Olympics

The most successful day for the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics produced three different gold-medal stories. 

Nathan Chen gained redemption from his tough Olympic debut in 2018, as he turned in a spectacular skate to confirm his gold medal in the men's figure skating competition.

Chloe Kim won her second straight gold medal in the women's snowboard halfpipe. She became the first woman to repeat as champion in an event that has been dominated by the Americans. 

The American team of Ashley Caldwell, Chris Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld finished off the 24-hour run of success by winning the first-ever team competition in the aerials event. 

The trio of gold medals added to the victory earned by Lindsey Jacobellis in the women's snowboard cross on Wednesday. The United States come into Thursday night's events with four gold medals, which is tied for the third-most among participating nations in Beijing. 

Medal Count Top 5

1. Austria (4 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze) - 13

2. Norway (5 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze) - 12

3. Canada (1 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze) - 12

4. Russian Olympic Committee (2 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze) - 11

5. United States (4 gold, 5 silver, 1 bronze) - 10 

Full medal table can be found on NBCOlympics.com.

Day 6 Medal Results

Alpine Skiing

Men's Combined Slalom

Gold: Johannes Strolz (Austria)

Silver: Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (Norway)

Bronze: James Crawford (Canada)

Cross-Country Skiing

Women's 10km Individual

Gold: Therese Johaug (Norway)

Silver: Kerttu Niskanen (Finland) 

Bronze: Krista Parmakoski (Finland)

Figure Skating

Men's Singles

Gold: Nathan Chen (United States)

Silver: Kagiyama Yuma (Japan)

Bronze: Uno Shoma (Japan)

Freestyle Skiing

Mixed Team Aerials

Gold: United States

Silver: China

Bronze: Canada

Luge

Team Relay

Gold: Germany

Silver: Austria

Bronze: Latvia

Snowboarding

Men's Snowboard Cross

Gold: Alessandro Hammerle (Austria)

Silver: Eliot Grondin (Canada)

Bronze: Omar Visintin (Italy)

Women's Halfpipe

Gold: Chloe Kim (United States)

Silver: Queralt Castellet (Spain)

Bronze: Sena Tomita (Japan)

Speedskating

Women's 5000m

Gold: Irene Schouten (Netherlands)

Silver: Isabelle Weidemann (Canada)

Bronze: Martina Sablikova (Czech Republic)   

Nathan Chen Captures Men's Figure Skating Gold 

Chen can finally add an Olympic gold medal to his lengthy resume. 

The three-time men's world champion in figure skating finished off his gold-medal performance with a stunning free-skate routine set to a handful of Elton John songs. 

Chen's victory came four years after he suffered a disappointing short program that cost him a shot at a medal. 

He rebounded in Beijing by delivering the best score in the short program, securing a world record score in that discipline.

"It means the world. I'm just so happy," Chen said, per the Associated Press' Dave Skretta. 

Chen became the seventh American man to win the figure skating gold medal in the singles competitions. He is the first to do so since Evan Lysacek in 2010. 

Chen will leave Beijing with two medals. He also took silver in the team competition after skating in the short program portion of that event.   

Chloe Kim Repeats In Women's Halfpipe

Kim began the day in Beijing with a repeat of her gold medal from the 2018 Winter Olympics. 

Kim threw down a fantastic first run in the final round that garnered a score of 94 points. 

None of the other competitors came close to matching Kim's score during the final two runs of the medal rounds. 

Silver medalist Queralt Castellet of Spain was the only other athlete to produce a run with a score over 90 points. 

After the first run, Kim was just happy that she landed all of the tricks. She said that a shaky practice run preceded the final, per USA Today's Rachel Axon.

"It just felt so inconsistent,” Kim said. "I was like, I don't want to feel all this pressure of not being able to land my first safety run I just was so proud of myself.”

Kim extended the American dominance in the women's halfpipe to five wins in seven Olympics. She is the first athlete to repeat as the gold medalist. 

