The best images from day two
Full report of the end of Loch’s stunning Olympic run
And here’s Sean Ingle’s recap of the day:
Canada added two goals in the third and final period to clinch a 5-0 win over OAR. Johnston and Dauost added their second of the evening to seal a routine victory. United States beat Finland 3-1, also in Group A, earlier on today.
The last medal of the day has unravelled in spectacular, if unimaginable, style. Loch does not make it three in a row and that costly error will undoubtedly dominate the fallout of day two. Loch’s father raced on to the course to console his son, who looks absolutely devastated. The final action of the day will surely see Canada seal victory over OAR in the ice hockey. And that will be that.
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At the Kwandong Hockey Centre, in Group A Canada lead OAR 3-0 approaching the third and final period. The first period was something of a stalemate but there looks to be only one winner now in that one, thanks to goals by Haley Irwin, Rebecca Johnston and Melodie Daust.
David Gleirscher wins men’s luge gold!
A big shock in the men’s luge: Felix Loch has blown it on his final run! A solitary mistake sees him finish not even on the podium after three previous flawless runs. The German is reduced to tears and there will be no third title for the two-time champion. Instead, Loch has to settle for fifth, behind Italy’s Domink Fischnaller.
It is Gleirscher, the Austrian who impressed yesterday, that ultimately takes the top prize. United States earn their first ever medal in the men’s singles luge. USA’s Chris Mazdzer takes silver and Johannes Ludwig, also of Germany takes bronze.
Updated
The fourth and final run of the men’s luge is just coming to its climax. Will Germany’s Felix Loch land a third Olympic title?
Perrine Laffont wins women's moguls gold!
The 19-year-old Frenchwoman wins it, the first ever to win it for her country. Dufour-Lapointe takes silver. Galysheva takes bronze. An extremely disappointing end for Andi Laude, who lost control and ended up drifting away off course. Her score of 78.65 was enough to take victory and for Laffont, in tears, this is a day she’ll never forget.
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Britteny Cox is next down the slopes but it is not good enough to affect the podium. Perrine Laffont leads. But last to ski in the final is Canada’s Andi Naude, who qualified in first. Here she goes ...
France’s Perrine Laffont posts a new leading score that will guarantee her a medal from these Games. The judges’s reaction is greeted with a few boos, Dufour-Lapointe’s effort looked much better but Laffont has stolen the lead in Pyeongchang.
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And Dufour-Lapointe has opened up this super final, with a run under 30secs. Her 360 was followed by a soft, plush landing. She clenches her first in delight, and she now leads the way with a score of 78.56 for the defending champion. Is the women’s moguls’ title heading back to Canada?
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Australia’s Jakara Anthony, the 19-year-old who qualified in fifth, is next ... She is a little slower than Galysheva but that was a cracking run, fit with a magnificently-executed 360 jump. The judges agree too, as he picks up a 75.35. But it’s not enough to topple Galysheva, who leads – for now – with 77.40. The reigning champion, Justine Dufour-Lapointe is next up. She looks in the zone.
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The women’s moguls final is about to get under way. All previous scores are eradicated, so Canada’s Andi Naude needs to start from zero again. Yuli Galysheva, the last of the qualifiers, will be up first. A little earlier in the curling mixed doubles, China and Norway went to a tie-break but the latter eventually prospered 9-7.
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One of six competitors – Naude, Cox, Laffont, Dufour-Lapointe, Anthony, Galysheva – will win the gold medal in the ladies’ moguls. The final starts in 10 minutes time.
We are re-living the 30km skiathlon at the aptly-named Alpensia Cross-County Skiing Centre. An early collision put Simen Krueger on the deck but the Norwegian gets back up off the snow to clinch victory, as part of a Norway one-two-three. Andrew Musgrave f course finished seventh, with helluva race. “First race done at the Olympics,” tweeted Musgrave a moment ago. “7th isn’t quite the medal I’d hoped for ... but it’s a solid result, my form feels good, and I’ve got another chance in the 15km on Friday.”
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It really is blizzard conditions out on the course now. The men’s luge, only 20 men remain and Felix Loch, the current leader, will go last.
Johnson loses her footing at the crucial moment and it’s difficult to see her advancing. These moguls are anything but dull, and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Galysheva puts in a front flip and earns a 76.81 score which puts her second behind Naude. Back flip or front flip? Am not sure what warrants a bigger tick in the box, so to speak.
Here comes Andi Naude, of Canada. She raises the bar with a backtwisting somersault but it’s hard to see, as the visibility worsens out on the course. She finishes in 28.98secs and that looks pretty hard to beat. The verdict from the judges is a score of 78.78. Enough to get through to the six-strong final? We’ll see. Next up is 17-year-old Tess Johnson ...
