Olympics 2022 Snowboarding Cross Small Results: France Finishes 1st, USA in 2nd Place
Feb 10, 2022
France's Merlin Surget (16) and United States' Jake Vedder (18) run the course during the men's cross finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
France's Merlin Surget earned a fifth-place overall finish in the men's snowboard cross after winning the small final in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The United States' Jake Vedder, Spain's Lucas Eguibar and Italy's Tommaso Leoni rounded out the four-man field.
Vedder opened with a slim lead over Leoni before Surget surged ahead and passed him on the inside coming around a turn. Then Leoni fell to the snow and knocked down Eguibar.
POV: You're competing in snowboard cross. 🏂
Take a look at the course, plus an up-close look at how this crash happened! #WinterOlympics
That turned the small final into a two-horse race, as Surget and Vedder battled for first. Surget's lead grew as the event went on, and he coasted to the finish line.
Eguibar was the gold medalist in snowboard cross at the 2021 World Championships, which raised expectations in Beijing for the 28-year-old. While he was able to get the better of Alessandro Haemmerle and Eliot Grondin in Idre, Sweden, he placed fourth in a semifinal rematch.
Mick Dierdorff inadvertently cleared a path for Eguibar's path to the semis. Dierdorff was running second behind Haemmerle in their quarterfinal heat when he crashed going around the turn. He claimed Germany's Martin Noerl as collateral damage.
With his small final triumph, Surget earned 450 FIS points. Vedder collected 400 points thanks to his finish in sixth place overall.
In the overall final, Haemmerle went on to capture gold, edging out Grondin in a photo finish.
Olympic Freestyle Skiing 2022 Results: USA Wins Gold Medal in Mixed Team Aerials
Feb 10, 2022
USA's Justin Schoenefeld (C), USA's Ashley Caldwell (R) and USA's Christopher Lillis wait for their score in the freestyle skiing mixed team aerials final during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park A & M Stadium in Zhangjiakou on February 10, 2022. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
The United States edged out China to win the inaugural mixed team aerials in freestyle skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Thursday.
Ashley Caldwell, Christopher Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld combined to post a score of 338.34 in the second final, catapulting them ahead of the Chinese trio of Xu Mengtao, Jia Zongyang and Qi Guangpu.
Canada rounded out the podium.
Mixed Team Aerials Results
Gold: United States
Silver: China
Bronze: Canada
China made a strong opening statement with an overall score of 336.89 to qualify for the final. That was more than six points better than Team USA.
The United States was also looking up at China on the leaderboard following the first round of jumps. Caldwell's back full full full jump was only good enough to earn a score of 88.86, well below the 106.03 points Xu earned for the same jump.
Lillis was next up for the U.S., and he delivered a commanding performance with his back double full full double full. He added 135 points to his team's collection, which turned the tables on China.
That put the onus on Schoenefeld to seal the deal. His back double full full full netted 114.48 points, which was good enough to secure gold.
Aerial freestyle skiing hasn't been fertile ground for Team USA of late. The 1998 Winter Olympics were the last time an American skier won gold, with Eric Bergoust and Nikki Stone making it a men's and women's double.
Caldwell, Schoenefeld and Lillis have now stamped their place into Olympics history.
Team USA has four gold medals in Beijing, the second-highest tally for this year's Winter Games. The country's 10 medals are also two behind those of Norway, Austria and Canada for the overall lead.
The United States is beginning to rack up gold medals at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Over the past two days, women's snowboarders Lindsey Jacobellis and Chloe Kim and men's figure skater Nathan Chen have all captured golds, helping to send the U...
Nathan Chen, of the United States, competes in the men's free skate program during the figure skating event at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Team USA's Nathan Chen capped off a magical run at the Winter Olympics in Beijing with a majestic performance in the free skate to win his first career Olympic gold medal.
Dancing to a medley of Elton John songs led by the hit "Rocketman," Chen dazzled with a nearly flawless run to earn the top score in the free skate with 218.63 on Thursday (Wednesday ET) for a combined score of 332.60.
Chen recorded a world-record score of 113.97 in the men's short program on Tuesday (Monday ET). He's the seventh American to win Olympic gold in men's figure skating.
