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SCMP Sport

It’s the penultimate day of the 2022 Winter Olympics, and doesn’t time fly when you're having fun?
China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong put in a world-record performance last night in the short programme to finish ahead of ROC duo Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morosov.
They then held off a strong challenge from the Russian contingent in the free skate to secure gold, putting in a world record with their overall score.
Elsewhere there were medal events in bobsleigh, biathlon, skiing, speedskating and curling.
Reporting by Josh Ball, Jess Ma, Andrew McNicol, Harvey Kong, Jack Lau and Nick Atkin
 


Winter Olympics: Chinese figure skating pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong win gold with another world record – day 15, as it happened

China’s Sui Wenjing (left) and Han Cong celebrate winning the gold medal in the pairs figure skating. Photo: AFP


Sport

China

Beijing Winter Games 2022

Explainers


Chinese figure skating pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong deliver in the free skate, seeing off a strong challenge from the ROC contingent
Posting another world record, duo's triumph puts China third in the overall medal table, overtaking Team USA with its ninth gold of the Games



China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong delver in pairs figure skating, seeing off strong challenge from ROC contingent in free skate programme and putting hosts third in Beijing 2022 medal table, above Team USA.


Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

Live

Welcome to our live coverage of day 15 at the Winter Olympics.
There’s plenty happening today, with story lines aplenty. Can Mikaela Shiffrin end her Games with a least one medal, will China’s speed skaters enjoy more success for the host nation, are the ROC going to sweep the board in pairs figure skating?
All these questions and more will be answered throughout the day.


What lies ahead

These are the events where gold, silver and bronze will be decided today.
Alpine skiing: Mixed team parallel event 1/8 finals, quarter-finals, semi-finals, small final, big final (11am–1.54pm) 
Bobsleigh: Two-woman heat 4 (9.30pm–10.15pm) 
Biathlon: W 12.5km mass start (5pm-5.45pm)
Cross-country skiing: M 50km mass start freestyle (2pm–4.45pm) 
Curling: M gold medal game (2.50pm) W bronze medal game (8.05pm)
Freestyle skiing: M freeski halfpipe final (finished)
Figure skating: Pairs free skating (7pm)
Ice hockey: M bronze medal game (9.10pm)
Speed skating: M mass start final (4.30pm) W mass start final (5pm)


10 medals to be decided

Yesterday started with Eileen Gu’s second gold of the Games and her third medal overall, and finished with Chinese pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong setting a world record in the figure skating.
For a full recap of all the action, Friday’s live blog is here, or there is our round-up here.


Day 14 recap

We have our first gold of the day, and it’s gone to Nico Porteous from New Zealand in the men’s freeski half-pipe. David Wise and Alex Ferreira from the United States take home silver and bronze respectively. 
The 20-year-old gold medallist from New Zealand has been on fire since his bronze medal in the same event in 2018. He clinched the top title in the 2021 world championships, and is now adding an Olympic gold to his long list of accolades.
Meanwhile, the mixed team parallel competition in Alpine skiing has been delayed. The skiers will start at noon, with the finals coming up at 1.47pm. The past few days has been challenging for skiers due to strong winds and low visibility.


Latest from Beijing

Team New Zealand staff have been performing a Haka in celebration of their man’s gold in the staff area of Genting Snow Park.
A traditional ceremonial dance in Maori culture, it is performed regularly by New Zealand teams before and after international competitions.



A traditional celebration

Chinese social media platform Weibo is markedly quieter this morning, as the Games wind down, and attention is turning towards tomororow’s closing ceremony.
Online users have been trying to guess what the displays and performances will be, although we already have a hint from organisers.
Yan Jiarong, the organising committee’s spokeswoman, said it would continue “the opening ceremony’s theme of simplicity,” and hinted some components will surround the special fact Beijing is the only city to host both the Summer and Winter Games.


Attention turns to closing ceremony

The mixed team Alpine skiing event has been postponed because of bad weather.
“Due to the continuing wind gust and the updated forecast - the jury together with the the organiser are unable to stage the mixed team parallel event today. Additional information will follow,” a statement from organisers said.


Alpine team event postponed

As clear as night follows day, Germany’s Francesco Friedrich is in the lead of a bobsleigh event at the Olympic Games.
One of the best to ever tackle the track has eked ahead on 1:57.00 after two runs in four man event, thanks to his crew putting together a start record of 4.82 seconds in that second run.
Teammate Johannes Lochner is 0.03 seconds behind; the Canadian four-man led by Justin Kripps is 0.38 seconds back of Friedrich in third.



