacceptable.” 

Shiffrin concluded with a fifth post that offered encouragement, writing in part, “Well kids…feed ‘em what you wanna feed em. Self pity, sadness… Let the turkey’s (sic) get you down. There will always be turkeys. Or get up, again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Get up because you can, because you like what you do when its (sic) not infested with the people who have so much apparent hate for you. Just get up.”

“It’s not always easy, but it’s also not the end of the world to fail,” she added. “Why do I keep coming back? Gosh knows it hurts more than it feels good lately. I come back because those first 9 turns today were spectacular, really heaven. That’s where I’m meant to be and I’m stubborn as S**t. So let’s go for some team event training tomorrow, and then the final alpine race of this Olympics on Saturday,” concluded the three-time Olympic medalist. 

Shiffrin will have one more shot at a medal as she is scheduled to compete in the mixed team parallel slalom competition on Saturday.

Russian figure skater Alexandra Trusova’s silver medal gave the Russian Olympic Committee a 1-2 podium finish — her teammate Anna Shcherbakova won gold — but she is “not happy” with the result, she said in her comments after Thursday’s free skate program.

She added: “Everything was enough for me. I did everything. And after, it is out of my hands.”

Her earlier reaction to the results was caught on camera, and she said she would never skate again, according to the 2022 Beijing Games media website. When asked about that, she said: “We’ll see.”

She was also seen crying after learning she had taken the silver medal. The 17-year-old said it was “just because.”

“I wanted to cry, so I cried. I’ve been here for two weeks, alone without my mom, without the dogs, so I am crying.”

In one of the most highly-anticipated events of Beijing 2022 Games, Anna Shcherbakova put in a near-faultless performance to win gold in the women’s singles figure skating event.

Her Russian Olympic Committee teammate Kamila Valieva has been at the center of a doping scandal since the team event, allowing Shcherbakova to skate somewhat under the radar.

The 17-year-old came into the free skate event in second place after Tuesday’s short program, but finished on top of the podium.

“The importance of this [gold medal] is so huge that I cannot fully understand it yet,” Shcherbakova said. “At the moment I have only felt the happiness from the fact that I was able to do everything I am capable of in my program.”

There were emotional scenes after the event had finished, with Valieva and silver medalist Alexandra Trusova both in floods of tears ahead of the flower ceremony.

However, Shcherbakova insisted her joy hadn’t been dampened by the disappointment of her teammates.

“No, I am just happy,” she said. “It’s just the pure happiness of working for so long and being able to deliver a program like this at the Olympics.”

Despite the spotlight that has been on Valieva and figure skating over the past week, Shcherbakova showed remarkable poise and composure to block out the furore.

The current world champion said that controversy didn’t affect her “at all.”

“Only the trainings, my readiness for the competition affects me,” she said. “The last days I was always thinking about my performance, about my programs. I was so focused on every practice.”

She added, “Every time I was skating my programs, I was so focused. I was always thinking about what I need to do to show my maximum.”

Great Britain knocked off John Shuster and the defending gold medalist Team USA, 8-4, in the men’s semifinal match on Thursday to advance to the final.

Great Britain, led by Bruce Mouat, secured its first medal of the Beijing Olympics with the victory. The British men’s team will seek to capture its first curling gold since the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

In the other semifinal, Sweden narrowly edged Canada with a 5-3 victory to advance to the final.

Great Britain will face defending world champion Sweden in the men’s gold medal match on Saturday, while Team USA will play Canada in the men’s bronze medal match on Friday.

Kamila Valieva’s fourth-place finish in the women’s singles skating has penned the next chapter in a story that is certain to rumble on far beyond the Beijing Games.

The Russian figure skater has been at the heart of a doping scandal that can be traced back to December 2021, when the 15-year-old tested positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine.

However, the test was only analyzed and reported to Russia’s Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) in February, resulting in Valieva’s suspension on Feb. 8.

The suspension came a day after she had helped the ROC to a gold medal victory in the figure skating team event.

Valieva was reinstated after an appeal, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) allowed her to compete in the Olympics, citing specific provisions related to her protected status as a minor, while investigations into any doping violations by Valieva and the adults responsible for her training continue.

The skater’s continued involvement in the Games led US sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson to question the decision — citing a positive test for cannabis that derailed her own Olympic dream in Tokyo last summer.

“Can we get a solid answer on the difference of (Valieva’s) situation and mines (sic)?” Richardson wrote on Twitter.

“My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is I’m a Black young lady,” she added.

On Tuesday, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) official said that Valieva was blaming the doping violation — in which she tested positive for a heart medication that experts say can improve stamina — on contamination from her grandfather’s medication.

Her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, told Russian state news agency Tass they are “absolutely sure” she is innocent.

The medication’s effects of increased endurance could potentially prove influential following a rule change in 2004 which rewards athletes for performing jumps towards the end of their routines.

Under the current scoring system, jumps performed in the second half of the free skate can get a 10% bonus because it’s more difficult to perform them on tired legs.

Following widespread criticism of the rule in 2018 — with critics alleging that skaters were cramming in jumps towards the back end of performances — the International Skating Union created a new rule saying skaters will only get 10% bonuses for up to three jumping passes in the second half of their free skate.

It was under this context and unprecedented pressure that Valieva competed in the individual event, yet the 15-year-old posted the highest score in the short program on Tuesday to arrive at Thursday’s deciding free skate in pole position.

Further controversy followed when it was announced by an IOC spokesperson that any result involving Valieva in the women’s individual event would carry an “asterisk” until her case has been concluded, and as such, there would be no flower or medal ceremony.

Yet after multiple falls in her free skate routine, Valieva’s fourth placed finish left her just outside the podium places. Subsequently, the medal ceremony is set to go ahead on Friday, Feb. 18, according to the official Olympics media website.

