Live: ‘Some of them were my friends’: Ukrainian wears images of dead athletes on helmet

Freestyle snowboarding is on from 10.30pm AEDT. Set your alarm for 5.20am AEDT Tuesday to look at Holly Harris and Jason Chan, Australia’s first ice dancing representatives in 12 years. Or flick over to the snowboarding at 5.30am AEDT the place Aussies Tess Coady and Meila Stalker are within the ladies’s large air closing. 

Thus far on the velocity skating we now have been centered on longer distances, with the lads’s 5,000m and the ladies’s 3,000m.

In distinction, right now’s occasion the ladies’s 1,000m solely takes two and a half laps of the monitor in Milano, so there’s much less room for slight errors.

It is a large competitors with 30 skaters participating.

We’re nonetheless within the early levels, however to this point it is Dutch skater Suzanne Schulting holding the quickest time. She stopped the clock within the opening warmth in a single minute 15.46 seconds.

In second place is Poland’s Natalia Czerwonka, who gained warmth six in a time of 1:16.09. In third is Swiss skater Kaitlyn McGregor, in 1:16:16.

And halfway by the opening run, Germany is dominating.

One of many sport’s conventional powerhouses, Germany has already notched a luge gold in Italy, with Max Langenhan sliding to a dominant victory within the males’s singles yesterday.

He was close to excellent on the Cortina Sliding Centre, breaking the monitor report in all 4 of his runs.

To not be outdone, compatriot Merle Malou Fraebel has opened her ladies’s single marketing campaign with a monitor report of her personal.

Her time of 52.590 leads fellow German Julia Taubitz by simply 0.048 seconds.

Italy’s Verena Hofer rounds out the highest three.

It is practically time for the velocity skating in Milano, as the ladies’s 1,000m closing is subsequent up.

All three medallists from Beijing 4 years in the past are again – Japan’s Miho Takagi took gold, Jutta Leerdam of Netherlands took silver silver and American Brittany Bowe the bronze.

Takagi and Leerdam are drawn within the closing warmth and whoever wins ought to go near the gold medal.

Nevertheless there may be one other likelihood, with Erin Jackson – who carried the USA flag the opposite night time on the opening ceremony – within the combine.

Jackson gained the ladies’s 500m closing in Beijing. This 12 months she goes in each the 500m and 1,000m. We’ll see how she goes over the longer distance.

Each athlete who competes on the Winter Olympics brings completely different experiences and completely different motivations.

For one athlete at Milano Cortina, making some extent at coaching is simply as necessary because the performances in competitors.

Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych educated on Monday in a helmet with photographs of compatriots killed in the course of the conflict in ‌Ukraine, delivering on a promise to make use of the Olympics to maintain consideration on the battle.

“A few of them had been my pals,” Heraskevych, who’s his nation’s flag bearer, stated of the portraits after his coaching session on the Cortina sliding centre.

Seen on the ⁠helmet are teenage weightlifter Alina Perehudova, boxer Pavlo Ischenko, ice hockey participant Oleksiy Loginov, actor and athlete Ivan Kononenko, diving athlete and coach Mykyta Kozubenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov and dancer Daria Kurdel, he advised Reuters.

The 26-year-old stated the Worldwide Olympic Committee had contacted Ukraine’s Olympic ​Committee over his helmet.

“It is nonetheless being processed,” he stated.

Heraskevych, who held up a “No Battle in Ukraine” signal on the Beijing Olympics days earlier than Russia’s 2022 invasion, had stated he ‌meant to respect Olympic guidelines prohibiting political ‌demonstrations at venues whereas nonetheless making certain ‌Ukraine’s plight remained seen in the course of the Video games.

Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Constitution states: “No type of demonstration or political, non secular or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic websites, venues or different areas.”

Reporting from Reuters

Effectively, following on from that VAR-esque drama in Italy’s 3-2 defeat of Japan, it looks like the right time to verify in on how issues stand within the ladies’s ice hockey.

10 groups are competing within the match, divided into two teams of 5.

In a match construction I fairly frankly do not perceive, all groups within the greater ranked Group A are assured to progress to the knockouts, with three sides from Group B becoming a member of them there.