Business as usual in bobsleigh

A set of togetherness-themed photos by People’s Daily is also making the rounds on Weibo. The collage features Chinese athletes’ moments with other teams.
Among them Xu Mengtao (below), upon winning gold in women’s aerials, embracing fellow skier Ashley Caldwell with excitement showing on both of their faces, or Eileen Gu, who is seen comforting French skier Tess Ledeux who made a mistake in her run.
“This is the Olympic spirit,” the post reads.



Togetherness at heart of Games

Closing his first Winter Olympics as Hong Kong’s highest-ranked male entrant in history, short-track speed skater Sidney Chu is itching to take advantage of a spike in local interest in the sport.
As he sees out his post-Games bubble quarantine to resume training in China, the 22-year-old is finalising plans for his “HKG Speed Skating Academy” to be rolled out upon his return to the city.
Read Andrew McNicol’s story here.


Chu starting speed-skating academy

The International Ski Federation has announced that the race starting time and distance for the men’s 50km cross-country skiing mass start in free technique has been changed.
Because of strong winds and resulting extreme conditions, the distance for the event has been reduced to 30km. The FIS added that the decision was taken in regards to athlete safety and to reduce the time of their exposure to extreme conditions.
The event will now start at 3pm, instead of 2pm. Earlier, the FIS said it had also postponed the mixed team Alpine skiing event and would try to reschedule it for tomorrow.



Weather hits cross-country race

Francesco Friedrich is poised to win another double of bobsleigh golds at a Winter Olympics as the German pilot holds a slender overnight lead in the four-man event - but he was not happy with the condition of the track in China.
"It's totally rutted, it is no fun to ride because you keep getting into grooves," Friedrich said after training Thursday, then he sat out three of Friday's four practice heats.

Friedrich was second in today’s first heat, marginally slower than fellow German pilot Johannes Lochner, before Friedrich stormed back in the second to hold an overnight lead of 0.03sec.
"Actually, that's nothing on this track," Lochner said. "The race starts at zero tomorrow."


Friedrich bobsleigh track complaint

British cross-country skier Andrew Musgrave is not happy about the decision to shorten the distance and delay the start of the men’s 50km mass start this afternoon.
FIS have just shortened the Olympic 50km to a 28km because it's a bit cold and windy. I don't see that that will make it any warmer or less windy.🤷‍♂️ What a f@*king joke!
  — Andrew Musgrave (@musgraveandrew) February 19, 2022


Brit skier: race decision a joke

The mixed team parallel event for Alpine skiing, which was postponed today because of bad weather, has been rescheduled to 9am on Sunday.


Alpine skiing update

The gold medal match for men’s curling between Sweden and Team GB has begun. 
Britain have been in great form in Beijing, winning eight games out of the nine they have played. History may also be made on the curling ice today, the British team has not won a gold medal since the inaugural Winter Olympics in 1924, their most recent medal was a silver in 2014.
They will face a tough match against 2018 silver medalists Sweden, who are also the top ranked men’s curling team in the world.


Team GB hunting historic gold

The panda mascot of the Beijing Games has been a huge success here in the Chinese capital, where fans have lined up for hours to buy plush dolls of the round cartoon, Bing Dwen Dwen.
Then last week, the character appeared on Chinese television – and horrified viewers by speaking with a grown man’s voice.
“I don’t think it’s cute any more,” one commenter said on Chinese social media. “It’s just an old man.”
Read our story on the creative, cartoonish, and sometimes awful mascots that represent host citites.


A look at Olympic mascots

After being delayed by bad weather, the men’s 30km mass start free is now under way. China is represented in this event by Wang Qiang, Chen Degen, Liu Rongsheng and Hadesi Badelihan.


Cross country under way

Chinese ice dance pair Lin Xinyu and Wang Shiyue, who earned China’s best ice dance result at a Winter Games last Monday, have given Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu Olympic souvenirs, including a Lunar New Year-themed Bing Dwen Dwen doll.
Hanyu exchanged hugs and took photos, before 6’ 3” Lin picked Hanyu up for an amusing photo to post on Weibo. The pair are close friends, with Lin giving Hanyu a “bridal carry” multiple times in the past.