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It has started to snow at Phoenix, er, Snow Park. There are 12 runners and riders as such in this ladies’ moguls second final. Only six will make the final final. Got it? There are seven judges with the best view in the house. First up will be OAR’s Ekaterina Stolyarova. She crosses the line in 30.48; she’s content with that, and that was a lovely run, fit with a clockwise 360 and a dreamy backflip.
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The men’s downhill and qualifying for the ladies’ slopestyle was postponed this morning because of the blustering winds in Pyeongchang. It’s still blowing a gale, but there’s plenty coming up, none more so than the women’s moguls; that means tricks, flicks and more. Plus, the men’s luge, with Felix Loch in pursuit of a third gold. India’s Shiva Keshava wrapped up his sixth Games appearance earlier. A great story.
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Luge GB say they operate on approximately 2% of the budget compared with sister sports. “We bat well above our average,” they say. Straudinger, at his first Olympic Games, finishes 33rd out of 40. That’s certainly no disgrace.
Arnd Peiffer wins 10km Biathlon gold!
Peiffer wins the 10km sprint. That is gold medal No3 for Germany, who duly go top of the medal table. Michal Krcmar and Dominik Windisch take silver and bronze respectively. Back to the men’s luge, where Felix Loch is still the man to beat. Rupert Staudinger, representing Great Britain, is flying around at 126mph but he can’t topple the German. It’s a better run than yesterday, but he remains down in 33rd.
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Peiffer of Germany looks set to win the gold medal, as the final few challenges get over the line. Not every single biathlete is home just yet but Arnd Peiffer is all smiles, he knows he has done enough to win gold, in his third Olympic games.
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The last few men are out on the course in the Biathlon. A wry smile from Brendan Green after a couple of misses. Wiestner of Switzerland puts in a decent mark, but it’s not enough to get on to the podium.
Right, that’s us. Ben Fisher will guide you through the next bit ...
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Bjoentegaard of Norway is now in third place, incidentally.
Krcmar dashes through his finish and he gets into the silver position! He is delighted and exhausted, prostrate on the snow.
Lesser of Germany finishes the biathlon, one shot away from a medal. Krcmar of the Czech Republic is on the course chasig Pfeiffer...
Fourcade, a biathlon legend and along with Boe a favourite for gold, has botched some shooting. That leaves Pfeiffer brilliantly placed to take gold for Germany.
Pfeiffer of Germany now leads the biathlon with 16:31.5. I’ll fess up, I’m not finding this entirely easy to follow.
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Yeah, that.
Russia's Semen Elistratov dedicates medal to banned compatriots at Winter Olympics https://t.co/LGS4jx6kb4
— Dan Roan (@danroan) February 11, 2018
It’s not entirely easy to find an as it stands table, but Loch is clear in first.
The best lugers are did, and Mazdzer’s run was quickest. Loch is second, Dominik Fischnaller third, Gleirscher fourth, Kevin Fischnaller fifth. Edney is tenth.
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Boe of Norway botches some shooting and will not now challenge for a medal. This is surprising, we’re told.
"Skating in an important mode of transport in a city like Amsterdam.." 😳 https://t.co/9gywIzUomQ
— Priya Ramesh (@Priya8Ramesh) February 11, 2018
Lapshin of Korea leads the biathlon with 7:49.03. For the uninitiated, these lads are skiiing and shooting.
Coming next: ladies mogul final. That’s at 12pmGMT. The men’s 10km biathlon sprint has also started.
Get a load of Red Gerard!
Fischnaller of Italy, who was 5th, and Ludwig of Germany, who was 14th, have gone down faster than Edney. As before, chances are none of them are contesting the medals on the final run.
I am really Pumped watching the Winter Olympics. I am watching events I never thought I would watch before, like curling. You heard me, curling Fool!
— Mr. T (@MrT) February 11, 2018
Edney of Canada can’t do enough to get out of fourth, and those above him have a cushion now - if they get down the final run without doing owt silly, they’ll win a medal. There are a load more racers to go, but none in the hunt for a gong.
Wow! Mazdzer of USA not only beats Gleirscher but Loch as well, by 0.026. He absolutely battered the bottom half of the course, and looks, er, super-chuffed with himself.
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Gleirshcer isn’t as smooth as Loch, +0.024. He’ll be feart for his place with that, but Repilov of OAR makes a big error coming out of the dragon’s tail - not my nomenclature. He’s +0.388.
Gleirscher from Austria goes next. He’s a surprise second place, and there are three-hundredth of a second between him, third and fourth.
Loch goes in 47.56, the quickest of his three runs so far. Have that, rest of the field.
