The Winter Olympics continues on day four. Luge, Speed Skating and Curling golds are still up for grabs after the world’s best male skiier finally added Olympic gold to his haul and Kim made headlines on her snowboard.*****Refresh page for the latest updates*****
(All times CET)
13:08
What’s happened so far
Marcel Hirscher won gold in the men’s Alpine Combined – his first Olympic gold
Married couple Anastasia Bryzgalova and Aleksandr Krushelnitckii won bronze in the curling mixed doubles
Shaun White qualified for the men’s halfpipe final but not in top spot (Japan’s Ayumu Hirano was the winner)
Seventeen-year-old American Chloe Kim won gold in the women’s snowboarding halfpipe
First doping incident of the Winter Games (Read more: Japanese speedskater in doping case)
What’s coming next
Women’s luge final – potentially three Germans on the podium
Ladies’ 500m short track speedskating final
Result from the men’s 1,500m speed skating final
Mixed doubles curling gold – Canada or Switzerland?
Cross-country ladies’ and mens’ sprint final
13:00 Curling final hotting up
Canada have taken a 6-3 lead going into the fifth. A 4-0 win in the third puts them in a commanding position, but there are still four ends left.
Clearly, the curling craze is working too. Are you changing the way you clean your floors now?
12:54 Relay final set
In the second heat of the men’s 5,000m short track speed skating, South Korea delighted the home crowd by sealing the win ahead of Hungary. Remarkably, the South Koreans broke the Olympic record set by China in the previous heat. Tomorrow, they’ll go for the medals.
12:45 Luge glory looms for Germany
Germany might be celebrating yet another gold today. In the women’s luge, Natalie Geisenberger leads ahead of fellow German, Tatjana Huefner. Canada’s Alex Gough is in third. The final run is later this afternoon and if Dajana Eitberger can jump up from seventh, Germany could hold all three spots on the podium.
12:43 Relay mayhem
The men’s 5,000m short track speed skating relay is underway and my goodness is it a fight on the ice. When the racers swap in, they’re pushed forward by the outgoing racer and there are plenty of elbows flying about as the four-men teams swap in and out. The Chinese men have won the first heat in an Olympic record ahead of the Canadians, who sneaked in after the Dutch were penalized.
12:29 Golden skates and curls
In the men’s 1,500m speed skating final, Dutchman Patrick Roest has set the bar with a time of 1:44.86. Japan’s shane Williamson has just posted the second fastest time, but there are quite a few racers left.
The mixed doubles curling final sees Canada pit off against Switzerland and going into the third end the match is tied at 2-2.
12:20 Speed skating drama!
China’s Fan Kexin doesn’t make the final after missing out in the first semifinal after a penalty. Even more remarkable was that Choi Minjeong set the second Olympic record of the morning in her semifinal. In Christie’s semifinal, there was another photo finish that sees a five-person final later on today.
SF 1: Choi Minjeong (South Korea) and Arianna Fontana (Italy)
SF 2: Yara van Kerkhof (Netherlands), Elise Christie (Great Britain) and Kim Boutin (Canada)
12:09 Medal time approaching
The skating is in full flow today!
The men’s 1,000m heats are over for the day
The women’s 500m semifinals are up next
The men’s 1,500m speed skating final is underway
11:15 Semifinalists decided!
A few slips and falls, and quite a lot of drama but the top two have been decided. World record holder Elise Christie set a new Olympic record in her quarterfinal and will be going for gold later on. Some surprise as 5-time world champion Fan Kexin only slipped through in second. Local favorite and Olympic record holder Choi Minjeong was involved in a dramatic photo finish that appeared to see all four cross the line at the same time! What a set of races!
QF 1: Arianna Fontana (Italy) and Yara van Kerkhof (Netherlands)
QF 2: Elise Christie (Great Britain) and Kim Boutin (Canada)
QF 3: Sofia Prosvirnova (OAR) and Fan Kexin (China)
QF 4: Qu Chunyu (China) and Choi Minjeong (South Korea)
11:04 Short-track speed skating
It’s quarterfinals time in the ladies’ 500m speed skating. The men get their heats started later, but today is decision day. In a couple of hours time, we’ll know who the gold medal winner is.
10:57 Comfortable Canada
The Canadian women sealed a 4-1 win over Finland in Group A in the women’s ice hockey. That virtually secures them qualification for the knockout rounds. Later today, the other two teams in the group – the USA and Olympic Athletes from Russia – will play in a game OAR must win to stand a chance of progressing.