However, despite Valieva falling out of the individual medal positions, the fallout from the scandal is sure to taint the Games as the investigation continues on.

Read the full report here.

Social media users in Japan gushed over Japanese skater Kaori Sakamoto’s bronze medal-winning performance on Thursday during the free skate program.

“Kaori Sakamoto (got a) bronze medal!!! It’s so amazing that she was able to break into that Russian group!!! said one Twitter user from Japan.

Others said they admired the Russian skaters’ ability to pull off acrobatic jumps, but found their performance slightly mechanical and lacking human warmth.

Sakamoto’s third-place finish marks the first time a Japanese skater has won a medal in this event since Mao Asada won the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK.

Kamila Valieva’s fourth place finish means there will now be a medal ceremony for those on the podium in the women’s singles skating event.

The ceremony is scheduled for Friday, February 18 at 6:45 a.m. ET (7:45 p.m. local time,) according to the official Olympics media website.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams said Wednesday that any result involving the 15-year-old in the women’s individual event would carry an “asterisk” until her case has been concluded, and as such, there would be no flower or medal ceremony.

Yet having led after the short program, Valieva’s free skating score left her outside the podium places — meaning one-two finishing ROC compatriots Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, as well as Japanese bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto, will have the opportunity to attend a medal ceremony.

The Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) Anna Shcherbakova has placed first in the women’s singles skating.

The 17-year-old dazzled with a spectacular free skate performance to top the field with a score of 255.95, guaranteeing a one-two finish for the ROC.

“I still haven’t realised that my Olympic Games have ended. I just know that I skated clean. I am so happy that I still haven’t realised the result,” Shcherbakova said after the competition.

Asked if the emotions of the evening and of her ROC teammates got to her, she said, “No, I am just happy. I am only happy. I still haven’t realised what happened. I can’t believe the Olympics are already over for me.”

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva fell numerous times during her free skate routine, causing her to drop out of contention for a place in the top three.

The 15-year-old was favorite to finish in first place after coming out on top of Tuesday’s short program, but multiple mistakes in the free skate saw her drop down to fourth with a total score of 224.09.

There are loud chants of “Kamila, Kamila, Kamila” coming from the stands as a tearful Valieva is consoled as she makes her way off the rink.

According to Beijing 2022, “the opening quad Salchow was landed a quarter-rotation short. The Triple Axel was under-rotated. The quad toe, sequence, triple Sal goes as just a quad toe with the triple Sal called invalid.”

The Russian Olympic Committee still made a 1-2 finish with figure skaters Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, and Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto finished in third.

Kamila Valieva is now performing her routine at the free skate program.

The 15-year-old took to the rink earlier to warm up, and showed no signs of any nerves ahead of her much-anticipated free skate routine.

The Russian Olympic Committee figure skater will perform last after posting the highest score in Tuesday’s individual short program, yet there will be no medal ceremony should she finish in the top three amidst an ongoing doping scandal involving the 15-year-old.

Valieva has looked steady in practice, according to CNN reporters at the Capital Indoor Stadium, executing all of her jumps perfectly.

Her name was announced to cheers from the ROC side of the crowd, with coach Eteri Tutberidze watching on from rink-side.

A 2002 Olympic figure skating scandal — with allegations of score-fixing — upended the sport and led to a complete overhaul of the scoring system — one that awards more points for stamina and strenuous athletic feats.

This matters because gold-medal favorite Kamila Valieva, 15, tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, which is said to increase stamina and make “your heart work more efficiently,” said Dr. Elizabeth Murray, pediatric emergency medicine physician at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Here’s how the sport has evolved in recent years to reward increased athleticism and stamina:

More difficult jumps = more points

In 2004, the International Skating Union ditched the subjective “6.0” scoring system for the more rubric-based International Judging System that gives certain base points for jumps depending on their degree of difficulty and how many times the skater rotates in the air.

For example, a quadruple Lutz — in which a skater makes four revolutions in the air — carries more base points than a triple Lutz.

But a triple Lutz carries more base points than less difficult triples, such as a triple loop or a triple Salchow.

After each jump, skaters can gain or lose points from the base value depending on the grade of execution — how well or poorly they executed the jump.

All those numbers are part of the technical score. There’s also the presentation score, which rewards artistry and skating skills between jumps.

But in recent years, skaters have been able to win competitions largely due to points racked up from jumping — with quadruple jumps playing a larger role in men’s and women’s skating.

Why better stamina can win skaters more points

In women’s figure skating, athletes perform two routines: the short program, which is about 2 minutes and 40 seconds long, and the free skate, which is about 4 minutes long.

Russian skater Alina Zagitova was 15 when she won Olympic gold after performing all her free skate jumps in the second half of the routine.

With the current scoring system, jumps performed in the second half of the free skate can get a 10% bonus because it’s more difficult to perform them on tired legs.

Read the full story here.

CNN’s Simone McCarthy, Hannah Ritchie and George Ramsay contributed to this report.

Finland’s Jenni Saarinen competes in the women’s single skating free skating of the figure skating event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing on Feb. 17, 2022.

Norway extended their lead at the top of the Beijing medal table with a 14th gold after a comfortable victory in the Nordic combined 4x5km team event at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre.

Anchor leg Jørgen Graabak crossed the finish line almost a full minute ahead of Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger in silver, completing Norway’s total time of 50:45.1.

Opening legs from Espen Bjørnstad and Espen Andersen had seen the Norwegians narrowly trailing Austria at the halfway stage, but an impressive third relay from Jens Lurås Oftebro paved the way for Graabak’s final flourish.

With Graabak afforded the opportunity to bask in his victory as he entered the final straight, the thrills followed in a frantic push for the podium positions which saw Japan’s Ryota Yamamoto hunt down Austria’s Martin Fritz to take a stunning bronze.

