Olympics

Norway did not waste any time establishing its dominance atop the 2022 Winter Olympics medal table. 

The winter sports powerhouse captured two of the first few gold medals in Beijing in two sports they typically dominate: biathlon and cross-country skiing. 

Norway's first gold came with some revenge, as it took back its title in the mixed 4x6 km biathlon relay. The Norwegians finished in front of France, who beat them four years ago in the event. 

The first individual medal of the Olympics went to Norway's Therese Johaug in the women's cross-country skiathlon. Norway earned the most cross-country skiing medals in each of the last three Olympics.

Norway was not the only nation to take home a gold in a traditionally successful event. The Netherlands opened the speedskating competitions with a victory out of Irene Schouten in the women's 3,000-meter event. The Dutch are looking to win the most speedskating medals for the third straight Olympics. 

Day 1 Medal Results

Biathlon

Mixed 4x6 km Relay

Gold: Norway 

Silver: France

Bronze: Russian Olympic Committee

Cross-Country Skiing

Women's 15km Skiathlon

Gold: Therese Johaug (Norway) 

Silver: Natalia Nepryaeva (ROC)

Bronze: Teresa Stadlober (Austria) 

Freestyle Skiing

Men's Moguls

Gold: Walter Wallburg (Sweden)

Silver: Mikael Kingsbury (Canada)

Bronze: Ikuma Horishima (Japan) 

Short-Track Speedskating

Mixed Team Relay

Gold: China

Silver: Italy

Bronze: Hungary

Ski Jumping

Women's Individual Normal Hill

Gold: Ursa Bogataj (Slovenia)

Silver: Katherine Althaus (Germany) 

Bronze: Nika Kriznar (Slovenia) 

Speedskating

Women's 3,000m

Gold: Irene Schouten (Netherlands) 

Silver: Francesca Lollobrigida (Italy) 

Bronze: Isabelle Wiedemann (Canada) 

Medals By Country Top 5

Norway: 2 (2 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze)

Slovenia: 2 (1 Gold, 0 Silver, 1 Bronze)

Italy: 2 (0 Gold, 2 Silver, 0 Bronze)

ROC: 2 (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)

Canada: 2 (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)

*Full leaderboard can be viewed at ESPN.com

Norway Opens Up Competition With Two Gold Medals

Norway entered Beijing as the favorite to win the most medals. 

The European nation flexed its dominance in the biathlon and cross-country skiing events on Saturday morning with a pair of gold medals. 

The Norwegian mixed relay biathlon team of Marte Olsbu, Tiril Eckhoff, Tarjei Bo and Johannes Thingnes Bo beat out France to re-gain the first place title that the country earned in 2014 in the event. 

Thingnes Bo finished off the relay with a final leg time of 14:43.3. The 4x6 km relay features three loops around the biathlon course. 

The Norwegian biathlon quartet joined Therese Johaug in the gold-medal column for Norway.

Johaug captured the 15-kilometer skiathlon to open the cross-country skiing program in China. 

Johaug controlled the race for most of the 15 kilometers. She finished 30 seconds ahead of her closest competition. 

Saturday's victory handed Norway its 47th all-time gold medal in cross-country skiing. Norway has 41 more medals than its closest rival on the all-time cross-country skiing medal board. 

Irene Schouten Breaks 20-Year Olympic Record

Irene Schouten of the Netherlands produced the first record-setting performance of the Olympics in the women's 3,000-meter speedskating race. 

The 29-year-old completed the course in 3:56.93, which was over a second better than silver medalist Francesca Lollabrigida of Italy.

Schouten's time broke an Olympic record that stood since 2002. Germany's Claudia Pechstein set the previous best mark in the competition.

Pechstein made some history of her own in the 3,000 meters, as she became the oldest woman to compete in the Winter Olympics and the first female to take part in eight different Winter Games. 

Schouten was not joined by any of her Dutch teammates on the medal stand. That was a bit of a surprise since the Netherlands swept the medals in the event in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018. 

The Netherlands are expected to win a handful of gold medals throughout the speedskating program and they are aiming to finish with the most medals in the sport for the third straight Olympics. 

Day 3 of the women's hockey preliminary round at the 2022 Olympics saw Team USA and Canada cruise to easy wins. 

The Americans defeated the Russian Olympic Committee 5-0 for their fourth straight Olympic win dating back to 2018. 

When these two teams met in the prelims four years ago, the U.S. team had no problems in a 5-0 win. This game looked a lot like that matchup, with Russian goalie Maria Sokorina only allowing one goal in the first period despite facing 19 shots. 

