Live: Baff wins Australia’s second gold with stunning snowboard cross victory

Listed here are the Australians competing on day seven of the Winter Olympics (all instances are AEDT):

UPCOMING

Snowboard cross: Josie Baff within the girls’s Massive Remaining at 12:41am 🥇🥈🥉

Mia Clift eradicated in quarterfinals; Abbey Wilson eradicated in 1/8 finals

Snowboard halfpipe: Scotty James and Valentino Guseli within the males’s last at 5:30am 🥇🥈🥉

Skeleton: Nicholas Timmings within the males’s heats at 5:30am

COMPLETED

Cross-country snowboarding: Seve de Campo (61st), Hugo Hinckfuss (66th) and Lars Younger Vik (seventieth) within the males’s 10km interval begin free

JOSIE BAFF WINS GOLD FOR AUSTRALIA!!!!

WHAT A PERFORMANCE!!

Baff was solely seventeenth after the primary seeding spherical however then turned it on in the course of the knockout phases.

She gained her 1/8 last to succeed in the quarters, the place she positioned second.

Baff then triumphed in her semi earlier than turning it on once more within the Bifg Remaining!

That is Australia’s second gold medal of the Milano Cortina Video games, following Cooper Woods’s win within the males’s moguls on Thursday.

The Massive Remaining is simply minutes away — this is the line-up:

1. Eva Adamczyková (CZE)

2. Noémie Wiedmer (SUI)

3. Michela Moioli (ITA)

4. Josie Baff (AUS)

JOSIE BAFF!

The Aussie wins her semifinal to succeed in the medal race!

Baff pulled off a sensational inside run in the course of the mid-section of the race to maneuver from third into the lead and she or he was by no means headed.

HERE COMES THE BIG FINAL!

Josie Baff is up within the opening semifinal.

The highest two in every semi undergo to the Massive Remaining, the place the medals might be determined.

The underside two in every of the semis will contest the Small Remaining.

Mia Clift is unable to advance to the semis after ending third in her quarterfinal.

It was a strong effort from Clift and she or he deserves to be pleased with her efforts on the Milano Cortina Video games.

Italy’s Michela Moioli gained the quarterfinal forward of Switzerland’s Noémie Wiedmer.

Josie Baff is into the semifinals!

What a end!

Baff simply held off Switzerland’s Sina Siegenthaler to position second to Czech Eva Adamczyková.

Officers wanted to go to the photograph to separate Baff and Siegenthaler, with the Aussie getting the nod after a nervous wait.

Josie Baff has drawn the primary of the 4 quarterfinals within the girls’s snowboard cross.

Mia Clift will race within the third quarterfinal.

The highest two in every quarterfinal transfer by means of to the semis.

The quarterfinals start at 12:03am AEDT.

One other Aussie advances to the quarterfinals!

Mia Clift completed second in her 1/8 last to e-book a berth within the subsequent stage of the ladies’s snowboard cross.

The Australian had a blistering begin and her job was made simpler when Swiss rival Anouk Dörig crashed mid-race.

Italy’s Michela Moioli took the win.

Clift joins teammate Josie Baff within the quarterfinals.

An excellent run from Australia’s Abbey Wilson, who completed third in her 1/8 last.

Wilson led in the course of the early phases and was in rivalry till late within the race, however Nice Britain’s Charlotte Bankes and Swiss Sina Siegenthaler proved too fast on the end.

An incredible effort from Wilson in her Winter Olympics debut!

Compatriot Mia Clift remains to be to come back within the sixth warmth.

What a efficiency fom Josie Baff!

The Aussie gained the primary of the 1/8 last to maneuver by means of to the quarterfinals.

Baff took command on the primary flip, seizing the lead and holding off her three rivals to assert victory.

Czech Eva Adamczyková was second behind Baff.

Abbey Wilson is up within the subsequent warmth.

We’re moments away from the primary of the 1/8 finals within the girls’s snowboard cross competitors.

Aussie Josie Baff options within the opening warmth.

The highest two in every of the eight heats will advance to the quarterfinals.

Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has gained an eighth gold medal in cross-country snowboarding, tying an all-time Winter Olympics report.

Klæbo claimed his third gold of the 2026 Video games after triumphing  in ⁠the lads’s cross-country 10km interval begin free occasion.

He ties the report shared by three different Norwegian athletes, all retired: Marit Bjørgen and Bjørn Dæhlie in cross-country snowboarding, and Ole Einar Bjørndalen in biathlon.

Klæbo produced a successful time of 20:36.2.

France’s Mathis ⁠Desloges ‌(20:41.1) collected ‌silver, whereas ‌Klæbo’s compatriot Einar Hedegart (20:50.2) took ⁠bronze.

Seve de Campo was the best-placed of the Australians, posting a time of 23:30.3 to complete in 61st place.

Hugo Hinckfuss (66th place) stopped the clock in 23:43.4 and Lars Younger Vik (seventieth) timed 24:19.3.

That is proper Phillip.

It is an extremely tight competitors during which anybody of the highest 10 or 15 might legitimately make a case for a medal.

It will make for some tremendously tight racing within the subsequent short while, that is for certain.

