It's been a busy day in Italy on the first full day of action of these Winter Olympics.
American figure skater Ilia Malinin — known as the "Quad God" — was greeted by scored second behind Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, but Team USA still qualified for the final round in first place. Japan’s Kira Kimura walked away with a gold medal after wowing judges and getting the highest score on his final run in the men's snowboard big air final round. Italy’s four-time Olympian Francesca Lollobrigida won the gold medal and broke the Olympic record in the women’s 3000m speedskating race in Milan, taking the win on her 35th birthday. The first gold medal went to Switzerland as the games began in northern Italy on Saturday.
An activist group organized a large protest march against the Olympic organizers in Milan. It was a mostly peaceful afternoon, but after night fell, some intense clashes took place between demonstrators and police.
With the lighting of not one, but two Olympic cauldrons on Friday, the Winter Games kicked off in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The two cities are serving as dual hosts this year in what is the most spread-out Olympics in history.
For the next two weeks, the best athletes from around the world will be competing for gold in 16 sports. We’re sure to see plenty of inspiring moments and record-breaking performances.