The 22-year-old and three-time reigning world champion entered this year's Games with the clear goal of making up for his fifth-place finish in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and he did just that.
Kagiyama's teammate Shoma Uno won the bronze medal by finishing with 187.10 in the free skate and a combined score of 293.00. It's Uno's second Olympic medal of his career, having won silver in 2018.
Japan’s Uno Shoma wins #Bronze and completes the podium!
It marks his second men's singles Olympic medal in #FigureSkating
Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu, the two-time Olympic gold medalist, placed fourth. He had surprisingly missed his first jump in the short program and placed eighth, creating an uphill battle in the free skate.
Hanyu, who had displayed a quadruple axel in his practice session, attempted the jump in the free skate but fell down. That jump is four-and-a-half revolutions and had never been landed successfully in competition.
Hanyu fell a second time when he attempted another quadruple jump. He recovered and later landed a quadruple toe in the latter half of his run. For his effort, he had the third-highest score in the free skate with 188.06.
A gutsy performance from 2x Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu.
One of the greatest careers we have ever seen in figure skating. 👏 #WinterOlympics
Team USA's Jason Brown placed sixth with a combined score of 281.24. Brown was competing in his first Olympics in eight years after failing to qualify in 2018.
The skaters will have a few days off as the next figure skating competition will be the pairs rhythm dance on Saturday.
Nathan Chen Wins 2022 Olympic Men's Figure Skating Gold Medal After Free Skate
Feb 10, 2022
BEIJING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 10: Nathan Chen of Team United States skates during the Men Single Skating Free Skating on day six of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 10, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Nathan Chen's Olympic masterpiece is complete after he earned the men's figure skating gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Games on Thursday.
The 22-year-old American entered the free skate first in the 24-competitor field after posting a record score of 113.97 in the short program.
He left no doubt about who would end atop the podium after a tremendous free skate (218.63) that put him more than 22 points clear of Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, the next-closest finisher.
Japanese skaters finished second, third and fourth in Beijing, with Kagiyama and Shoma Uno earning bronze and silver. Yuzuru Hanyu rose to fourth after posting the third-best free skate on the day.
Here's a look at the complete results alongside some notes and highlights.
Chen, who skated to numerous songs from the Elton John biopic Rocketman, landed five quad jumps during his free skate. The New York Times broke them down.
Here are those Olympic gold medal-winning jumps from Nathan Chen 🇺🇸.
Robert Samuels of the Washington Post commented on Chen and his performance:
In a sport rife with drama and controversy, Nathan Chen is both calming presence and a thrill on the ice. Judges are hard to agree on anything but they agreed the second quad flip and the quad lutz were practically perfect. What a champion. #Beijing2022WinterOlympics
This marked Chen's second Olympic performance after he took part in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. The first time ended with Chen finishing fifth after he ended the short program 17th. Chen finished first in the free skate, showcasing what he can do at his best.
Figure skating's newest king performed at his peak in Beijing, and now he is the seventh American to win Olympic gold in men's figure skating and the first since 2010 (Evan Lysacek):
A gold-medal finish certainly wasn't a formality as Chen began his free skate routine. The 18-year-old Kagiyama, who finished with the silver at the 2021 World Championships, put forth an excellent free skate that kept him in second place. He and Chen were the only two competitors to finish with 200 or more points in the free skate.
Uno, who won silver at the last Olympic Games, also fared well en route to third. He took third in both the short program and free skate to earn the bronze.
The 24-year-old is a two-time World Championships silver medalist, and he also won bronze at the Olympic team figure skating event this year.
Hanyu didn't make the podium this year after winning gold in 2018, but he posted an excellent effort just to come close this time around. He ended the short program in eighth place but bounced back with his performance in the free skate. Hanyu ended up finishing 10 points shy of the bronze.
In the end, this was Chen's time to shine, and he delivered on the world's biggest stage.
Chloe Kim Wins Gold Medal for Snowboarding Halfpipe at Olympics 2022
Feb 10, 2022
United States' Chloe Kim competes during the women's halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Chloe Kim is still golden.
The American star successfully defended her gold medal in the women's snowboarding halfpipe on Wednesday at the 2022 Beijing Olympics with a score of 94.00. She was joined by Queralt Castellet of Spain (90.25 for silver) and Sena Tomita of Japan (88.25 for bronze) on the medal podium.