Team USA took a 2-0 lead in the second period on Hilary Knight's goal before the game turned into a blowout in the third period with three USA goals in less than five minutes. 

As impressive as the United States looked, Canada may be the best team based on the early results. It secured an 11-1 win over Finland with three players scoring at least two goals. 

Saturday's Results

Canada 11, Finland 1

Japan 6, Denmark 2

Czech Republic 3, Sweden 1

United States 5, Russian Olympic Committee 0

Group A Standings (Goal Differential)

1. Canada 2-0-0-0, 6 points (plus-21)

2. United States 2-0-0-0, 6 points (plus-8)

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

4. Finland 0-0-0-2, 0 points (minus-13)

5. Switzerland 0-0-0-2, 0 points (minus-14)

Group B Standings (Goal Differential)

1. Japan 2-0-0-0, 6 points (plus-6)

2. Czech Republic 2-0-0-0, 6 points (plus-4)

3. China 1-0-0-1, 3 points (Zero)

4. Sweden 0-0-0-2, 0 points (minus-4)

5. Denmark 0-0-0-2, 0 points (minus-6)

Grace Zumwinkle and Jesse Compher got their first Olympic goals for Team USA during the third-period onslaught.

Through two games, Canada looks like an unstoppable buzzsaw in its quest to win gold for the fifth time in the past six Olympics. 

After a 12-1 victory over Switzerland on Thursday, the Canadians rolled over Finland. They have racked up 118 shots on goal in two games. 

Minnamari Tuominen scored for Finland with 93 seconds remaining in the first period to make it a 2-1 game, but Canada scored nine unanswered goals over the final two periods to turn it into a blowout. 

Sarah Nurse and Brianne Jenner both had hat tricks in the win. Sarah Fillier and Laura Stacey scored two goals each. 

With so much attention on Canada and the U.S. in Group A, Japan and the Czech Republic are quietly taking care of business in Group B. 

Japan's six goals against Denmark on Saturday was its most in a single game at the Olympics. It also matches the team's total goals scored in three games at the 2018 Games. 

Six different players scored goals for the Japanese squad in the win. Haruka Toko had one of the goals and two assists. 

This marks the first time Japan's women's hockey team has won two games in the Olympics preliminary round. 

Czech Republic played another efficient game with a 3-1 win over Sweden. Klara Peslarova has stopped 40 of 42 shots faced through two games. Tereza Vanisova scored two of the team's three goals. 

Klara Hymlarova had a shorthanded goal for the Czech Republic in the second period before Emma Muren got Sweden on the board late in the second to make it a 2-1 game. 

There are only two games on the Sunday schedule. China and Japan will play at 3:40 a.m. ET. Team USA will take on Switzerland at 8:10 a.m. ET. 

Following the Olympic women's snowboard slopestyle qualifier on Saturday (which aired in the U.S. on Friday night), the men will have their own qualifier on Sunday afternoon (Saturday night in the U.S.). 

The Olympic snowboarding events are housed at the Genting Snow Park in Chongli District, Zhangjiakou, about 150 miles from Beijing.

The course is highlighted by a replica of the Great Wall of China. On a practical level, it helps shield the riders from the high winds in the region. But it's also a stunning backdrop for the competition.

The top of the course is comprised of three jib sections where riders will execute stylish rail tricks before giving way to three jump sections. 

The field of 30 snowboarders representing 15 nations will have two runs to attempt to qualify for the 12-rider final. American Red Gerard is the defending gold medalist from the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, and he's the favorite to take gold again in Beijing. 

But Gerard will have plenty of competition from two of the world's other snowboarding superpowers: Canada and Norway. 

Let's break down when and how to tune in to the men's snowboard slopestyle qualifier, as well as which athletes to watch. 

Men's Slopestyle Odds

Red Gerard, USA +300

Marcus Kleveland, NOR +400

Mark McMorris, CAN +400

Sebastien Toutant, CAN +500

Schedule

Men's slopestyle qualifying: Saturday, Feb. 5 at 11:30 p.m. on USA; streaming on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com

Men's slopestyle final: Sunday, Feb. 6 at 11 p.m. ET on NBC; streaming on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com

The central theme of the men's slopestyle competition will be progression. The direction the sport is headed has been on display through the recent events leading up to the Olympics, like Dew Tour, the Laax Open and X Games. 

But riders have been waiting for the big show in Beijing to attempt their most difficult runs. 

At 17, Gerard won slopestyle gold in his Olympic debut in Pyeongchang. Four years before him, fellow American Sage Kotsenburg took gold in the very first Olympic slopestyle competition when it debuted at Sochi 2014. 