That’s the place the similarity with Supercars will begin, as a result of there may be nearly sure to be contact!

The Courtroom of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has heard the enchantment of Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych surrounding his disqualification from the Milan Cortina Video games.

However Heraskevych is aware of he won’t be competing in these Olympics even when he wins his case.

Heraskevych has already missed the primary two runs of his competitors.

The ultimate two runs will happen on Saturday morning AEDT, so there by no means was a chance for him to get into the race after lacking his first run.

“Appears to be like like this prepare has left,” Heraskevych mentioned in Milan on Friday.

His enchantment lasted greater than two hours and Heraskevych — draped in a Ukrainian flag — left the listening to smiling and saying he believes the CAS will rule in his favour.

However he has left Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Olympic Village already, has no plans to return to the mountains throughout these Video games and nonetheless believes he did the correct factor.

“From day one, I advised you that I believe I am proper,” Heraskevych mentioned.

“I haven’t got any regrets.”

Heraskevych was disqualified after his helmet, which displayed the pictures of greater than 20 Ukrainian athletes and coaches who’ve been killed since Russia invaded their nation in 2022, was deemed to be in violation of the Olympic Constitution.

“I by no means anticipated it to be such a giant scandal,” Heraskevych mentioned.

IOC president Kirsty Coventry repeated her organisation’s message about the necessity to management how messages from athletes may be shared with the world.

“I believe that he in some methods understood that however was very dedicated to his beliefs, which I can respect,” Coventry mentioned.

“However sadly, it does not change the foundations.”

— AP

Italy’s anti-doping physique has upheld an enchantment of a provisional suspension of Italian biathlete Rebecca Passler, who had examined constructive for a banned substance throughout coaching final month.

In recognising “the obvious validity of the involuntary consumption or unconscious contamination of the substance in query,” the Nationwide Courtroom of Enchantment of Nado Italia’s determination means Passler might be allowed to compete within the Milano Cortina Olympics subsequent week.

Passler had argued her constructive doping take a look at was due to contamination.

She mentioned she was thrilled to be allowed to rejoin her staff.

Passler might be allowed again on February 16.

She’s going to miss the ladies’s dash race and pursuit throughout the weekend.

“They’ve been very troublesome days,” she mentioned in an announcement launched by the Italian Winter Sports activities Federation.

“I’ve at all times believed in my good religion. I thank all those that helped me, from the legal professionals who adopted my scenario, to the Italian Winter Sports activities Federation, to my household and buddies.

“Now I can lastly get again to focusing 100 per cent on biathlon.”

Passler was taken out of competitors days earlier than the beginning of the Winter Video games after testing constructive for letrozole in a pattern taken whereas coaching final month.

— AP

Australians Mia Clift, Josie Baff and Abbey Wilson have realized which of the 1/8 finals they are going to contest.

Baff has been drawn within the opening warmth, with Czech Eva Adamczyková — who was quickest within the first seeding run — additionally lining up.

Wilson will seem within the second warmth, whereas Clift might be within the sixth.

There are eight heats — consisting of 4 athletes — on this stage of the competitors.

The highest two in every warmth advance to the quarterfinals, with the rest eradicated.

The 1/8 finals kick off at 11:30pm AEDT.

We’re about to make a begin within the males’s 10km interval begin free occasion on the cross-country program.

Three Aussies are within the area — Seve de Campo, Hugo Hinckfuss and Lars Younger Vik.

We’ll maintain you throughout their progress this night AEDT.

That was a promising begin for the Australians.

Josie Baff made a foul mistake that scrubbed quite a lot of pace off her run however nonetheless made the highest 20 — that may solely be a great signal.

Baff is likely one of the keenest racers in all the area as properly so that you’d hope she has a deep run right here.

Mia Clift additionally did a really strong run — quite a lot of the ladies have been struggling to search out pace on the prime of the course, together with her, however she made up for it with some actually clear operating by means of the decrease sections.

Abbey Wilson in all probability would not have needed to run once more, however definitely had the more serious of issues having to go final. She appeared easy and regular down the course and — though she seemed to be upset with twenty fourth — it was nonetheless a really strong run.

Situations are attention-grabbing in Livigno. It was very chilly this morning, 8 levels under freezing. However now it has actually warmed up, the solar beating down on the course and softening the snow.

I’ve needed to deploy the sunscreen and distributed with the jacket — as have a good few of the opposite spectators.

It is so heat that the halfpipe has blankets on the sun-facing aspect so the lips do not soften.

Yesterday was comparable till the clouds rolled in and the snow started to fall.

I do not assume we will have that occur as we speak although.

Abbey Wilson registered a time of 1:15.03 in her second seeding run within the girls’s snowboard cross.

Wilson, 19, clocked 1:16.38 in her first run.

She completed twenty fourth on the standings forward of the 1/8 finals.

As we talked about earlier, Mia Clift (1:14.43) was eleventh and Josie Baff (1:15.62) seventeenth.

Eva Adamczyková (1:12.29) was prime of the pops.

The 1/8 finals — the primary knockout stage — will get underway at 11:30pm AEDT.

We’ll let you recognize which of the upcoming heats the Australians will characteristic in as soon as they’re confirmed.