Day 11 of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

Our live coverage of the 11th day of the 2022 Winter Games is winding down, but we’re here to catch you up on the biggest moments of the day.

A lot of the action in Beijing happened in overnight US hours — so if you slept through it all, here’s what you need to know:

⛸ Russian skater earns top score in emotional return to the ice

Embattled teen skater Kamila Valieva is on to Thursday’s free skate medal event after posting the top score during Tuesday’s short program. Valieva, who only this week learned she’d be permitted to continue competing despite a December failed drug test, turned in an 82.16.

Valieva’s score was top in the field, and after finishing her program the 15-year-old Russian, broke into tears on the ice as the emotions of the past few days appeared to catch up with her.

A controversial ruling by a top sports court has allowed Valieva to continue her pursuit of Olympic glory — though said pursuit will undoubtedly be forced to bear the weight of incredible scrutiny and increased attention.

And remember: The field in Thursday’s women’s free skate medal event will be larger than initially anticipated. Before today’s competition, the IOC changed the rules in case Valieva is ultimately disqualified — 25 skaters will go through to the longer program on Thursday, one more than the usual 24.

🛢Chinese skater “adds oil” to rebound from early Olympic struggles

“Add oil.” In English, the phrase is — at best — confusing, conjuring up ideas of either culinary guidance or automobile maintenance. But in Chinese the words were music to the ears of figure skater Zhu Yi.

“Add oil” is the Chinese equivalent of “go go” — and it’s just what Yi needed to hear as the 19-year-old took the Beijing ice Tuesday, where she landed all of her jumps and earned a satisfactory score of 53.44.

A series of falls — one in Sunday’s team short program, and two during Monday’s team free skate — unleashed a fury on Chinese social media. But after solidly rebounding Tuesday, Yi allowed a smile to cross her face, appearing to appreciate the support she’d received from the loud crowd in attendance.

Ultimately, however, Yi’s skate was not strong enough to send her to the final, as she finished 27th overall and failed to qualify for Thursday’s medal event.

🥇 2022 is already China’s top Winter Olympics effort

China has solidified it’s most-decorated Winter Olympics. With teen snowboarder Su Yiming earning gold in Tuesday’s big air event, the host nation now has six gold medals to its credit, passing the country’s previous high of five in 2010 in Vancouver.

At only 17 years old, Su is China’s youngest-ever Winter Olympic champ.

⛷ Chat with mom helps Eileen Gu earn skiing silver

Eileen Gu’s Olympic dreams were sinking fast. So the 18-year-old did what many teens might: she phoned home.

After plummeting into 8th position, and with a podium finish seeming rather unlikely, the teen skiing sensation reached out to her mom.

“My mum knows me very well and she knows the way my brain works with pressure,” said Gu, who spoke to her mom during the event.

“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.’”

Gu then put her mom’s advice into action, ripping off a remarkable final run, good enough to get her back into contention.

She’d ultimately earn silver in the women’s freeski slopestyle, proving once again, that “Mom Knows Best.”

Norway's Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen celebrates after crossing the finish line in the men's biathlon 4x7.5km relay on February 15.

European athletes dominated most medal events scheduled for Tuesday. Here’s a recap of the gold medal wins on Day 11 of the Winter Games.

Alpine Skiing:

Biathlon:

Bobsled: 

Freestyle Skiing:

Nordic Combined:

Snowboard:

Speed Skating:

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

Austrian snowboarder Anna Gasser competes in the big air finals on February 15. She won gold to defend her Olympic title.

Switzerland's Corinne Suter skis in the downhill event on February 15. She won gold.

Germany's Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis make their final run in the two-man bobsled on February 15. They topped the all-German podium. Four years ago, Friedrich also won gold in the two-man and four-man events.

Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, left, hugs China's Eileen Gu after they finished 1-2 in the slopestyle finals on February 15. Both Gremaud and Gu have won two medals at these Games. Gremaud won a bronze earlier in the big air competition, while Gu won gold in that event.

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva performs her short program at the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 15.

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

"It's time for my close up."

Sofia Goggia may have stayed on her feet to execute an impressive run in the women’s downhill event on Tuesday, but she appears to have fallen for the camera.

Less than 24 hours after Valentine’s Day, the Italian claimed a memorable silver medal and had plenty of love to share for the viewers back at home.