A gift for Hanyu

Yuzuru Hanyu has talked to TVB after an open practice session for the Winter Olympics figure skating gala tomorrow.
Hanyu is one of eight men’s singles skaters performing despite openly stating he was nursing an injury from his events in Beijing. He reportedly skated nine programmes in his 40-minute session.
“I was so happy with my skate today. I’ll never forget this memory, thank you so much,” Hanyu said, before reporters asked about his leg. “Not good, I need more time, but ... these sessions were a gift for me because I was really working hard [to get here] here. I was injured in these programmes.”
a more completed(?) version of yuzuru’s small interview pic.twitter.com/nzZjfGuhC5
  — vivi (@eastofeunsoo) February 18, 2022


Hanyu preparing for Olympic finale

Down to the skip stones in this first end. Team GB have hammer by virtue of the better round-robin record; they sit one on the edge of the four-foot.
There's also a British rock in the 12-foot; Sweden have one in the eight-foot.
Niklas Edin's first delivery removes the stone that was sitting shot rock. Bruce Mouat promptly replaces it with a takeout of his own.
Edin repeats the shot, so this will force Mouat to draw for one or give up a steal of two. On the button. 1–0 Great Britain.


Team GB take early lead

The best eight athletes have qualified In the first of two men’s mass start semi-finals, including Norweigian Kristian Ulekleiv, who scored an impressive 60 sprint points, Belgium’s Bart Swings and China’s Ning Zhongyan.
The second semi-final has just started, where another eight will move onto the finals. China’s 23-year-old hopeful Wang Haotian is in this.


Ning through to speedskating final

After 16 intense laps, Italian Andrea Giovannini topped the rank with 60 sprint points, followed by Korea’s Leen Seung Hoon and Switzerland’s Livio Wenger.
China’s Wang Haotian didn’t make it, but will be cheering on his teammate Ning Zhongyan in the finals, beginning at 4.30pm.


Field set for speedskating final

The men’s 50km cross-country skiing mass start, which has been reduced to 30km because of bad weather, has now reached the halfway point.
Russia’s Artem Maltsev is currently leading, followed by teammates Alexander Bolshunov and Ivan Yakimushkin.


Mass start at halfway stage

The first of two women’s mass start semi-finals has ended with Team Canada’s Ivanie Blondin, Japan’s Ayano Sato and six others advancing into the finals, which will begin at 5pm.
China’s Li Qishi qualified in third place with 23 sprint points. The second semi-final will start shortly.


Li into women’s mass-start final

We are now in the final stretch of the men’s 50km mass start.
France’s Clement Parisse is first, American Scott Patterson is second, while Russia’s Ivan Yakimushkin is third.
Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who is ranked No 1 in the World Cup, has called it a day and ended his race with a DNF.


All change in cross-country skiing

Sweden are up 3-2 against Team GB, as we reach the fifth end of the men’s curling gold medal match.
The Swedes took an early lead from the second end, but the Brits are now catching up after scoring one more point in the fourth. It looks like it’s going to be a tight match.



Curling final a close affair

China’s Guo Dan has finished third in her semi-final of the women’s mass start. She joins teammate Li Qishi in the medal round. Others moving through to the next stage include Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida, South Korea’s Kim Boreum and Netherland’s Irene Schouten.
There’s not much time for the athletes to rest - the finals begin at 5pm, with the top 16 chasing gold.


Guo to join Li in speedskating final

The men’s mass-start final which begins in less than 10 minutes is one of the few medal events today in which China has a chance.
Ning Zhongyan faces fierce competition, including from defending silver medallist Daniil Aldoshkin from the ROC and bronze medallist Joey Manta from America.
If Ning does manage to win gold, China will move ahead of the US in the medal table.


Ning chasing gold

Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov has won gold in the men’s cross-country skiing 50km mass start, with teammate Ivan Yakimushkin taking silver. Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krueger is going home with bronze.
China’s Chen Degen finished in 41st place, Hadesi Badelihan was 45th, Wang Qiang 46th and Liu Rongsheng finished in 48th.



1-2 for ROC in 50km race

Belgium’s Bart Swings has won gold in the men’s speedskating mass start after stealing the lead from defending champion Lee Seung-Hoon of South Korea.
Lee ended up taking bronze, behind fellow countryman Chung Jae-Won. China’s Ning Zhongyan came in 12th.



Gold for Swings in men’s speedskating

It’s all square in the men’s gold medal clash between Sweden and Team GB. The Brits have tied things up at 3-3 after equalising with one point in the seventh end.


Curling update

The women’s mass start finals will soon begin, with China represented on the ice by Li Qishi and Guo Dan.
They will face stiff competition from the likes of South Korea’s Kim Bo-Reum, who won silver in the event four years ago.


Women’s speedskating about to start

The women’s speedskating mass start final has just wrapped up, with Netherland’s Irene Schouten taking gold after coming from behind to overtake Canada’s Ivanie Blondin, who took silver. Italian Francesca Lollobrigida takes bronze.
China’s Li Qishi finished seventh, while Guo Dan was ninth.