10:35 Attendance concerns?
With the crowd numbers not as high as organizers desired, a move has been made to increase participation. A spokesman said the Olympic Park in Pyeongchang would now be free to enter (visitors previously had to spend a small fee) for spectactors arriving after 5 p.m. local time. While this might increase numbers in the Park, attendance at some events remains low with high winds and freezing temperatures likely playing a role. Nevertheless, organizing committee spokesman Sung Baik You said Korean ticket sales were slightly higher than those in Russia four years ago.
As one reporter posted on social media, even the journalists are having a hard time catching the action:
10:08 Finn soup
The Canadian women lead 4-0 against Finland at the end of the second period in the ice hockey. Fair to say, that the Canadian’s already look favorites to win the gold.
09:57 Radford wins more than gold
Canada’s Eric Radford won gold on Monday in the figure skating team event and in doing so became the first openly gay man to winter a Winter Olympic gold.
The head of the IOC athletes commission Angelo Ruggiero called Radford’s achievement “fantastic.”
“We celebrate diversity at the IOC and that’s something that’s hopefully fundamental to what we want in Olympic value,” added Ruggiero. “I think it’s encouraging, it sends a strong message to that fundamental principle of acceptance globally.”
The 33-year-old won silver in the 2014 Olympics, but this was his first gold.
09:32 Cross country
The long, march through the snow has begun as the cross-country skiing qualification gets underway. First up, it’s the Ladies’ Spring, then the men’s. The fastest 30 make the quarterfinals, then the top two from the heats and the fastest third and fourth placed finishes make the semifinals. From there, the same rules apply for the final which is at around 13:25 CET.
08:48 On the ice!
In the women’s group-stage ice hockey, Canada and Finland have got underway although the Finns don’t look like they heard the whistle as Meghan Agosta has given the Canadian’s the lead after just 35 seconds! Canada are currently top of Group A, ahead of the US (who also won their opener) on goal difference.
08:15 Morning roundup!
If your day has just started, welcome to day four of the Winter Olympics! Here’s a quick look at what has happened so far today.
Marcel Hirscher won gold in the men’s Alpine Combined – his first Olympic gold
Married couple Anastasia Bryzgalova and Aleksandr Krushelnitckii won bronze in the curling mixed doubles
Shaun White qualified for the men’s halfpipe final but not in top spot (Japan’s Ayumu Hirano was the winner)
Seventeen-year-old American Chloe Kim won gold in the women’s snowboarding halfpipe
Read more: 17-year-old Chloe Kim storms to halfpipe gold
07:44 GOLD for Hirscher!
We have a winner! Austria’s Marcel Hirscher claims gold in the Men’s Alpine Slalom! France get silver and bronze through Alexis Pinturault and Victor Muffat-Jeandet respectively.
07:40 Three no finishes in a row!
The Men’s Alpine Slalom is turning into a brutal event. Three racers fail to get over the line, crashing out or skiing the wrong line earlier on in the course. The next two finish two seconds slower than the current leaders. What a battle! Not many left now…
07:31 First doping case
Japan’s short-track speed skater Kei Saito failed an out-of-competition doping test on the day of his arrival in Pyeongchang and has been expelled from the Games. The reserve athlete – who had not yet competed in South Korea – tested positive for the masking agent acetazolamide. Saito said he was “extremely shocked” by the results and denied intentionally doping.
The Court of Arbitration (CAS) said its panel handling Olympic doping cases will issue a final verdict after the games are over.
07:26 Hirscher in a hurry!
Austria’s Marcel Hirscher storms down the Jeongseon Alpine Centre to take top spot off Muffat-Jeandet. He was a little slow to start, but Hirscher threw himself over the line to finish 0.01 seconds ahead of the Frenchman. Wow!
07:18 Lots of medals still to win!
Even if you’re rubbing the sleep out of your eyes right about now, there’s plenty of reasons to stay awake with plenty of exciting events ahead.
Luge Women’s Singles (11:30)
Speed Skating Men’s 1500m (12:00)
Curling Mixed Doubles Gold Medal (12:05)
Short-track Speed Skating Ladies 500m (13:09)
Cross Country Skiing Ladies’ Sprint Classic (13:25) and Men’s Sprint Classic (13:34)
07:11 Men’s Alpine Combined Slalom
Tough conditions out there on the slopes at the moment. It’s icy and making like even trickier for racers. So far, France’s Victor Muffat-Jeandet leads ahead of America’s Ted Ligety and Slovenia’s Stefan Hadalin. Quite a few left to make the run though, including Germany’s Thomas Dressen.
