Beijing Olympics: Live Updates | AP News

BEIJING (AP) — The Newest on the Beijing Winter Olympics:

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Lindsey Jacobellis captured America’s first gold medal of the Olympics on Wednesday, driving laborious to the road in her snowboardcross ultimate a full 16 years after a mistake price her the title.

The 36-year-old racer was in her fifth Olympics and captured the primary U.S. win of what has been an in any other case dismal Video games for the U.S.

The victory got here after America’s high racer, skier Mikaela Shiffrin, skidded out and failed to complete the primary run of the slalom, making her 0-for-2 in Beijing.

Up till Wednesday, Jacobellis was greatest recognized for taking a large lead into the ultimate bounce on the 2006 Turin Video games, however tweaking her board as she highway over the crest, then falling and settling for silver.

This time, she rode laborious all the best way to the road, beating France’s Chloe Trespeuch, then protecting her coronary heart together with her palms as she slowed. Canada’s Meryeta Odine gained the bronze.

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Petra Vlhova added an Olympic gold medal to her rising checklist of achievements, successful the ladies’s slalom on the Beijing Video games.

It was Slovakia’s first Olympic medal in Alpine snowboarding. Mikaela Shiffrin once more failed to complete the race.

Vlhova, who has already clinched the World Cup title within the self-discipline, was solely eighth quickest after the primary run down the Ice River course. However she made it up for an unofficial mixed time of 1 minute, 44.98 seconds.

Katharina Liensberger of Austria was 0.08 seconds slower than Vlhova over the 2 legs for second. Wendy Holdener of Switzerland was third, 0.12 behind Vlhova.

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After falling on his first try, snowboarder Shaun White hammered down a pressure-packed halfpipe qualifying run to make it via to the medal spherical of his fifth and ultimate Olympics.

The three-time gold medalist fell on his signature trick on his first run — the Double McTwist 1260 — and was mired in nineteenth place.

After a 50-minute wait following his fall, White returned to the highest of the pipe and nailed the identical run he’d tried earlier than.

Every rider bought two tries and solely their greatest rating counted. The highest 12 superior to Friday’s ultimate. White ended up in fourth.

He stomped each touchdown and yell out a “Yeahhhh” on the backside. He certified behind two-time silver medalist Ayumu Hirano, 2018 bronze medalist Scotty James and Hirano’s Japanese teammate, Ruka Hirano.

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The medal ceremony for the team figure skating competition on the Beijing Olympics has been delayed due to an ongoing authorized challenge that might have an effect on medalists, the IOC mentioned.

The ceremony to award the Russian group the gold medals, the USA silver and Japan bronze was not held as scheduled Tuesday.

Worldwide Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams mentioned the explanation was a “authorized session” required with the governing physique of skating. Particulars of the case weren’t specified.

In a one-line assertion, the Worldwide Skating Union additionally cited ongoing authorized talks.

If any athlete and group had been disqualified, an enchantment would possible comply with to the Courtroom of Arbitration for Sport. Canada positioned fourth and can be in line to be upgraded.

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Norway’s Birk Ruud gained gold within the Olympics’ first males’s freestyle snowboarding large air occasion, re-emerging as a frontrunner within the excessive sport after shedding his father to most cancers and injuring his knee.

A day after Eileen Gu’s gold medal briefly broke Chinese language social media website Weibo, the boys placed on one other spectacular present at Big Air Shougang — a shuttered metal mill that now hosts the world’s solely everlasting large air bounce.

Ruud has two Winter X Video games large air gold medals and 4 world cup wins, however just one since 2019. The 21-year-old’s father, Øivind, died of most cancers final April, and Ruud has mentioned the loss pulled his thoughts away from aggressive snowboarding.

Ruud’s ultimate rating of 187.75 was effectively away from American silver medalist Colby Stevenson’s 183. Swedish veteran Henrik Harlaut took bronze at 181.

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Defending Olympic champion snowboarder Chloe Kim cruised through the halfpipe on her first run.

She scored 87.75, adequate for the highest spot in ladies’s qualifying Wednesday at Genting Snow Park.

The 21-year-old from California turned it up a notch in run No. 2, however fell on her swap bottom 720. She raised her hand as if to say, “Oh effectively.” She playfully caught out her tongue whereas ready for her rating.

Mitsuki Ono of Japan was second in qualifying. This a day after showing to be bothered by a hip ailment in coaching and in some discomfort. Cai Xuetong of China had the third-best rating in qualifying, with Queralt Castellet of Spain additionally within the combine.

The most important shock was the efficiency of American Maddie Mastro, who completed simply exterior of the top-12 that superior to Thursday’s ultimate. She was within the final spot however was bumped out by one of many ultimate riders, Elizabeth Hosking of Canada.

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Lena Dürr is main the ladies’s slalom on the Beijing Video games after two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin noticed one other race finish early.

Shiffrin skidded uncontrolled about 5 seconds into the opening run of Wednesday’s slalom. The 26-year-old American additionally fell early within the first run of Monday’s large slalom.

Dürr led from the beginning as she was first down the course know because the Ice River. The German skier posted a time of 52.17 seconds, 0.03 faster than Michelle Gisin of Switzerland.

Large slalom gold medalist Sara Hector of Sweden is 0.12 behind Dürr.

Dürr’s highest particular person end at a serious championship is eleventh on the worlds in 2019. She has by no means gained a World Cup slalom race.

The 30-year-old is prone to head into the second run within the lead with solely lower-ranked skiers remaining.

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Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin has missed a gate early within the first run of the slalom on the Beijing Video games and is out of the occasion.

Similar to in her first occasion of those Olympics, the giant slalom, the American racer was achieved for the day inside a matter of seconds.

After Wednesday’s mistake within the slalom, which she gained on the 2014 Sochi Video games, Shiffrin sat on the facet of the hill and bowed her head.

The 26-year-old Shiffrin is making an attempt to grow to be the primary Alpine ski racer from the USA to win three Olympic golds throughout a profession.

She has mentioned she hoped to enter all 5 particular person occasions at Yanqing Alpine Snowboarding Heart.

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Defending Olympic downhill champion Sofia Goggia is on the Beijing slopes and coaching after crashing and injuring her left knee and leg final month.

The Italian arrived late to China after she sprained her left knee, partially tore a cruciate ligament and had a “minor fracture” of the fibula bone in her leg. She additionally had some tendon harm after the crash in a World Cup super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Jan. 23.

Goggia has gained the final eight World Cup downhills that she accomplished.

Goggia arrived in China on Monday and was checked out by the Italian group’s medical workers. She then did three runs of large slalom and three runs of super-G coaching on Tuesday and was doing extra of the identical on Wednesday.

The group says she has not determined but if she’s going to race the super-G on Friday however she is planning on collaborating within the first of three downhill coaching periods on Saturday. The downhill race is scheduled for Tuesday.

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