Having been fourth heading into the final 1.5km, Yamamoto finished just 0.3 seconds away from silver and celebrated wildly with his teammates at the line.

It is the first time since 1998 that Austria have failed to make the podium in the event.

The president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Stanislav Pozdnyakov, said Thursday that the result of the figure skating team event at the Beijing Games should not be revised, regardless of Kamila Valieva’s “supposed antidoping violation.”

Valieva played a pivotal role in guiding the ROC to gold after she became the first woman to land a quad at the Winter Games.

The medal ceremony for the event was due to take place last week but was postponed after a positive test, now known to be that of Valieva, was returned by a member of the ROC figure skating team.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams said Wednesday that any result involving the 15-year-old in the women’s individual event would carry an “asterisk” until her case has been concluded.

There, too, will be no flower or medal ceremony should Valieva finish on the podium.

In a statement released on the ROC’s website, Pozdnyakov said the organization “categorically” disagreed with the IOC’s position that the results should be considered “preliminary.”

“In relation to the result of team tournament, Russia’s Olympic Committee already sent a letter to ISU [International Skating Union] where we detailed our argument and position that the results of the team tournament cannot be revised under any circumstances, irrespective of the results of disciplinary investigation regarding the athlete,” read the statement.

“Antidoping rules are formulated in a way that the results revision of the team tournament can only take place in case of the supposed antidoping violation taking place during the Olympic Games.

“We will continue to uphold our position successively as part of any proceedings, including with CAS if required,” the statement concluded.

Alcohol and Olympic-level skiing may not seem like the best combination, but newly crowned women’s alpine combined gold medalist Michelle Gisin is something of a trendsetter.

Placed 12th after the downhill course, the Swiss skier blitzed through the deciding slalom to finish over a second ahead of her compatriot Wendy Holdener, who won silver.

The key to her success? A midnight strategy session with an intoxicated giant slalom gold medalist.

Reveling in his dramatic giant slalom triumph on Sunday, Swiss teammate Marco Odermatt’s celebrations in the room next door to Gisin had woken her up in the early hours before her final day of downhill training.

Unable to get back to sleep, Gisin decided to go and congratulate her compatriot, and so ensued the most unlikely of strategic briefings.

“There’s a very funny picture,” Gisin said. “But you will not see that ever because we look both horrible.

“Me with my blanket and my cushion and everything, my plushie, and him still in the racing suit.

“Then we started to discuss the downhill at one in the morning. He was drunk, I was very tired, but it was very funny.”

The other weapon in her arsenal? A glass of wine the day before an event.

Gisin said that she had shared a drink with teammates Loïc Meillard and Luca Aerni before the super-G on Thursday.

Having gone on to take bronze in the event the following day, Gisin was not about to break a new medal-winning tradition.

“After the super-G, they wrote on my door: ‘Drink wine: Ski fast.’ So I drank a glass of wine with them again yesterday, of course.

“And look at that, it seems to work for me very well.”

While most people are aware of the perils that come with being an athlete in some of the Winter Olympics’ most daring sports, they may not know about the camera operators out there risking it all for the perfect shot.

The danger of being behind the lens was certainly on display during the men’s freeski halfpipe qualifiers on Thursday, with the camera operators standing right on the edge of the pipe to get close-up shots of the skiers as they performed their tricks mid-air.

And one unfortunate cameraman was on the receiving end of a whack from one of the skis of Finnish competitor Jon Sallinen, who lost control as he began a jump halfway through his routine.

Fortunately, both Sallinen and the cameraman — as well as the video footage — were fine.

However, as a result of the crash, Sallinen ended up in last place.

The free skating program in the women’s singles competition got underway at 5 a.m. ET / 6 p.m. local time Thursday at the Beijing Games.

The event is being held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing.

Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) figure skater Kamila Valieva will be the last to skate in the field of 25.

Valieva is expected to take to the ice at approx. 8:49 a.m. ET / 9:49 p.m. local time.

She will be performing to “Bolero” by French composer Maurice Ravel.

The 15-year-old finished first in the women’s individual short program Tuesday with a score of 82.16.

The best 25 skaters advanced from Tuesday, as Valieva finished within the top 24 spots of the short program.

According to the International Olympic Committee, there will be no flower ceremony and no medal ceremony for women’s single skating competition should Valieva finish in the medal positions.

Athletes frequently reach speeds of almost 95 miles per hour in one of the most physically exhausting sports in the Winter Olympics.

Athletes can log their fastest times in the downhill and super-G competitions, whereas the slalom and giant slalom events occur over two slower courses.

Modern downhill skiing can be traced back to the 1850s, when Sondre Norheim introduced skis with curved flanks and bindings with rigid, willow heel bands. 

Women’s and men’s alpine skiing events made their debut at the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympics in Bavaria, with more categories being added up until PyeongChang 2018, when the mixed team event became the newest competition in the alpine skiing roster. 

There will be 33 medals to win across 11 events at Beijing this year, including the men’s and women’s downhill, super-G, slalom and giant slalom, the alpine combine and the mixed team competition.

Find out more about all the events at the Beijing Winter Olympics here.

Japanese speed skater Miho Takagi won the women’s 1,000m in an Olympic record time to finally clinch her first gold of Beijing 2022.

Takagi, who won bronze in the 1,000m four years ago, finished in a time of 1:13.19, 0.64 seconds faster than silver medalist Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands. The United States’ Brittany Bowe won the bronze.

It was a near superhuman feat from Takagi, who had already won three silver medals at Beijing 2022 in the 500m, 1,500m and team pursuit.

However, that team pursuit silver will still likely be tinged with a feeling of regret.

The Japanese three-woman team were leading Canada in the final — and seemingly on course for gold — when Miho’s sister, Nana, got one of her blades caught in the ice on the final corner, causing her to fall and crash into the barriers.