06:46 Men’s Halfpipe qualifying: Oneupmanship continues!
We’ve just seen two qualification runs of the highest order.
You might as well make this the final, the standard is so high – the crazy thing is we haven’t even seen the best these guys have to offer.
Australia’s Scotty James get a score of 96.75, only to be bettered by Shaun White who just hit a 98.50.
The final tomorrow is a must-watch!
06:35 Women’s Halfpipe: Kim gets a pass
06:27 Men’s Halfpipe qualifying: Hirano snatches the lead!
Shaun White has been put on notice.
His pursuit of a third Olympic gold isn’t going to be a stroll in the park as Japan’s Ayumu Hirano has just taken the lead with a score of 95.25.
Hirano won silver four years ago in sochi when he was just 15 years old and looks like he could still take it up a gear in Pyeongchang.
Right afterwards his compatriot, Raibu Katayama notches a score of 90.75, meaning the top five riders have all scored above 90. The magic number right now is 75.00.
06:11 Men’s Halfpipe qualifying: Guess who’s on top!
All 29 riders have been down the halfpipe once and it’s Shaun White, “The Flying Tomato”, who has set the benchmark.
A reminder that only the top 12 go through. Riders need a score of at least 71.25 to stand a chance of qualifying at present. For now here’s a look at the top five after Run 1:
1. Shaun White (USA) – 93.25
2. Ben Ferguson (USA) – 91.00
3. Scotty James (Australia) – 89.00
4. Ayumu Hirano (Japan) – 87.50
5. Raibu Katayama (Japan) – 85.50
06:05 Women’s Halfpipe: Kim on winning gold
Here’s what American Chloe Kim, whose family are from South Korea, had to say after claiming gold in the women’s halfpipe event with a near flawless performance.
“It’s such an honour and do it for my parents. They’ve done so much for me and my career, I think, and I’m so happy with the outcome. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’m on such a high, an adrenaline rush. I don’t really know what just happened. I need to go home and process everything and I’ll probably bawl my eyes out some more, but this has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl, so just to be here and to be able to do it when it mattered feels amazing.”
05:55 Men’s Alpine Combined Slalom: Dreßen leads
Making good use of the No. 1 starting bib, Thomas Dreßen of Germany leads the downhill run of the combined event that opened the wind-buffeted Olympic program in Alpine skiing.
Dreßen was 0.07 seconds faster than Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, and 0.13 ahead of Matthias Mayer of Austria, the 2014 Olympic champion in downhill.
The world’s best slalom skier, Marcel Hirscher, is well placed with just 1.32 to make up in his specialized discipline later this afternoon. The gold medalist will be the skier with the fastest combined time.
05:46 Men’s Halfpipe qualifying: Google it!
Viewer discretion is advised, but if you want to watch a really gnarly video that show you just what Shaun White is made of then google: “Shaun White 62 stitches”. Yes you read that right, watch the video.
05:34 Men’s Halfpipe qualifying: White moves into first!
Beast mode engaged. Shaun White saw that the bar had been set high in qualifying and just raised it with his first run, nailing a string of iconic, self-named tricks and being awarded a score of 93.25 by the judges. I’m just going to leave some reactions here!
05:20 Men’s Halfpipe qualifying: Ferguson on fire!
The men are putting on a real show in qualifying. Double Cork, Frontside and Cab 1080s have been commonplace so far, while the heights these guys are hitting is something to behold.
That being said the wind is starting to kick up. So far there haven’t been any problems even if the snow is whipping up in places.
There are 29 riders in this qualification group. Two runs each. The top 12 will go through into tomorrow’s final.
Ben Ferguson is currently leading with a 91.00 having landed a Double Crippler, Double Rodeo and a Switch McTwist. My mouth is on the table and that’s not just because I’m in need of sleep 😉
Shaun White is coming up shortly.
05:00 Curling Mixed Doubles: Not a bad eight months!
04:50 Women’s luge: Coming up later today!
Germany are the nation to beat in the women’s luge field.
Natalie Geisenberger, who turns 30 this month, is the clear favorite as she looks to defend her Olympic crown.
She has finished in the top two in 11 of 13 World Cup races this season and is definitely the one to watch.
