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You are Luis Mendoza – Sport Editor, a seasoned journalist writing specifically for archyde.com in your authentic voice.
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Senior Editor, Sport
Luis is a respected sports journalist with several national writing awards. He covers major leagues, global tournaments, and athlete profiles, blending analysis with captivating storytelling.
TOPIC
Write about: Winter Olympics 2026: GB chasing second gold of day nine in skeleton, Kok cruises to speed skating glory – live | Winter Olympics 2026
SOURCE
Key events
Skeleton: Germany look to answer that special effort by GB but Susanne Kreher is +0.12 on Tarbit after the opening run. Axel Jungk to go now who is a team specialist. The smiling assassin if ever there was one he wears a giant grin below an epic handlebar moustache. And we’re off! Jungk brings the funk all the way down as he sends Germany top of the pops with a mighty run of 58.94. Germany lead! Total time of 1:59.53.
Skeleton: Team GB’s Freya Tarbit hits the ice. And hits it hard with a great start and it stays grrrrreat for Tarbit. A phenomenal run, she hits mach 10 with the fastest women’s run so far in 1min 00.47sec. A huge lead of almost -0.4 as Marcus Wyatt looks to put the Brits in pole. He crouches like a young Bruce Forsyth and off we go, the blue bomber is almost half a second ahead at the first bend! At halfway he is still well ahead. It is is looking very good. It is very good! By 0.28sec Team GB lead the mixed relay in 1:59.65! Unbelievable.
Skeleton: Austria are up against it as Janine Flock, the women’s skeleton Olympic champion, gets a jump start penalty. What a shame as she would have been -0.17 on the Chinese leaders at the midpoint. Her sled just moved a few millimetres before setting off. Dash. Samuel Maier can’t perform a miracle as Austria finish fifth (they would have been second without the penalty) and only four teams remain. Two British and two German pairs. Achtung, baby!
Skeleton: “Track records are track records,” offers the TNT Sports commentator. Umm … what? Anyway back to the action. China out again as Zhao Dan nudges a nervous foot out to hold her line but is rapid giving her partner a -0.29 advantage to work with. Chen Wenhao nods in the beautiful assist from Zhao to lead the mixed relay! Their time is 1:59.93.
Men’s hockey final score: Canada 10-2 France. The Maple Leafs didn’t let up in the final period as they scored another four goals. Nine different players struck for Canada with Macklin Celebrini leading the celebrations with a double to seal the win.
Skeleton: Ouch! Korea are in trouble before they have even started as Hong Sujung smacks the wall after the opening corner and keeps hitting a few more as she goes down. So pivotal to get the line right from the first instance otherwise you’re kaput. That said Korea finish a creditable fourth as it stands.
Seven remain as we cross the halfway stage. Now Italy’s second pairing and a chance at redemption after the home team’s first pair were penalised. Alessandra Fumaggali is off like lightning with an unbelievable opening reaction time of just 0.07, the fastest so far. And it pays off as the Italian puts them -0.02 on the leaders. Amedeo Bagnis has the keys to a gold medal potentially if he can deliver a blinding run. After the second split he is +0.15 and needs to find some pace. He does! The gap only +0.04 at the fourth. He crosses the line in -0.35 … ITALY LEAD!!! Total time: 2:00.04. Amazing.
Skeleton: China stay top after a jump start penalty for Valentina Maragaglio of Italy. That is the home hopefuls medal chances shot to pieces as they sit fifth of 16 teams. Next more USA action as the world champion pair hit the track. Mystique Ro is pure dynamite with a fastest run for the women in 1min 01.08sec. Can Austin Florian get revenge on China for the US? Yes! Florian blasts down in 59.31 to set a new track ecord in 2:00.39. The medals at this stage are 1. USA 2. China. 3. USA
Skeleton: This mixed relay is really hotting up as China’s Liang Luxin pips Chloe Kelly’s time by 0.03sec as Lin Qinwei prepares to finish the job and knock USA off their perch. Ling takes a big breath and straps on his shiny black helmet, crosses his arms in determination and thunders away. His start gives him a +0.3 lead which he holds on to through the middle then keeps adding to it with every split. China finish with a team track record in 2min 00.66 sec. A huge +0.77 lead over USA in second.
Skeleton: Team USA are off to a flier after their first slider Kelly Curtis rattles off a 1min 01.30 to give Dan Barefoot a 0.35 advantage at the halfway stage. He powers down and assumes the pencil on tea tray position. One corner, two corners, three and he has a 0.61 lead at the middle section. He keeps rollcking along but he bobs a bit on the big bank and loses speed. Oooooh he nips ahead of Denmark by 0.15 to give USA the lead with a time of 2min 01.43sec.
Curling: Coming up at 6pm GMT in the men’s round robin we have a crunch encounter between Switzerland and Team GB. Or first v second in the table. The Swiss unbeaten with four wins with the Brits on four wins and one defeat. It could be an absolute cracker of chess on ice. Kasparov v Fischer with brooms. We love it.
Skeleton: Jane Channell scoots round the Cortina track in double quick time in 1min 01:57sec just one tenth faster than her Latvian rival. A nice little edge for Josip Brusic to work with as he sets off down the frozen water slide. Not the best from Brusic who leaves Canada almost a second behind Latvia in second.
Skeleton: We are witnessing history at the Winter Games with the first outing for the mixed team event in skeleton bobsleigh. Latvia start us off with the first run of the final. The format sees the female sledder bomb down, then immediately after her male partner follows to set the total time. Marta Andzane finishes in 1min 01.67sec with Emil Indriksons going in 59.99 to set a total time of 2:01.66 for Latvia. That is our benchmark. And this is a one and done event. You mess it up and you’re outta here! Let’s goooo. Canada up next …
And what do we have here? A day nine gallery from our crack team of picture editors with the best images from today at the Games. Enjoy.
Hockey: As the second period closes Canada are out of sight 6-1 up against France. Macklin Celebrini and yep, my boy, Sidney Crosby with the fifth and sixth goals. That makes it six different scorers for Team Canada who will, barring a minor miracle comeback, top group A with three wins from three. Here’s hoping the won’t celebrini too hard after the final whistle. Still a long road to gold left to skate.
Didn’t I tell you me and Sidney went way back? This is me as a baby reporter at the Sochi 2014 Games. I had just sneaked into the athletes’ village canteen to get a free McDonalds and who should arrive but the entire men’s gold winning hockey team. Team Canada! I had to get a selfie with Mr Crosby. I then shared a Big Mac with the whole gang. What a day. Take me back! Well to the Winter Games, not Russia.
Hockey: Cale Makar puts Canada into a 4-1 lead over France and it is none other than my old mate Sidney Crosby with the assist. The veteran all-star with his second of the game as he takes almost grabs another. He skates off for a break.
Speed skating: For context Kok’s Olympic record time of 36.49sec was 0.45 faster than the previous mark set by Japan’s Nao Kodaira back in 2018. Holy smokes!
Speed skating: I need to take a breath after that unbelievable sprint from Femke Kok. Your final positions in the women’s 500m:
-
Femke Kok (Neth) 36.49sec (Olympic record)
-
Jutta Leerdam (Neth) +0.66
-
Miho Takagi (Jpn) +0.78
Great to see Takagi hold on to a medal after her rapid run early in the program. Otherwise it is business as usual for the mighty Dutch as they prevail with a 1-2. Incredibly it is an exact reverse of the women’s 1000m earlier in the Games. Leerdam took the gold with Kok second. Orange crush.
🥇Femke Kok wins gold with Olympic record in women’s 500m speed skating
Femke Kok and Erin Jackson slice through the ice. The final big name pairing. And they are so, SO fast at the first split both looking good for a medal but Kok plays a beautiful bend to leave Jackson trailing. Kok crosses the line and OBLITERATES the women’s 500m speed skating Olympic record in 36.49sec. The Dutch skater adds gold to her silver earlier in the Games.