After the race, Takagi embodied the Olympic spirit and immediately went over to console her sister, who was in tears at the side of the track.

It’s a testament to the Japanese skater’s mental fortitude that she was able to come out and put in such an impressive performance after that earlier disappointment.

Takagi adds this gold to the one she earned in Pyeongchang in the team pursuit, taking her total Olympic medal tally to seven.

Japanese curler Satsuki Fujisawa is the embodiment of ‘good vibes’ at Beijing 2022.

Fujisawa went viral earlier this week after a wholesome motivational message was spotted written on her hand in pen.

“I’m a good curler. I have confidence. Let’s have fun!” it read

The message clearly had its desired impact as Japan beat China 10-2 in Monday’s round robin match.

Reigning world champion Sandra Näslund clinched gold for Sweden in the women’s ski cross final, leading the race from start to finish in a dominant performance.

It’s Näslund’s first Winter Olympics medal and makes up for the disappointment of finishing fourth four years ago at PyeongChang 2018.

“I did it!” she said after her win.

“I was feeling pretty good today, and the skiing was great, but it was hard with the snow. I didn’t know what speed it would be each run, so that was pretty difficult.”

After winning the World Championships last year, Näslund came into these Winter Games as one of the favorites — but in a sport as unpredictable as ski cross, nothing is a given.

“It’s always hard coming into one race when it counts the most,” she said. “You’ve been doing well all season and here it is. I’m so happy I managed to ski well and keep the lead.”

The unpredictability of ski cross was once again on show in Wednesday’s final.

Canada’s Marielle Thompson took the silver medal, but behind her in the battle for bronze there was all sorts of controversy.

Fanny Smith of Switzerland initially crossed the line in third, but was demoted to fourth by the judges after being penalized for making contact.

Germany’s Daniela Maier was bumped up a position and took the bronze medal instead.

This little fella was sure to have caused a quack-cophony of noise from those who saw him riding high.

An unnamed volunteer fashioned a rubber duck with shades and a gold chain on the top of their helmet during the women’s halfpipe finals on February 10.

Definitely an ICYMI that you needed to see.

After the heartbreak of four years ago, it was “redemption” for Canada at Beijing 2022.

Canada held on to secure a 3-2 victory in the women’s ice hockey final as they saw a 3-0 lead evaporate under late pressure from their old rivals, Team USA.

Four years ago at the PyeongChang Games, the US beat Canada in a penalty shootout in the final to win Olympic gold.

And wrestling back the gold medal from their neighbors capped off a perfect run in China for Canada.

Canadian forward Sarah Fillier said she was “still shaking” long after the game finished, also calling it a “dream come true.”

“It’s just so good. It’s a great feeling,” Canadian forward Marie-Philip Poulin, who scored two goals in the final, said. “It was one hell of an effort. This is redemption.”

Between them, the two teams have won every Olympic gold medal in this sport.

For Team USA, it was a campaign fraught with adversity, having lost star player Brianna Decker to injury in the first game.

US forward Kendall Coyne Schofield praised her team’s hard work and graft despite the disappointment of falling just short.

“This is a special group that has come a long way. The last few years and the sacrifice that it took to get here,” she said. “Thank you to everyone back home. They have been holding down the fort.

“My mom and dad have been watching my dog for six months. I haven’t seen husband in six months.

“The sacrifice that every player and coach has shown just to get to this moment has been an important part of this journey.”

Athletes from Ukraine and Russia embraced with a hug after winning medals in the men’s aerial skiing on Wednesday.

Oleksandr Abramenko of Ukraine won silver, his nation’s first medal at Beijing 2022, finishing behind China’s Qi Guangpu.

Abramenko, gold medalist in the event at Pyeongchang 2018, was embraced by Ilia Burov — who is competing under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) banner — after the Russian skier won bronze.

At the medal ceremony, Abramenko and Qi both held their nations’ flags aloft while Burov pointed to the ROC logo on his sleeve. The ROC team is a loophole that allows Russian athletes to compete in the Olympics while their country is banned from the Games because of its doping scandal.

The athletes’ hug comes against the backdrop of rising tensions between the two countries.

Russian forces massed along Ukraine’s borders have increased by approximately 7,000 troops in recent days, the United States alleged Wednesday, despite claims from Moscow it was pulling back.

Before the Winter Games, Ukraine’s sports minister said its athletes should stay away from their Russian rivals in Beijing, and that Ukrainian athletes have been briefed on how to behave in case of “provocations.”

American skier Mikaela Shiffrin crashed out of the alpine combined today — the third time she has failed to finish an event at this Olympics.

When asked what went wrong afterward, she struggled to answer. “I think that I actually had a really good start and got into my tempo, my rhythm, quite well,” she said. At every previous competition, once she got in the flow, “it always worked … I never had an issue not finishing and especially not that early,” she said.

She could have been moving too fast, or not fast enough, or “a whole number of things,” she added — but had felt relaxed and confident, not under pressure, making the crash a “bit of a mind-boggling event.”

Shiffrin had failed to finish in her favorite disciplines earlier in the Games, the giant slalom and the slalom — which she had won gold for at previous Winter Olympics.

Swiss skier Michelle Gisin has won gold in the alpine combined event following a strong comeback in the second half of the competition.

The event starts with a downhill race, in which which Gisin placed 12th out of the 24 competitors.

But she dominated the following slalom run, finishing a stunning 1.05 seconds ahead of her teammate and silver medalist Wendy Holdener.

Italy’s Federica Brignone won bronze, while Czech star Ester Ledecká placed fourth— dashing her hopes of a second gold medal to add to her snowboarding giant slalom title.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday reiterated its earlier claim that none of its products or uniforms for the Beijing 2022 Games were made in China’s western Xinjiang region.