04:33 Men’s Alpine Combined Slalom: We have skiing!
Germany’s Thomas Dressen, the first racer to take to the hill, is still leading in the downhill portion of the men’s combined.
Norway’s Aksel Lund Vindal is less than a tenth of a second behind Dressen, while Marcel Hirscher, who is a slalom specialist, is currently sat in 10th primed to make a push for gold when the slalom discipline takes centre stage.
64 racers to race. The top 30 move on when the events flips.
Meanwhile, American women’s racer Lindsey Vonn is having her patience tested!
04:10 Men’s Halfpipe qualifying: White returns!
Chloe Kim got the ball rolling in halfpipe competition and coming up shortly, the start of qualifying in the Men’s event.
Kim has ben called the ‘Shaun White’ of women’s snowboarding, but the real Shaun White will be taking to the course in his fourth Olympic Games.
03:50 Men’s Alpine Combined Slalom: We have skiing!
Finally, two days late, we finally get to see an alpine skiing event at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang!
The wind is still a factor for the men’s combined, which is a combination of the downhill and slalom disciplines.
Germany’s Thomas Dressen currently leads, while we’ve see OAR’s Pavel Trikhichev and America’s Ryan Cochran-Siegle both walk away from high-speed crashes.
Austria’s Marcel Hirscher is the favorite, but trails Dressen at present.
03:35 Women’s Halfpipe: Changing of the guard
Kelly Clark carved out the path for the rise of women’s halfpipe snowboarding, but Chloe Kim is changing the game.
03:31 Women’s Halfpipe: Chloe Kim claims gold!
Chloe Kim was the favorite going into the final and it wasn’t hard to see why as she takes gold. She is the queen of the halfpipe!
Her first run was a cut above the competition on Run 1, but she landed back-to-back 1080s, following in the footsteps of the legendary Shaun White, to get a score of 98.25. WHAT? BACK-TO-BACK 1080s! 98.25! That’s insane!
No one came close to matching her amplitude and technical ability. What is it with American 17-year-olds and winning gold in snowboarding events?
Elsewhere, Arielle Gold threw down a run that saw her pip the veteran Kelly Clark to a bronze medal, while Liu Jiayu, who came so close to landing a 1080 of her own, had to settle for a silver medal after falling on her third run as she sought to improve upon her second run score.
1. Kim (USA) – 98.25
2. Liu (China) – 89.75
3. Gold (USA) – 85.75
4. Clark (USA) – 83.50
03:24 Women’s Halfpipe: In the mind of a gold medalist!
On course to win gold in her debut Olympics at the age of 17, here’s what is currently on the mind of Chloe Kim. I wonder what was on the sandwich. Ham? Cheese? Chorizo? Kimchi?
03:07 Men’s Alpine Combined Slalom: I think it’s happening!
I’m starting to believe! There is an Alpine event is on the cards. Wohooo!
02:59 Women’s Halfpipe: Kim proves to be human
A few more falls litter Run 2 as riders begin to take more risks in a bid to finish on the podium.
The bar has well and truly been raised though. Arielle Gold landed her 1080 to complete a run which scores 74.75, but teammate Maddie Mastro couldn’t follow suit, underrotating on a 1080 of her own.
Kelly Clark and Liu Jiayu both improved upon their first run scores, but neither really posed much threat to Kim, who is closing in on a victory lap despite proving to be human after all, failing to land back-to-back 1080s. We saw here pull it off in the X Games, so don’t go anywhere.
1. Kim (USA) – 93.75
2. Liu (China) – 89.75
3. Clark (USA) – 81.75
4. Gold (USA) – 74.75
02:47 Curling Mixed Doubles: OAR claim bronze
The first medal of the day goes to OAR courtesy of a 8-4 win over Norway, who tired, but ultimately failed to claw back an early deficit. That’s a third medal on the board for OAR now.
02:27 Women’s Halfpipe: Run 1 done and dusted
The ability, skill and the tricks of these snowboarders is beyond belief!
Three falls, plenty of 900s, 720s and 540s and a smattering of 1080s delighted during Run 1 of the final.
Unsurprisingly, 17-year-old Chloe Kim, the youngest person to win three X Games titles, is on course to win gold stomping a ridiculous run which included a frontside 1080, a frontside 900, a McTwist and a huge inverted 720. What a run!
We’re seeing most of the riders try and use their first run to give themselves something to build on so expect amplitude and technical skill to increase as we go on.