Speed skating: False start for being slow to get down there. Strange considering it is the opposite of going early but it doesn’t affect our skaters who were looking great right until the end their but Anna Boersma and Yukino Yoshida both make mistakes from medal positions to fall way back as they cross the line. Last pair on the way …
Speed skating: The Netherlands are on the track. Watch out! But oh no a very slow start puts Jutta Leerdam up against it from the off. She slingshots round the outside into the home straight AND WOW! Leerdam bursts over the line in 37.15sec into first place! She shakes her head though, the orange rocket could have been even quicker.
Speed skating: The power and dynamism of this event, how smooth it all looks as they sprint-skate at full throttle is just incredible. Italy’s Serena Pergher scorches into second 37.30sec (just two hunfreths down on the leader) while Canada’s Beatrice Lamarche has just moved third with a time of 37.53.
Speed skating: Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Rio Yamada click clacks her way to second with a time of 37.78sec to form a Japanese 1-2 in the women’s 500m. Still a half second down on her compatriot Takagi in pole.
Hockey: Canada have taken a commanding 3-1 lead over France as the first period closes. They are aiming for a third win in three and Mark Stone has the big boys looking very good to do exactly that.
Speed skating: Miho Takagi has just ripped round the track in 37.27sec to set a new fastest time. The Japanese skater already has bronze at the Games and was almost a second and a half faster than the previous best time with that run. In second place is Canada’s Brooklyn McDougall with Wang Jingziqian of China in third as it stands.
Reportage from our very own Andy Bull from the slopes of Cortina on Federica Brignone winning an incredible second gold for Italy in the women’s giant slalom. The home favourite carving out a piece of Winter Olympics history!
Curling: Our ice-side reporter Beau Dure checks in on the USA stealing victory from China in the women’s curling …
“The USA were completely out of that game. They had to steal in the ninth and 10th ends. Brilliant shot by Tabitha Peterson with her last in the 10th, and that may have psyched out China, which opted for a circus shot rather than a precise draw.”
Final score: USA 6-5 China
That result puts USA second in the round robin table and set well to make the knockout semi-finals.
Speed skating: Team GB’s Ellia Smeding has just crashed over the line in 38.93sec in the women’s 500m final. Our commentator says “that was pacy”. Pacy and painful as she sets the benchmark time but also smashes into the barriers.
Hello! We are straight into the action with a flurry of goals in the men’s hockey. Canada were pegged back by France but have retaken a 2-1 lead in the first period. Tom Wilson put Équipe Canada ahead after 9 minutes then Floran Douay hit back 13 seconds later with Devon Toews smacking in the second.
Aha, Graham Searles is here to relieve me, so I’ll budge up and allow him to get settled and ready for that final coming up seven minutes from now. Peace out.
The final of the women’s 500m speed skating gets going soon, at 4.03pm. Femke Kok is favourite, but once they get bousting, anything can happen and probably will.
What about Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, then? No one has won as many Winter Olympic gold medals as he – another, in the 4×7.5km relay, means he has a princely nine. You’d take it.
Sweden look set to finish off GB in the curling, banging two out of the house, and that completes a 10-7 win. Elsewhere, USA and China are level at 5-5, with Korea up 6-5 on Japan.
We’re playing the 10th end of the GB v Sweden women’s curling, Sweden up 9-7 with the hammer, the gap having been narrowed.
And yet more sport!
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Key events
Skeleton: Germany look to answer that special effort by GB but Susanne Kreher is +0.12 on Tarbit after the opening run. Axel Jungk to go now who is a team specialist. The smiling assassin if ever there was one he wears a giant grin below an epic handlebar moustache. And we’re off! Jungk brings the funk all the way down as he sends Germany top of the pops with a mighty run of 58.94. Germany lead! Total time of 1:59.53.
Skeleton: Team GB’s Freya Tarbit hits the ice. And hits it hard with a great start and it stays grrrrreat for Tarbit. A phenomenal run, she hits mach 10 with the fastest women’s run so far in 1min 00.47sec. A huge lead of almost -0.4 as Marcus Wyatt looks to put the Brits in pole. He crouches like a young Bruce Forsyth and off we go, the blue bomber is almost half a second ahead at the first bend! At halfway he is still well ahead. It is is looking very good. It is very good! By 0.28sec Team GB lead the mixed relay in 1:59.65! Unbelievable.
Skeleton: Austria are up against it as Janine Flock, the women’s skeleton Olympic champion, gets a jump start penalty. What a shame as she would have been -0.17 on the Chinese leaders at the midpoint. Her sled just moved a few millimetres before setting off. Dash. Samuel Maier can’t perform a miracle as Austria finish fifth (they would have been second without the penalty) and only four teams remain. Two British and two German pairs. Achtung, baby!
Skeleton: “Track records are track records,” offers the TNT Sports commentator. Umm … what? Anyway back to the action. China out again as Zhao Dan nudges a nervous foot out to hold her line but is rapid giving her partner a -0.29 advantage to work with. Chen Wenhao nods in the beautiful assist from Zhao to lead the mixed relay! Their time is 1:59.93.
Men’s hockey final score: Canada 10-2 France. The Maple Leafs didn’t let up in the final period as they scored another four goals. Nine different players struck for Canada with Macklin Celebrini leading the celebrations with a double to seal the win.
Skeleton: Ouch! Korea are in trouble before they have even started as Hong Sujung smacks the wall after the opening corner and keeps hitting a few more as she goes down. So pivotal to get the line right from the first instance otherwise you’re kaput. That said Korea finish a creditable fourth as it stands.
Seven remain as we cross the halfway stage. Now Italy’s second pairing and a chance at redemption after the home team’s first pair were penalised. Alessandra Fumaggali is off like lightning with an unbelievable opening reaction time of just 0.07, the fastest so far. And it pays off as the Italian puts them -0.02 on the leaders. Amedeo Bagnis has the keys to a gold medal potentially if he can deliver a blinding run. After the second split he is +0.15 and needs to find some pace. He does! The gap only +0.04 at the fourth. He crosses the line in -0.35 … ITALY LEAD!!! Total time: 2:00.04. Amazing.
Skeleton: China stay top after a jump start penalty for Valentina Maragaglio of Italy. That is the home hopefuls medal chances shot to pieces as they sit fifth of 16 teams. Next more USA action as the world champion pair hit the track. Mystique Ro is pure dynamite with a fastest run for the women in 1min 01.08sec. Can Austin Florian get revenge on China for the US? Yes! Florian blasts down in 59.31 to set a new track ecord in 2:00.39. The medals at this stage are 1. USA 2. China. 3. USA
Skeleton: This mixed relay is really hotting up as China’s Liang Luxin pips Chloe Kelly’s time by 0.03sec as Lin Qinwei prepares to finish the job and knock USA off their perch. Ling takes a big breath and straps on his shiny black helmet, crosses his arms in determination and thunders away. His start gives him a +0.3 lead which he holds on to through the middle then keeps adding to it with every split. China finish with a team track record in 2min 00.66 sec. A huge +0.77 lead over USA in second.
Skeleton: Team USA are off to a flier after their first slider Kelly Curtis rattles off a 1min 01.30 to give Dan Barefoot a 0.35 advantage at the halfway stage. He powers down and assumes the pencil on tea tray position. One corner, two corners, three and he has a 0.61 lead at the middle section. He keeps rollcking along but he bobs a bit on the big bank and loses speed. Oooooh he nips ahead of Denmark by 0.15 to give USA the lead with a time of 2min 01.43sec.
Curling: Coming up at 6pm GMT in the men’s round robin we have a crunch encounter between Switzerland and Team GB. Or first v second in the table. The Swiss unbeaten with four wins with the Brits on four wins and one defeat. It could be an absolute cracker of chess on ice. Kasparov v Fischer with brooms. We love it.
Skeleton: Jane Channell scoots round the Cortina track in double quick time in 1min 01:57sec just one tenth faster than her Latvian rival. A nice little edge for Josip Brusic to work with as he sets off down the frozen water slide. Not the best from Brusic who leaves Canada almost a second behind Latvia in second.