“The IOC’s report on its due diligence highlights the detailed work done in regard to our responsible program for the goods we commission in the context of the Games. None of our products [and] none of the production took place in Xinjiang, nor do any of the inputs or raw materials come from that region,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said at a news conference in Beijing. 

In January, the United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) wrote to the IOC asking for assurances that suppliers of Olympic uniforms were not using cotton from Xinjiang, due to reports of forced labor among Uyghur and other ethnic minority groups there. 

Beijing has long denied claims of rights abuses and genocide in Xinjiang, claiming its policies are part of a program of mass deradicalization and poverty alleviation.

Responding to a question from CNN concerning the possible use of forced labor in Olympic clothing, Adams said he was not aware of any products containing Xinjiang cotton.

Following the exchange, spokeswoman for the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee, Yan Jiarong, described reports of forced labor in Xinjiang as “a lie made up by forces with ulterior motives.”

“I feel obliged to make a very quick comment, I feel the so-called forced labor in Xinjiang is a lie made up by forces with ulterior motives and the relevant organizations have provided large amounts of facts to dispute that, and we are against the politicizing of sports,” Yan said. 

The Beijing Olympic Committee identified no new Covid-19 cases among Games-related personnel on Wednesday, it said in a statement Thursday.

It is the first time no new infections have been detected since the beginning of the Winter Olympics and follows a steady decline in cases for the past two weeks. 

Olympic cases: Since the “closed loop” system officially began on Jan. 23, a total of 435 Olympics-related cases have been identified, including 183 infections among athletes and team officials. 

Canada held on to secure victory in the women’s ice hockey final on Thursday as they saw a 3-0 lead evaporate under late pressure from their old rivals, Team USA.

Sarah Nurse got the Canadians off the mark in the first period right after one of their efforts was ruled out for offside.

Canada’s captain Marie-Philip Poulin then racked up two more goals to put her team into a 3-0 lead as the game threatened to become a thrashing for the US.

But it didn’t work out that way.

Late in the second period, Hilary Knight pulled one back for Team USA and it was game on.

Into the third period, a tangible sense of desperation rose in the final minutes, with American players throwing everything they had in a frantic attempt to make up the gap, bodies piling on top of each other in front of the Canadian goal.

Team USA scored a second through Amanda Kessel, making it 3-2 with just 12 seconds on the clock.

The US outshot Canada 40-21 but ultimately it wasn’t enough, as the Canadians erupted into ecstatic cheers at the final buzzer and leapt into a group hug. Some US players left the rink visibly in tears.

Four years ago at the Pyeongchang Games, the US beat Canada in a penalty shootout in the final to win Olympic gold.

Between them, the two teams have won every Olympic gold medal in this sport.

Cheerleaders and Bing Dwen Dwen: The mood in the stands was upbeat and excited throughout the match, with hip hop tracks by artists including Dr. Dre blasted through speakers during breaks between periods.

There was a solid crowd cheering on both teams, with fans waving American and Canadian flags, and some even beating drums after goals.

There were also official cheerleaders present, wearing neutral blue hockey sweaters and helping drum up enthusiasm. At one point, the Olympic panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen — the unexpected breakout star of the Games — joined the cheerleaders in dancing.

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, watched the match as well, and was spotted taking photos with the bronze-winning Finland team.

Canada is the new women’s Olympic ice hockey champion after securing a 3-2 victory in Beijing on Thursday over their old rivals, the USA.

The win is sweet revenge for the Canadian team, which lost to the US in the gold medal game in Pyeongchang four years ago.

It’s another disappointment for Team USA’s Mikaela Shiffrin, who crashed out of the alpine combined slalom after a strong start.

The event combines a downhill portion followed by the slalom. Shiffrin placed fifth in the downhill, a solid position with a chance at the podium — but slid off course during the slalom, taking her out of the running.

She had a difficult start to the Games, crashing out of her first two events.

Czech skier Ester Ledecká is currently in the lead.

Gone are the days when Olympic figure skating was scored solely at the judges’ discretion, with subjective points awarded on a 6.0 scale.

A 2002 Olympic figure skating scandal — with allegations of score-fixing — upended the sport and led to a complete overhaul of the scoring system — one that awards more points for stamina and strenuous athletic feats.

Now, another Olympic skating controversy has gripped die-hard and casual fans alike.

Gold-medal favorite Kamila Valieva, 15, gave a test sample that later tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine on December 25, the day she won the Russian national championship.

Valieva was allowed to compete for more gold in the Olympic women’s individual figure skating event. Her routine for the free skate — the final portion of the women’s competition — features quadruple jumps that are untouchable by most of her competitors.

Here’s how the sport has evolved in recent years to reward increased athleticism and stamina:

More difficult jumps = more points: In 2004, the International Skating Union ditched the subjective “6.0” scoring system for the more rubric-based International Judging System that gives certain base points for jumps depending on their degree of difficulty and how many times the skater rotates in the air.

After each jump, skaters can gain or lose points from the base value depending on the grade of execution — how well or poorly they executed the jump.

All those numbers are part of the technical score. There’s also the presentation score, which rewards artistry and skating skills between jumps.

But in recent years, skaters have been able to win competitions largely due to points racked up from jumping — with quadruple jumps playing a larger role in men’s and women’s skating.

Why better stamina can win skaters more points: In women’s figure skating, athletes perform two routines: the short program, which is about 2 minutes and 40 seconds long, and the free skate, which is about 4 minutes long.

With the current scoring system, jumps performed in the second half of the free skate can get a 10% bonus because it’s more difficult to perform them on tired legs.

Read the full story:

A woman figure skating

Related article Here's how women's figure skating is now scored (and why stamina often leads to more points)

The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, met with the United States figure skating team on Thursday to discuss the ongoing medal delay in their event. 