With most Group B groups having performed three of their 4 video games, each Sweden and Italy have already secured development to the ultimate eight. That leaves Germany and Japan to struggle it out for third spot, with France’s inferior purpose distinction all however condemning them to a bunch stage exit.

In Group A, the US is 2 wins from two and in pole place to high the standings and declare a extra beneficial quarterfinal draw.

Bought it? Good.

Curling is without doubt one of the sports activities that had been already going earlier than the opening ceremony. Why? As a result of there are a LOT of matches to get by, too many to suit into 16 days.

Nevertheless after quite a lot of spherical robin video games, we now have the ultimate 4 determined in blended doubles in Cortina.

The ultimate spherical of matches noticed Switzerland overwhelmed 8-4 by Canada, Norway gained 8-5 over South Korea, Czechia beat Estonia 8-4, and hosts Italy defeated the USA in a detailed one, 7-6.

That final outcome was an important one, as Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner defeated People Cory Thiesse and Corey Dropkin.

The win put Italy second forward of the US with Sweden in fourth spot.

Nice Britain had already sewn up high spot with an 8-1 report, and Italy’s win meant the hosts prevented the British group within the closing 4.

The semifinals will likely be held later this morning at 4:05am AEDT.

We advised you earlier about Italy’s 3-2 win over Japan of their Ladies’s Ice Hockey group sport at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Enviornment.

There was a specific second nevertheless, with 9 minutes left within the sport, the place the method started to resemble one thing extra like a Champions League sport in soccer.

Japan was trailing 3-1 and in determined want of a purpose. A shot got here in in direction of Italian goaltender Gabriella Durante. It bounced up and over her helmet, mendacity poised for a second earlier than dropping onto the ice as gamers surged across the internet.

An Italian defender acquired her keep on with the puck within the air close to the road. It was chaos, as Italy claimed a save and Japan claimed a purpose.

The squillion or so digital camera angles then got here into play, none of them showing completely conclusive – so it was identical to VAR in European soccer.

After what appeared like an age, however was most likely simply a few minutes, the purpose was signalled, Japan’s gamers celebrated like loopy and the Italian crowd had been … not completely enthusiastic.

Fortunately for them, the house aspect went on to win.

So we’re in the course of day three of 16 days of competitors, it is time to have a fast take a look at how the medal desk sits at this early stage.

Ther are going to be loads of possibilities for Australia to hit gold, silver or bronze this week and subsequent, however to this point the group has not registered a medal.

Later tonight there could be a Trans-Tasman showdown – New Zealand has not gained a medal but both, however they’re a giant present within the large air at 5:30am AEDT with Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, who will likely be going up in opposition to Aussies Tess Coady and Meila Stalker.

Thus far it is a few conventional Winter Olympic nations who’re main the best way – Norway and Switzerland have three gold medals every.

Medal Desk (after 15 of 116 occasions):

                                      Gold        Silver    Bronze     Whole

Norway                 3             1                2                     6Switzerland        3             1                0                     4USA                         2             0                0                     2Austria                  1             3                0                     4Italy                        1             2                6                     9Japan                     1             2                1                     4Germany             1             1                1                     3Czechia                1             1                0                     2Sweden                1             1                0                     2China                     0             1               1                     2S.Korea                0             1                0                     1Slovenia               0             1                0                     1Canada                 0             0                2                     2Bulgaria               0             0                1                     1                        

It was trying like a possible all Swiss podium – which might have been a primary at both a Summer time or Winter Video games – for the alpine snowboarding males’s group mixed however Austria simply made its approach into second place.

Franjo von Allmen claimed the gold after an virtually excellent run, forward of countryman Marco Odermatt who tied for silver with Austria’s Manuel Feller.

No bronze with the equal second standings.

Historical past repeated itself when Mathilde Gremaud claimed the gold and Eileen Gu the silver within the freeski slopestyle right now, the identical high two on the rostrum as 4 years in the past in Beijing.

“I believe it is type of humorous that each Olympics we had been inside half some extent of 1 in one other,” Gu stated at Livigno Snow Park after the occasion.

“If something, I believe it is only a testomony to the expansion of girls’s snowboarding.

