Thursday marked another action-packed day at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. For those sleeping during the competitive events — which occurred during late night or early morning hours for many US viewers— here is a tidy recap.
⛸ Russian teen embroiled in doping controversy finished in fourth place
Russian teen figure skater Kamila Valieva suffered several falls during her free skate routine, resulting in a fourth-place finish in Beijing. Valieva's struggles mean that there will in fact be a medal ceremony in the event — one headlined her fellow Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team members, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, who finished first and second respectively. Japanese skater Kaori Sakamoto earned the bronze.
Valieva has been at the center of controversy as a positive December drug test cast doubt on whether she'd be permitted to compete. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cleared her to compete on Monday. The IOC, however, had announced that if Valieva earned a podium position, the Games would not hold a medal ceremony. That awkward reality never came to pass.
Amid chants of "Kamila, Kamila, Kamila" ringing through the venue, the Russian left the rink with tears in her eyes, wrapping up an emotional and incredibly trying Olympic experience.
🏒 Canada bests USA in women's hockey, avenges 2018 heartbreak
Canada defeated Team USA 3-2 in the women's hockey gold medal match, the latest edition of the heated rivalry between the two North American neighbors.
Since the inception of the Olympic event 1998, either Canada or the US has taken home the top prize. This time around it's Canada — who skated to an early 3-0 lead — earning gold, in the process avenging Team USA's penalty shootout victory in PyeongChang four years ago.
Team USA took gold in '98, then two decades later in '18. Canada, meanwhile, won in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and now, in 2022.
⛷ Mikaela Shiffrin falls again, suffers third Beijing DNF
Mikaela Shiffrin's Olympic nightmare continues in Beijing as the US skier crashed out once again, this time in the alpine combined slalom. The American favorite has suffered falls in three of her Olympic events — the giant slalom, the slalom, and now, the alpine combined slalom — resulting in a trio of DNF's (did not finish.)
"I think that I actually had a really good start and got into my tempo, my rhythm, quite well," Shiffrin said following Thursday's event.
Shiffrin was hoping to earn multiple medals in Beijing after taking a gold each in 2014 and 2018. She has one final event still to come, Saturday's mixed team parallel slalom competition.