Further reading
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All that leaves from here is basically admin. We’ll be back again tomorrow, but until then:
- Have a look at the schedule for the remainder of the games
- Also peruse the updated medal table
- The best pictures from day 14 in Pyeongchang
And with that, good day to you.
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So then, what kind of day has it been:
- Alina Zagitova, 15, wins Olympic figure skating title for OAR’s first gold
- Germany beat Canada in huge ice hockey upset - they will play the Olympic Athletes from Russia in the final, who beat Czech Republic
- Great Britain’s women lost to Sweden in the curling semi-final, meaning they will face Japan for the bronze medal on Saturday. The Swedes will duke it out with Korea for gold.
- In the men’s curling bronze medal match, Switzerland beat Canada 7-5.
- In the freestyle skiing women’s ski cross final, Canadian Kelsey Serwa beat her compatriot (and best friend) Brittany Phelan to gold.
- Kjeld Nuis won gold in the men’s 1,000m speed skating, with Havard Lorentzen taking silver and Korean Kim Tea-yun got bronze.
- The Swedish team of Peppe Femling, Jesper Nelin, Sebastian Samuelsson and Fredrik Lindstrom won gold in the men’s biathlon relay, ahead of Norway in second and Germany third.
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And here’s the report from that remarkable upset in the hockey.
This is nice. It’s nice to be nice. From Reuters:
Sweden’s Jesper Nelin has seen plenty of medals at the Pyeongchang Games, but they were mostly around the neck of his girlfriend Hanna Oeberg until he won a relay gold in the final biathlon race of the Games on Friday.
Nelin had supported Oeberg as she claimed gold in the 15km individual race and followed up with silver in the women’s relay, but he came up agonisingly short in his own efforts, including the mixed relay race the two contested together.
“I also want to have these medals and I felt like we had a really good chance today - we took it and I’m really happy about it,” Nelin told reporters after Fredrik Lindstroem cruised to victory waving the Swedish flag.
“This so fantastically big and beautiful, I really wished this for him. It’s so huge,” a tearful Oeberg told Reuters as her partner face a battery of cameras and microphones.
“He has been brilliant for me, been with me and supported me, he has meant so much to me,” she added, her voice cracking with emotion.
Sure, they may have upset the odds massively, are now guaranteed their first men’s ice hockey medal since 1976 and have a shot at their first gold ever, but I think we can all agree that, as said before, the real victory for the Germans is their clobber. What a shirt.
Germany beat Canada in men's ice hockey semi
Germany win! What an upset! Defending champs Canada are beaten, and the side rated tenth in the tournament will play the Russians in the gold medal game on Sunday. Where, oh where were the Canadians? And frankly, who cares?
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It is quite exciting though. 20 seconds left...
Theory: nobody really knows what’s going on in ice hockey.
Bit of a siege on the German goal as Canada go all out for the equaliser. They’ve taken their goalie off so they can have six attackers to try and get it. Just over two minutes remaining...
Another goal from Canada! The defending gold medallists are one goal away from a remarkable comeback! Derek Roy skims a cross-shot and it goes through the keeper, I think off a German skate. Just over ten minutes remaining, and the Canadians have a very strong whiff of hope, having been 3-0 then 4-1 down.
Korea win! After that ding-doing tussles in the semi-final of the women’s curling, they produce a fine last stone in the extra end to take one and the 8-7 victory. They’ll face Sweden for the gold on Sunday, while it’ll be Japan vs Great Britain in the bronze medal match. The crowd go wild. Curling sweeps the host nation.
Sweeps. See?
Oh forget it.
This is from last night, but it’s really interesting to worth a look: Sean Ingle investigates why Norway have been so good at these games, and the general answer is...well, read on...
But what Norway’s athletes lack in finances they make up for in camaraderie – which is reinforced by a strict “no idiots” rule. As the skier Kjetil Jansrud, who has won silver and bronze in Pyeongchang, explains: “We believe there is no good explanation for why you have to be a jerk to be a good athlete. We just won’t have that kind of thing on our team.”
Canada have a goal back in the hockey. A sweeping move is finished by Mat Robinson, but it might be too little, too late. 4-2 to Germany with about 16 minutes remaining.
Drama! Extra-time in the curling! Korea make a mess of their final stone in the tenth end and Japan take one, which means it finishes 10-10. An extra end is required...
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The other semi in the curling is reaching a crescendo: and Japan have come back to within one in the final end. It’s 7-6 to Korea, and tension mounts...