The team figure skating event concluded on Feb. 7, following several days of intense competition after which the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) took gold, the US won silver and Japan bronze.

A doping violation involving Russia’s breakout star Kamila Valieva — which only came to light the day after the competition — has caused an ongoing medal delay for all three teams while the IOC continues its investigation into the matter. 

Speaking at a regular IOC news conference, spokesperson Mark Adams said the governing body had reached out to both Team USA and the Japanese Olympic Committee regarding the matter. 

“We can confirm that a meeting occurred today between president Bach and the USA figure skating team, however the details and content of that discussion should remain between them. So, for obvious reasons, we won’t be commenting further,” Adams told reporters. 
“We’ve spoken to the Japanese Olympic Committee who’ve told us that they fully accept the IOC’s approach to the situation. That’s the reason why there was no meeting with their athletes.”

It’s relief at last for the United States, with Hilary Knight scoring the team’s first goal in the women’s ice hockey final against rival Canada.

Canada has dominated the game so far, and is leading 3-1 late in the second period.

Team USA have it all to do now after Canada’s captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored her second goal of the women’s ice hockey final to put her team up 3-0.

We are about halfway through the second period.

Canada’s captain Marie-Philip Poulin has just put her team 2-0 up in the women’s ice hockey finals against old rivals the USA with a few minutes left in the first period.

Canada’s Sarah Nurse has just put her team 1-0 ahead in the women’s ice hockey final against the United States.

It came moments after a Canadian goal was ruled out for offside.

Canada and the USA have topped the podium in the sport for years, with Canada looking to avenge defeat to Team USA in the final at Pyeongchang four years ago.

The first part of the women’s alpine skiing combined event has wrapped, with Austria’s Christine Scheyer leading the pack.

But there were strong runs from Czech skier Ester Ledecká in second place, and Team USA’s Mikaela Shiffrin in fifth, who are both eyeing the gold.

The event started with a downhill course this morning, followed by a slalom race later this afternoon that will decide the final results. This is the final individual medal event for the alpine skiers at the Winter Games.

“Yesterday I finally felt I could really trust my instincts in the track, and it’s silly, but just try to ski fast basically,” said Shiffrin after her downhill run. She had a rough start to the Games, crashing out of her first two events.
“In downhill it takes a little bit of practice and a little bit of understanding (of) how the hill is dragging you around and I finally started to feel that the right way yesterday,” she added. “Today I was just trying to stay calm and not think about the course too much and not try to make too much of a strategy but just ski it.”

The US men’s curling team, the defending Olympic champion, is through to the semifinals in Beijing after a 7-5 win against Denmark.

Team Shuster, led by skip John Shuster, came out on top in the final action of round-robin play.

What’s next: The US will face off against Great Britain on Thursday, while fellow semi-finalists Sweden and Canada will battle it out at the same time for a place in the final.

Read more about curling:

Related article Curling: Your top questions answered

As Team USA’s Mikaela Shiffrin competes today in the women’s alpine combined event, she has a special pair of skis strapped to her boots — borrowed from Italy’s Sofia Goggia.

Goggia won silver in the women’s downhill event on Tuesday after returning from a knee injury sustained at the Cortina d’Ampezzo super-G in January.

Sharing skis: It’s not uncommon for skiers to switch skis — at the last Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Czech skier Ester Ledecká used Shiffrin’s skis to compete in the super-G event.

“As a racer, you go through your skis and you use what you want, and then maybe you move onto a different pair and your skis go back into the pool,” Shiffrin told NBC today.

“But it is actually a little different this time with Sophie (Goggia) because they’re a pair of the skis that she’s currently training and competing on. She didn’t need them because she wasn’t competing here so I was able to try them yesterday, and I was able to ski on them today.

Shiffrin praised Goggia and her “perfect team,” saying the Italian, the downhill gold medalist in Pyeongchang, won races thanks to her incredible skill — as well as the pair of skis expertly maintained by servicemen.

After advancing to the halfpipe finals, China’s freeskiing star Eileen Gu said she hadn’t gone all out yet — and she might unveil some surprises in the medal runs tomorrow.

“I have a few more tricks I would like to be able to have the opportunity to do, but also given that it’s the Olympics, I definitely want to be consistent and just do my best and land my own runs and ski for myself,” she told NBC.

At the final, skiers will have three runs, with the best score taken as their result — so many often perform a “safety run” with reliable and well-honed maneuvers to land a high score first, before gauging whether they have space to experiment with any more complex tricks in the following runs.

China’s Eileen Gu goes through to the freeski halfpipe finals tomorrow as favorite after leading the qualifying today.

She landed all her jumps at the Genting Snow Park, gaining decent height in both runs to post a 93.75 and a second-run best of 95.50.

That second run saw her open with two back-to-back 900s, a 720, and ended with a smooth flat spin at the bottom.

Home fans cheered Gu’s runs, waving flags, cutouts of the Olympic panda mascot, and signs with her name written in Chinese.

Gu will be looking for a third Olympic medal at the finals tomorrow, after winning gold last week at the big air competition and silver in slopestyle Tuesday.

Canada’s Rachael Karker qualified in second place, with Estonia’s slopestyle bronze medalist Kelly Sildaru in third.

Ukrainian Olympic skier Valentyna Kaminska has received a provisional suspension from the International Testing Agency (ITA) over a doping violation, the organization said Thursday. 

The cross-country skier tested positive for three banned substances, in a sample collected Feb. 10 and tested at a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited lab in Beijing. The positive result was reported on Tuesday, according to the ITA. 

The three substances include one anabolic androgenic steroid and two banned stimulants, which all have performance-enhancing effects. 