CHLOE KIM STOMPS IT IN RUN 1.@ChloeKim's 94.00 puts her in the top spot in the Snowboard Halfpipe Final! #WinterOlympics
The 12 finalists were each given three runs with their highest score counting toward the medal race, and Kim jumped into first with her opening run and never relinquished the lead.
Here is a look at the final scores for all the competitors, per the Olympics' official website:
Chloe Kim (USA), 94.00
Queralt Castellet (ESP), 90.25
Sena Tomita (JPN), 88.25
Cai Xuetong (CHN), 81.25
Ruki Tomita (JPN), 80.50
Elizabeth Hosking (CAN), 79.25
Berenice Wicki (SUI), 76.25
Liu Jiayu (CHN), 73.50
Mitsuki Ono (JPN), 71.50
Brooke Dhondt (CAN), 66.75
Leilani Ettel (GER), 57.50
Qiu Leng (CHN), 53.75
Frankly, anything but a Kim victory would have qualified as a surprise in Beijing.
Not only was she the defending Olympic champion, she also set the bar during qualifying with the highest score. Her path to gold also got a little bit easier when American teammate Maddie Mastro placed just outside of the 12-rider cutoff with a 13th place finish.
Mastro is the reigning world runner-up.
Still, the strong field of challengers featured two-time world champion Cai Xuetong of China, 2020 X Games winner Castellet and Japan's Mitsuki Ono, who finished in second place during qualifying.
It didn't take long for Kim to make a statement to those challengers.
She unleashed an incredible opening run to take the lead with a score of 94.00. She was quite emotional on the bottom of the hill, and the NBC broadcast even captured her saying she was worried because she struggled so much at practice coming into the competition.
There were no struggles during the run, and it was fairly clear the rest of the field was competing for silver.
With that first run as something of a safety cushion, Kim took a chance on her second run by attempting a 1260 after a frontside 1080. Unfortunately for the victor, she fell and was unable to put an exclamation mark on her brilliant opening performance.
The race for silver and bronze took center stage before Kim's last run, and Castellet had the advantage thanks to her own impressive second run that bested everyone but the gold-medal winner.
Tomita's second run was also in medal position as the third-best score, which mean she and Castellet were left holding their breath for the final runs for Xuetong and Ono.
While she may be a two-time world champion, Xuetong missed a grab on her last run and fell just short of the podium. Ono fared even worse and fell on one of her jumps, securing the medals for the three atop the podium.
USA vs. China: 2022 Olympic Hockey Live-Stream Schedule, Odds and Pick
Feb 9, 2022
RIGA, LATVIA - MAY 22: Matty Beniers #10 of the United States during the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship group stage game between Finland and United States at Arena Riga on May 22, 2021 in Riga, Latvia. (Photo by EyesWideOpen/Getty Images)
The United States men's hockey team is expected to cruise to a victory in its 2022 Winter Olympics opener.
China is the first opponent for the Americans in Group A in Beijing, in a matchup that should ease the young team into the competition.
The United States need a win on Thursday morning because there is a tough path ahead in Group A to finish in the top two.
Canada and Germany are also in the group. All of those squads have been weakened by the absence of NHL players, but the three teams should still be very competitive in the group stage.
China's roster is made up of 15 foreign-born players who have played together on the Kunlun Red Stars in the KHL. Jake Chelios, the son of NHL great Chris Chelios, is one of the Americans on the Chinese roster.
Money Line: United States (-1000; bet $1000 to win $100); China (+550; bet $100 to win $550)
Pick
United States 4, China 1
The USA-China matchup presents a strange dynamic for some of the players.
China has a handful of American-born players, who were recruited to help the host nation be competitive in the men's hockey tournament, on its roster.
The host nation would have been at a much greater disadvantage if NHL players had been eligible for the tournament.
There is still a significant mismatch on paper between the USA and China, but the hosts may be more competitive than expected in the first period as the Americans look to find a rhythm together and the players shake out any Olympic nerves.
The one advantage China has is that all of its players have chemistry from their time in the KHL. Brandon Yip, a Canadian on the Chinese roster, talked about the dynamic within the group, per Steve Keating of Reuters.