Americans Win First-Ever Aerials Team Competition

The United States' run of gold medals extended into Thursday morning with the three-person aerials team. 

Caldwell, Lillis and Schoenefeld won the first-ever team competition in the aerials discipline over China and Canada. 

The Americans took the lead on the second of three jumps in the final round. Lillis netted a score of 135.00, which was significantly better than the 96.02 earned by China's Jia Zongyang. 

China entered the four-team final with a six-point advantage over the United States. The host nation led the competition after the first of three individual jumps in the medal round. 

Schoenefeld did not outscore his Chinese counterpart on the third jump, but their scores were close enough that the Americans did not relinquish the lead. 

The United States have three medals from the freestyle skiing events so far. Jaelin Kauf won silver in the women's moguls and Colby Stevenson took silver in the men's big air. 

After a soft two-game schedule to start the men's hockey tournament at the 2022 Olympics on Wednesday, things kicked into gear on Thursday with four games. 

The United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland each won their first game. Team USA is looking for its first Olympic medal since losing to Canada in the gold-medal game 12 years ago. 

Head coach David Quinn got the Americans off to a good start with an easy 8-0 win over China. 

Thursday Results

Group A: USA 8, China 0

Group A: Canada 5, Germany 1

Group C: Sweden 3, Latvia 2

Group C: Finland 6, Slovakia 2

Group A Standings (Goal Differential)

1. United States: 1-0-0-0, 3 points (plus-8)

2. Canada: 1-0-0-0, 3 points (plus-4)

3. Germany: 0-0-0-1, 0 points (minus-4)

4. China: 0-0-0-1, 0 points (minus-8)

Group B Standings (Goal Differential)

1. Denmark: 1-0-0-0, 3 points (plus-1)

2. Russian Olympic Committee: 1-0-0-0, 3 points (plus-1)

3. Czech Republuc: 0-0-0-1, 0 points (minus-1)

4. Switzerland: 0-0-0-1, 0 points (minus-1)

Group C Standings (Goal Differential)

1. Finland: 1-0-0-0, 3 points (plus-4)

2. Sweden: 1-0-0-0, 3 points (plus-1)

3. Latvia, 0-0-0-1, 0 points (minus-1)

4. Slovakia: 0-0-0-1, 0 points (minus-4)

Team USA took things slow in their opener against China. Brendan Brisson's goal midway through the first period was the only scoring in the opening frame. 

The floodgates came open in the second period when Sean Farrell, Brian O'Neill and Noah Cates each scored goals to make it 4-0. 

There was more of the same in the third period. Ben Meyers and Matty Beniers got in on the goal barrage. Farrell scored two more times to get a hat trick and finished the game with five points.

Eight goals for the Americans marks their highest-scoring output in the Olympics since an 8-1 win over Belarus in 2002. 

U.S. goalie Drew Commesso stopped all 29 shots he faced in the win. He recorded the first shutout win for Team USA at the Olympics since the 2010 quarterfinals against Switzerland (2-0). 

The United States' top competitor in Group A also got off to a good start. Canada scored three goals in the first period en route to a 5-1 win over Germany. Eric O'Dell assisted on goals by Ben Street and Maxim Noreau. 

Canada and the U.S. will square off on Friday at 11:10 p.m. ET. 

The Finnish team is looking to get back to the medal stand after missing out in 2018. They won silver in 2006 and won back-to-back bronze medals in 2010 and 2014.

Sakari Manninen had a hat trick in Finland's 6-2 win over Slovakia. 

Slovakia took an early 1-0 lead on Juraj Slafkovsky's goal less than six minutes into the first period. The 17-year-old currently plays professional hockey for TPS in Finnish Liiga. He is the No. 2 prospect in the 2022 NHL draft among European skaters, per NHL.com. 