Gerard's winning run four years ago was anchored by a backside triple cork 1440 (a trick that involves four full rotations and three off-axis flips). Now, that's the bare minimum riders will need to throw down to even get into the podium conversation. 

Canada's Mark McMorris, who is third in the odds for the men's competition, finished first at X Games in January as the only rider who included three triple corks (switch backside triple 1620, frontside triple 1440, backside triple 1620) in his run. Though some riders still choose to go with a 1260 in one of the three final jumps, it's doubtful that trick will be enough to medal in Beijing. 

Finland's Rene Rinnekangas, who is a favorite to podium in men's big air but not in slopestyle, landed the first 1980 in competition at X Games. It's more likely we'll see him attempt that trick in the big air competition, where riders launch off a massive jump and perform their single best trick.

While Gerard didn't place on the podium at X Games in January, he did take the win at Dew Tour at Copper Mountain in December on a walk-off run that featured a frontside 1080 nosegrab, backside 1260 melon, and switch backside 1620 Weddle grab. 

Gerard has what it takes to defend his gold medal—and ensure the U.S. goes 3-for-3 in Olympic slopestyle competitions. But the competition is fierce. 

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.

Sweden's Walter Wallberg captured the gold medal in the men's freestyle skiing moguls at the 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park in China.

Wallberg, who narrowly missed the event's final four years ago in the 2018 Games, edged out defending gold medalist Mikael Kingsbury of Canada on Saturday for the top spot on the podium this time around.

Here's a look at the results:

• Gold: Walter Wallberg (SWE): 83.23
• Silver: Mikael Kingsbury (CAN): 82.18
• Bronze: Ikuma Horishima (JPN): 81.48

The result came as a surprise, even to the 21-year-old Swede, who said before the Olympics he didn't think he was on Kingsbury's level quite yet.

"I feel like there's still a small gap between me and Mikael. I have some things to work on, especially on the jumping, but I'm skiing pretty well and I need to close that gap," Wallberg told Reuters' Winni Zhou and Mari Saito on Wednesday.

Anything can happen in a single event, however, and the difference Saturday was time.

Wallberg finished the course 1.3 seconds quicker than his Canadian counterpart on the final run, which represented a key point advantage (+1.74). He also held a slight edge in the air score (+0.11) to overcome Kingsbury's strong showing on the turns (+0.8).

Horishima rounded out the podium, a result he felt was necessary in order to keep competing in moguls in the future. Now he's setting his sights on Italy in 2026.

"I gave it my all," the 24-year-old Japanese skier said. "My real dream is the gold so I'm going to keep working towards that.”

Nick Page, 19, was the only member of Team USA to reach the last run of the finals. He finished fifth with a score of 78.90.

France's Benjamin Cavet (fourth; 79.44) and Australia's Cooper Woods-Topalovic (sixth; 78.88) were the other finalists.

Next up on the freestyle skiing schedule is the women's moguls on Sunday.

Norway's Therese Johaug became the first gold medalist of the 2022 Winter Olympics with her triumph in the women's 7.5km + 7.5km Skiathlon at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center and Biathlon Center in China.

Johaug finished first in the classic portion of the race and second in the freestyle to win the event by just over 30 seconds on Saturday.

Here's a look at the podium:

• Gold: Therese Johaug (NOR): 44:13.7
• Silver: Natalia Nepryaeva (ROC): +30.2
• Bronze: Teresa Stadlober (AUT): +30.5

It's the second Olympic gold medal for Johaug, who was previously part of the winning Norwegian team in the women's 4x5-kilometer relay at the 2010 Vancouver Games. She also won two medals, a silver and bronze, at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

She missed the 2018 Games while serving an 18-month suspension after she tested positive for clostebol, a synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroid, in September 2016.

"It's a dream come true. I've been training a lot for this for many, many years. And it's been a special week for us; we just came here two days ago," Johaug told reporters.

In addition to her four Olympic medals, she's also won 19 medals at the World Championships, including 14 golds.

While Johaug dominated the field, it was an intense race for silver between Nepryaeva and Stadlober that came down to the wire and was decided by fractions of a second in favor of the Russian.

"I'm pleased to get silver," Nepryaeva said. "It's my first time to produce a performance like this at the Olympic Games, and it gives me a lot of confidence for the races later this week. I feel very powerful now."

The United States' Jessie Diggins dropped as low as 15th early in the race before making a remarkable surge during the final few kilometers. She made up 27.5 seconds on Johaug over the final 1.2 kilometers, but it wasn't quite enough to earn a podium spot.