Skeleton: We are witnessing history at the Winter Games with the first outing for the mixed team event in skeleton bobsleigh. Latvia start us off with the first run of the final. The format sees the female sledder bomb down, then immediately after her male partner follows to set the total time. Marta Andzane finishes in 1min 01.67sec with Emil Indriksons going in 59.99 to set a total time of 2:01.66 for Latvia. That is our benchmark. And this is a one and done event. You mess it up and you’re outta here! Let’s goooo. Canada up next …
And what do we have here? A day nine gallery from our crack team of picture editors with the best images from today at the Games. Enjoy.
Hockey: As the second period closes Canada are out of sight 6-1 up against France. Macklin Celebrini and yep, my boy, Sidney Crosby with the fifth and sixth goals. That makes it six different scorers for Team Canada who will, barring a minor miracle comeback, top group A with three wins from three. Here’s hoping the won’t celebrini too hard after the final whistle. Still a long road to gold left to skate.
Didn’t I tell you me and Sidney went way back? This is me as a baby reporter at the Sochi 2014 Games. I had just sneaked into the athletes’ village canteen to get a free McDonalds and who should arrive but the entire men’s gold winning hockey team. Team Canada! I had to get a selfie with Mr Crosby. I then shared a Big Mac with the whole gang. What a day. Take me back! Well to the Winter Games, not Russia.
Hockey: Cale Makar puts Canada into a 4-1 lead over France and it is none other than my old mate Sidney Crosby with the assist. The veteran all-star with his second of the game as he takes almost grabs another. He skates off for a break.
Speed skating: For context Kok’s Olympic record time of 36.49sec was 0.45 faster than the previous mark set by Japan’s Nao Kodaira back in 2018. Holy smokes!
Speed skating: I need to take a breath after that unbelievable sprint from Femke Kok. Your final positions in the women’s 500m:
-
Femke Kok (Neth) 36.49sec (Olympic record)
-
Jutta Leerdam (Neth) +0.66
-
Miho Takagi (Jpn) +0.78
Great to see Takagi hold on to a medal after her rapid run early in the program. Otherwise it is business as usual for the mighty Dutch as they prevail with a 1-2. Incredibly it is an exact reverse of the women’s 1000m earlier in the Games. Leerdam took the gold with Kok second. Orange crush.
🥇Femke Kok wins gold with Olympic record in women’s 500m speed skating
Femke Kok and Erin Jackson slice through the ice. The final big name pairing. And they are so, SO fast at the first split both looking good for a medal but Kok plays a beautiful bend to leave Jackson trailing. Kok crosses the line and OBLITERATES the women’s 500m speed skating Olympic record in 36.49sec. The Dutch skater adds gold to her silver earlier in the Games.
Speed skating: False start for being slow to get down there. Strange considering it is the opposite of going early but it doesn’t affect our skaters who were looking great right until the end their but Anna Boersma and Yukino Yoshida both make mistakes from medal positions to fall way back as they cross the line. Last pair on the way …
Speed skating: The Netherlands are on the track. Watch out! But oh no a very slow start puts Jutta Leerdam up against it from the off. She slingshots round the outside into the home straight AND WOW! Leerdam bursts over the line in 37.15sec into first place! She shakes her head though, the orange rocket could have been even quicker.
Speed skating: The power and dynamism of this event, how smooth it all looks as they sprint-skate at full throttle is just incredible. Italy’s Serena Pergher scorches into second 37.30sec (just two hunfreths down on the leader) while Canada’s Beatrice Lamarche has just moved third with a time of 37.53.
Speed skating: Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Rio Yamada click clacks her way to second with a time of 37.78sec to form a Japanese 1-2 in the women’s 500m. Still a half second down on her compatriot Takagi in pole.
Hockey: Canada have taken a commanding 3-1 lead over France as the first period closes. They are aiming for a third win in three and Mark Stone has the big boys looking very good to do exactly that.
Speed skating: Miho Takagi has just ripped round the track in 37.27sec to set a new fastest time. The Japanese skater already has bronze at the Games and was almost a second and a half faster than the previous best time with that run. In second place is Canada’s Brooklyn McDougall with Wang Jingziqian of China in third as it stands.
Reportage from our very own Andy Bull from the slopes of Cortina on Federica Brignone winning an incredible second gold for Italy in the women’s giant slalom. The home favourite carving out a piece of Winter Olympics history!
Curling: Our ice-side reporter Beau Dure checks in on the USA stealing victory from China in the women’s curling …
“The USA were completely out of that game. They had to steal in the ninth and 10th ends. Brilliant shot by Tabitha Peterson with her last in the 10th, and that may have psyched out China, which opted for a circus shot rather than a precise draw.”
Final score: USA 6-5 China
That result puts USA second in the round robin table and set well to make the knockout semi-finals.
Speed skating: Team GB’s Ellia Smeding has just crashed over the line in 38.93sec in the women’s 500m final. Our commentator says “that was pacy”. Pacy and painful as she sets the benchmark time but also smashes into the barriers.
Hello! We are straight into the action with a flurry of goals in the men’s hockey. Canada were pegged back by France but have retaken a 2-1 lead in the first period. Tom Wilson put Équipe Canada ahead after 9 minutes then Floran Douay hit back 13 seconds later with Devon Toews smacking in the second.
Aha, Graham Searles is here to relieve me, so I’ll budge up and allow him to get settled and ready for that final coming up seven minutes from now. Peace out.
The final of the women’s 500m speed skating gets going soon, at 4.03pm. Femke Kok is favourite, but once they get bousting, anything can happen and probably will.
What about Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, then? No one has won as many Winter Olympic gold medals as he – another, in the 4×7.5km relay, means he has a princely nine. You’d take it.
Sweden look set to finish off GB in the curling, banging two out of the house, and that completes a 10-7 win. Elsewhere, USA and China are level at 5-5, with Korea up 6-5 on Japan.
We’re playing the 10th end of the GB v Sweden women’s curling, Sweden up 9-7 with the hammer, the gap having been narrowed.
And yet more sport!
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Key events
Skeleton: Germany look to answer that special effort by GB but Susanne Kreher is +0.12 on Tarbit after the opening run. Axel Jungk to go now who is a team specialist. The smiling assassin if ever there was one he wears a giant grin below an epic handlebar moustache. And we’re off! Jungk brings the funk all the way down as he sends Germany top of the pops with a mighty run of 58.94. Germany lead! Total time of 1:59.53.
Skeleton: Team GB’s Freya Tarbit hits the ice. And hits it hard with a great start and it stays grrrrreat for Tarbit. A phenomenal run, she hits mach 10 with the fastest women’s run so far in 1min 00.47sec. A huge lead of almost -0.4 as Marcus Wyatt looks to put the Brits in pole. He crouches like a young Bruce Forsyth and off we go, the blue bomber is almost half a second ahead at the first bend! At halfway he is still well ahead. It is is looking very good. It is very good! By 0.28sec Team GB lead the mixed relay in 1:59.65! Unbelievable.
Skeleton: Austria are up against it as Janine Flock, the women’s skeleton Olympic champion, gets a jump start penalty. What a shame as she would have been -0.17 on the Chinese leaders at the midpoint. Her sled just moved a few millimetres before setting off. Dash. Samuel Maier can’t perform a miracle as Austria finish fifth (they would have been second without the penalty) and only four teams remain. Two British and two German pairs. Achtung, baby!
Skeleton: “Track records are track records,” offers the TNT Sports commentator. Umm … what? Anyway back to the action. China out again as Zhao Dan nudges a nervous foot out to hold her line but is rapid giving her partner a -0.29 advantage to work with. Chen Wenhao nods in the beautiful assist from Zhao to lead the mixed relay! Their time is 1:59.93.
Men’s hockey final score: Canada 10-2 France. The Maple Leafs didn’t let up in the final period as they scored another four goals. Nine different players struck for Canada with Macklin Celebrini leading the celebrations with a double to seal the win.
Skeleton: Ouch! Korea are in trouble before they have even started as Hong Sujung smacks the wall after the opening corner and keeps hitting a few more as she goes down. So pivotal to get the line right from the first instance otherwise you’re kaput. That said Korea finish a creditable fourth as it stands.