1. Kim (USA) – 93.75
2. Liu (China) – 85.50
3. Clark (USA) – 76.25
02:07 Women’s Halfpipe: It’s go time!
Here’s the running order at the Phoenix Park where it’s -10°C.
Arielle Gold kicked things off, but fell attempting a frontside 1080, but Kelly Clark, the most decorated athlete in the field, has just laid down a stellar run, scoring 76.25. Remember there are three runs each, with the best run counting.
1. Gold (USA)
2. Clark (USA)
3. Thovex (France)
4. Rodriguez (France)
5. Arthur (Australia)
6. Tomita (Japan)
7. Cai (China)
8. Castellet (Spain)
9. Mastro (USA)
10. Matsumoto (Japan)
11. Liu (China)
12. Kim (USA)
02:02 Men’s Alpine Combined Slalom: Getting hopes up
The odds of us seeing the Alpine skiing event of the Games are improving – we will still have to wait until 03:30 CET though!
01:53 Curling Mixed Doubles: Russia ahead at halfway stage
At the the end of End 4 – there are eight Ends of six stones each with the final stone being referred to as the ‘hammer’ – OAR are 5-2 up against Norway.
OAR had lost three straight coming into the bronze medal encounter and, while Anastasia Bryzgalova did fall over one of her own stones, they are in control of the tie. Very promising, but things can change very quickly in Mixed Doubles.
01:40 Men’s Alpine Combined Slalom: Skiing finally on the cards?
High winds robbed us, for the time being at least, of a chance to see the men’s downhill and women’s giant slalom, but I’m really hoping we finally get to see some skiing later today.
Unfortunately, there’s no Mexican participation which means we’ll have to wait a little while longer to see them bust these bad boys out!
01:30 Women’s Halfpipe: Background on Kim
On Day 2 of the Winter Olympics 17-year-old Red Gerard stole headlines by taking gold in the men’s slopestyle final. Today fellow 17-year-old Chloe Kim is hoping to follow up a dazzling qualifying session with a jaw-dropping performance as she goes for gold.
Kim was too young to compete in the Sochi Games four years ago despite scoring well enough to qualify and, talking to the Guardian, the American whizzkid made it clear she didn’t begrudge the wait.
“I’m actually kind of thankful that I wasn’t able to go, just knowing what I’m going through now, going into my first Olympics” she told the Guardian last month. “It’s pretty hectic, and I don’t know if my 13-year-old self would have been able to handle it.”
Kim will run last in the final at the Phoenix Snow Park after qualifying with the highest score, an acceptable 95.50 out of 100!!!
01:10 Curling Mixed Doubles: History being made
Canada and Switzerland will duke it out for gold later today, but getting today’s action underway, Norway and OAR are competing for bronze.
I’ll be honest, I’m no curling buff, but watching the Round Robin sessions was incredibly enlightening andI don’t think I’m the only fan the mixed doubles discipline has won at the Games.
01:00 So many highlights
I’m gearing up for another late night/early morning slog and can’t wait for the action to get back underway in Pyeongchang. Looking down the schedule for today, I have to say I’m eagerly anticipating what the women’s halfpipe final (02:00 CET) and Chloe Kim in particular have in store for us, while Men’s Alpine Combined Slalom (wind permitting at 03:30) will undoubtedly have me on the edge of my seat.
A large coffee, a can of Red Bull – sugar free in case you were wondering – a fruit smoothie, cucumber sticks and quesadillas are on the menu for me tonight! So kick back, settle in and let’s see what today has in store for us.
00:50 Get your shiver on!
There are eight gold medals up for grabs today and, fingers crossed, the weather is expected to be more cooperative, albeit in sub-zero temperatures.
00:45 Rise and shine!
Hello again! Just a few hours after the end of an eventful, and windy, day 3, we’re back to Pyeongchang for another stint of Winter Olympic action. Plenty in store today, including seven medal events.
Day 4 schedule highlights (Times CET):
Curling Mixed Doubles (01:05am Bronze & 12:05pm Gold)
Ladies’ Halfpipe (2:00)
Men’s Alpine Combined Slalom (3:30 & 7:00)
Luge Women’s Singles (11:30)
Speed Skating Men’s 1500m (12:00)
Short-track Speed Skating Ladies 500m (13:09)
Cross Country Skiing Ladies’ Sprint Classic (13:25)
Men’s Sprint Classic (13:34)