It’s incredible that Goggia even made it to Beijing 2022 after injuring her left knee in a skiing accident last month.

“I’m glad I gave everything to be here today,” she said after her win.

“I’m glad and grateful that I could achieve another medal, and I’m happy with myself.”

Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis compete in the two-man bobsled on February 15.

With just three pilots to go, Switzerland’s Michael Vogt sat in gold medal position for the two-man bobsled event.

Mere minutes later, he found himself finishing outside the podium places.

Francesco Friedrich and brakeman Thorsten Margis capped a historic day for Germany at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre, taking gold on the final run of the evening to secure a famous one-two-three finish for their country.

It is the first time in Winter Olympic history that a nation has swept the podium in a bobsled event.

Friedrich’s time of 3:56.89 put him ahead of compatriots Johannes Lochner and Christoph Hafer in silver and bronze respectively.

After the most unusual of pre-Games preparations, Friedrich reflected on a “crazy two weeks” heading into Beijing.

“We have to wait and wait and wear every day the mask in every situation; eating fast, then the mask on,” he said.

“Then the competition start and we feel good, we know that we are good in pushing … I did it really good the first run, then in the second run, I make some mistakes which lose us time.

“In the third run, we say we have to fight, we have to attack Hansi [Johannes Lochner] … we go, and it worked, we did it.”

Having won two golds in Pyeongchang four years ago, Friedrich’s triumph in Beijing pens another chapter in a glittering career of dominance — with the potential to complete a never-before-seen double defense in the four-man event which begins on Saturday.

The 31-year-old Friedrich is a 13-time world champion across two-man, four-man and team events, cementing his place as the most decorated pilot in bobsledding world championship history and one of the greatest of all time.

The key to his success? Love what you do.

“I have the luck that what I do is my job,” Friedrich said. “I love that and it makes (it) so much fun, and it’s my daily job. I give all for that.

“It’s only a small time in our life, and we must use it 110% or you should do another thing.”

Athletes compete in the women's skiathlon on February 5.

Cross-country skiing is the oldest type of skiing and evolved as a form of travel between remote communities. 

Cross-country skiers either use the freestyle technique, where they ski side-to-side, or the classic technique, which involves striding forward. The techniques used in each event vary during each edition of the Games, depending on the guidelines set by the FIS.

Cross-country skiing was one of the first ever Winter Olympic sports, debuting at the 1924 Chamonix Games in France with men’s events. Nearly 30 years later, women’s events were inaugurated at the 1952 Oslo Olympics in Norway. 

There will be 36 medals for the taking across 12 events at this year’s Winter Olympics.

On the men’s side, there will be the 15km classic, 15km + 15km skiathlon, sprint free, team sprint classic, 4x10km relay and the 50km mass start free. Female competitors will participate in the 10km classic, 7.5km + 7.5km skiathlon, sprint free, team sprint classic, 4x5km relay and the 30km mass start free.

Cross-country skiing events run until the end of the Beijing Games on February 20 with the women’s 30km mass start free.

Kamila Valieva competes in the women's individual short program on February 15.

With all the skaters completing their routines, we now have confirmation that Kamila Valieva has finished the short program routine in first place.

She will now be the strong favorite to claim the gold medal ahead of Thursday’s free skate event.

Valieva’s final score of 82.16 is comfortably ahead of her Russian Olympic Committee teammate Anna Shcherbakova’s 80.20 points in second place.

Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto is in third place with a score of 79.84 ahead of Thursday.

Kamila Valieva tears up after skating in the women's short program on February 15.

There were tears from Kamila Valieva as she completes an impressive routine, posting a score of 82.16.

There was a slight stumble on her opening jump, a triple Axel, but she held it together well until the end to post the top score of the women’s short program.

The crowd were audibly getting behind Valieva, perhaps more so than any other skater.

“Loudest applause for anyone for her when she finished,” according to CNN staff inside the arena. “She looks incredibly emotional.”

Valieva’s score means that she makes it through to the free skate program on Thursday, where she will be one of the favorites for the gold.

The 15-year-old was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to compete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics after being at the center of a doping scandal.

After finishing her routine, she “walked past all of the journalists, including Russian ones, and left the mixed zone. She looked very solemn and didn’t speak to anyone or look at anyone,” CNN staff in the arena reported.

