Olympic Update:
–The U.S. women’s hockey team scored four unanswered goals to defeat the Czech Republic in their women’s quarterfinal game early today.
–The U.S. men’s hockey team shutout China 8-0 in their first game of the Olympics.
Other Notes:
Hearing to Decide if Russian Figure Skater Can Compete After Positive Drug Test – A hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport will determine whether 15-year-old Russian figure skating phenom Kamila Valieva can compete in the women’s event next week, where she’s heavily favored to win gold, after she tested positive for a banned heart drug six weeks ago at the Russian Figure Skating Championships. The International Olympic Committee is appealing to the Court to reinstate the provisional suspension of Valieva, which was imposed by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency after the positive result was returned this past Tuesday, and then lifted by the same agency, which would allow her to compete. Meanwhile, the Russian Olympic Committee said it would fight to keep the gold medal won days ago by a team that include Valieva, a process that could take months. If the Russian team is disqualified, the U.S., which won silver, would be awarded the gold.
Shaun White Finishes Fourth in Halfpipe in Final Olympics – American snowboarding legend Shaun White finished just out of the medals in fourth place in the halfpipe, in what is his final Olympics and the close of his competitive career. Ayumu Hirano of Japan won the gold. The best of the 35-year-old White’s three runs was his second, and he fell on the final run, the last of his career. An emotional White said after the event, “I just want to thank everyone for watching. Everyone at home, thank you. Snowboarding, thank you. It’s been the love of my life.” Among all his accomplishments, White won three gold medals in five Olympics.
U.S. Skier Mikaela Shiffrin Finishes Ninth in Super-G – After being eliminated within seconds in her first two races in Beijing, U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin finished the super-G yesterday, but finished out of the medals in ninth place. The two-time Olympic gold medalist said afterward, “I didn’t think there was a very big chance to come in and win, or even medal, in this race. . . . But I also did get to the finish and that’s really nice for my heart to know.” She also thanked everyone for all the support she’d gotten since her disqualifications in the giant slalom and slalom, which are usually her best events. Winning the super-G yesterday was Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland.
U.S. Wins Gold in Mixed Team Aerials in Its Olympic Debut – The U.S. won gold in mixed team aerials in the freestyle skiing event’s Olympic debut. The team of two men and one woman, Christopher Lillis, Justin Schoenefeld and Ashley Caldwell, beat out the Chinese team for the win. Canada won bronze.
Medal Count as of early Friday: Austria is in first place with 14 medals, followed by Norway and Canada with 12 each. In the gold medal count, Germany is first with six, Norway has five, and the U.S., Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden have four each. The U.S. has 10 medals overall, four gold, five silver and one bronze.