“The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended …This means that the athlete is prevented from competing, training, coaching, or participating in any activity, during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022,” the ITA statement said. 
“The athlete has the right to challenge the imposition of the provisional suspension before the Court of Arbitration for Sport – Anti-Doping Division (CAS ADD),” it continued. 

Her competitions: The 34-year-old, who previously competed for Belarus at both the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi and Pyeongchang, has already taken part in three events in Beijing. 

Her best result was 18th in the 4x5km team relay. 

Doping controversy: Kaminska isn’t the only athlete to receive a doping violation at the Winter Olympics. Iranian alpine skier Hossein Saveh-Shemshaki received a provisional suspension last week for testing positive for a banned anabolic androgenic steroid. 

But the most talked about doping case involves the 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who was allowed to continue competing despite her positive test provided in December.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made it clear that Valieva — and the people surrounding her — will continue to be investigated long after the closing ceremony. The governing body also ruled that no medal ceremonies will take place in Valieva’s events until the case is concluded. 

Former US figure skater Mirai Nagasu said it’s “mind-blowing” that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva is still competing in Beijing despite testing positive for a banned substance.

Valieva, 15, leads the field going into the women’s free skate Thursday after a top sports court ruled she could continue at the Olympics, even after she provided a positive sample for the prohibited drug trimetazidine in December.

The International Olympic Committee said an asterisk will appear next to Valieva’s results as the investigation into her case remains open — and there will be no medal ceremony if she makes the podium.

Nagasu, an Olympic bronze medalist four years ago in Pyeongchang, said Valieva’s case was only an example of a larger issue for the sport.

“Kamila is an intermediary to a bigger problem, and there are people who are supposed to be guiding her appropriately who are most likely saying ‘This is what you need to take to be your best,’ so those are the people we need to hold accountable,” she said.
“But at the end of the day, until our system is willing to change, then protocol seems to change from athlete to athlete, and that’s where I think we have an issue with what’s happening in Beijing.
“I think that we’re kind of at a point now where all of us figure skaters are like, ‘We need a change in the system’ because we need to ensure all sports are on clean grounds.”

“Mind-blowing” decision: Nagasu said she has “nothing but admiration” for the way Russian athletes “have pushed the boundaries of our sport,” but hinted at the shadow of doping that has followed Russia for many years.

“However, there’s always been this underlying factor — there’s a reason that those athletes are not competing under their own flag,” Nagasu said, referring to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team — a loophole that allows Russian athletes to compete in the Olympics while their country is banned from the Games because of its doping scandal.

Eileen Gu takes to the halfpipe today for qualifying — with a special guest in attendance.

Her grandma flew into Beijing on Tuesday to watch her compete, Gu said after winning silver in the slopestyle competition.

“This is the moment I really look forward to,” she added.

Mom knows best: Gu has long spoken about how her mother and grandmother are the two pillars in her support system — which was clearly shown at the slopestyle Tuesday when Gu fumbled her second run, endangering her podium position.

She was in eighth place at the time, and pressure was mounting. So Gu did what many teenagers do in times of need — she talked to her mom.

“My mom knows me very well and she knows the way my brain works with pressure,” Gu said afterward. “So in the first round, in the second round, I wasn’t fully in the zone, if that makes sense. I wasn’t in that headspace.
“And my mom could see that, so I talked to her after the first run. She was like: ‘Pretend your second run is your third run, pretend you have no more chances.’ I was like: ‘I’m trying,’ but I guess my imagination is not that good.”

And as the saying goes, mom knows best — Gu produced a stunning final run to surge back into the medal hunt, eventually finishing just 0.3 points behind gold medalist Mathilde Gremaud.

Kamila Valieva — the teenage Russian figure skater at the center of a doping controversy roiling the Beijing Olympics — had three substances that can be used to aid the heart in her testing sample, according to a report in the New York Times, which cited an exhibit filed in a Sunday hearing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Two of those substances, Hypoxen and the supplement L-carnitine, are not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which regulates the use of drugs in international sport.

Valieva declared both of these on a doping control form, according to a court application allegedly filed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in a case raised after it came to light that Valieva tested positive for a banned substance in December.

The London-based Dossier Center, an investigative website run by an exiled Russian businessman, published part of the WADA court application online and it was reviewed for CNN by Travis Tygart, head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). The Dossier Center did not publish the doping control form or the test report exhibited in the case, and CNN has not reviewed them.

CNN has reached out to the CAS and the parties involved in Valieva’s arbitration hearing to confirm the validity of the court application published by the Dossier Center and has yet to hear back. CNN has also reached out to the WADA-accredited lab in Sweden which tested Valieva’s sample from December for comment. Tygart, who is not involved in the investigation into the Russian skater, described the application published by the Dossier Center as “accurate and legitimate.”

The 15-year-old skater has been in the spotlight since it emerged days into the Olympics that she tested positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine, which experts say can enhance endurance. Valieva has sought to blame the positive test on contamination from medication taken by her grandfather, an IOC official familiar with the CAS hearing said on Tuesday.

The presence of the additional substances raises further questions about the skater’s drug use, according to Tygart. USADA tried to ban Hypoxen in 2017 due to its performance-enhancing capabilities, but that ban was not implemented, Tygart told CNN.

“It raises a whole host of questions that have yet to be determined and what appears to be the case of a pretty deliberate attempt to use substances in order to enhance performance,” Tygart said.
“The picture it paints is, you’ve got a ​15-year-old. Does she have the wherewithal and the knowledge and the financial resources to find and use two drugs, one of which is prohibited TMZ (Trimetazidine) and another one Hypoxen, [along with] L-carnitine (a supplement) — to increase endurance and reduce fatigue?” he said.

Read more:

Kamila Valieva of Team ROC skates during the women's singles competition on Tuesday in Beijing.