All eyes are on Kamila Valieva as she steps on the ice this afternoon for the women single skating short program event, but so far she doesn’t seem to be perturbed at all.

“Huge applause for Kamila when they announced her name,” according to CNN Sport staff inside the arena. “She looks smooth and [had] perfection execution in her warm up.”

“Russia is clapping for her even before she starts. Huge applause around the stadium. HUGE,” CNN’s Selina Wang reports.

Kamila Valieva warms up prior to the women's single skating short program on February 15.

The women’s singles skating short program is underway at Beijing’s Capital Indoor Stadium, and all eyes are on the Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) Kamila Valieva, who is now warming up on the rink.

Aged just 15, the Russian figure skating star finds herself at the center of a doping scandal that has inflamed mistrust of the Russian athletic establishment, pressed sporting organizations and athletes around the world to call for reform, and seen the International Olympic Committee (IOC) postpone medal ceremonies for any event that could place Valieva on the podium.

Officials are still investigating whether Valieva or her entourage broke anti-doping rules, after a test she took in December was found to be positive for a banned substance.

On Tuesday, an IOC official said Valieva is 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.

On Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport cleared Valieva for participation in the women’s singles competition — the question will now be if the 15-year-old can tune out the noise.

Ordered 26th on the scheduling, Valieva is expected to be out on the ice around 8:52 a.m. ET or 9:52 p.m. local time and will perform to “In Memoriam” by Russian composer Kirill Richter.

Read the full story here.

Team USA's Alysa Liu celebrates after her performance.

Team USA’s Alysa Liu was all smiles after her performance on the rink at the women single skating short program event. She scored 69.50 points.

Just some German fans cheering on Nicole Schott with a giant pretzel. Nothing to see here.

No need for pretzel logic to find out why these fans love figure skater Nicole Schott.

These Germans are making sure everyone knows one of their country’s culinary delights as they watch their skater in the women’s short program.

China's Zhu Yi competes in the women's single skating short program on February 15.

Chinese figure skater Zhu Yi bounced back from a torrent of social media criticism last week as she was cheered on to a solid showing in the short program of the individual event on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old was the subject of widespread vitriol on Chinese social media after a fall in the team short program last Sunday, and she broke down in tears the following day after falling twice during the team free skate to finish fifth for her routine.

Yet from the minute she took to the rink for her short program individual routine, Zhu received nothing but unyielding support from the crowd at Capital Indoor Stadium.

Her entrance was welcomed by roaring applause and shouts of “add oil” — the Chinese equivalent of “go go” — according to CNN staff at the stadium.

Skating to ‘Paint it Black,’ the support continued unwavering as Zhu recovered from a wobbly opening jump to successfully land all her jumps in an altogether assured performance that was rewarded with a 53.44 score.

A smiling Zhu waved happily at the camera and received more applause at the announcement of a result which leaves her ranked 12th of 15 at the time of writing.

Zhu finishing up her short program routine on February 15.

Zhu needs to place in the top 25 of the field of 30 to qualify for the free skating final on Thursday.

Typically, it is only the top 24 that progress, but this has been changed due to the ongoing doping scandal surrounding the Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) Kamila Valieva.

The 15-year-old figure skater — who was found to have tested positive for a banned substance in December — is slated to perform as the 26th competitor and is expected to be out on the ice around 8:52 a.m. ET or 9:52 p.m. local time.

Japan's Ayano Sato and Miho Takagi react after their teammate Nana Takagi fell in the women's team pursuit final on February 15.

Athletes train their entire careers for a shot at winning Olympic gold.

But for every moment of glory for one athlete, there is often a moment of misfortune for another.

On Tuesday, Japan’s speed skaters were unfortunately on the receiving end of heartbreak.

With Japan leading Canada in the team pursuit final and seemingly on course to be crowned Olympic champions, Nana Takagi got one of her blades caught in the ice on the final corner, causing her to fall and crash into the barriers.

“To be honest, I was in an excellent mood (before the race),” Takagi said. “I thought I’m going to complete my best skate in the past one and a half weeks, together with my sister (Miho).

“My mind hasn’t recovered from the fall. It’s hard for me to think or talk about it right now.”

But despite that heartbreak, the Japanese skaters still embodied the Olympic spirit.