Seven remain as we cross the halfway stage. Now Italy’s second pairing and a chance at redemption after the home team’s first pair were penalised. Alessandra Fumaggali is off like lightning with an unbelievable opening reaction time of just 0.07, the fastest so far. And it pays off as the Italian puts them -0.02 on the leaders. Amedeo Bagnis has the keys to a gold medal potentially if he can deliver a blinding run. After the second split he is +0.15 and needs to find some pace. He does! The gap only +0.04 at the fourth. He crosses the line in -0.35 … ITALY LEAD!!! Total time: 2:00.04. Amazing.
Skeleton: China stay top after a jump start penalty for Valentina Maragaglio of Italy. That is the home hopefuls medal chances shot to pieces as they sit fifth of 16 teams. Next more USA action as the world champion pair hit the track. Mystique Ro is pure dynamite with a fastest run for the women in 1min 01.08sec. Can Austin Florian get revenge on China for the US? Yes! Florian blasts down in 59.31 to set a new track ecord in 2:00.39. The medals at this stage are 1. USA 2. China. 3. USA
Skeleton: This mixed relay is really hotting up as China’s Liang Luxin pips Chloe Kelly’s time by 0.03sec as Lin Qinwei prepares to finish the job and knock USA off their perch. Ling takes a big breath and straps on his shiny black helmet, crosses his arms in determination and thunders away. His start gives him a +0.3 lead which he holds on to through the middle then keeps adding to it with every split. China finish with a team track record in 2min 00.66 sec. A huge +0.77 lead over USA in second.
Skeleton: Team USA are off to a flier after their first slider Kelly Curtis rattles off a 1min 01.30 to give Dan Barefoot a 0.35 advantage at the halfway stage. He powers down and assumes the pencil on tea tray position. One corner, two corners, three and he has a 0.61 lead at the middle section. He keeps rollcking along but he bobs a bit on the big bank and loses speed. Oooooh he nips ahead of Denmark by 0.15 to give USA the lead with a time of 2min 01.43sec.
Curling: Coming up at 6pm GMT in the men’s round robin we have a crunch encounter between Switzerland and Team GB. Or first v second in the table. The Swiss unbeaten with four wins with the Brits on four wins and one defeat. It could be an absolute cracker of chess on ice. Kasparov v Fischer with brooms. We love it.
Skeleton: Jane Channell scoots round the Cortina track in double quick time in 1min 01:57sec just one tenth faster than her Latvian rival. A nice little edge for Josip Brusic to work with as he sets off down the frozen water slide. Not the best from Brusic who leaves Canada almost a second behind Latvia in second.
Skeleton: We are witnessing history at the Winter Games with the first outing for the mixed team event in skeleton bobsleigh. Latvia start us off with the first run of the final. The format sees the female sledder bomb down, then immediately after her male partner follows to set the total time. Marta Andzane finishes in 1min 01.67sec with Emil Indriksons going in 59.99 to set a total time of 2:01.66 for Latvia. That is our benchmark. And this is a one and done event. You mess it up and you’re outta here! Let’s goooo. Canada up next …
And what do we have here? A day nine gallery from our crack team of picture editors with the best images from today at the Games. Enjoy.
Hockey: As the second period closes Canada are out of sight 6-1 up against France. Macklin Celebrini and yep, my boy, Sidney Crosby with the fifth and sixth goals. That makes it six different scorers for Team Canada who will, barring a minor miracle comeback, top group A with three wins from three. Here’s hoping the won’t celebrini too hard after the final whistle. Still a long road to gold left to skate.
Didn’t I tell you me and Sidney went way back? This is me as a baby reporter at the Sochi 2014 Games. I had just sneaked into the athletes’ village canteen to get a free McDonalds and who should arrive but the entire men’s gold winning hockey team. Team Canada! I had to get a selfie with Mr Crosby. I then shared a Big Mac with the whole gang. What a day. Take me back! Well to the Winter Games, not Russia.
Hockey: Cale Makar puts Canada into a 4-1 lead over France and it is none other than my old mate Sidney Crosby with the assist. The veteran all-star with his second of the game as he takes almost grabs another. He skates off for a break.
Speed skating: For context Kok’s Olympic record time of 36.49sec was 0.45 faster than the previous mark set by Japan’s Nao Kodaira back in 2018. Holy smokes!
Speed skating: I need to take a breath after that unbelievable sprint from Femke Kok. Your final positions in the women’s 500m:
-
Femke Kok (Neth) 36.49sec (Olympic record)
-
Jutta Leerdam (Neth) +0.66
-
Miho Takagi (Jpn) +0.78
Great to see Takagi hold on to a medal after her rapid run early in the program. Otherwise it is business as usual for the mighty Dutch as they prevail with a 1-2. Incredibly it is an exact reverse of the women’s 1000m earlier in the Games. Leerdam took the gold with Kok second. Orange crush.
🥇Femke Kok wins gold with Olympic record in women’s 500m speed skating
Femke Kok and Erin Jackson slice through the ice. The final big name pairing. And they are so, SO fast at the first split both looking good for a medal but Kok plays a beautiful bend to leave Jackson trailing. Kok crosses the line and OBLITERATES the women’s 500m speed skating Olympic record in 36.49sec. The Dutch skater adds gold to her silver earlier in the Games.
Speed skating: False start for being slow to get down there. Strange considering it is the opposite of going early but it doesn’t affect our skaters who were looking great right until the end their but Anna Boersma and Yukino Yoshida both make mistakes from medal positions to fall way back as they cross the line. Last pair on the way …
Speed skating: The Netherlands are on the track. Watch out! But oh no a very slow start puts Jutta Leerdam up against it from the off. She slingshots round the outside into the home straight AND WOW! Leerdam bursts over the line in 37.15sec into first place! She shakes her head though, the orange rocket could have been even quicker.
Speed skating: The power and dynamism of this event, how smooth it all looks as they sprint-skate at full throttle is just incredible. Italy’s Serena Pergher scorches into second 37.30sec (just two hunfreths down on the leader) while Canada’s Beatrice Lamarche has just moved third with a time of 37.53.
Speed skating: Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Rio Yamada click clacks her way to second with a time of 37.78sec to form a Japanese 1-2 in the women’s 500m. Still a half second down on her compatriot Takagi in pole.
Hockey: Canada have taken a commanding 3-1 lead over France as the first period closes. They are aiming for a third win in three and Mark Stone has the big boys looking very good to do exactly that.
Speed skating: Miho Takagi has just ripped round the track in 37.27sec to set a new fastest time. The Japanese skater already has bronze at the Games and was almost a second and a half faster than the previous best time with that run. In second place is Canada’s Brooklyn McDougall with Wang Jingziqian of China in third as it stands.
Reportage from our very own Andy Bull from the slopes of Cortina on Federica Brignone winning an incredible second gold for Italy in the women’s giant slalom. The home favourite carving out a piece of Winter Olympics history!
Curling: Our ice-side reporter Beau Dure checks in on the USA stealing victory from China in the women’s curling …
“The USA were completely out of that game. They had to steal in the ninth and 10th ends. Brilliant shot by Tabitha Peterson with her last in the 10th, and that may have psyched out China, which opted for a circus shot rather than a precise draw.”
Final score: USA 6-5 China
That result puts USA second in the round robin table and set well to make the knockout semi-finals.
Speed skating: Team GB’s Ellia Smeding has just crashed over the line in 38.93sec in the women’s 500m final. Our commentator says “that was pacy”. Pacy and painful as she sets the benchmark time but also smashes into the barriers.
Hello! We are straight into the action with a flurry of goals in the men’s hockey. Canada were pegged back by France but have retaken a 2-1 lead in the first period. Tom Wilson put Équipe Canada ahead after 9 minutes then Floran Douay hit back 13 seconds later with Devon Toews smacking in the second.
Aha, Graham Searles is here to relieve me, so I’ll budge up and allow him to get settled and ready for that final coming up seven minutes from now. Peace out.
The final of the women’s 500m speed skating gets going soon, at 4.03pm. Femke Kok is favourite, but once they get bousting, anything can happen and probably will.
What about Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, then? No one has won as many Winter Olympic gold medals as he – another, in the 4×7.5km relay, means he has a princely nine. You’d take it.
Sweden look set to finish off GB in the curling, banging two out of the house, and that completes a 10-7 win. Elsewhere, USA and China are level at 5-5, with Korea up 6-5 on Japan.