Dutch gold in women’s mass start

It’s a close gold medal match between Sweden and Great Britain in men’s curling.
Sweden, who have never won a gold at the Olympics in the event, is up 4-3.
After a blanked ninth end, Team GB have kept the hammer for the 10th and final end.
Statistically, both teams have done fantastically well. Great Britain are curling at 90 per cent, while the Swedes are at 92 per cent.
That’s to be expected as this is essentially a rematch of last year’s world championships final between Sweden and Scotland.



Curling nail biter

An excellent throw from Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson.
It clears the stone near the centre of the house thrown by Team GB’s Bobby Lammie.
Sweden are trying to steal one point this end or limit the Brits to only one point, so they can get the hammer for an extra end.



Sweden turn up the heat

With three stones remaining for Team GB, they are calling a time-out.
There are three stones, all from Sweden, in the house now. 
The Britons will need to score at least one and get a second point.


Time out for Team GB

An amazing throw from Britain’s Grant Hardie.
Now they have the closest stone to the centre of the house, meaning none of the Sweden’s three stones in the house will score a point.
That forces Sweden to call for a time-out.


Britain back in it

Applause erupts in Beijing’s National Aquatics Centre as Sweden fight their way out of trouble.
Skip Niklas Edin throws a stone that bumps Great Britain’s out of the house.
But Britain’s Bruce Mouat throws another into the house. There’s only one stone left for each of the teams. 


Down to the wire

It’s a match saver from Sweden skip Niklas Edin. He takes out Britain’s stone in the penultimate throw.
But Team GB, with the hammer – the last stone advantage – score one point by placing their last stone in the middle of the house. 
They are now tied at 4-4. It’s on to an extra end now.



Extra end

With only four stones left to be played, the Swedes are currently ahead with their stone closest to the centre.
Team GB has just called a timeout to discuss their next strategy.
The score is still 4-4.



Another timeout

A miss by Great Britain means Sweden’s legendary Niklas Edin wins his first Olympic gold medal, with the British taking home the silver. 
The final score is 5-4.
It was a tight match that saw both teams battle until the very end, with the game going into an extra end.



Sweden see it out

Attorneys for the US figure skaters whose Olympic silver medals are being withheld have notified the IOC they have filed an appeal to have them awarded before the end of the Beijing Games, The Associated Press has learned.
In a letter sent to IOC president Thomas Bach on Saturday, a copy of which was obtained by the AP, attorneys said they would ask the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a ruling before Sunday’s closing ceremony.
Kamila Valieva led the Russian team to a victory in last week’s team event, and the US finished second. Soon after, a positive doping test for the 15-year-old skater was disclosed. CAS allowed her to continue skating at the women’s event, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would not award medals in any events in which she finished among the top three.
The Russians won the event by a large margin. Japan was third and Canada finished fourth.
The letter from the Americans says the IOC’s “own rules mandate that a victory ceremony ‘to present medals to the athletes shall follow the conclusion of each sports event’”.
Read the full report here.


US skaters file appeal

The International Ski Federation pushes forward the women’s 30km cross-country skiing mass start in free technique to 11am tomorrow because of strong winds in the forecast.
The event was originally scheduled for 2.30pm.


Skiing schedule change

Two-time US national figure skating champion Alysa Liu, whose father is from Sichuan, takes a selfie at the figure skating gala dress rehearsal with Chinese men’s skater Jin Boyang, ice dancing pair Lin Xiyu and Wang Shiyue, and Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu at the Capital Indoor Stadium.


Skating selfie

Skaters hit the ice for their introductions, marking the beginning of the free skate segment of the pair skating event.
China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong pulled off a fiery routine during their short programme, which gave them a world-record score of 84.41 and shot them to the top of the table. They will be the 16th and last pair to skate tonight.
Peng Cheng and Jin Yang, another pair from China, came fifth for the short programme. They will be the 12th pair to take to the ice.
The Chinese skaters face stiff competition from figure skating powerhouse the ROC, with Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov close behind Sui and Han by just 0.16 points in the short programme. They will be the 15th pair to the take to the ice.


Figure skating begins

Italy’s Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini finish their routine with a score of 109.60, kick starting the free skate segment of the pair skating event.
They have a combined score of 165.43, which is now the score to beat.



Italy get things started

Israel’s Hailey Kops and Evgeni Krasnopolski score 97.83, making their total 153.82.
Their routine is full of air elements but they lose their balance on some of them.
The duo have only been together for three months, but still made it to the final here.