"Everyone knows we've been together for many years so that is one thing that is going to be a home court advantage for sure," he said. "Other teams have kind of been thrown together last minute. We are going to take advantage of that."
The lack of chemistry between the long-time pros and college players in the American squad could see China stay in the contest for a period before the talent takes over.
Matty Beniers, 19, is the player U.S. fans should have their eyes on from the start of the tournament.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft by the Seattle Kraken has the potential for a breakout tournament on the international stage.
Beniers, who plays at Michigan, is the youngest player on a U.S. roster that features six players aged 31 or older.
Goalie Pat Nagle is the oldest member of the squad at 34, and he has spent most of his career in the AHL and ECHL.
That is a similar theme for most of the American players. Some of them took the step to go overseas to play professionally as well.
The lack of NHL talent will eventually hurt the U.S., but it should have enough skill to overpower the Chinese defense.
China is ranked 32nd in the world in men's hockey and it did not have to face any tough matchups in qualifying since it automatically entered as the host country.
The Americans should win by multiple goals and gain some needed confidence ahead of their clashes with Canada and Germany.
Olympic 2022 Medal Count: Final Tally, Winners from Day 5 Early Events
Feb 9, 2022
BEIJING, CHINA - February 09: Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States celebrates winning the gold medal during the Women's Snowboard Cross at Genting Snow Park during the Winter Olympic Games on February 9th, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Lindsey Jacobellis' Winter Olympics redemption was 16 years in the making.
Jacobellis won the gold medal in the women's snowboard cross in the fifth event of her career.
The 36-year-old American had the 2006 gold in her grasp, but she fell on the final jump, and that led to a silver medal. Jacobellis fell short of the medal stand in the next three Olympics.
The result Jacobellis waited the duration of her career for was earned on Wednesday morning in China.
Jacobellis won the four-woman final in the snowboard cross to bring home the first gold medal for the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The United States also added to their medal haul with a silver in the men's skiing big air competition. Colby Stevenson became the fifth silver medalist from the American contingent.
Jacobellis beat out three other racers in the final round to secure the major achievement that has eluded her.
Jacobellis was close to winning the first-ever snowboard cross competition in 2006, but she fell as she was completing the final jump on the course.
The 36-year-old settled for silver in Turin and did not make it back to the medal stand in the next three Olympics.
Jacobellis was fractions of a second away from making the podium in Pyeonchang, South Korea. She crashed in the Vancouver and Sochi Olympics.
Wednesday morning's triumph marked the first gold medal of the Beijing Games for the United States.
Jacobellis could be joined the gold medal column as soon as Wednesday night. Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim lead the men's figure skating and women's snowboard halfpipe competitions, respectively, going into the final rounds.
Germany Takes Gold Medal Lead
Germany became the first nation to win five golds in Beijing.
The Germans dominated the men's doubles luge competition to hit that mark.
Germany has been in total control of the sliding sports so far. It won gold in the men's and women's singles and the men's doubles.
The other gold earned by the European country came in the nordic combined, where Vinzenz Geiger won the normal hill competition.
The early triumphs in luge and other sports put Germany on track to match, or even better, its medal total from the 2018 Winter Olympics, when it had 14 golds and 31 overall medals.
Germany should be in the mix for the bobsled and skeleton medals, as well as more podiums in biathlon and ski jumping. It already has two medals from the latter sports.
Olympic Hockey Results 2022: Scores and Top Highlights from Wednesday's Games
Feb 9, 2022
Russian Olympic Committee's Anton Slepyshev (58) is congratulated after scoring a goal against Switzerland during a preliminary round men's hockey game at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The Russian Olympic Committee opened the defense of its gold medal in men's hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics with a 1-0 victory over
Switzerland at Beijing National Indoor Stadium.
Denmark upset the Czech Republic in Wednesday's other Group B game on the first day of competition in the tournament, which doesn't feature NHL players.
Let's check out the final scores
followed by a recap of the action.
Men's Ice Hockey Results (Feb. 9)
Russian Olympic Committee 1, Switzerland 0
Denmark 2, Czech Republic 1
Wednesday Recap
Any thought the ROC would simply roll
to another gold medal—thanks to the severely depleted rosters caused
by the NHL's absence—was put on hold for at least one game as the
Russians had their hands full with a gamely Swiss side.