We’re playing the 10th end of the GB v Sweden women’s curling, Sweden up 9-7 with the hammer, the gap having been narrowed.
And yet more sport!
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Key events
Skeleton: Germany look to answer that special effort by GB but Susanne Kreher is +0.12 on Tarbit after the opening run. Axel Jungk to go now who is a team specialist. The smiling assassin if ever there was one he wears a giant grin below an epic handlebar moustache. And we’re off! Jungk brings the funk all the way down as he sends Germany top of the pops with a mighty run of 58.94. Germany lead! Total time of 1:59.53.
Skeleton: Team GB’s Freya Tarbit hits the ice. And hits it hard with a great start and it stays grrrrreat for Tarbit. A phenomenal run, she hits mach 10 with the fastest women’s run so far in 1min 00.47sec. A huge lead of almost -0.4 as Marcus Wyatt looks to put the Brits in pole. He crouches like a young Bruce Forsyth and off we go, the blue bomber is almost half a second ahead at the first bend! At halfway he is still well ahead. It is is looking very good. It is very good! By 0.28sec Team GB lead the mixed relay in 1:59.65! Unbelievable.
Skeleton: Austria are up against it as Janine Flock, the women’s skeleton Olympic champion, gets a jump start penalty. What a shame as she would have been -0.17 on the Chinese leaders at the midpoint. Her sled just moved a few millimetres before setting off. Dash. Samuel Maier can’t perform a miracle as Austria finish fifth (they would have been second without the penalty) and only four teams remain. Two British and two German pairs. Achtung, baby!
Skeleton: “Track records are track records,” offers the TNT Sports commentator. Umm … what? Anyway back to the action. China out again as Zhao Dan nudges a nervous foot out to hold her line but is rapid giving her partner a -0.29 advantage to work with. Chen Wenhao nods in the beautiful assist from Zhao to lead the mixed relay! Their time is 1:59.93.
Men’s hockey final score: Canada 10-2 France. The Maple Leafs didn’t let up in the final period as they scored another four goals. Nine different players struck for Canada with Macklin Celebrini leading the celebrations with a double to seal the win.
Skeleton: Ouch! Korea are in trouble before they have even started as Hong Sujung smacks the wall after the opening corner and keeps hitting a few more as she goes down. So pivotal to get the line right from the first instance otherwise you’re kaput. That said Korea finish a creditable fourth as it stands.
Seven remain as we cross the halfway stage. Now Italy’s second pairing and a chance at redemption after the home team’s first pair were penalised. Alessandra Fumaggali is off like lightning with an unbelievable opening reaction time of just 0.07, the fastest so far. And it pays off as the Italian puts them -0.02 on the leaders. Amedeo Bagnis has the keys to a gold medal potentially if he can deliver a blinding run. After the second split he is +0.15 and needs to find some pace. He does! The gap only +0.04 at the fourth. He crosses the line in -0.35 … ITALY LEAD!!! Total time: 2:00.04. Amazing.
Skeleton: China stay top after a jump start penalty for Valentina Maragaglio of Italy. That is the home hopefuls medal chances shot to pieces as they sit fifth of 16 teams. Next more USA action as the world champion pair hit the track. Mystique Ro is pure dynamite with a fastest run for the women in 1min 01.08sec. Can Austin Florian get revenge on China for the US? Yes! Florian blasts down in 59.31 to set a new track ecord in 2:00.39. The medals at this stage are 1. USA 2. China. 3. USA
Skeleton: This mixed relay is really hotting up as China’s Liang Luxin pips Chloe Kelly’s time by 0.03sec as Lin Qinwei prepares to finish the job and knock USA off their perch. Ling takes a big breath and straps on his shiny black helmet, crosses his arms in determination and thunders away. His start gives him a +0.3 lead which he holds on to through the middle then keeps adding to it with every split. China finish with a team track record in 2min 00.66 sec. A huge +0.77 lead over USA in second.
Skeleton: Team USA are off to a flier after their first slider Kelly Curtis rattles off a 1min 01.30 to give Dan Barefoot a 0.35 advantage at the halfway stage. He powers down and assumes the pencil on tea tray position. One corner, two corners, three and he has a 0.61 lead at the middle section. He keeps rollcking along but he bobs a bit on the big bank and loses speed. Oooooh he nips ahead of Denmark by 0.15 to give USA the lead with a time of 2min 01.43sec.
Curling: Coming up at 6pm GMT in the men’s round robin we have a crunch encounter between Switzerland and Team GB. Or first v second in the table. The Swiss unbeaten with four wins with the Brits on four wins and one defeat. It could be an absolute cracker of chess on ice. Kasparov v Fischer with brooms. We love it.
Skeleton: Jane Channell scoots round the Cortina track in double quick time in 1min 01:57sec just one tenth faster than her Latvian rival. A nice little edge for Josip Brusic to work with as he sets off down the frozen water slide. Not the best from Brusic who leaves Canada almost a second behind Latvia in second.
Skeleton: We are witnessing history at the Winter Games with the first outing for the mixed team event in skeleton bobsleigh. Latvia start us off with the first run of the final. The format sees the female sledder bomb down, then immediately after her male partner follows to set the total time. Marta Andzane finishes in 1min 01.67sec with Emil Indriksons going in 59.99 to set a total time of 2:01.66 for Latvia. That is our benchmark. And this is a one and done event. You mess it up and you’re outta here! Let’s goooo. Canada up next …
And what do we have here? A day nine gallery from our crack team of picture editors with the best images from today at the Games. Enjoy.
Hockey: As the second period closes Canada are out of sight 6-1 up against France. Macklin Celebrini and yep, my boy, Sidney Crosby with the fifth and sixth goals. That makes it six different scorers for Team Canada who will, barring a minor miracle comeback, top group A with three wins from three. Here’s hoping the won’t celebrini too hard after the final whistle. Still a long road to gold left to skate.
Didn’t I tell you me and Sidney went way back? This is me as a baby reporter at the Sochi 2014 Games. I had just sneaked into the athletes’ village canteen to get a free McDonalds and who should arrive but the entire men’s gold winning hockey team. Team Canada! I had to get a selfie with Mr Crosby. I then shared a Big Mac with the whole gang. What a day. Take me back! Well to the Winter Games, not Russia.
Hockey: Cale Makar puts Canada into a 4-1 lead over France and it is none other than my old mate Sidney Crosby with the assist. The veteran all-star with his second of the game as he takes almost grabs another. He skates off for a break.
Speed skating: For context Kok’s Olympic record time of 36.49sec was 0.45 faster than the previous mark set by Japan’s Nao Kodaira back in 2018. Holy smokes!
Speed skating: I need to take a breath after that unbelievable sprint from Femke Kok. Your final positions in the women’s 500m:
-
Femke Kok (Neth) 36.49sec (Olympic record)
-
Jutta Leerdam (Neth) +0.66
-
Miho Takagi (Jpn) +0.78
Great to see Takagi hold on to a medal after her rapid run early in the program. Otherwise it is business as usual for the mighty Dutch as they prevail with a 1-2. Incredibly it is an exact reverse of the women’s 1000m earlier in the Games. Leerdam took the gold with Kok second. Orange crush.
🥇Femke Kok wins gold with Olympic record in women’s 500m speed skating
Femke Kok and Erin Jackson slice through the ice. The final big name pairing. And they are so, SO fast at the first split both looking good for a medal but Kok plays a beautiful bend to leave Jackson trailing. Kok crosses the line and OBLITERATES the women’s 500m speed skating Olympic record in 36.49sec. The Dutch skater adds gold to her silver earlier in the Games.
Speed skating: False start for being slow to get down there. Strange considering it is the opposite of going early but it doesn’t affect our skaters who were looking great right until the end their but Anna Boersma and Yukino Yoshida both make mistakes from medal positions to fall way back as they cross the line. Last pair on the way …
Speed skating: The Netherlands are on the track. Watch out! But oh no a very slow start puts Jutta Leerdam up against it from the off. She slingshots round the outside into the home straight AND WOW! Leerdam bursts over the line in 37.15sec into first place! She shakes her head though, the orange rocket could have been even quicker.