Loch paddles himself away, and he’s, er, going really fast.
I should say, there’s one more run after this, later today. There’s a proper battle for the minor medals. Loch is about to go...
Anyway, we’ve got some luge coming up - run 3 of the men’s. Felix Loch of Germany leads, and it’s expected to stay that way.
“On TV I’ve noticed quite a few Russian flags in the stands,” emails George Garrett. “Quite the commitment from Russian fans I thought, given their country’s situation and the restrictions on the athletes etc etc and also the Russia we know - Moscow, St Petersburg, Sochi - is thousands of miles away from PyeongChang. But then I saw a Russian flag in the style of those annotated English flags you see at World Cups, with, say, ‘Wolverhampton’ or ‘Ipswich’ written on them. And what was written on this Russian flag? ‘Vladivostok’ - a shortish hop across the Sea of Japan! For some Russians, these really are a local Games. Strange to think.”
Yes, the world is round, a concept with which I’ll never be fully comfortable. I heard during the opening ceremony that Argentina had travelled the furthest, and wondered if they’d take a left or a right.
Anyway, we’re done, and our qualifiers are:
Stolyarova OAR
Anthony AUS
Rakhimova OAR
Wessel NOR
Seo KOR
Amy Williams, whose knees are so shot that she lives in a bungalow, says the knack of the moguls is in the knees.
Jakara Anthony of Australia is now second on this round. The final will happen at midday UK time.
I’m guessing the burn in doing moguls is experienced mainly in the quads. Skiers are bending the knees as they weave in and out, which probably knacks the back as well. Anyone any idea?
Stoylarova of
RUS
OAR takes the lead with 73.40.
The official site of the Games has just changed the Russian flag to the Olympic flag and RUS to OAR. Someone is getting in trouble.
Meanwhile, have a read of this.
Rakhimova of OAR and Wessel of Norway are now at the top of the leaderboard with 71.77 and 71.66 respectively. Ten to go through.
So the phrase “home snow” is a thing. Are we saying there’s a difference between that which falls in, say, Norway, and that which falls in, say, Pyeongchang?
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Wang Jin of China scores less than in first qualifying too, but Deborah Scanzio of Switzerland does a great job; her score of 69.02 is top of this group of qualifiers. The final, incidentally, is later tonight (local time).
Moguls are away, and Marika Pertakhiya of OAR falls, but she saw it coming and is fine. She’ll not be bothering the final with her first round score.
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We’ve got the moguls coming up, moguls being hillocks carved into a downhill slope. Racers have to zoom through those, zip up a ramp, perform an improbable flip, and get down as fast as possible to get the best judges’ marks. Easy.
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Only tangentially related to the Winter Olympics, in that it’s performed by athletic and mental freaks, but this happened overnight. The sound made the second shot is something to behold.
😳 Lights out. Goodnight. 😳
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) February 11, 2018
Yoel Romero with a brutal highlight reel knockout of Luke Rockhold at #UFC221 💪 pic.twitter.com/cwoT7eteL1
Well this is nice.
IOC President Thomas Bach with Team Korea #COR #pyeongchang2018 #olympics pic.twitter.com/3q2LH2ZuU8
— Olympics (@Olympics) February 10, 2018
We’ve got nothing live at the moment, but in an hour and a bit there’s curling and biathlon, the latter for the medals, and in half and hour we’ve got women’s moguls qualifying, with the final to follow.
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This is absurd. Red Gerard made his own course in his backyard (presumably pronounced “backyed”).
Snowboarder @RedmondGerard takes his ride all the way to the #Olympics All those tricks? They started in his backyard in Summit County, Colorado. More from @epells: https://t.co/RGJE2Xa6k9 pic.twitter.com/UrbVkuiZYi
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) February 11, 2018
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My days. I guess this should be obvious, but it’d never occurred to me that ice hockey is filmed by cameramen zooming about on skates. Incredible.
Women's ice hockey Group A: Finland 1-3 USA
Finland gave a good account of themselves there, but didn’t quite have enough class in attack.
Again Finland are without a keeper as they pursue an equaliser, but this time USA hit them on the break and Cameranesi scores the clincher!
A minute to go...
Back on the ice, Finland are short-handed and have chosen to play without a keeper. USA can’t get a clean shot in, and now we’re back to six on six.
I should add that the top two in the group go through the semi-finals; third and fourth play quarters against the top two in the other group, comprised of less good things.
This isn’t gold-medal level performance from USA, we’re told; but then we’re also told that it doesn’t need to be. It’s a long slog to the end, and this is just the start. In the meantime, Finland initiate a scramble and almost equalise! They’re stepping it up here...
USA are much too good for Finand, but Raty makes another fine save as an attacker skates across the face and tries to meg her.