Switzerland won the shot battle
Wednesday, 33-30, and had numerous chances to level the score in the
third period. Luckily for Russia, goaltender Ivan Fedotov was up to
the task en route to a shutout.
The game's only goal came late in the
first period, and it was the product of some good fortune as Anton
Slepyshev blindly threw the puck toward the front and it bounced in:
The first goal of the men's ice hockey tournament is an own goal!
ROC gets on the board late in the first period against Switzerland. #WinterOlympics
ROC head coach Alexei Zhamnov expressed
confidence his team will get better as the tournament goes on
following the lackluster opener.
"Each of the guys, each of our
players will improve, and this game here was just necessary for all of
us and the coaching staff, too," Zhamnov told reporters. "It's
hard without game practice."
Meanwhile, Denmark raced out to a 2-0
lead over the Czech Republic in the opening period courtesy of goals
from Markus Lauridsen and Frans Nielsen—the latter played for the New York
Islanders and Detroit Red Wings during the peak of his career.
Nielsen's tally came on a well-executed
penalty shot:
Roman Cervenka scored for the Czech
Republic early in the second period to trim the lead to one, but the
Czechs could never find the equalizer despite a flurry of chances in
the final minute of the third period, including one that hit the
post.
Looking ahead, Thursday's hockey
schedule features the openers in Groups A and C.
Team USA is set take on the host nation
of China, and Canada will battle Germany in Group A. Play in Group C will feature Sweden vs.
Latvia and Finland vs. Slovakia.
Olympic Women's Alpine Skiing Results 2022: Medal Winners for Slalom
Feb 9, 2022
Petra Vlhova, of Slovakia celebrates during the medal ceremony after winning the gold medal in the women's slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Slovakia's Petra Vlhova won alpine skiing gold in the women's slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Wednesday, beating out Austria's Katharina Liensberger by less than a tenth of a second.
Switzerland's Wendy Holdener took bronze in the event, while the top finishing American was Paula Moltzan, who came in eighth.
While the 26-year-old Vlhova won world championship gold in the giant slalom in 2019 and silver in the slalom in 2021, Wednesday marked her first Olympic medal win of any color.
Vlhova, who became the first Slovakian skier to win Olympic gold in alpine skiing, came from well off the pace after the first run to earn the victory, per WCAX's Jack Fitzsimmons:
Man…look at emotion from Petra Vlhova. Well earned slalom gold, coming from more than 0.7 down after the first run
Impressively, Vlhova held off two skiers who had already won Olympic medals in their career entering Beijing.
Liensberger won silver in the team event four years ago in Pyeongchang, South Korea, plus she won gold in both the slalom and parallel giant slalom at the 2021 world championships.
Meanwhile, Holdener won a medal of each color at the Pyeongchang Games, including silver in the slalom.
One notable skier who did not figure into the medal equation was American Mikaela Shiffrin, who was unable to finish the race for a second consecutive event.
The three-time Olympic medalist and 11-time world championship medalist veered off course early in her first run just two days after crashing during the giant slalom.
According to ESPN's D'Arcy Maine, Shiffrin said after Wednesday's slalom disappointment: "It makes me second-guess the last 15 years, everything I thought I knew about my own skiing and slalom and racing mentality. Just processing a lot, for sure."
Lindsey Vonn, who was a three-time Olympic medalist for Team USA in her own right, offered support for Shiffrin on Twitter:
Gutted for @MikaelaShiffrin but this does not take away from her storied career and what she can and will accomplish going forward. Keep your head high ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fSgqSii0JA
Shiffrin, 26, is one gold medal away from setting the career Olympic record for American alpine skiers with three. She is also just one medal of any kind away from tying Julia Mancuso for the most career Olympic medals won by a female American alpine skier.
While Shiffrin has not performed up to expectations in Beijing thus far, she is still scheduled to compete in the super-G, combined and downhill.
Shiffrin has never medaled in the downhill at the Olympics or world championships and has not medaled in the super-G in the Olympics, but she is a two-time super-G medalist at the world championships, plus the silver medalist in the combined at the 2018 Olympics and the combined gold medalist at the 2021 world championships.