Speed skating: The power and dynamism of this event, how smooth it all looks as they sprint-skate at full throttle is just incredible. Italy’s Serena Pergher scorches into second 37.30sec (just two hunfreths down on the leader) while Canada’s Beatrice Lamarche has just moved third with a time of 37.53.
Speed skating: Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Rio Yamada click clacks her way to second with a time of 37.78sec to form a Japanese 1-2 in the women’s 500m. Still a half second down on her compatriot Takagi in pole.
Hockey: Canada have taken a commanding 3-1 lead over France as the first period closes. They are aiming for a third win in three and Mark Stone has the big boys looking very good to do exactly that.
Speed skating: Miho Takagi has just ripped round the track in 37.27sec to set a new fastest time. The Japanese skater already has bronze at the Games and was almost a second and a half faster than the previous best time with that run. In second place is Canada’s Brooklyn McDougall with Wang Jingziqian of China in third as it stands.
Reportage from our very own Andy Bull from the slopes of Cortina on Federica Brignone winning an incredible second gold for Italy in the women’s giant slalom. The home favourite carving out a piece of Winter Olympics history!
Curling: Our ice-side reporter Beau Dure checks in on the USA stealing victory from China in the women’s curling …
“The USA were completely out of that game. They had to steal in the ninth and 10th ends. Brilliant shot by Tabitha Peterson with her last in the 10th, and that may have psyched out China, which opted for a circus shot rather than a precise draw.”
Final score: USA 6-5 China
That result puts USA second in the round robin table and set well to make the knockout semi-finals.
Speed skating: Team GB’s Ellia Smeding has just crashed over the line in 38.93sec in the women’s 500m final. Our commentator says “that was pacy”. Pacy and painful as she sets the benchmark time but also smashes into the barriers.
Hello! We are straight into the action with a flurry of goals in the men’s hockey. Canada were pegged back by France but have retaken a 2-1 lead in the first period. Tom Wilson put Équipe Canada ahead after 9 minutes then Floran Douay hit back 13 seconds later with Devon Toews smacking in the second.
Aha, Graham Searles is here to relieve me, so I’ll budge up and allow him to get settled and ready for that final coming up seven minutes from now. Peace out.
The final of the women’s 500m speed skating gets going soon, at 4.03pm. Femke Kok is favourite, but once they get bousting, anything can happen and probably will.
What about Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, then? No one has won as many Winter Olympic gold medals as he – another, in the 4×7.5km relay, means he has a princely nine. You’d take it.
Sweden look set to finish off GB in the curling, banging two out of the house, and that completes a 10-7 win. Elsewhere, USA and China are level at 5-5, with Korea up 6-5 on Japan.
We’re playing the 10th end of the GB v Sweden women’s curling, Sweden up 9-7 with the hammer, the gap having been narrowed.
And yet more sport!
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Key events
Skeleton: Germany look to answer that special effort by GB but Susanne Kreher is +0.12 on Tarbit after the opening run. Axel Jungk to go now who is a team specialist. The smiling assassin if ever there was one he wears a giant grin below an epic handlebar moustache. And we’re off! Jungk brings the funk all the way down as he sends Germany top of the pops with a mighty run of 58.94. Germany lead! Total time of 1:59.53.
Skeleton: Team GB’s Freya Tarbit hits the ice. And hits it hard with a great start and it stays grrrrreat for Tarbit. A phenomenal run, she hits mach 10 with the fastest women’s run so far in 1min 00.47sec. A huge lead of almost -0.4 as Marcus Wyatt looks to put the Brits in pole. He crouches like a young Bruce Forsyth and off we go, the blue bomber is almost half a second ahead at the first bend! At halfway he is still well ahead. It is is looking very good. It is very good! By 0.28sec Team GB lead the mixed relay in 1:59.65! Unbelievable.
Skeleton: Austria are up against it as Janine Flock, the women’s skeleton Olympic champion, gets a jump start penalty. What a shame as she would have been -0.17 on the Chinese leaders at the midpoint. Her sled just moved a few millimetres before setting off. Dash. Samuel Maier can’t perform a miracle as Austria finish fifth (they would have been second without the penalty) and only four teams remain. Two British and two German pairs. Achtung, baby!
Skeleton: “Track records are track records,” offers the TNT Sports commentator. Umm … what? Anyway back to the action. China out again as Zhao Dan nudges a nervous foot out to hold her line but is rapid giving her partner a -0.29 advantage to work with. Chen Wenhao nods in the beautiful assist from Zhao to lead the mixed relay! Their time is 1:59.93.
Men’s hockey final score: Canada 10-2 France. The Maple Leafs didn’t let up in the final period as they scored another four goals. Nine different players struck for Canada with Macklin Celebrini leading the celebrations with a double to seal the win.
Skeleton: Ouch! Korea are in trouble before they have even started as Hong Sujung smacks the wall after the opening corner and keeps hitting a few more as she goes down. So pivotal to get the line right from the first instance otherwise you’re kaput. That said Korea finish a creditable fourth as it stands.
Seven remain as we cross the halfway stage. Now Italy’s second pairing and a chance at redemption after the home team’s first pair were penalised. Alessandra Fumaggali is off like lightning with an unbelievable opening reaction time of just 0.07, the fastest so far. And it pays off as the Italian puts them -0.02 on the leaders. Amedeo Bagnis has the keys to a gold medal potentially if he can deliver a blinding run. After the second split he is +0.15 and needs to find some pace. He does! The gap only +0.04 at the fourth. He crosses the line in -0.35 … ITALY LEAD!!! Total time: 2:00.04. Amazing.
Skeleton: China stay top after a jump start penalty for Valentina Maragaglio of Italy. That is the home hopefuls medal chances shot to pieces as they sit fifth of 16 teams. Next more USA action as the world champion pair hit the track. Mystique Ro is pure dynamite with a fastest run for the women in 1min 01.08sec. Can Austin Florian get revenge on China for the US? Yes! Florian blasts down in 59.31 to set a new track ecord in 2:00.39. The medals at this stage are 1. USA 2. China. 3. USA
Skeleton: This mixed relay is really hotting up as China’s Liang Luxin pips Chloe Kelly’s time by 0.03sec as Lin Qinwei prepares to finish the job and knock USA off their perch. Ling takes a big breath and straps on his shiny black helmet, crosses his arms in determination and thunders away. His start gives him a +0.3 lead which he holds on to through the middle then keeps adding to it with every split. China finish with a team track record in 2min 00.66 sec. A huge +0.77 lead over USA in second.
Skeleton: Team USA are off to a flier after their first slider Kelly Curtis rattles off a 1min 01.30 to give Dan Barefoot a 0.35 advantage at the halfway stage. He powers down and assumes the pencil on tea tray position. One corner, two corners, three and he has a 0.61 lead at the middle section. He keeps rollcking along but he bobs a bit on the big bank and loses speed. Oooooh he nips ahead of Denmark by 0.15 to give USA the lead with a time of 2min 01.43sec.
Curling: Coming up at 6pm GMT in the men’s round robin we have a crunch encounter between Switzerland and Team GB. Or first v second in the table. The Swiss unbeaten with four wins with the Brits on four wins and one defeat. It could be an absolute cracker of chess on ice. Kasparov v Fischer with brooms. We love it.
Skeleton: Jane Channell scoots round the Cortina track in double quick time in 1min 01:57sec just one tenth faster than her Latvian rival. A nice little edge for Josip Brusic to work with as he sets off down the frozen water slide. Not the best from Brusic who leaves Canada almost a second behind Latvia in second.
Skeleton: We are witnessing history at the Winter Games with the first outing for the mixed team event in skeleton bobsleigh. Latvia start us off with the first run of the final. The format sees the female sledder bomb down, then immediately after her male partner follows to set the total time. Marta Andzane finishes in 1min 01.67sec with Emil Indriksons going in 59.99 to set a total time of 2:01.66 for Latvia. That is our benchmark. And this is a one and done event. You mess it up and you’re outta here! Let’s goooo. Canada up next …
And what do we have here? A day nine gallery from our crack team of picture editors with the best images from today at the Games. Enjoy.