Red Gerard’s da seems sound.
Dunno what Red Gerard's dad is drinking but I'd like one pic.twitter.com/sFtucKhgZQ
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) February 11, 2018
USA are dominating against Finland, whose keeper is having a stormer.
And the third significant overnight update:
Seriously, what a world.
Read Bryan Armen Graham on our pal Red...
Anyway, Finland have 13 minutes or so to save themselves against USA. They’re struggling to get the puck at the moment, never mind create chances.
Of course, the big game in this hockey group is USA-Canada. Canada get underway later on, meeting OAR, “Olympic Athletes from Russia”. This appellation is punishment for doping offences, which I’m certain will teach everyone.
A 17-year-old gold medalist grabbing headlines in Liverpool, a new world record and an unbelievable return from injury ❄️
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) February 11, 2018
Catch up on all the overnight action from Day Two of #PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/6HJCLKv1bk
There’s a bit of a pause in the live action for now, though; USA lead Finland 2-1 after two periods, but they’re currently off the rink.
Coming up: women’s ice hockey, men’s luge, men’s biathlon 10km ... sprint!
I can confirm that Sven Kramer is happy. He goes to find his girlfriend, who is a double gold medalist in field hockey.
SVEN KRAMER OF NETHERLANDS WINS THE 5000m SPEED SKATING!
That’s his third gold in a row, fourth overall! Amazing! Bloemen of Canada gets silver, Pedersen of Norway bronze.
But he’s not catching third place anyway, so whatevz.
Tumolero of Italy is fifth overall with three laps to go, but I’m not sure how he’s getting a medal ... strike that, it seems Bloemen and Pedersen both get silver.
There’s one more paring, but neither skater has the pedigree to challenge the lead.
The blue line on the ice which shows the fastest time before now is miles behind Kramer as he powers towards his third gold in a row! 6:09.76, the Olympic record goes, 1.85 seconds quicker than Bloemen, and that will be enough! What a performance! He made that look so easy!
Up to -1.02 with three laps to go! He’s stretching away! -1.82 with two to go! He’s going to win the gold medal!
And now here comes Kramer! 0.19 inside the time with four laps to go!
Kramer is taking it easy, 1.62 behind Bloemen.
Look how close that was!
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 11, 2018
We have a new leader in the men's 5000m speed skating final.
Over to you, Sven Kramer.
⛸👉 https://t.co/glltP1xKfd #Pyeongchang2018 pic.twitter.com/9WWzG78mNq
Kramer of Netherlands is away for his 5000m – it’s thought that we’ll know who the gold medalist is after his run.
Meanwhile on the ice hockey rink, USA women have come from behind to lead Finland 2-1.
They go to the photo, and to thousandths of seconds ... and it’s Bloemen in 6:11.616 who takes the lead, ahead of Pedersen’s 6:11.618.
29.44, that last lap from Bloemen. He was absolutely bousting.
But here he comes! It’s a dead heat! 6:11.61, 2.46 seconds inside the lead, inseparable after 5000m!
Pedersen puts in another stonker of a lap and Bloemen has a lot of work to do. They take the bell with Bloemen nearly a second behind!
Pedersen is 3.46 inside with two laps to go! This is quite a surge!
Five laps to go and Bloemen is now 2.5 inside the lead, and Pedersen outside him is too!
Bloemen is 1.10 inside the leading time at 2200m, and looks to have plenty left. He’ll need it.
As per the below...
We have a new leader.
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 11, 2018
New Zealand's Peter Michael moves to the top of the men's 5,000m speed skating final standings.
Can anyone catch him?
LIVE: https://t.co/glltP1xKfd pic.twitter.com/G2hGzugLgU
Right, Bloemen of Canada - formerly of Netherlands, whom he left after missing selection for Sochi – is on the track. He’s world number 1 this winter, and is a proper threat for gold, favourite along with Kramer who goes in the next heat.
Michael is flying! He powers past Blokhuijsen on the outside and is 0.08 inside the leading time. Blokhuijsen only has enough left fo fourth. Oh! Michael has lovely hair!
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Blokhuijsen is tiring – fair enough, skaing fast for ages is tiring (apparently). He’s not one of the favourites, and is now down to 1.1seconds inside with 500m to go.
Meanwhile, back on the track, we’ve got Blokhuijsen of Netherlands – where they love this event – and Michael of New Zealand – well inside the leading time, the former 4.0 and latter 2.0.
“Me too,” emails Andrew Benton, “a moron at 17 (and 18, and 19....). And not much has changed in the 30 years since. Finished reading A Farewell to Arms last night - the protagonist gets into Switzerland from Italy in 1918 by telling the border guards he is heading to Montreux for winter sports. The guards, after initial apparent disbelief, suggest Luge and tobogganing. And he is let in. Must be many more examples of winter sports in literature, I just can’t think of any....”