The most competitive game of the day saw Sweden hang on for a 3-2 win over Latvia. The Swedish team looked like they were going to cruise when Lucas Wallmark's power-play goal put them up 3-0 late in the second period. 

Renars Krastenbergs got Latvia on the board before the second intermission with a power-play goal of his own. Nikolajs Jelisejevs added a second goal for the Latvian squad with just over 13 minutes remaining in the third period. 

Goalie Lars Johansson and Sweden's defense tightened up down the stretch to keep the score 3-2 until the final buzzer. 

Canada rolled to a 5-1 victory over Germany on Thursday in its first game of the men's ice hockey tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Alex Grant, Ben Street and Daniel Winnik scored within a six-minute span of the opening period as the Canadians quickly pulled away at Wukesong Arena in Beijing. Maxim Noreau and Jordan Weal also scored for the nine-time gold medalists.

Tobias Rieder netted the only goal for Germany.

Uncertainty surrounded the men's hockey tournament at this year's Games because NHL players didn't travel for the event. While that was also the case in 2018, the decision this time around wasn't made until late December because of COVID-19 concerns, which caused the top national teams to scramble together makeshift rosters.

Canada still had the look of a strong medal contender in its opener courtesy of a balanced offensive attack and a solid outing from goalie Eddie Pasquale, who stopped 23 of the 24 shots sent his way.

Grant opened the scoring a little under five minutes into the first period. Street and Winnik got on the scoresheet soon after to open a sizable advantage.

The Canadians did put themselves under some pressure, as they took four consecutive penalties, three late in the first and one early in the second, but the penalty kill rose to the occasion to keep Germany from making a serious comeback bid.

That stretch, combined with defending a large lead, is also why the shot total—27-24 in favor of Canada—wasn't as lopsided as the score.

Rieder, who played seven NHL seasons and currently skates for the Vaxjo Lakers in Sweden, got the Germans on the board just after the midway point of the second. But Noreau answered back for Canada within three minutes.

Weal wrapped up the scoring in the third. Kent Johnson and Eric O'Dell each recorded a pair of assists in the contest.

Next up for Canada in Group A play is a rivalry clash with Team USA on Saturday (Friday night in North America). The Americans rolled past host nation China, 8-0, in their opener.

The United States men's ice hockey team opened its 2022 Winter Olympics account in Beijing on Thursday with an 8-0 win over China.

Michigan star Brendan Brisson gave Team USA a 1-0 lead in the first period before Matty Beniers, Sean Farrell, Brian O'Neill, Ben Meyers and Noah Cates added to the goal tally. Farrell was the standout performer, scoring three goals and assisting on two more.

The U.S. nearly doubled China's shot total, finishing with 55 attempts on goal to 29 for the host country.

Halfway through the opening frame, the United States was unable to make a breakthrough. Thanks to an interference penalty to Fu Jiang, the U.S. capitalized on the power play. Brisson fired a wrist shot past Jieruimi Shimisi, also known as Jeremy Smith, the former Boston Bruins prospect and Colorado Avalanche netminder who gained the opportunity to represent China at the national team level.

Cates, O'Neill and Farrell broke things open in the second period as the United States had something to show for the dominance it was enjoying on the ice. It was an impressive 20 minutes from Farrell.

The Harvard star delivered a no-look pass to Cates as Team USA found a second goal.

Then it was Farrell's time to find the back of the net with 1:53 remaining in the period. The Chinese were struggling to defend in odd-man rushes, and the 20-year-old wing used his ample space to line up a shot that eluded Shimisi.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft, Beniers headed to China with plenty in the way of expectations. The Michigan star flashed his pinpoint accuracy when he deposited the puck into the top left corner with eight minutes left in the game.

The Seattle Kraken might be anchored to last place in the Pacific Division, but Beniers represents what should be a bright future in the Pacific Northwest. 

The absence of NHL stars has opened up the field a bit for the men's ice hockey tournament, and the United States in particular is a major wild card with a roster that's almost entirely untested at the Olympic level.