Eve Muirhead speaks, a quiver in her voice: “Absolutely gutted. We’ve trained hard for the last three or four years, but we were just outplayed. We’ve still got a medal to play for tomorrow so we’ll be going hard for that.”
Another goal for Germany in the hockey! It’s 4-1, as Patrick Hager shoots from way downtown, it takes a deflection and it goes through the goalie’s legs. And then Gilbert Brule apparently doesn’t take that goal well, going in elbow-first to David Wolf and sparking the German out, mid-ice. Brule is dismissed, and Wolf lays prone for a few moments, but is eventually helped off, looking extremely groggy.
Sweden beat Great Britain 10-5
And that is that in the curling: Sweden claim a two in the ninth end, making it 10-5, and that’s that. The British team concede and will have to settle for a crack at the bronze medal tomorrow.
Quiz? Quiz! Some Olympic-related questions in here, to test your knowledge of the sporting week.
Wait, sorry, scratch that: my feed for the hockey seems to be on a massive delay, and without me significant things have been occurring. Namely that a shock is on the cards, with Germany now 3-1 - three-one - up over Canada
Meanwhile, the second period is underway in the hockey: Germany surprisingly lead Canada 1-0.
Quick hop over to the other match, where Korea look like they’re heading to the final: they’re 7-4 up going into the ninth end.
Well then: British hopes just about alive in the curling. Muirhead goes for a similar sort of shot to the one she didn’t quite manage in the last end, but makes it this time! She gets it through a narrow, narrow gap of two Swedish stones and bags two, which with two ends to go makes the score 8-5 to Sweden. Sweden still very much in control, but it at least makes the finale a little more interesting...
Fair enough.
Well, I've a Swedish partner and sons called Jesper and Linus, so the "we" feels a bit justified here @NickMiller79!!
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) February 23, 2018
Feels a bit like we're going out on penalties here @NickMiller79. Just when the opposition needs it, they panenka one in. And then we blast one over the bar.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) February 23, 2018
Less of the ‘we’, Gary. I am not Clare Balding.
A decisive end in the curling: Muirhead has a tricky needle-thread of a shot to put a stone between two guarding ones in order to claim a one...but it clips a stone and in the end Sweden get three! That’s 8-3 now to the Swedes with three ends remaining, and Great Britain enter miracle territory if they’re to win this and get through to the gold medal match.
With apologies, in amongst the hockey and the curling, I’ve rather neglected the men’s biathlon relay. That’s all done, the Swedish team of Peppe Femling, Jesper Nelin, Sebastian Samuelsson and Fredrik Lindstrom taking gold, ahead of Norway in second and Germany third.
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Goal in the hockey, and Germany take the lead! The Canada-born Brooks Macek carefully lines up a shot and slaps it into the roof of the net, giving his adopted country a 1-0 advantage over the one of his birth.
We’re through six ends: Sweden send down a fine final stone to just gently nudge a GB effort out of the way and claim two. 5-3 to the Swedes, Britain have the hammer in the seventh end. Over in the other game, Korea are 6-3 up over Japan, and they’re into the sixth there.
Those Germany shirts. Lovely scenes.
Meanwhile: hockey! It’s 0-0 with about seven minutes of the first period gone between Germany (wearing an absolutely belting jersey, by the way) and Canada men. This is the semi-final, by the way - the winner will face OAR in the gold medal game on Sunday.
And it’s level! Great shot at the last from Eve Muirhead, boshing a Swedish stone out of the way and grabbing two for Great Britain, which makes it 3-3 after end five, the halfway mark.
Gary has a slightly sadistic streak in him...
I know this diminishes me, but watching the anguish of others (when it's not related to life or death obviously) alongside the serenity of the sliding stones, merely adds to the sport's therapeutic dimension. Could do with the effects mic turning down though @NickMiller79.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) February 23, 2018
Sweden take a one at the end of the fourth, erm, end, but it looked like they thought a stone was in the house on the left hand side and were going for a two. But, closer inspection reveals it was in fact out, so they only gain one. 3-1 to the Swedes, now.
FAO Gary Naylor, from Mike MacKenzie: “If Gary Naylor lived in Canada, then he could watch curling on tv from October to March! Better to turn off the sound, though, if you want to reduce stress and have a more zen-like experience.”
Another reason this is quite stressful are the looks of absolute anguish on the curlers as the stones head down the ice. They look like something utterly awful is about to happen.
How can anything so competitive be so therapeutic to watch @NickMiller79? I suggest that some entrepreneur set up a curling channel to lower the heart rates of subscribers. I'm in for one!