“So particular to be part of that – constantly. I believe greater than something, the toughest half has been staying constant all these years.”

“I’ve had a very powerful the final 4 years, to be utterly sincere with you, coping with damage and time without work snow and a few psychological stuff, and typically it looks like I am carrying the burden of two nations on my shoulders,” Gu stated, representing China however rising up and residing a big half in the USA.

“And simply with the ability to ski by all of that, and nonetheless present my finest and nonetheless be so deeply in love with the game. That is actually what I care about and I am so pleased to signify that right now.”

The Italian ladies’s ice hockey group regarded a imaginative and prescient of ecstasy after holding off an inspiring Japan to assert a 3-2 victory.

Subsequent in ladies’s ice hockey is Germany and France earlier than Switzerland and the USA face off – all nonetheless within the preliminary stage.

They will be some hopes later this morning for Australia’s first medal when Tess Coady and Meila Stalker compete within the ladies’s snowboard large air closing.

Britain got here near getting their first medal when Kirsty Mur regarded in competition for the bronze within the ladies’s freeski slopestyle.

She was simply pipped by Canada’s Megan Oldham.

Mur advised BBC Sport: “I am struggling to just accept how shut it was. I do know I’ve acquired extra in me. I am glad I put all of it on the market right now.

“Every occasion I attempt to be as current for as potential, so I am type of factor nonetheless enthusiastic about this one in the meanwhile. I will stay up for the large air, however I must take this one in.”

Italy is presently main Japan 3-2 within the ladies’s ice hockey preliminary stage match.

Up subsequent within the self-discipline Germany and France will face off.

In the meantime, the lads’s alpine snowboarding group mixed is underway at Stelvio Ski Centre.

Finland’s Eduard Hallberg is in entrance, narrowly beating Germany’s Simon Jocher.

It is Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud who has claimed the gold within the ladies’s freeski slopestyle closing, edging out China’s Eileen Gu.

A repeat of the gold and silver from the Beijing 2022 Video games, with Gremaud going back-to-back in a really tough occasion.

At Livigno Snow Park, all of it got here all the way down to the third and closing run. Gremaud was narrowly on high with a rating of 86.96, forward of Gu with a rating of 86.58.

Then Gu crashed in her closing try. Gremaud’s group cheered from the highest of the course as all she needed to do now was her victory lap.

Canada’s Megan Oldham claimed the bronze with a rating of 76.46.

Eileen Gu fumbled at the beginning of her second run, going too excessive on the primary rail. As a substitute of attempting to struggle again a great rating, she let the run go figuring out she put down a excessive rating in her first run that she now could not chase in her second of 86.58.

Nevertheless, following her was Mathilde Gremaud, who had an exceptional second run to earn a rating of 86.86 and overtake Gu into first place.

The pair are miles above the remainder of the cohort.

The following finest is Canada’s Megan Oldham with a rating of 69.76.

All of it will now come all the way down to the third and closing run to see who will take the gold within the ladies’s freeski slopestyle.

The primary runs of the ladies’s freeski slopestyle closing are performed and China’s star skier Eileen Gu is on high. Every competitor will get three runs with their finest counting in direction of that podium end.

Gu completed with a rating of 86.58 after the primary run, simply head of the reigning Olympic champion Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud 83.60.

They each regarded extremely proud of the tips they put down. Now for the second run…

There’s going to be quite a lot of eyes on this one.

Reigning slopestyle Olympic and world champion Mathilde Gremaud and star freestyle skier Eileen Gu are about to face off within the ladies’s freeski slopestyle closing.

China’s Gu has Olympic gold in halfpipe and massive air. She’s simply lacking the slopestyle.

However Swiss Gremaud offers some fairly powerful competitors.

Get some snacks. This will likely be a great one.

Norway is presently topping the medal tally with three gold, simply forward of the USA with two.

Italy, Japan, Austria, Germany, Czechia, France, Sweden and Switzerland all have one gold every.

However don’t be concerned Aussies, the moguls begin tomorrow ;).

Within the preliminary spherical, Japan and Italy are presently taking part in off in Group B within the ladies’s ice hockey.

It is presently 0-0, with Italy with three pictures on purpose to Italy’s two.