In the meantime, to goons of a certain age, “Montreaux” means but one thing.
Contin finishes fourth overall in 6:18.13. Lee Sung-Hoon of South Korea leads, but will know it ain’t goin out like that.
He’s now up to 1.79 off the lead with two laps to go. It’s not happening.
Contin of France is 0.25s outside the leading time at 2500m.
Giovannini and Bokko are done, and they’re miles off the pace. Incidentally, in co-commentary is, of course, Wilf O’Reilly.
In the women’s ice hockey prelims, Finland lead USA 1-0 at the end of the first period.
We’re watching Giovannini of Italy and Bokko of Norway, neither of whom are expected to contest the medals and as such are not threatening the leaders. The best skaters are still in the hutch.
The event we’ve got on now is men’s 5000m, and the chaps are trying to set times rather than race against one another.
Right, time for speedskating. Were on a 400m track with pairs of races taking a lane each, swapping each lap to make sure they cover identical difference.
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Breaking news: the big air is “high”. More as I get it.
Incidentally, he’s 17 years old. Remind me of what you were doing at 17, please. I’ll start: I was being a moron.
We’ve just watched a replay of Redmond “Red” Gerard winning the slopestyle. He’s from Colorado.
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Morning/afternoon/evening all! Over the next bissel, we’ll have some speed skating, luge, moguls and biathlon. Hold tight yourselves!
Daniel Harris is here
London are waking up, and here to take over, so please enjoy the rest of our winter olympics coverage from Daniel! Thanks very much for having me, and I look forward to joining you again during the week for the Australian shift.
Skiathlon report
Here’s the official Reuters report on Norway’s wonderful performance.
Simen Hegstad Krueger of Norway broke away on the penultimate lap to storm to victory in the men’s Olympic skiathlon on Sunday and lead a clean sweep of medals for Norway.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Hans Christer Holund took the silver and bronze in the gruelling cross-country event, in which athletes have to race 15 km freestyle followed by the same distance skating-style.
Following the switch of skis at the halfway point, a group of 18 opened up a gap to the rest of the field and the lead changed hands several times in the freezing conditions as the racers sought shelter behind each other from the wind.
Finland’s Iivo Niskanen made much of the early running in the race but the Norwegians took over with three laps left and an epic internal battle for medals unfolded.
Krueger made his break for glory with little more than a lap to go, striking out on his own and leaving the rest of the field struggling to find an answer.
The 28-year-old built up a lead of more than 20 seconds before his Norwegian team mates Sundby and Holund struck back, breaking away from the chasing pack to try to reel him in.
Though they managed to close the gap considerably, it was too little, too late as Krueger held on to cross the line and claim the gold medal in a thrilling finish.
Tess Coady
The latest news is that Coady has ruptured her ACL – so she certainly won’t be competing in the women’s snowboard slopestyle, and is apparently “devastated”. Awful news. There’s some talk about whether training should have taken place considering the event was cancelled in the conditions. Best wishes to Coady, let’s hope for a speedy recovery for the 17-year-old, and a return at Beijing 2022.
Andrew Musgrave breaks British record
Again, I’m sure Sean Ingle is all over this, but Andrew Musgrave has finished seventh in the 30km skiathlon, the highest result for a British skier.
💥History at #pyeongchang2018 with @musgraveandrew finishing 7️⃣th in the 30km Skiathlon!
— BritishSki&Snowboard (@TeamBSS) February 11, 2018
It's far and away the highest ever finish in Olympic Cross Country by a British skier
WOW!! 👊 pic.twitter.com/RRYeM89khv
Skiathlon (15km + 15km cross-country)
Well, that’s a pretty incredible result considering Kreuger collided with Russia’s Denis Spitsov and Andrey Larkov at the beginning of the 15km + 15km race!
Apparently the first time a nation has gone 1,2,3 in the Skiathlon. Amazing stuff by the Norwegians.
Skiathlon (15km + 15km cross-country) results
I’m sure we’ll get an update from Sean Ingle soon, but Norway look to have this event stitched up with Simen Hegstad Krueger in the lead followed by two of his countrymen. Here he comes – and it will be a 1,2,3 finish by Norway! Kreuger wins with 1:16:20 his official time, followed by Martin Johnsrud Sundby (bronze medallist four years ago) and Hans Christer Holund. What a feat by the Norwegians!
Take a bow, Simen Hedstad Krueger!