After the race, as a crestfallen Nana cried at the side of the track, her teammate and sister Miho immediately went over to console her.

Japan's Nana Takagi is consoled by her teammates after falling during the women's team pursuit final on February 15.

“I couldn’t find any words to tell her at that moment,” Miho said. “I just wanted to be close to her and give her a hug.

“In this event, to fall, we understand the pressure will be on. We cannot turn it around, we cannot change it. That is frustrating.

“You may feel they should not be held responsible, but that skater who falls will feel guilty. So I knew I had these mixed feelings and that is why I hugged my sister,” Miho said.

“We did what we can. We made plans together on how to skate faster (and) we were confident in skating our best.

“Ending the race with a fall just made it hard to judge our performance, but still I think we raced our best.”

The third skater on the team, Ayano Sato, said she had “mixed feelings of regret and joy.”

“If we focus only on the result, as we were aiming for a gold medal, it’s just disappointing. 

“[But] the time we spend together thinking about how to deliver our best performance, how to skate even faster, this time itself is priceless to me.”

China freestyle skier Eileen Gu performs a trick during the women's slopestyle finals on February 15.

Eileen Gu’s medal hopes did not look promising after two runs of the women’s freeski slopestyle event at Genting Snow Park.

During her second run, Gu had fallen backwards off the rail, a mistake which had plunged her to eighth position and with a distant chance at a second medal of Beijing 2022 after winning gold in the big air event.

As the poster child for a new type of Chinese athlete and one with sky-high aspirations — Gu has been candid that she hoped to win medals in all three of the events she was competing in — the pressure was mounting on the 18-year-old’s shoulders.

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. I’ve done a lot of work, read a lot of psychology books, did a lot of research on my own brain to see how I deal with pressure. And now, we know that I perform well under it.

“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, mother knows best — Gu produced a stunning final run to surge back into the medal hunt, eventually finishing with a silver just 0.3 points behind gold medalist Mathilde Gremaud.

Read more about how Gu’s mother helped her win her second medal of the Games here.

Norway's Jørgen Graabak, right, celebrates after winning the men's individual large hill/10km Nordic combined on February 15.

Jørgen Graabak chased down the leading pack to take home a brilliant gold medal for Norway in the men’s individual large hill/10km Nordic combined in a time of 27:13.3.

There was a tense race between four skiers down the finishing straight, with Graabak just pipping teammate Jens Lurås Oftebro on the line by 0.4 seconds.

Oftebro’s silver made it a Norwegian one-two, with Japan’s Akito Watabe taking home bronze.

“It’s what dreams are made of. It’s unreal to be honest, I can’t quite believe it,” said Graabak. “I have to see the replay first. It’s hard to believe, but of course, I’m really happy.”

“It demanded everything I’ve got, so I’m really, really tired at the moment. It was a really tough race, starting over two minutes behind. I didn’t think it was possible. It’s unreal, I don’t know what to say.”

German Manuel Faisst was the unfortunate skier to come in fourth after a grueling battle.

Earlier in the race, Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber had perhaps one of the Winter Olympics’ biggest nightmares.

Leading by more than 40 seconds after his performance in the ski jump portion of the event, Riiber took a wrong turn and headed down the home straight prematurely — instead, he should have taken the other turn to begin his second lap.

Riiber had to turn around and ski the wrong way up the finishing straight to go back and begin his second lap, which cost him the entire lead he’d built up. He eventually finished eighth.

Riiber was only allowed out of isolation yesterday after a positive Covid test and perhaps hadn’t had the time to scope out the course.

Ice, ice, baby. 🧊

“‘Grow out your beard for the Winter Olympics,’ they said. ‘It’ll keep you warm,’ they said.”

As temperatures in Zhangjiakou dropped below -13 degrees Fahrenheit (-25 degrees Celsius), spare a thought for Swiss biathlete Benjamin Weger.

Competing in the men’s 4x7.5km relay on Tuesday, Weger’s beard picked up a few icicles along the way.

His Swiss team braved the elements to finish 12th, with Norway taking the gold.

Jocelyn Peterman and Dawn McEwen of Canada compete in women’s curling on February 14.

Although its exact origins can’t be accurately traced, curling is a sport believed to have originated in the 16th century.

Paintings from Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel appear to portray an activity similar to curling being played on frozen ponds.