Hockey: As the second period closes Canada are out of sight 6-1 up against France. Macklin Celebrini and yep, my boy, Sidney Crosby with the fifth and sixth goals. That makes it six different scorers for Team Canada who will, barring a minor miracle comeback, top group A with three wins from three. Here’s hoping the won’t celebrini too hard after the final whistle. Still a long road to gold left to skate.
Didn’t I tell you me and Sidney went way back? This is me as a baby reporter at the Sochi 2014 Games. I had just sneaked into the athletes’ village canteen to get a free McDonalds and who should arrive but the entire men’s gold winning hockey team. Team Canada! I had to get a selfie with Mr Crosby. I then shared a Big Mac with the whole gang. What a day. Take me back! Well to the Winter Games, not Russia.
Hockey: Cale Makar puts Canada into a 4-1 lead over France and it is none other than my old mate Sidney Crosby with the assist. The veteran all-star with his second of the game as he takes almost grabs another. He skates off for a break.
Speed skating: For context Kok’s Olympic record time of 36.49sec was 0.45 faster than the previous mark set by Japan’s Nao Kodaira back in 2018. Holy smokes!
Speed skating: I need to take a breath after that unbelievable sprint from Femke Kok. Your final positions in the women’s 500m:
-
Femke Kok (Neth) 36.49sec (Olympic record)
-
Jutta Leerdam (Neth) +0.66
-
Miho Takagi (Jpn) +0.78
Great to see Takagi hold on to a medal after her rapid run early in the program. Otherwise it is business as usual for the mighty Dutch as they prevail with a 1-2. Incredibly it is an exact reverse of the women’s 1000m earlier in the Games. Leerdam took the gold with Kok second. Orange crush.
🥇Femke Kok wins gold with Olympic record in women’s 500m speed skating
Femke Kok and Erin Jackson slice through the ice. The final big name pairing. And they are so, SO fast at the first split both looking good for a medal but Kok plays a beautiful bend to leave Jackson trailing. Kok crosses the line and OBLITERATES the women’s 500m speed skating Olympic record in 36.49sec. The Dutch skater adds gold to her silver earlier in the Games.
Speed skating: False start for being slow to get down there. Strange considering it is the opposite of going early but it doesn’t affect our skaters who were looking great right until the end their but Anna Boersma and Yukino Yoshida both make mistakes from medal positions to fall way back as they cross the line. Last pair on the way …
Speed skating: The Netherlands are on the track. Watch out! But oh no a very slow start puts Jutta Leerdam up against it from the off. She slingshots round the outside into the home straight AND WOW! Leerdam bursts over the line in 37.15sec into first place! She shakes her head though, the orange rocket could have been even quicker.
Speed skating: The power and dynamism of this event, how smooth it all looks as they sprint-skate at full throttle is just incredible. Italy’s Serena Pergher scorches into second 37.30sec (just two hunfreths down on the leader) while Canada’s Beatrice Lamarche has just moved third with a time of 37.53.
Speed skating: Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Rio Yamada click clacks her way to second with a time of 37.78sec to form a Japanese 1-2 in the women’s 500m. Still a half second down on her compatriot Takagi in pole.
Hockey: Canada have taken a commanding 3-1 lead over France as the first period closes. They are aiming for a third win in three and Mark Stone has the big boys looking very good to do exactly that.
Speed skating: Miho Takagi has just ripped round the track in 37.27sec to set a new fastest time. The Japanese skater already has bronze at the Games and was almost a second and a half faster than the previous best time with that run. In second place is Canada’s Brooklyn McDougall with Wang Jingziqian of China in third as it stands.
Reportage from our very own Andy Bull from the slopes of Cortina on Federica Brignone winning an incredible second gold for Italy in the women’s giant slalom. The home favourite carving out a piece of Winter Olympics history!
Curling: Our ice-side reporter Beau Dure checks in on the USA stealing victory from China in the women’s curling …
“The USA were completely out of that game. They had to steal in the ninth and 10th ends. Brilliant shot by Tabitha Peterson with her last in the 10th, and that may have psyched out China, which opted for a circus shot rather than a precise draw.”
Final score: USA 6-5 China
That result puts USA second in the round robin table and set well to make the knockout semi-finals.
Speed skating: Team GB’s Ellia Smeding has just crashed over the line in 38.93sec in the women’s 500m final. Our commentator says “that was pacy”. Pacy and painful as she sets the benchmark time but also smashes into the barriers.
Hello! We are straight into the action with a flurry of goals in the men’s hockey. Canada were pegged back by France but have retaken a 2-1 lead in the first period. Tom Wilson put Équipe Canada ahead after 9 minutes then Floran Douay hit back 13 seconds later with Devon Toews smacking in the second.
Aha, Graham Searles is here to relieve me, so I’ll budge up and allow him to get settled and ready for that final coming up seven minutes from now. Peace out.
The final of the women’s 500m speed skating gets going soon, at 4.03pm. Femke Kok is favourite, but once they get bousting, anything can happen and probably will.
What about Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, then? No one has won as many Winter Olympic gold medals as he – another, in the 4×7.5km relay, means he has a princely nine. You’d take it.
Sweden look set to finish off GB in the curling, banging two out of the house, and that completes a 10-7 win. Elsewhere, USA and China are level at 5-5, with Korea up 6-5 on Japan.
We’re playing the 10th end of the GB v Sweden women’s curling, Sweden up 9-7 with the hammer, the gap having been narrowed.
And yet more sport!
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Key events
Skeleton: Germany look to answer that special effort by GB but Susanne Kreher is +0.12 on Tarbit after the opening run. Axel Jungk to go now who is a team specialist. The smiling assassin if ever there was one he wears a giant grin below an epic handlebar moustache. And we’re off! Jungk brings the funk all the way down as he sends Germany top of the pops with a mighty run of 58.94. Germany lead! Total time of 1:59.53.
Skeleton: Team GB’s Freya Tarbit hits the ice. And hits it hard with a great start and it stays grrrrreat for Tarbit. A phenomenal run, she hits mach 10 with the fastest women’s run so far in 1min 00.47sec. A huge lead of almost -0.4 as Marcus Wyatt looks to put the Brits in pole. He crouches like a young Bruce Forsyth and off we go, the blue bomber is almost half a second ahead at the first bend! At halfway he is still well ahead. It is is looking very good. It is very good! By 0.28sec Team GB lead the mixed relay in 1:59.65! Unbelievable.
Skeleton: Austria are up against it as Janine Flock, the women’s skeleton Olympic champion, gets a jump start penalty. What a shame as she would have been -0.17 on the Chinese leaders at the midpoint. Her sled just moved a few millimetres before setting off. Dash. Samuel Maier can’t perform a miracle as Austria finish fifth (they would have been second without the penalty) and only four teams remain. Two British and two German pairs. Achtung, baby!
Skeleton: “Track records are track records,” offers the TNT Sports commentator. Umm … what? Anyway back to the action. China out again as Zhao Dan nudges a nervous foot out to hold her line but is rapid giving her partner a -0.29 advantage to work with. Chen Wenhao nods in the beautiful assist from Zhao to lead the mixed relay! Their time is 1:59.93.
Men’s hockey final score: Canada 10-2 France. The Maple Leafs didn’t let up in the final period as they scored another four goals. Nine different players struck for Canada with Macklin Celebrini leading the celebrations with a double to seal the win.
Skeleton: Ouch! Korea are in trouble before they have even started as Hong Sujung smacks the wall after the opening corner and keeps hitting a few more as she goes down. So pivotal to get the line right from the first instance otherwise you’re kaput. That said Korea finish a creditable fourth as it stands.
Seven remain as we cross the halfway stage. Now Italy’s second pairing and a chance at redemption after the home team’s first pair were penalised. Alessandra Fumaggali is off like lightning with an unbelievable opening reaction time of just 0.07, the fastest so far. And it pays off as the Italian puts them -0.02 on the leaders. Amedeo Bagnis has the keys to a gold medal potentially if he can deliver a blinding run. After the second split he is +0.15 and needs to find some pace. He does! The gap only +0.04 at the fourth. He crosses the line in -0.35 … ITALY LEAD!!! Total time: 2:00.04. Amazing.