— 7Olympics (@7olympics) February 11, 2018
Norway has a new hero 🇳🇴🥇👏 #PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/BJDAlL7N6y
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From the coach of Korea’s united women’s ice hockey team
Some comments have filtered through from Korea women’s ice hockey head coach, Sarah Murray (from Canada). Thanks to Bryan Graham for sending these through.
“The players know that the way we played yesterday is not how our team plays and I think they know that the nerves got the best of us. I think with everybody cheering and all the pressure that’s on them, it’s emotionally draining.”
She hopes that tomorrow’s game won’t attract as much attention – given reports there won’t be any politicians in attendance.
“We actually didn’t know about all of these politicians coming until right before the game and we didn’t tell the players. So they didn’t know. We wanted to avoid any unnecessary stress. We knew that they were already stressed out about the game enough, so, yeah, it’ll be exciting just to play hockey tomorrow.”
According to Graham, the team have had to make up a dictionary in order to communicate with each other:
“Right now we made the dictionary with the North-South and English, but we’re also working on just coming up with shorter words. Usually we have words in English that we use and we’re trying to come up with common words, just quick words that are trigger words to help the players.”
Luge
We’re watching the men’s Luge at the moment. Germany’s two-time gold-medallist Felix Loch has just overtaken Austria’s David Gleirscher to go into the gold medal position at the half-way mark. Loch is followed by Australia’s Alex Ferlazzo, a 22-year-old from Townsville (because when you grow up in Townsville you naturally become a luger, right?) I read somewhere he used to practice on top of a hill... probably in 40 degree heat with some cane toads.
On TV, Ferlazzo says he’s aiming to finish top 15 going into his third run. Bizarrely, he’s being followed around by the Latvian team, who he’s trained with before. They’re cheering extremely loudly, FYI. Ferlazzo is currently 22nd.
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Update on the skiathlon from Sean Ingle
We don’t have any cross-country skiing on the Australian coverage (we’re still watching replays of the team figure skating), so here is an update on the skiing from Sean Ingle:
“We’re just short of halfway in the skiathlon and the racing is every bit as brutal as the weather. Before the race the stadium commentator announced it was ‘a risky -16c degrees’ and having braved 40 minutes out there, I can vouch for that. I certainly have the greatest admiration for all those taking part. So far Britain’s Andrew Musgrave is skiing brilliantly, and is 12th overall. He looks to be slipping slightly off the leading pack but hope for Britain is that Musgrave is less good at the first ‘classic’ part of the race, which takes up the opening 15km and better at ‘freestyle’ which is the style they use for the last 15km. So maybe a top 10 finish is on the cards?”
Pyongyang invite for Moon Jae-in
As I mentioned earlier, and as reported by Benjamin Haas, Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s dictator, has invited the South Korean president to visit Pyongyang “at the earliest date possible”.
There hasn’t been a summit between the two nations in more than a decade.
Moon has responded by saying he will “make it happen by creating the necessary conditions in the future”. This may be made difficult by the US, who have opposed a trip to North Korea under their policy of “maximum pressure”. Moon, meanwhile, says “an early resumption of dialogue between the United States and the North is needed... for the development of the South-North Korean relationship”.
Yo-jong is the first member of Pyongyang’s ruling dynasty to visit South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean war.
A day prior to the Olympics opening ceremony, Jong-un staged a military parade displaying intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Winter Olympics pictures – day one
In case you haven’t seen these already, please enjoy these magnificent photos from day one of competition.
Updated
Semen Elistratov first athlete from Russia to medal
In case you missed the news earlier, Sean Ingle reports that Semen Elistratov became the first athlete from Russia to win a medal at this year’s Winter Olympics after a thrilling men’s 1500m short track speed skating final.
From Sean Ingle:
Elistratov dedicated the medal to the 200 compatriots who, he said, were “unfairly” excluded from the Games.
“I have difficulties to hold back my tears,” said Elistratov, who snatched a surprise bronze when a crash took out two skaters in front of him near the end of the race.
“I am incredibly happy that I did it, in spite of all the circumstances around Russian sport. I dedicate this medal to all guys that have been excluded from these Games in such a hard and unfair way. This medal is for you.”
Elistratov was originally banned in December because of state-sponsored doping in Sochi, and had tested positive for meldonium in 2016 but was cleared after Wada issued an amnesty for those who had a low dosage.
He is one of the 168 Russians at these Games as an OAR who were considered clean by an independent panel last month.
Mark McMorris
According to Reuters, Mark McMorris is “stoked” to have taken away a second Olympic bronze medal in the men’s slopestyle final today:
Riding in the back country with his brother Craig in March, the Canadian caught an edge as he took off for a jump and spiralled into a tree.