Related article Russian skater Kamila Valieva's drug regimen 'raises questions' following hearing

Embattled Russian teen Kamila Valieva takes to the ice Thursday in the medal-deciding free skate, while fierce rivals clash in the women’s ice hockey final.

Here’s what to look forward to today:

⛸️ Doping controversy overshadows skating: Russian skater Kamila Valieva leads the field going into the women’s free skate and is favored to finish first. The 15-year-old has been at the center of a doping controversy after providing a positive test for a banned substance in December — but the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided on Monday to let her continue competing. The International Olympic Committee says an asterisk will appear next to Valieva’s results as the investigation into her case remains open and there will be no medal ceremony if she makes the podium.

🏒 Old rivals face off in the rink: The United States and Canada have been the only two countries to top the podium since women’s ice hockey was introduced to the Olympics in 1998 — and they resume their rivalry today. Canada is aiming to avenge its gold medal loss to the US four years ago in Pyeongchang, which ended a string of four straight Olympic titles. The Americans have their work cut out for them after surviving a tougher-than-expected test from Finland in the semifinals.

 ⛷️ Another chance at redemption: American skier Mikaela Shiffrin clocked the fastest time in the downhill training session yesterday — something she will be looking to replicate in the women’s alpine combined final. Shiffrin has bounced back after a rocky start to the Games, though the champion has yet to reach the podium. She showed significant progress in speed after placing 18th in her first-ever Olympic downhill, and said yesterday she will also compete in the mixed team event on Saturday — becoming only the second woman to race all six alpine skiing events at the Winter Olympics.

⛸️ Hard to pick a winner in speed skating final: The absence of the 2018 Olympic champion leaves the women’s 1,000-meter speed skating race wide open. Team USA’s Brittany Bowe is looking to become the first American to win a medal in the event in 20 years. The world record holder faces tough competition from Dutch skaters Jutta Leerdam and Ireen Wust, and Japan’s Miho Takagi.

 🥇🥇🥇 Eyes on the three-peat: Freeski halfpipe double Olympic champion David Wise is aiming to become the first US athlete to win three consecutive golds in the same event at the Winter Olympics. Great Britain’s Gus Kenworthy — a former silver medalist for Team USA — is aiming for a rare Olympic feat of winning medals for two countries.  

Top figure skaters spin at such unbelievably fast speeds — as many as six revolutions per second — that it can make even spectators feel a little woozy.

Curious viewers of the Beijing Winter Olympics want to know why. “How do figure skaters not get dizzy?” has been one of the top Google searches over the past week.

So how do these athletes pull off such head-spinning moves without toppling over?

As skating events continue in Beijing this week, we turned to experts for answers.

Do figure skaters get dizzy? Not so much, because they’ve learned how to minimize it.

Although they occasionally tumble upon landing, figure skaters mostly spin through the air without losing their balance. That’s because they have conditioned their bodies and brains to quash that dizzying feeling, experts say.

American figure skater Mirai Nagasu, who won a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics in South Korea in 2018, says she feels the rotations but has learned how to recenter her focus over the years.

Kathleen Cullen, a professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, has a more scientific answer. She studies the vestibular system, which is responsible for our sense of balance and motion, and says spinning without stumbling from dizziness is an art perfected over time.

At the start of their careers, skaters and other athletes feel dizzy when they spin around, Cullen says. But ultimately, they train their brains to better interpret that feeling.

“There’s a really profound fundamental thing that happens in the brain of people like dancers or skaters over lots and lots of practice. And that’s basically a change in the way the brain is processing information,” Cullen says.
“When you spin around, you’re activating the semicircular canals, rotation sensors. They’re filled with fluid and they’re sensing your rotation. But when you stop, the fluid has inertia and it tends to continue to move. They actually get a false sensation of movement.”

Read more:

Zhu Yi, of China, competes in the women's short program during the figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Related article Why Olympic figure skaters don't get dizzy

South Korean speed skater Choi Min-jeong successfully defended her women’s 1,500m Olympic title in Beijing on Wednesday, easing the disappointment of being agonizingly pipped to 1,000m gold on Friday.

Choi was pictured in tears after the Netherlands’ Suzanne Schulting secured back-to-back 1,000m titles via a dramatic photo finish, missing out on gold by just 0.052 seconds.

The 23-year-old Choi responded emphatically with her 1,500m title defense on the line, setting a new Olympic record in her semifinal heat before taking gold in the final in 2:17.789.

Legendary speed skater Arianna Fontana won silver, making her Italy’s most decorated Winter Olympian with 11 medals, one more than cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo.

Schulting took bronze for her fourth medal of the Games — only the second Dutch skater to achieve the feat — but was denied a golden hat-trick after triumphs in the 1,000m and 3,000m relay.

Both of Schulting’s Beijing triumphs left Choi to settle for silver, but at the third attempt — days after the pain of the 1,000m — the South Korean at last has a Beijing gold to add to her pair from her home games in Pyeongchang four years ago.

Read more:

Choi Min-Jeong, of South Korea, reacts after winning the women's 1500-meters final during the short track speedskating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, February 16, 2022, in Beijing.

Related article Choi Min-Jeong bounces back from tearful silver to defend women's 1500m speed skating title

The gold medal race is drawing tighter after nearly two straight weeks of Winter Olympic competition.

Norway leads the way with 13 golds among 28 medals in total — the most of any team. Germany is second with 10 golds and 20 medals overall. The United States ranks third with eight golds and 19 total medals. Host nation China is in fourth with seven golds and 13 medals overall.

There were eight gold medals at stake on Wednesday at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Here’s a recap of who won:

Alpine skiing: France’s Clement Noel captured the gold in men’s slalom.

Biathlon: Sweden won the women’s 4x6km relay.

Cross-country skiing:

Freestyle skiing:

Short track speed skating