Israeli duo show heart

Chinese figure skater Jin Boyang gifts an Olympic-themed panda hat to Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu, the same one Eileen Gu has been wearing around Beijing.
The product reportedly sold out a while ago, much to figure skating fans’ disappointment.
“Yuzu Dwen Dwen” and other hashtags are trending on Twitter. 



Panda party

Chinese pair skater Han Cong is promising something special tonight.
“Like Hanyu challenging the quad Axel, we can also challenge the extreme,” he said at yesterday’s press conference.
“We want to push our limits, compete at our best and inspire others to compete on ice.”


Han channelling Hanyu

The Canadian pair, Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro, start off with a triple twist lift and show great connection.
The third element, a throw triple loop, is well done and transitions smoothly to the group 5 reverse lasso lift.
After their skate, their coach says they have given it their all. They go into the lead with a combined score of 181.37.



Canadian pair take lead

A very smooth programme from Canadians Vanessa James and Eric Radford.
The triple toe-loop starts off out of sync, but they end the element in unison.
James also falls towards the end of the routine because of a lack of height, but that performance still scores them 117.96 in the free skate, and a combined 180.99.
That puts them in second place behind the other Canadian pair.



Canada takes the lead, again

An almost effortless performance from Spain’s Laura Barquero and Marco Zandron earns them a score of 118.02 in the free skate segment.
Their combined score of 181.36 puts them in second place overall, just 0.01 points behind the leading Canadian pair.



Spanish pair apply pressure

Georgia’s Karina Safina and Luka Berulava finish a graceful performance with a score of 126.33, giving them a combined score of 192.44.
That launches them to the top of the leader board.
Berulava has some shaky landings on some of his jumps, but they still secure the top spot.



Georgians on top

After a brief break for resurfacing, the next group of skaters are now hitting the ice.
We will be seeing the first pair of Chinese skaters in this group with Peng Cheng and Jin Yang, who came in fifth during the short programme.
They will perform in the same group as pairs from the United States and Japan.
The score to beat now is 192.44, set by Georgian pair Karina Safina and Luka Berulava.


First Chinese pair

Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuchi Kihara deliver a sensational performance.
They’ve earned themselves a free skate score of 141.04, and the top spot overall with their combined score of 211.89.



Japan’s Miura, Kihara shine

American pair Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc complete their routine, but it’s not without issues.
Cain-Gribble has trouble landing some of her jumps, which mean the pair walk away with a score of 123.92. 
Their combined score is 198.05, putting them behind the leading Japanese pair.



Americans into second spot

Another change at the top of the leader board.
Americans Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier score 198.05 in the free skate, and now have a combined score of 212.68, which moves them into first place above their compatriots.
Up now are Chinese pair Peng Cheng and Jin Yang.



More change at the top

Chinese pair Peng Cheng and Jin Yang complete their routine to thunderous applause from the home crowd, and earn a free skate score of 138.74.
Their combined score is now 214.84, putting them top overall.
Despite some trouble with the triple Salchow, they execute the rest of the programme beautifully. 
This is the last duo in the current group of skating pairs, with one more group to go.



China’s Peng, Jin on top

The last group of skaters are on the ice now.
Among them are China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, the world record holders for the short programme in pair skating. 
They will face off against three pairs of Russian skaters. Among them are Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, who finished just 0.16 points behind Sui and Han in the short programme.


Final group set to go

Russian pair Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii go into the lead.
Boikova has trouble landing her triple loop, but they still post a 141.91 in the free skate, which gives them a combined score of 220.50.



Russians Boikova, Kozlovskii take lead

Yet another change at the top.
Russian pair Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov have some minor issues with their routine, but earn a score of 154.95.
Their combined score is 237.71, putting them in first place.
In case you are wondering, the Chinese pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong will be the last skaters to hit the ice.



Lead switches again

Russian pair Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov embrace each other after completing their programme. 
They’ve done enough to force yet another change at the top, picking up a free skate score of 155, which gives them a combined score of 239.25.
Chinese pair Sui Wenjing and Ha Cong are now hitting the ice – can they take the gold?



And yet another leader

They’ve done it ! With a difference of just 0.63 points, Chinese pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong have won the gold medal with a combined score of 239.88.
This is a step up for the pair after their silver medal win in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Russia’s Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov have taken silver, while teammates Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov have won bronze.



Gold for Sui and Han

China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong’s beautiful routine drew roaring applause from the home crowd, with both athletes embracing in tears.
There had been a little doubt, though, after Sui made an error on her triple Salchow, which could have cost the pair their chance at gold.
But they scored 155.47 in the free skate. And it was a new pairs skating world record of 239.88, by 0.06 points – after they had smashed their own world record in the short programme on Friday night.