McMorris broke his jaw and left arm, ruptured his spleen, suffered a pelvic fracture, rib fractures and a collapsed lung. The injuries were so severe that McMorris feared he might lose his life.
Now though he is back on an Olympic podium and the 24-year-old believes this medal means more to him than the bronze from Sochi four years ago.
“It feels pretty special to stand on this podium again after everything,” said McMorris after his final run. “Not getting to participate much over the past couple of years has been pretty tough but really pumped to land a run that was definitely gold medal worthy if there were a little less sketches but I am stoked to put it down.”
“I need to pinch myself because I should have some permanent damage from what my accident entailed.”
Updated
Further update on women’s snowboard slopestyle
As we reported earlier, the women’s snowboard slopestyle was cancelled due to strong winds at Phoenix Snow Park. Confirmation has now come through that there will now be no qualification for the event, meaning all 27 athletes go straight into tomorrow’s (Monday’s) final. The final of the men’s Alpine skiing downhill has also been postponed until Thursday.
Korea’s unified women’s ice hockey team loses 8-0
It may be the first time in history that athletes from North and South Korea have played together in an Olympics, but they’ve gone down 8-0 to Switzerland in their historic ice hockey game.
Of course more than just the result was on the line (and Korea were rank underdogs), with all of Moon Jae-in (South Korean president), Kim Yo-jong (Kim Jong-un’s sister) and North Korea’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam in the crowd cheering on the combined team. This came after Kim Yo-jung invited Moon to visit Pyongyang.
However, not everyone is happy about the team playing together, as Haas reports, with South Koreans particularly unhappy about their athletes being replaced by those from North Korean (with the International Olympic Committee stipulating that at least three North Koreans must play in the combined side of 22).
Kim Yo-jong
Benjamin Haas is in Pyeongchang for The Guardian, and has this to say about the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. She has been the centre of South Korean media attention since landing in Pyeongchang for an historic three-day visit, and is hoping to portray a “softer” side to the North Korean regime.
The South Korean media, according to Haas, are so far falling for the strategy, with her “humility” in particular being fawned over (although her apparent “deadly side eye” at US vice-president Mike Pence also received plenty of attention).
Most recently, she attended the “Korea United” ice hockey match played between Korean players from both North and South.
But, according to Robert Kelly, a politics professor at Pusan National University, the “likelihood [North Korea] will get carried away by Olympic good feelings and make a dramatic concession is about zero”. He added that the visit will ultimately “change nothing but the atmospherics”.
Evgenia Medvedeva
And again, from Sean Ingle, he’s just heard from Medvedeva after she set a personal best and short programme highest score in the team event:
Meanwhile the brilliant Russian skater Evgenia Medvedeva, who is expected to be one of the stars of these Games, has been talking . “I know what I can do better. On a scale of five, I’d give myself a four, maybe a bit less, a four minus a quarter,” she said. “The team competition means a lot to me. I remember how our guys won the team event in 2014. I saw their emotions. It is a certain responsibility, because the whole team stands behind you.”
As expected the Olympic Athlete From Russia team qualified for the final, scoring the most points in the ladies figure skating and pair skating. Canada, the US, Italy and Japan also made it through earlier today.
An update from Sean Ingle in Pyeongchang
This has just come through from Sean Ingle, to give you a nice sense of the atmosphere at the scene of the men’s Skiathlon final in Pyeongchang:
I’m at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre, dressed my best Scott of Antartica coat and overly tight longjohns, waiting for Britain’s Andrew Musgrave to compete in the Men’s 15/15km Skiathlon final. The weather is -5c but the gusts off the mountains are making it feel more like -15c with the windchill according to Accuweather. Musgrave is rating as 80-1 for gold by the bookies so his chances of a medal are slim, but that applies to most British athletes here. Here’s hoping he does well – and not only because he’s a great athlete and talker. Because writing about a Brit finishing 30th, having had taken three buses to get here, doesn’t hold much appeal. Incidentally the Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo is the piping hot favourite to win this, but the blustery conditions aren’t going to make it easy.
Figure skating
We’ve got a little bit of figure skating on the Australian TV coverage at the moment, so if you’re interested, here’s the latest on the figure skating with thanks to Reuters:
Evgenia Medvedeva set a new world record on Sunday in the women’s figure skating short programme with a brilliant skate that lifted the Olympic Athletes from Russia into second place in the team competition behind Canada.
Medvedeva, the reigning world champion who is competing in her first Olympics, was awarded 81.06 for her performance, sparking cheers from Russian fans in the crowd.
The 18-year-old overcame a number of hurdles to make it to Pyeongchang, including a broken foot that forced her to drop out of the Grand Prix Final last year.
Medvedeva said her injury and the uncertainty surrounding Russian Olympians had just made her and her team mates stronger.