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) February 23, 2018
Oddly I find it vaguely stressful. Perhaps it’s not having a full handle on all the rules, maybe it’s because the teams shout at each other so very much.
This is lovely, from Bryan Arnhem Graham’s piece about Alina Zagitova, the 15-year-old Russian figure skater who won gold earlier.
I won. Honestly, my hands are shaking, because I haven’t understood yet that I am an Olympic champion.”
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A couple of small mistakes by GB in the third end, but a well-weighted final stone by Eve Muirhead grabs one, reducing the deficit and making it 2-1 to Sweden. In the other semi, Korea lead Japan 3-2 after the third.
Some belting pictures in Joe Plimmer’s selection of the best images from today in Pyeongchang, here...
“Aware that (bizarrely), some folk prefer curling and skating to the almighty ice hockey,” writes Martin Turnbull. “For this Canuck in Oz, any chance of information on the Canada - Germany game?”
Yes - it starts in about half-an-hour. Updates will be provided once it’s underway.
One of the slightly more curious sportspeople to broadcaster crossovers is Steve Cram’s apparent conversion from middle-distance runner to curling expert for the BBC. Fair play to him, though.
As mentioned before, the other curling semi is between Korea and Japan, which obviously means the home crowd are being quite vocal. In a sport in which bellowed communication is quite important, that might cause a few issues for the Brits and the Swedes, competing 20-odd yards away in the same arena. Not that it impacted Sweden too much that time though: after the second end, they take a 2-0 lead.
Now, curling. They’re in the second end, the score being 0-0. A bit of background, though, on where all those stones come from...
Kjeld Nuis wins gold in the men's 1,000m speed skating
He does it by a mere 0.04 seconds! Poutala was nowhere, so Lorentzen takes silver, while Korean Kim Tea-yun gets bronze.
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Now, the last two are up in the skating, and the reigning world champ Kjeld Nuis is up, against Finland’s Mika Poutala. Lorentzen, Kim and Mantia are the current top three...
The first end is over in the curling: and allow me to adopt the voice of a BDO darts announcer when I say “no score.”
There’s something a little more dignified and graceful about these slightly longer skating races, where the competitors can concentrate purely on going really quickly, rather than sharpening their elbows and worrying about being taken out by an excessively aggressive rival. But, equally, that makes it just a little bit more boring. Norway’s Harvard Norentzen is now in the lead, 0.23 in front of Kim, whose lead lasted mere minutes.
The home crowd go wild, wild wild in the skating as Kim Tae-yun takes 0.34 off Mantia’s time to go into the gold medal slot.
Over in the curling, those semi-finals are underway. Great Britain vs Sweden is in the first end, and we’ll have slightly more detailed coverage of it when the skating is sorted. The Guardian’s Swedish football editor Marcus Christenson has just been over to menace me into not being too parochial: he need not fear, for I do not work for the BBC. The other semi there sees Korea face Japan.
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Here’s Shani Davis, the world record-holder, skating with Japan’s Takuro Oda. The American belts out of the gate...he can’t take the lead, his time third-best, but nor can Oda whose time was 0.004 slower than the leader, American Joey Mantia.
This is going to happen quite a lot from this point, but another new leader in the skating: German Nico Ihle, silver medallist in the 500m at last year’s World Championships, shaves 0.24 off the top time. He was perhaps inspired by who I assume was his coach, screaming at him down the straight in that manner which wouldn’t sound half as...urgent in a language other than German.
The second half of the speed skating is underway, with the big hitters still to come. And we have a new leader: Mitchell Whitmore goes 0.10 quicker than Cha and is in first place. Fan fact: Whitmore was banned a couple of years ago for giving a Dutch coach a thick ear, after said coach asked him and some pals to keep it down as they returned to their hotel in the small hours.
Cha still sits atop the rankings in the 1,000m men’s speed skating, but his countryman Chung Jaewoong has just come within a gnat’s eyelash (or 0.16 seconds, if you want to be pernickety about it) of besting him.
Mark your card here: the semi-final of the women’s curling, which features Great Britain vs Sweden, will start in about half an hour.
And here is that full story.
There has been more alleged substance jiggery-pokery, alas. We’ll have a full story shortly, but the short version is that the pilot of the Russian women’s bobsled, Nadezhda Sergeeva, has tested positive for a banned heart medication. As they finished 12th, one must glibly conclude that the drugs can’t have been that good...
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After 12 skaters, we have a new leader. Min-kyu Cha of Korea has taken over half a second off the lead and is in first place, as they give the ice a nice smoothing.