When the first period concluded, it looked like the U.S. might have a difficult fight on its hands from China. As the game progressed, Team USA's talent advantage became apparent, and the squad began looking more cohesive.

The U.S. is back on the ice Saturday to play Canada. The United States is a +185 underdog (bet $100 to win $185) at DraftKings Sportsbook against the nine-time Olympic champion.

With Canada cruising past Germany, Saturday's winner has an opportunity to clinch Group A and secure passage to the quarterfinals.

Gambling problem? Call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369).

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).

Odds and lines subject to change. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.

There is an adage in showbiz that a bad dress rehearsal means a good performance. 

It certainly seemed to be true for Chloe Kim, who dropped to her knees after her first, and ultimately gold-medal-winning, run of the Olympic halfpipe final and said, "I had the worst practice of my life!"

She scored a huge 94 in that run, twice soaring more than 12 feet over the rim of the superpipe in Beijing. None of her competitors could match her score (or her height) in any of their three runs. Queralt Castellet of Spain won the silver with a 90.25 in her second run, and the bronze went to Sena Tomita of Japan, who scored 88.25 in her second run. 

Kim becomes the first woman in the halfpipe's relatively young Olympic history—it debuted in 1998—to repeat as gold medalist. All but two golds have gone to Americans. When Kim won in 2018 at age 17, she was the youngest to win gold in the sport.

Kim knew she had clinched the Beijing gold before her third run of the final. Her coach, Rick Bower, told her at that moment, "You've got stuff to do." Kim attempted to make history by becoming the first woman to hit a 1260—three-and-a-half rotations in the air—but fell (as she had when trying it on the second run, too). 

Three rotations—a 1080—was first pulled off in women's competition by Kelly Clark, in 2011. It would be seven years until Kim, in 2018, became the first woman to land back-to-back 1080s. That Kim is good enough to try the 1260 four years later demonstrates her prowess in her sport. She continues to evolve, pushing the sport ever higher as she rises.

Her big first-run score in the Beijing final, featuring a flipside 1080 and a switch 900, seemingly influenced her competitors to throw in some bigger tricks. Tomita closed her second run with a frontside 1080; she tried to open her third run with one but failed. Cai Xuetong of China attempted a 1080 during her second run but did not complete it; she ended up in fourth place.

Though she's so comfortably ahead of the curve, Kim isn't going out there just to beat her competition. While most snowboarders maintain a few variations on their basic runs—one to get to the final, a couple to bump them onto a podium—Bower told reporters before the competition that Kim has two possible qualifying runs and a whopping five she can choose from in a final. 

The pressure of going for a second gold medal did not seem to affect Kim this week, competing in near-perfect conditions. She has been open (including on NBC's Today) about how anxiety induced by her superstardom at 17 following her 2018 gold medal nearly derailed her career. She quit snowboarding for almost two years, becoming a college student at Princeton.

In college, she told Time, she was able to see other smart, driven people experience anxiety and even failure for the first time. She began seeing a therapist at Princeton and said that in therapy she could begin talking about the racism she experienced as an Asian American athlete in a predominantly white sport.

"Just because I am a professional athlete or won the Olympics doesn't exempt me from racism," Kim told ESPN's Alyssa Roenigk last April, at a time when racist attacks on Asian Americans in the U.S. were making national news. She detailed hateful social media messages—"I see maybe 30 a day," she said—and being spit on in public. After winning her first X Games medal at age 13, she wrote for ESPN, she stopped speaking Korean with her parents in public, fearing nasty comments or racist jokes.

Success, too, made her a target. After she won gold in Pyeongchang, she said in a New York Times article, someone else in the sport tried to knock her down, calling her a "cocky ass bitch" in an Instagram message meant for someone else.

And so she left. For 22 months, Kim did not snowboard. She went to college, made new friends, met her boyfriend. She rode horses instead of halfpipes. Her absence from training and competing was an anomaly among young athletes, most of whom—like Kim herself—grow up training full-time at the expense of "normal" childhood activities. 