Diggins teamed with Kikkan Randall to win gold in the women's cross-country skiing team sprint at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Other American finishers Saturday included Rosie Brennan (14th), Hailey Swirbul (40th) and Julia Kern (53rd).

The cross-country skiing schedule resumes Sunday with the men's Skiathlon (15km + 15km).

The 2022 Olympics will mark the end of Shaun White's Olympic snowboard career. 

White told reporters on Saturday he will retire after the Beijing Games:

"This has all had its amazing glow as I've decided this will be my last Olympics," White said. "I've given it my all, there have been some ups and downs on the way to get here. And with that I feel I've got stronger and better. I'm just so excited about everything. Opening ceremony was incredible. The venue looks incredible. I'm just enjoying every single moment."

White has previously teased that Beijing would be the end of his Olympic career. He told Today in December that this would probably be "my last run."

During his press conference on Saturday, White said there are some knee, ankle and back issues he's been dealing with that led him to make this decision late last year. 

"They were taking away from days in practice, and I was watching the tricks getting heavier and heavier. I was riding down from the halfpipe in Austria, and I got lost, and I had to take this chair back up. And on that chairlift ride, the mountain was closing and I was on my own and I was watching the sun go down, and it hit me: this is it. It was a surreal moment, but very joyous as I watched the sun go down and reflected."

The 35-year-old is taking part in his fifth consecutive Olympics. He made his debut at the Games in 2006. 

White has won gold medals three times, in 2006, 2010 and 2018. He is the only snowboarder in Olympic history with at least three gold medals. The California native also holds the X Games record for most gold medals (15, including 13 in snowboarding). 

He was named to Team USA for the Olympics despite not being able to take part in the U.S. Grand Prix finals last month because of an ankle injury. 

White is scheduled to take part in the men's halfpipe. Qualifying will take place on Feb. 9, followed by the finals on Feb. 11.     

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing officially kicked off Friday with an Opening Ceremony from the National Stadium that featured no celebrity appearances and several missing delegations amid a diplomatic boycott over alleged human rights violations.

The ceremony was dialed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it emphasized the theme of togetherness at a time when the world feels very much apart, with spectacle attempting to mask political agendas.

Nothing represented the theme better than a massive set of lights shaped like a snowflake surrounding the Olympic flame, the names of each participating country inside of it.

The size of the flame in relation to the surrounding snowflake "cauldron" drew a few jokes across social media, too.

The flame was lit by Chinese athletes Zhao Jiawen and Dinigeer Yilamujiang, the latter "an Uyghur cross-country skiier from the western Chinese region of Xinjiang," whose participation created controversy with the Uyghur community in China being one of several groups the government has been accused of persecuting.

Team USA entered the ceremony led by curler and 2018 gold medalist John Shuster and speed skater Brittany Bowe. Bowe replaced bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, who tested positive for COVID-19, per The New York Times. Shuster and the United States are expected to contend for a repeat victory, though Canada will be a tough out in a sport it has long dominated. Floridian Bowe is a former inline skater who has made the successful transition into speedskating, evolving into one of the best in the world.

The United States was one of the larger contingencies to participate in the ceremony, with a somewhat surprising 175 marchers, per Juliet Macur of The New York Times. The site's Daniel Victor reported that is about 80 percent of athletes and a "notably high percentage."

The host country entered the venue to the loudest reaction of the night, led by speed skater Gao Tingyu and skeleton athlete Zhao Dan. Tingyu won a bronze medal in 2018, becoming the first male Chinese speedskater to ever medal in the Games.

Nathan Crumpton of American Samoa stole the show, arriving shirtless in subzero temperatures.

Crumpton is the sole competitor from American Samoa, a skeleton skater who shrugged off the freezing temperatures by arriving in a lavalava and flip-flops, proudly displaying the flag of the American territory. Tongan athlete Pita Taufatofua (taekwondo) made headlines in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 for his shirtless arrival at that opening ceremony.

He took to Twitter to show his kudos to Crumpton.

The ceremony, for all its grandiosity, remained relatively demure given the lower number of participating athletes, lack of worldwide leaders and ongoing political and health concerns.

Typically, the alpine skiers taking part in the men's downhill event at the Winter Olympics have a strong feel for the course they're going to compete on. That isn't exactly the case for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

The course that will host the men's downhill event on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Beijing) is a new one at the Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center, which is about 50 miles north of Beijing. It's never held a World Cup event, and it didn't host an Olympic test event, either, because it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The men's downhill competitors took the course for training sessions earlier this week, but the third and final one (which was held Saturday in Beijing) was cut short because of high winds. So the skiers got even less time to feel out the course than they expected when arriving at the Winter Olympics.