Eight skaters have, erm, skated so far, and Japan’s Tsubasa Hasegawa is currently in the lead, while the Hungarian Konrad Nagy is just a shade back from him.
One to watch out for in the skating is the American Shani Davis, whose world record set in Salt Lake City, nine years ago, still stands. “[It’s] his his last race...today,” writes in Simone Kamp. “He is a black athlete from Chicago who started in inline skating. He still holds several records in speedskating, one of them is the world record on the 1,000 meters that he skated in 2009 and that is still standing! He has won lots of races over the years in a lot of different distances. One of the things that was remarkable about him is that he was a great sprinter as well as a great allrounder.”
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The men’s speed skating finals are underway. As the first skaters began, another skater came up in the inside practice lane and sped past them, and I momentarily thought they had taken a nod from greyhound racing and had employed a human hare.
A last punch on the way down for the Olympic Athletes from Russia: Ilya Kovulchuk scores in the dying seconds to make it 3-0 over the Czech Republic, and they go into the gold medal match where they’ll play the winner of the other semi-final between Canada and Germany, coming up shortly.
A reminder/suggestion/plea: for a handy summary of every day’s occurrences at these games, sign up for The Recap.
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What were you doing when you were 15? Actually, keep that to yourself. Whatever your answer, if it was anything below ‘winning an Olympic gold medal’ then prepare to feel thoroughly inadequate.
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Here’s some more on that medal-removing SCANDAL mentioned earlier. In some respects this is obviously absurd, but in others it’s sort of encouraging: one person said ‘As a Canadian, I am embarrassed’, which does suggest that Canadians do not have a huge amount else to worry about.
Bronze medal for Switzerland! An upset in the curling! The Swiss team celebrate as they claim bronze by taking their match against Canada, blanking the final end to take it 7-5. One of their number briefly considers leaping in the air but, perhaps remembering he’s on ice, reconsiders and heads to the vanquished Canadians for a respectful handshake.
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The tenth and final end in the curling, and Switzerland have padded their lead slightly: they’re 7-5 ahead.
Half-time in the hockey, and the Russians go in, 2-0 up. I fear I missed what music played them off the ice.
Ever think we take sport too seriously? Apparently Canadian ice hockey player Jocelyne Larocque is in some bother because she took her silver medal off shortly after it was draped around her neck. Canada lost to the USA in a penalty shootout on Thursday, and apparently Larocque’s actions have been taken as a sign of disrespect, for which she’s apologised.
Please understand this was a moment in time that I truly wish I could take back. I take seriously being a role model to young girls and representing our country. My actions did not demonstrate the values our team, myself and my family live and for that I am truly sorry.”
I mean...
The music choices in the hockey arena are a touch eccentric: after the goals they’ve been playing a version of Mary Hopkins’s ‘Those Were The Days’, for which I’m sure there’s a reason, but it currently eludes me. Also a remix of ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ by Justin Timberlake, which is the most persistent earworm and will be in your head for the rest of the day. Enjoy.
The curling is turning into a bit of a ding-dong: we’ve reached the ninth end, and after the Swiss pulled out into a 6-3, lead Canada snagged a couple and it’s now 6-5. Still plenty of work for them to do.
And that’s two! Rapid fire from the Russians, as a sweeping counter-attack is finished, sort of on the half-volley, by Valdislav Gavrikov. Lovely finish, and OAR go 2-0 up over the Czech Republic.
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GOAL! The stateless band of plucky Russians have gone 1-0 ahead in the hockey, Nikita Guzev breaking the deadlock after the Czech goaltender sort of slips over doing the splits, chasing a cross-rink pass. The Czechs challenge the goal for goalie interference, after a Russian player drifts into the crease (the semi-circle in front of the goal, theoretically reserved only for the goalie), which the officials scrutinise on a sort of iPad thing on the sidelines. But they decide that all was fine, and the Russians have the lead.
No goals, but some banging tunes at the hockey...
At the men's ice hockey semi-finals. Russia v Czech Rep. 0-0 after first period. Pump Up the Jam playing, which briefly interrupts the large number of vocal Russian fans singing away ...
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) February 23, 2018
And for those too young to remember...
After the sixth end of the curling, Canada have pulled one back - it’s now 4-3 to Switzerland. But the ice lords giveth, and they taketh away: one of the Canadians flamboyantly stacks it on the ice, and looks suitably embarrassed by the whole thing.