But when she returned to snowboarding in 2021, she won gold at the X Games, won the Laax Open and the U.S. Grand Prix, and then repeated as gold medalist at the World Championships. She seemed refreshed, not rusty. She even spent her World Championships trying new tricks and refreshing a stale run. Kim wrote on Twitter after stepping away from the sport and enrolling at Princeton, "I am so grateful I took a step back to give myself this experience."

Kim's achievements as an athlete have pushed her sport forward, and perhaps her recent history as a student exploring her options will convince others that the show can go on. Up-and-coming athletes who worry about trying a new trick, or about choosing between their sport and life experience, can go ahead and take a step—or a full-blown 1080—into the unknown.  

Nathan Chen completed his quest for Olympic gold Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Beijing). The 22-year-old placed first in both the short program and free skate, with the latter capping off a dominant showing at the 2022 Winter Games.

It's no surprise that the American fared so well in Beijing, but some of the remaining figure skating events could be a bit less predictable.

With the men's figure skating events complete, the focus shifts to the ice dancing, pairs and women's competitions, all of which will take place between now and Feb. 19.

Here's everything you need to know about the remaining figure skating events at the Winter Olympics.

Figure Skating Schedule

Saturday, Feb. 12

Rhythm dance, 6 a.m. ET, USA Network

Sunday, Feb. 13

Free dance, 8:15 p.m. ET, USA Network

Tuesday, Feb. 15

Women's short program, 5 a.m. ET, USA Network

Thursday, Feb. 17

Women's free skate, 5 a.m. ET, USA Network

Friday, Feb. 18

Pairs short program, 5:30 a.m. ET, USA Network

Saturday, Feb. 19

Pairs free skate, 6 a.m. ET, USA Network

Top Odds to Win

Pairs

Anastasia Mishina/Aleksandr Galliamov, Russian Olympic Committee: +140 (bet $100 to win $140)

Sui Wenjing/Han Cong, China: +175

Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov, Russian Olympic Committee: +300

Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitrii Kozlovskii, Russian Olympic Committee: +550

Ice Dance

Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron, France: -200 (bet $200 to win $100)

Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov, Russian Olympic Committee: +300

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue, United States: +700

Madison Chock/Evan Bates, United States: +700

Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin, Russian Olympic Committee: +1200

Via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Preview

The favorite to win the women's figure skating event has long been Kamila Valieva, who helped the Russian Olympic Committee win gold in the team competition. But there's a bit of controversy emerging regarding the sport's latest phenom.

On Wednesday, Russian newspaper RBC reported that the 15-year-old had tested positive for a banned substance prior to the start of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. However, Dave Skretta and Graham Dunbar of the Associated Press reported that she still practiced Thursday and that it's "unclear if Russia is appealing or fighting the result."

For now, it seems Valieva is preparing to compete in the women's event. But that doesn't begin until Tuesday, so there is time for more developments before it gets underway.

If she does compete, there's a high probability she will win the gold medal in her Olympic debut. During the team competition, she finished in first place in both the short program and free skate.

Anna Shcherbakova of the ROC is also expected to have a strong showing in the women's event. And it's possible any of the three American competitors (Mariah Bell, Karen Chen and Alysa Liu) could end up on the podium.

The ROC also has the favorite to win the pairs event in the form of Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov. However, China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong are also a strong duo, and it wouldn't be a surprise if they came away with gold.

Before the pairs or women's events take place, there will be the ice dancing competition. France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron are the strong favorites to win the gold. They didn't compete during the team event, so we have yet to see them take the ice in Beijing.

The United States fared well in ice dancing during the team competition, as Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue placed first in the rhythm dance, while Madison Chock and Evan Bates were first in the free dance. Both duos are primed to have strong showings this weekend.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL).

Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ/WV/PA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), or call or text the TN REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN).