Skeleton: China stay top after a jump start penalty for Valentina Maragaglio of Italy. That is the home hopefuls medal chances shot to pieces as they sit fifth of 16 teams. Next more USA action as the world champion pair hit the track. Mystique Ro is pure dynamite with a fastest run for the women in 1min 01.08sec. Can Austin Florian get revenge on China for the US? Yes! Florian blasts down in 59.31 to set a new track ecord in 2:00.39. The medals at this stage are 1. USA 2. China. 3. USA
Skeleton: This mixed relay is really hotting up as China’s Liang Luxin pips Chloe Kelly’s time by 0.03sec as Lin Qinwei prepares to finish the job and knock USA off their perch. Ling takes a big breath and straps on his shiny black helmet, crosses his arms in determination and thunders away. His start gives him a +0.3 lead which he holds on to through the middle then keeps adding to it with every split. China finish with a team track record in 2min 00.66 sec. A huge +0.77 lead over USA in second.
Skeleton: Team USA are off to a flier after their first slider Kelly Curtis rattles off a 1min 01.30 to give Dan Barefoot a 0.35 advantage at the halfway stage. He powers down and assumes the pencil on tea tray position. One corner, two corners, three and he has a 0.61 lead at the middle section. He keeps rollcking along but he bobs a bit on the big bank and loses speed. Oooooh he nips ahead of Denmark by 0.15 to give USA the lead with a time of 2min 01.43sec.
Curling: Coming up at 6pm GMT in the men’s round robin we have a crunch encounter between Switzerland and Team GB. Or first v second in the table. The Swiss unbeaten with four wins with the Brits on four wins and one defeat. It could be an absolute cracker of chess on ice. Kasparov v Fischer with brooms. We love it.
Skeleton: Jane Channell scoots round the Cortina track in double quick time in 1min 01:57sec just one tenth faster than her Latvian rival. A nice little edge for Josip Brusic to work with as he sets off down the frozen water slide. Not the best from Brusic who leaves Canada almost a second behind Latvia in second.
Skeleton: We are witnessing history at the Winter Games with the first outing for the mixed team event in skeleton bobsleigh. Latvia start us off with the first run of the final. The format sees the female sledder bomb down, then immediately after her male partner follows to set the total time. Marta Andzane finishes in 1min 01.67sec with Emil Indriksons going in 59.99 to set a total time of 2:01.66 for Latvia. That is our benchmark. And this is a one and done event. You mess it up and you’re outta here! Let’s goooo. Canada up next …
And what do we have here? A day nine gallery from our crack team of picture editors with the best images from today at the Games. Enjoy.
Hockey: As the second period closes Canada are out of sight 6-1 up against France. Macklin Celebrini and yep, my boy, Sidney Crosby with the fifth and sixth goals. That makes it six different scorers for Team Canada who will, barring a minor miracle comeback, top group A with three wins from three. Here’s hoping the won’t celebrini too hard after the final whistle. Still a long road to gold left to skate.
Didn’t I tell you me and Sidney went way back? This is me as a baby reporter at the Sochi 2014 Games. I had just sneaked into the athletes’ village canteen to get a free McDonalds and who should arrive but the entire men’s gold winning hockey team. Team Canada! I had to get a selfie with Mr Crosby. I then shared a Big Mac with the whole gang. What a day. Take me back! Well to the Winter Games, not Russia.
Hockey: Cale Makar puts Canada into a 4-1 lead over France and it is none other than my old mate Sidney Crosby with the assist. The veteran all-star with his second of the game as he takes almost grabs another. He skates off for a break.
Speed skating: For context Kok’s Olympic record time of 36.49sec was 0.45 faster than the previous mark set by Japan’s Nao Kodaira back in 2018. Holy smokes!
Speed skating: I need to take a breath after that unbelievable sprint from Femke Kok. Your final positions in the women’s 500m:
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Femke Kok (Neth) 36.49sec (Olympic record)
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Jutta Leerdam (Neth) +0.66
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Miho Takagi (Jpn) +0.78
Great to see Takagi hold on to a medal after her rapid run early in the program. Otherwise it is business as usual for the mighty Dutch as they prevail with a 1-2. Incredibly it is an exact reverse of the women’s 1000m earlier in the Games. Leerdam took the gold with Kok second. Orange crush.
🥇Femke Kok wins gold with Olympic record in women’s 500m speed skating
Femke Kok and Erin Jackson slice through the ice. The final big name pairing. And they are so, SO fast at the first split both looking good for a medal but Kok plays a beautiful bend to leave Jackson trailing. Kok crosses the line and OBLITERATES the women’s 500m speed skating Olympic record in 36.49sec. The Dutch skater adds gold to her silver earlier in the Games.
Speed skating: False start for being slow to get down there. Strange considering it is the opposite of going early but it doesn’t affect our skaters who were looking great right until the end their but Anna Boersma and Yukino Yoshida both make mistakes from medal positions to fall way back as they cross the line. Last pair on the way …
Speed skating: The Netherlands are on the track. Watch out! But oh no a very slow start puts Jutta Leerdam up against it from the off. She slingshots round the outside into the home straight AND WOW! Leerdam bursts over the line in 37.15sec into first place! She shakes her head though, the orange rocket could have been even quicker.
Speed skating: The power and dynamism of this event, how smooth it all looks as they sprint-skate at full throttle is just incredible. Italy’s Serena Pergher scorches into second 37.30sec (just two hunfreths down on the leader) while Canada’s Beatrice Lamarche has just moved third with a time of 37.53.
Speed skating: Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Rio Yamada click clacks her way to second with a time of 37.78sec to form a Japanese 1-2 in the women’s 500m. Still a half second down on her compatriot Takagi in pole.
Hockey: Canada have taken a commanding 3-1 lead over France as the first period closes. They are aiming for a third win in three and Mark Stone has the big boys looking very good to do exactly that.
Speed skating: Miho Takagi has just ripped round the track in 37.27sec to set a new fastest time. The Japanese skater already has bronze at the Games and was almost a second and a half faster than the previous best time with that run. In second place is Canada’s Brooklyn McDougall with Wang Jingziqian of China in third as it stands.
Reportage from our very own Andy Bull from the slopes of Cortina on Federica Brignone winning an incredible second gold for Italy in the women’s giant slalom. The home favourite carving out a piece of Winter Olympics history!
Curling: Our ice-side reporter Beau Dure checks in on the USA stealing victory from China in the women’s curling …
“The USA were completely out of that game. They had to steal in the ninth and 10th ends. Brilliant shot by Tabitha Peterson with her last in the 10th, and that may have psyched out China, which opted for a circus shot rather than a precise draw.”
Final score: USA 6-5 China
That result puts USA second in the round robin table and set well to make the knockout semi-finals.
Speed skating: Team GB’s Ellia Smeding has just crashed over the line in 38.93sec in the women’s 500m final. Our commentator says “that was pacy”. Pacy and painful as she sets the benchmark time but also smashes into the barriers.
Hello! We are straight into the action with a flurry of goals in the men’s hockey. Canada were pegged back by France but have retaken a 2-1 lead in the first period. Tom Wilson put Équipe Canada ahead after 9 minutes then Floran Douay hit back 13 seconds later with Devon Toews smacking in the second.
Aha, Graham Searles is here to relieve me, so I’ll budge up and allow him to get settled and ready for that final coming up seven minutes from now. Peace out.
The final of the women’s 500m speed skating gets going soon, at 4.03pm. Femke Kok is favourite, but once they get bousting, anything can happen and probably will.
What about Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, then? No one has won as many Winter Olympic gold medals as he – another, in the 4×7.5km relay, means he has a princely nine. You’d take it.
Sweden look set to finish off GB in the curling, banging two out of the house, and that completes a 10-7 win. Elsewhere, USA and China are level at 5-5, with Korea up 6-5 on Japan.
We’re playing the 10th end of the GB v Sweden women’s curling, Sweden up 9-7 with the hammer, the gap having been narrowed.
And yet more sport!
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