“I competed to feel the magic of the Olympics,” she said.
Italian veteran Carolina Koster hung on for her opening triple flip and triple toeloop combination, earning 75.10 points and second place.
Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada, skating to Edith Piaf’s “Sous le ciel de Paris” and “Milord”, took a step out of her triple flip before under rotating a triple toeloop at the start but regained her composure to finish third with 71.38 points.
Earlier on Sunday, Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir produced a sizzling routine to bolster an already strong Canadian team performance.
The reigning world champions and three-time Olympic medallists dazzled with an impressive midline step sequence that earned them 80.51 points.
American brother and sister Maia and Alex Shibutani’s energetic performance that included smooth twizzles and an impressive rotational lift, finished second with 75.46 points.
“It was our strongest performance that we were looking to put out, I think we made a lot of big steps coming out of Nationals,” Alex told reporters, referring to the U.S. competition last month.
“The programme felt great. We went out there with a job and we’re very happy that we did it,” he said, although he added they were a little disappointed at their score.
Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev, part of the Russian team that won gold at the 2014 Sochi Games, were third with 74.76 points.
“We had trouble with our rumba,” Soloviev told reporters. “Of course we’re disappointed because we worked on this element more than on the others.”
The first day of the team competition, which included the men’s and pairs short programmes, were marked by falls by Canada’s Patrick Chan and American jumping ace Nathan Chen, although the overall team scores were lifted by the later pairs results.
Only the top five teams, Canada, the OAR, the U.S., Japan and Italy, have advanced to the free section of the competition.
The final rounds of the event take place on Monday.
Britt Cox
Apologies for the Australian-centric nature of this blog currently, but that’s where I am, and in Australia we rarely ever see the winter olympics (it’s rarely ever in our time zone, with the notable exception of this year) and like most countries only care about events we might win!
So, in that vein, today’s TV coverage has been all about Australian Britt Cox, rated one of our best chances of a gold medal at this games. Early last year Cox became Australia’s first women’s Mogul world champion, and is a three-time Olympian.
Earlier today she recounted that she rates her “mental game” as her greatest strength, saying she has worked hard (23 years!) to get the physical aspects of mogul skiing right. Like most Australians she watched Alisa Camplin’s triumph in Salt Lake City, saying she was “fascinated” to see an Australian do so well, and went on to watch her train at Mt Bulla when Cox was competing for her school.
Since then she’s had a determination to become the best in the world, and trains regularly with another Australian readers might be familiar with in Matt Graham. Her goal is to “ski better than any woman has ever done”. Pretty noble cause if you ask me!
As world champion, she’s aware she has a “target on her back”, but says she “wouldn’t want to be in any other position”.
Looking forward to seeing how she goes, she’s one of around five or six in contention for any of the Moguls medals up for grabs.
Australians – she’ll be in action around 9:30pm AEDT.
Women’s slopestyle cancelled
Lots of cancellations happening today due to weather. Now news filtering through that women’s slopestyle is also cancelled. Officials say they have “mixed feelings” about cancelling, but they saw “lots of inconsistency” and the last thing they want is “compromised safety for riders”. They’re planning for a two-run qualification into a two-run final tomorrow, as tomorrow is the last day they can run the event.
Of course Tess Coady – the Australian 17-year-old – pulled out of the event today due to a knee injury, which means that she could potentially (in theory) re-appear tomorrow (although the injury was sustained before the games, so chances are slim).
Red Gerard
In case you haven’t heard the news already, Gerard, at 17, has become the youngest Olympian to medal in snowboarding – winning gold for the USA in the men’s slopestyle on Sunday morning at Bogwang Snow Park. USA have now won the first gold in snowboarding at each of the last five winter Olympic games (for 25 total – with Switzerland second on just 12!)
Gerard had two falls on his first two runs, but managed an 86.00 on his final attempt. He beat out Canadians Max Parrot and Mark McMorris to the highest place on the podium. McMorris won bronze in this event four years ago and was incredibly in intensive care after a nasty crash in March.
Welcome
Hello everyone and welcome to this day two blog of the 2018 Pyeongchang winter olympics. I’ll endeavour to bring you any breaking news, as well as some updates as to what has happened during the day before we hand over to London in a few hours.
In case you’re waiting for it, a note to say that that the women’s snowboard slopestyle has been delayed. According to Australian TV coverage, there’s an issue with the wind being far too gusty for competitors. Snow temperature is at a chilly -21.5 degrees celsius, and there’s loose snow flying over the hill – you wouldn’t want to be in the air with those gusts flying over! We have relatively clear skies with some clouding, but good visibility which is good news for the moguls event later this evening.
Kate will be here shortly.