21+. NJ/PA/WV/IN/IA/CO/IL/TN only. In partnership with Meadows Racetrack & Casino. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

After a thrilling Olympic women's snowboard halfpipe final earlier this week, it's now the men's turn.

In the women's final, Chloe Kim became the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic snowboard halfpipe gold medals. On the men's side, of course, American Shaun White did it at the Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010 Games, and he was the halfpipe Olympic gold medalist at the Pyeongchang 2018 Games.

However, the 35-year-old isn't favored to win gold again at Beijing 2022. In fact, no Americans are. There's a high likelihood the men's halfpipe final could see a Japanese sweep of the podium, and the rider best suited to prevent that from happening is Australia's Scotty James.

Still, anything can happen in the final; a fall from a heavy favorite can open up the field to anyone who can put down a high-scoring clean run.

Let's take a closer look at the 12 riders who advanced to the final from qualifiers and who to watch when the action goes down Thursday night (Friday morning in China).

Men's Halfpipe Final Start List

1. Chase Josey, United States

2. Patrick Burgener, Switzerland 

3. Andre Hoeflich, Germany 

4. Kaishu Hirano, Japan

5. Jan Scherrer, Switzerland

6. Taylor Gold, United States

7. Yuto Totsuka, Japan

8. Valentino Guseli, Australia 

9. Shaun White, United States

10. Ruka Hirano, Japan

11. Scotty James, Australia 

12. Ayumu Hirano, Japan 

Men's Halfpipe Final Odds

Ayumu Hirano +150

Scotty James +250

Shaun White +500

Yuto Totsuka +850

Men's Halfpipe Schedule

Date: Thursday, Feb. 10

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET 

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com, Peacock

No one seemed to tell the men's halfpipe riders that Tuesday night's event was just a qualifier.

We saw some extremely heavy riding from the field of 25 snowboarders representing 12 nations. Ayumu Hirano started his second run with back-to-back double cork 1440s (four full rotations, two off-axis flips), while broadcasters initially thought James ended his second run with a frontside double 1620 tailgrab, but the official results analysis scored it as a 1440.

The level of riding was so high that, initially, White looked to be in trouble. After catching his heel edge and falling on his first run, the pressure was on for his second run. He was sitting in 19th place, well outside the top-12 cutoff.

But the American put down a clean second run that included a frontside double 1080, cab double 1080 melon grab, frontside 540, Double McTwist 1260 Weddle grab (his signature trick) and frontside double 1260 to qualify in fourth place.

Unlike in the women's final, where Kim was the only American to advance, there are three Americans in the men's halfpipe final: Taylor Gold, White and Chase Josey. The fourth member of the U.S. snowboard halfpipe team, Lucas Foster, did not advance to the final.

However, the three remaining Americans will have their work cut out for them to earn a spot on the podium. Totsuka is ranked No. 1 in the world and has duked it out with White, James and Ayumu Hirano over the years for halfpipe supremacy.

James is coming off a halfpipe gold at X Games Aspen in January. Hirano won the contest before that, the Laax Open. White didn't compete at X Games and finished third at the Laax Open.

But Ayumu Hirano, Ruka Hirano and Totsuka have a trick up their sleeve that, if they can incorporate it cleanly into a run, is sure to contend for gold. It's the triple cork, which hadn't been done in competition until this year, when Ayumu Hirano landed it at Dew Tour as part of a 1440. He landed it again at X Games, but both times he fell when attempting his next trick.

Ruka Hirano and Totsuka landed the trick at training camp in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, this fall. James seems to have the trick in his bag as well after spending time training at a private halfpipe in Europe this past year. White has suggested he has it, too, but he hasn't landed it that anyone knows of.

The men's halfpipe final promises to showcase some of the wildest progression snowboarding has seen. Be sure to tune in at 8:30 p.m. ET Thursday.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL).

Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ/WV/PA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), or call or text the TN REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN).