Hello all. Only a couple of days left, then. A quick query: how many of you watching these games all the way through will pay any/much attention - through participation or spectating - in any of the sports you’ve seen so far?
Day 14 so far
What’s happened
- Fifteen-year-old Alina Zagitova took figure skating gold after a brilliant free skate to edge her fellow Olympic athlete from Russia Evgenia Medvedeva to give OAR a first gold of these Games.
- There was another national one-two – for Canada – in the freestyle skiing women’s ski cross final, where Kelsey Serwa beat her compatriot (and best friend) Brittany Phelan to gold.
- Switzerland lead Canada in the men’s curling bronze medal match.
- The men’s ice hockey semi-finals are up and running, with Czech Republic playing OAR.
What’s coming up
All times are local – Pyeongchang is GMT +9, EST +14, AEDT -2, but our fancy schedule will tell you the times wherever you are, should those timezones not apply.
- At 19:00 the speed skating men’s 1,000m final takes place. American great Shani Davis goes for Olympic gold for the last time in his long career.
- Great Britain’s women could secure a curling medal when they meet Sweden in the semi-finals at 20:05. Korea’s Garlic Girls and Japan face off at the same time in the other semi.
- The biathlon men’s 4x7.5km relay starts at 20:15.
- A place in the men’s ice hockey gold medal match is at stake as Canada meet Germany at 21:10.
Stick with us as my colleague Nick Miller takes over the controls to see you through the rest of the day.
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Let’s duck over to the ice hockey for a moment. It’s still scoreless between the Czechs and Olympic athletes from Russia with jsut over seven minutes remaining in the first period and still all to play for.
After five ends: Switzerland 4-2 Canada. More Koe brilliance this end, but it is for nought as Switzerland score two after Schwarz threads his stone through the eye of a needle on the final throw! And at the halfway stage of this bronze medal match, the Swiss are on top.
Over at the hockey centre, the men’s semi-final between Czech Republic and OAR is about to get under way. The players are on the ice, they look like they mean business, a shot at gold is at stake.
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After end four: Switzerland 2-2 Canada. Woof. What a shot by Switzerland which, thanks to some excellent brushing, gets their red stone to curl right onto the button. It doesn’t stay there long but Benoit Schwarz goes one better soon after, getting his stone into the house, but importantly safely tucked in behind a cluster of yellows. But the crowd erupts after Koe steps up with an angle raise to draw his team back onto level terms by scoring two!
After end three: Switzerland 2-0 Canada. Kennedy sends one down the ice with pace, kick-starting an aggressive period of play, which sees stones of both colours knocked around the ice. But it’s a steal of one for the Swiss again in the end and they take a two-point lead!
For the sartorially-minded, it’s worth noting that these two teams are rather conservatively attired, unlike some of their rivals at the Games. The massive red maple leaf on the Candians’ top is about as outrageous as it gets.
After end two: Switzerland 1-0 Canada. Back to the ice, and the Swiss steal a point as Koe’s final stone can’t quite knock the Swiss off the button, despite Hebert and Laing’s best and furious scrubbing efforts.
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Some news filtering through from Pyeongchang: the Norwegian mixed doubles team will get their wish for a special medal ceremony after the OAR’s Alexander Krushelnitsky tested positive for a banned substance earlier this week and he and his partner Anastasia Bryzgalova surrendered their bronze medal. The move is noteworthy as it’s unusual for athletes to receive medals reallocated after doping scandals at the same Games as they were won, as it takes a while to go through the process.
“We are hoping there will be a reallocation ceremony for the bronze medal winners before the closing ceremony [on Sunday],” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. “We are very confident it will happen. I cannot say when yet.”
What happens, though, if Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten have already gone back to Norway? Watch this space.
After end one: Switzerland 0-0 Canada. Canada have the hammer this opening end, but they can’t take advantage. Both teams trade blows early on, before Canadian vice-skip Marc Kennedy sends down a beauty to knock a Swiss stone out of contention and his own into the house. That sparks off some excellent play from both teams, but neither can get on the scoreboard and when Kevin Koe throws his final stone through, it’s a blank end.
Here we go then. The familiar noises of the stone grating along the ice, swiftly followed by the sporadic slight squeaking of the brushes, fill the air as Switzerland gets things under way at the Gangneung Curling Centre.
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We’re not too far off the curling starting up. It’s been a decent day for Canada so far. Can they add a bronze to the gold and silver won earlier?
