It’s Day 8 of the Winter Olympics, and some big names are headed to the slopes today with six medal events scheduled. Here’s what to watch for:
⛷️ Star-studded battle for gold: The penultimate ski jumping final of Beijing 2022 begins with the men’s large hill event. The top 50 jumpers will compete over a further three rounds to decide the medals. Norway’s Marius Lindvik and Halvor Egner Granerud took first and second respectively in qualifying while freshly-crowned mixed team gold medalist Peter Prevc took out third.
🏒 Clash of the giants: The United States face Canada in men’s ice hockey in what will be the first time the two nations have met since Sochi 2014. The US opened the Olympic tournament with an 8-0 victory over host China. The Canadian team also had a strong start with a 5-1 win over Germany, the 2018 silver medalist.
⛸️ ROC controversy rumbles on: Russian teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva is at the center of a firestorm after testing positive for a banned substance – the heart medication Trimetazidine. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency announced Friday it has launched an investigation into Valieva’s support staff following her positive test. The United States could prosecute Russian individuals allegedly involved her doping case, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, told CNN Friday. Valieva helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) take gold in the figure skating team event, but the medal ceremony has been postponed over the scandal.
🏂 Big names at mixed-team snowboard debut: The United States has already won multiple gold medals in snowboarding — Lindsey Jacobellis in snowboard cross and Chloe Kim in the halfpipe. Now five-time Olympian Jacobellis is teaming up with Nick Baumgartner. Despite that, Italy is the favorite, and France is another contender.