21+. NJ/PA/WV/IN/IA/CO/IL/TN only. In partnership with Meadows Racetrack & Casino. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

Johannes Strolz made history in the men's combined slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Wednesday. 

The Austrian skiier won the gold with a total time of 2:31.43 in his first career appearance at the Games. He finished .59 seconds ahead of Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (2:32.02). James Crawford of Canada captured the bronze with a time of 2:32.11. 

Strolz is the son of Hubert Strolz, who won gold in the combined slalom at the 1988 Games in Calgary. They are the first father-son duo to win Olympic gold medals in the same discipline. 

"It's really a great moment for me and I'm so thankful that I finally can live my dream and have this gold medal in my hands like my father did in 1988 in Calgary and, yeah, just a dream come true," Strolz told reporters after his victory. "The gold medal really means the world to me."

The win caps a dramatic turnaround for Strolz, who nearly didn't make Austria's Olympic team after being dropped from the squad last year due to a string of poor performances. 

Coming out of the downhill part of the race, Kilde and Crawford were neck-and-neck for the top spot. The Norwegian star finished first by just .02 seconds in that discipline (1:43.12 to 1:43.14). 

Strolz came in fourth with a time of 1:43.87 behind Canada's Brodie Seger (1:43.54). 

The slalom was when Strolz really showcased his skills. The 29-year-old finished in just 47.56 seconds, nearly .60 seconds ahead of the runner-up (Israel's Barnabas Szollos, 48.14 seconds). 

Kilde (48.9 seconds) and Crawford (48.97 seconds) came in sixth and seventh, respectively. Their inability to keep pace with Strolz in the slalom allowed him to close the gap from the downhill and get the win. 

Even though the ending wasn't what he would have liked, Kilde still wrapped up his performance in these Olympics with two medals. He also won bronze in the Super-G. 

Crawford earned his first Olympic medal in his second appearance at the Games. He finished 20th in this event in 2018. 

Alessandro Haemmerle won Austria's fourth gold medal of the 2022 Winter Olympics in a thrilling finish at the men's snowboarding big cross final. 

Haemmerle beat Canada's Eliot Grondin in a photo finish to win his first-ever Olympic medal. Omar Visintin of Italy came in third to capture the bronze. 

Grondin made a last-ditch attempt to catch Haemmerle at the end by diving at the finish line, but he was unable to make up the narrow margin needed to come in first place. Haemmerle officially crossed the line 0.02 seconds ahead of Grondin, per Mari Saito and Winni Zhou of Reuters. 

"Looking back and seeing the (playback) video, I didn't realize it was this close," Haemmerle told reporters after the win. 

This is Haemmerle's third career appearance in this event at the Olympics. He advanced out of the 1/8 round in 2014, but his run came to an end with a fifth-place showing in the quarterfinal. 

Four years ago in Pyeongchang, Haemmerle finished seventh overall but did win the small final. His semifinal field included eventual gold medalist Pierre Vaultier and silver-medal winner Jarryd Hughes.

Coming into the 2022 Games, Haemmerle had been building up his resume. The 28-year-old finished second at the 2021 World Championships, his best career finish at that event. He is currently ranked No. 2 in the Snowboardcross World Cup Rankings, behind Germany's Martin Noerl. 

Noerl missed out on the final when he was unable to finish in the second quarterfinal run. He came in eighth place overall. 

Grondin, at just 20 years old, continues to improve after finishing 36th out of 40 competitors at the Olympics four years ago. He came in third, behind Haemmerle, at the World Championships last year. 

Snowboard cross was added to the Winter Games in 2006. Grondin is the second Canadian to medal in this event, joining Mike Robertson in 2010. 

Visintin won his first Olympic medal this year after finishing outside the top 10 in each of the previous two Games. The 32-year-old became the first Italian to reach the final in this event since Luca Matteotti in 2014. 

