Kamila Valieva set for short program

On Feb 15, 2022

Skiing in her first-ever Olympic downhill, Mikaela Shiffrin completed her run well off the pace in the event at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

(Looking for a recap of Monday’s events? We’ve got you covered.)

In bitter cold conditions, Shiffrin finished nearly two seconds behind the leader, putting her temporarily in 11th place with several skiers still to go.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist, who skied out in the giant slalom and slalom, is still planning to compete in all five individual disciplines.

Meanwhile, the off-ice drama has finally ended, and attention can now turn to the start of the women’s figure skating competition.

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been cleared to compete in the short program after a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A test that Valieva took two months ago was flagged for a banned heart medication, but CAS ruled that the 15-year-old Valieva, a “protected athlete” because of her age, can compete.

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Sofia Goggia of Italy wins silver just 23 days after scary crash

BEIJING — After the last three weeks, hurtling down the mountain was the easy part for Sofia Goggia.

The Italian won the silver medal in the downhill Tuesday, just 23 days after a crash in the super-G race in Cortina left her with a partially torn cruciate ligament in her left knee and a “minor fracture” in her fibula. She didn’t get back on skis until Feb. 4.

“This is why I have so much effort, because I wanted an outcome like this one today,” Goggia said. “Of course sometimes things don’t work as you want to, but I really gave everything I could. … This is why I’m really grateful and glad for this medal.

“I couldn’t have done more than this today.”

Goggia won the downhill gold at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018, and was heavily favored before her crash to repeat. She had won all but one of her last nine races, and leads the World Cup standings.

But the crash left Goggia uncertain if she’d even be able to compete at the Beijing Olympics. She rehabbed relentlessly, ditching her crutches three days after the crash so she wouldn’t lose her fitness, and working in the gym and the pool.

She arrived in Beijing on Feb. 7. She hoped to do the super-G, but decided after training runs that she wasn’t ready. After the first downhill training run, Goggia said she wasn’t concerned with the result, that just doing the race would be a victory.

“I just said to myself, `I’m here, let’s play, let’s do everything,’” she said.

Goggia was in first place when she crossed the finish line. She let out a loud and long scream, then kissed a TV camera. Switzerland’s Corinne Suter, who is second in the downhill standings, bumped her to second, but it couldn’t dampen Goggia’s happiness.

Goggia’s Italy teammate Nadia Delago won the bronze medal.

“It’s still a medal. It’s still a great medal,” Goggia said. “It’s an unbelievable medal because of the condition of the last 20 days.”

— Nancy Armour

US men win bronze medal in team pursuit

It was no world record for the United States in the men’s speedskating team pursuit, something the Americans accomplished at the world championships in Salt Lake City two months ago.

A bronze medal in Beijing will do, though.

Joey Mantia, 36, paced the team against speedskating legend Sven Kramer (nine Olympic medals, four gold) over the eight laps as the Americans outlasted the Netherlands with a time of 3:38.81. Meanwhile, the Dutch switched leaders on and off throughout the race. For Mantia, a native of Ocala, Florida, it’s the first medal of his career in his third Olympics.

Canada defeated Russia in the A final to win gold.

In the B final, Mantia replaced Ethan Cepuran, who skated for the U.S. in the semifinal. The decision to not include Mantia in both heats was perplexing to some in the speedskating community, who felt not rolling with him against Russia in the semifinals was a case of the Americans failing to deploy their best lineup. Casey Dawson and Emery Lehman competed in both heats to earn the first medals of their careers as well.