So there are likely a wide range of possibilities for how the men's downhill event could unfold. 

Here's everything you need to know heading into the men's downhill alpine skiing event.

Men's Downhill Coverage Info

Date: Saturday, Feb. 5

Start Time: 10 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com and Peacock

Preview

While some events at this year's Winter Olympics have an overwhelming favorite, that isn't the case for men's downhill. There are several skiers who will likely be contending for the gold.

Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has been picked by many as the favorite to win men's downhill, as he's the current World Cup leader. However, he hasn't fared well at the event at past Winter Games. In 2014, he didn't finish his run, and he placed 15th in 2018.

However, the 29-year-old Kilde has greatly improved since then and gained a lot of experience.

Switzerland's Beat Feuz will be another top skier to watch. The 34-year-old won the bronze medal in men's downhill in 2018, and he has won the World Cup title for the event every year from 2018 to 2021. He's currently second to Kilde in the World Cup standings.

Matthias Mayer, a 31-year-old from Austria, is currently in third in those standings behind Kilde and Feuz, but he's been the most successful of the three at the Olympic level. Mayer has won two gold medals at past Games, which includes one in men's downhill in 2014.

A potential breakout star to watch is Switzerland's Marco Odermatt. The 24-year-old, who ranks fourth in the World Cup standings for men's downhill but leads the competition's overall standings, will be making his Olympic debut.

But this new course in Yanqing could be difficult for every competitor, even the most talented and the most experienced. After the first training session earlier this week, Kilde said it "was, as expected, challenging."

"High speeds on and off, jumps, terrain, a lot of things happening," Kilde said, per Eric Goodman of NBCOlympics.com.

During Saturday's final training run, Kilde, Mayer and Italy's Christof Innerhofer were the only skiers to complete their runs before the rest of the session was canceled. 

"For everybody it is new, us athletes as well as the coaches," Odermatt said, per Noah Trister of the Associated Press. "It’s a big challenge for the whole team to find a perfect setup."

Regardless, three skiers are going to earn medals in the men's downhill event, and it should be entertaining to watch as they battle it out on a course providing a bit of an unknown to the competition.

The United States sits in an optimal position after three legs of the figure skating team event at the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Nathan Chen topped the men's short program, and the ice dancing pair of Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue earned the best score in rhythm dance. 

A third-place finish in the pairs skate from Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier gave the Americans 28 points after three events. 

Still, the Americans need to pick up every point possible in the two skates Saturday, as the second-place Russian Olympic Committee is scheduled to send its best skaters to the ice in Beijing. 

The women's short program will be first up for the day, and the men's free skate will follow.

The participating countries in the team event will make their final decisions on which athletes will skate in the events Saturday as well.

The available odds for the day's competitions can be found on DraftKings Sportsbook. 

Saturday Figure Skating Schedule

Team Event - Women's Short Program (8:30 p.m. ET) 

Team Event - Men's Free Skate (10:50 p.m. ET) 

All events can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com.

Predictions

Russian Olympic Committee Will Take Lead

The Russian Olympic Committee should overtake the United States during Saturday's first skate. 

The ROC has three medal favorites in the women's singles, and a high score is expected in the women's short program of the team event regardless of who competes.

It would be wise of the ROC to let 15-year-old Kamila Valieva skate Saturday to get one event under her legs before she takes on the women's singles event. The United States followed the same strategy by letting Chen open the team event Thursday in the men's short program.

There are no clear gold-medal favorites among the American women. That could result in a large point gap between the ROC and the USA.

A first-place finish in any team event skate gains 10 points, second place gains nine points, third place earns eight points and so on. 

The Americans need their women's short program skater to finish in the top five to ensure there is not too much of a points drop-off relative to the ROC.

The top five countries in the team event standings after the women's short program will advance to the free skate. 

Americans Will Remain in Top 3 After Saturday's Skates

The Americans should be in decent shape to medal in the team event as long as they perform well to kick off the free-skate portion. 

Chen will likely not compete in the men's free-skate portion of the team event so he can focus on winning gold in the men's singles event. 

Jason Brown and Vincent Zhou are the other two candidates for the United States to send to the ice. 

Brown could get the nod because of his lengthy experience at 27 years old and because he might have a better time in the men's competition early next week. 

The 2014 mixed-team bronze medalist does not have to win the free skate, and as long as he finishes in the top three, he should keep the Americans in medal contention. 

The disparity in talent between the ROC and the other teams is not as big in the other events as it is in the women's discipline, so there is a chance one of the other nations steals first place in the men's free skate. 

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.