We had great expectations for Nathan Chen in the leadup to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. One of the most widely hyped athletes coming into the event, Chen was sponsored by Coca-Cola, United Airlines and Kellogg's and was featured in a Super Bowl ad. At only 18, he was called "the greatest athlete in the sport's history" and was considered a gold-medal favorite.

But when it came time to perform in Pyeongchang, Chen buckled under the weight of others' expectations. Far from winning a gold medal, he made his Olympic debut only to fall in his short program, finishing the competition in fifth place.

Four years later, Chen has finally met the public's expectations today in Beijing by earning a gold medal in men's figure skating. Ironically, after gaining some perspective post-Pyeongchang, he did it in part by rejecting those expectations altogether.

Rather, instead of focusing on winning at these Olympics, he was just hoping to have fun. "I'm so happy," he said on the NBC broadcast after sealing the win in the free skate. "I just had a blast out there, so I'm just really grateful."

Chen started his individual competition by setting a world record in the short program with a dynamic and emotive performance that put him solidly in first place. His free skate wasn't perfect, with the most egregious mistake being a missed connection from a quad to a triple flip. But it was clear before the four minutes were up that Chen had done it, finally winning the gold medal that had eluded him the last Olympics with a 332.60.

The performance closed the deal for perhaps the most widely—and wildly—hyped athlete coming into the past two Winter Olympics. "These past four years will come down to four minutes," NBC commentator Tara Lipinski said shortly before Chen took the ice, as if Chen was set not to compete in a sporting event but to save America from an impending nuclear disaster. It's exactly the type of pressure-laden rhetoric that the public has come to question following Simone Biles' withdrawal from competition during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and again after Mikaela Shiffrin's struggles in these Games.

For his part, Chen took it to heart back in 2018. "I didn't have fun with it," Chen told USA Today's Tom Schad about his time in Pyeongchang. He told The New York Times Juliet Macur that he internalized the pressure in the leadup to those Games and was obsessed with winning.

It's not that Chen doesn't deserve attention—far from it. Even for those who know nothing about the sport, when Chen is on the ice, his technique, his artistry, his dynamism make it hard to keep your eyes off him, and normally this translates into wins. But in Pyeongchang, the attention translated into a lackluster performance. There, Chen fell in both the team competition and the individual short program. He was able to turn the page for the free skate, hitting five quads in one competition, but it wasn't enough to make up for his short program, and he finished well below his potential in fifth.

He learned a valuable lesson at those games, he told Macur. Even after he loses, "the world continues to turn," he said. It's a mindset he's been able to cultivate thanks to broadening his horizons beyond skating, including by working toward a degree at Yale and playing piano.

It's a mindset that has served him well—since the 2018 Olympics, Chen has failed to win just one competition. Here, he continued to stave off his rivals old and new, including the back-to-back Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu, who came in fourth after popping one of his quad jumps in the short program. Shoma Uno, the 2018 silver medalist who was also the first man to land a quad flip, beat Chen at Skate America this year and was fit to pounce on the opportunity if Chen made errors. But a fall in the free skate kept him out of contention for gold, though he still took a well-deserved bronze. World silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama came in as a dark horse after his delightfully upbeat short program put him in third going into the free skate. A less-than-perfect free skate was still enough to get him a silver.

Even as Chen dominated the competition, the Japanese skaters gave us a glimpse of the future of this ever-changing and cutthroat sport, one today's veterans will no longer factor in. At only 18, Kagiyama has plenty of time to surpass Chen. And in his free skate, Hanyu made a valiant attempt to complete a quadruple axel in what would have been a first in men's figure skating.

The sport's rapid evolution means that competing isn't something skaters can take for granted, and Chen seems to be acutely aware of this. "Every opportunity that I get at competitions is one that I should be grateful for—and especially the Olympics, that's a completely different story," Chen told NBC News after the short program. "I'm just really happy to be here."

And when you're already happy, winning is just an added bonus.