Twenty four years ago, one of the biggest scandals in American sport broke, and they’ve now made a biopic of the US Olympic ice skater Tonya Harding. It’s not the first film about women and sports but, refreshingly, it’s one that isn’t about female athletes trying to break into a male-dominated world, writes Anne Billson:
So we have a bit of time to reflect on what we’ve already seen today. In the ski-cross, Canada took out gold and silver thanks to two athletes who know each other well – Kelsey Serwa and Brittany Phelan are not only team-mates, they are best friends and room-mates too. In true pro athlete style though, they were quick to wheel out the old ‘friends away from the sport but fierce rivals once on the course’ maxim.
“She is my team-mate and best friend and somebody who has really taught me everything about this sport,” said Phelan, who took silver. “We gave each other a couple of fist bumps at the start and we are obviously super happy to see both of us in the final but once the gate drops you go as hard as you can and fight for the finish line.”
Serwa said: “We bounce ideas off each other all the time, we do video together, we train together. There are no secrets between us. Before the race we have this stupid chant and pounded knuckles. That is all we need to get each other fired up and it says everything in three words.”
Back to the present day, and it’s pretty quiet out there in Pyeongchang. As in, there’s absolutely nothing going on. The next event is that curling match between Switzerland and Canada, with a bronze medal at stake, which starts in about 40 minutes.
Apart from those medals won in the ski-cross and figure skating, the only other action so far today has been some bobsleigh training runs. Rico Peter’s Swiss four-man team topped the timesheets in both of the morning’s runs while, for the record, the British bob piloted by Lamin Deen came in 10th and 11th.
The Australian quartet of Lucas Mata, David Mari, Lachlan Reidy and Hayden Smith managed 22nd and 19th after their participation had been put into doubt by a crash that left them with ice burns and scrapes. Fortunately their sled survived. This from AAP:
The sled took on only cosmetic damage. It is owned by Australia and was not the one borrowed from Canada as part of a swap deal, the Australian Olympic Committee has confirmed. The deal saw Australia gain the approximately $150,000 sled in exchange for one of its accredited coaching spots for the Olympics, which was given to Canada.
And look, here’s another one from the archive, from four years earlier:
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Remember that time when Robin Cousins won a shock gold for Great Britain at Lake Placid 36 years ago? I’ll be honest, I don’t, but then again, I was barely out of nappies. Anyway, this is a good read for those that don’t know the story or those who want to relive the event.
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Ever wondered why Norway are so good at winter sports? Could it be, perhaps, the abundance of snow in northern Europe that obligates all Norwegians to ski, skate or toboggan to work every day (not actually a fact)? Or could be all about the nation’s unique camaraderie and grass roots participation? Possibly the latter, it seems.
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Welcome to day 14
Strap yourselves in, here we go again.
We’ve just seen 15-year-old Alina Zagitova take gold after a brilliant free skate to edge her fellow Olympic athlete from Russia Evgenia Medvedeva to give OAR a first gold of these Games. Medvedeva, a two-time world champion, had to settle for silver while Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond took the bronze. You can catch up with how it all went down here, or read the full report below:
Earlier, there was another national one-two – for Canada – in the freestyle skiing women’s ski cross final, where Kelsey Serwa beat her compatriot (and best buddy) Brittany Phelan to gold. Fanny Smith of Switzerland grabbed bronze. A disastrous start by Australia’s Sami Kennedy-Sim, whose pole strap broke, left her stranded in the semi-final and she had to settle for an eighth-placed finish overall. That’s still an amazing achievement, given she suffered a stroke in 2013.
And about to get under way in around an hour is the men’s bronze medal curling match between Switzerland and Canada – more on that in a moment.
Coming up
Here’s what is up for grabs, in terms of medals, for the rest of the day. All times are local – Pyeongchang is GMT +9, EST +14, AEDT -2, but our fancy schedule will tell you the times wherever you are, should those timezones not apply.
- At 19:00 Speed skating men’s 1,000m final. American great Shani Davis goes for Olympic gold for the last time in his long career, but whatever happens tonight his legacy is an important one.
- The Biathlon men’s 4x7.5km relay starts at 20:15.
And other things to look out for:
- Great Britain’s women could secure a curling medal when they meet Sweden in the semi-finals at 20:05. Victory on the ice in Gangneung would mean a fifth medal for Britain at these Games – their highest ever tally at a Winter Olympics and thus meeting their pre-Games target. Korea’s Garlic Girls and Japan face off at the same time in the other semi.
- And it’s semi-finals time in the men’s ice hockey too – the Czech Republic play OAR at 16:40 and Canada meet Germany at 21:10.
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