In 1540, John McQuhin — a notary in Paisley, Scotland — appeared to produce the first written evidence of curling.

Written in Latin, McQuhin recorded in his book a challenge between John Sclater, a monk in Paisley Abbey, and Gavin Hamilton, a representative of the Abbot. It said that Sclater threw a stone along the ice three times and asserted that he was ready for the agreed contest.

While an exact date can’t be pinpointed, according to the World Curling Federation, the sport was played during its early stages on frozen lochs and ponds in northern Europe.

It became popular across the world as emigrating Scots introduced curling to countries with similar climates.

The first official rules of curling were drawn up in Scotland and adopted by the Grand Caledonian Curling Club — which became the sport’s governing body — in 1838.

The Club was renamed to the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in 1843 after Queen Victoria took a liking to curling after a demonstration on the ballroom floor of Scone Palace.

Although international curling matches have been recorded since the 19th century, the first official international matches took place at the first Winter Olympics in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Great Britain defeated Sweden and France in what was retroactively accepted as curling’s Olympic debut.

Curling was also a demonstration sport at the 1932 Winter Games, and later on in 1988 and 1992. This designation meant the sport wasn’t played for medal competition.

It wasn’t until 1998 that the International Olympic Committee granted medal status to men’s and women’s curling. It was introduced to the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and has gone on to be a popular inclusion to the Games.

Read the full story here.

Peder Kongshaug, Sverre Lunde Pedersen and Hallgeir Engebråten of Norway celebrate winning gold medal during the men's team pursuit final on Feb. 15

Norway completely dominated the men’s speed skating team pursuit final, leading the Russian Olympic Committee from start to finish to win gold.

The Norwegians opened up a 0.26 second gap over their opponents in the opening lap and it was a lead they never looked like relinquishing, eventually finishing a whopping 2.27 seconds clear.

Afterwards, the team expressed their elation and relief for their achievement.

“It is a lot to take in, it’s incredible. It is what we have worked for together with this team,” said Peder Kongshaug.

Hallgeir Engebråten added, “It’s everything. It is something special to take a gold medal with the team. We have had our ups and downs. To be able to stand here as a trio, as Olympic champions, that’s just amazing.”

“It means everything. I had a hard summer with almost no training (from a bike crash in May 2021),” said Sverre Lunde Pedersen. “To be here with a gold medal, it’s hard to describe. Russia beat us pretty well in the semifinal. Our plan was to go for it and it worked. We skated faster in the final. It was perfect.”

It’s Norway’s 11th gold medal of Beijing 2022, cementing the country’s place at the top of the medal table.

In the B Final, the US beat the Netherlands to take the bronze.

Su Yiming holds up his silver medal for men's snowboard slopestyle on Feb. 7.

Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming said there’s no controversy after the head judge for Olympic snowboarding admitted to missing an error made by eventual slopestyle gold medalist Max Parrot.

The 17-year-old Su won silver in the event last Monday but could have left with gold had judges not missed Canada’s Parrot grabbing his knee — rather than his board — during a jump on his pivotal second run.

In an interview with snowboarding website Whitelines the following day, head judge Iztok Sumatic explained that the judges did not see a camera angle that clearly showed the mistake and — “pushed for time” — put the scores up.

Having only seen the angle TV viewers saw after the score had been processed, Sumatic likened the situation to the infamous Diego Maradona ‘Hand of God’ goal against England at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

Sumatic admitted that the scores would have been “different” had the error been seen, but maintained that Parrot still showcased an “insane run” regardless of the controversial jump.

Speaking after his big air gold medal triumph on Tuesday, Su said there “has been no controversy” following the slopestyle incident.

“We [Parrot and I] came to the Olympic Games out of our same passion for snowboarding. I know he is also quite hardworking, and I respect him a lot.

“I would like to congratulate him on his gold medal in the men’s snowboard slopestyle and today’s great result (bronze). I’m happy for both of us.”

Su’s big air win saw him become his country’s youngest Winter Olympic champion and secured China’s sixth gold of Beijing 2022 — already topping their previous record of five at Vancouver 12 years ago.

“I had many dreams when I was a child,” Su said. “To be an Olympic champion was one of them, and today, I already realized my dream.

“There will be more and more challenges in the future. I will be more concentrated on my goals. All I need to do is to deliver all my efforts to achieve my goals.”