Winter Olympics 2022 live schedule, day 14: Tess Coady misses shot at history, Abi Harrigan withdraws from final event
Eileen Gu is the unofficial face of the Beijing Winter Olympics but she has a rival after an astonishing gold-medal performance.
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Step aside Eileen Gu. Hosts China have a new teenage hero at the Beijing Olympics after 17-year-old Su Yiming added an emphatic snowboard Big Air gold to his controversial silver.
Su scorched to the Big Air title with a runaway score of 182.50 to win his second medal at the Games, having been unlucky to only come away with silver in last week’s slopestyle.
The former child actor was so good that he had the title firmly in the bag even before his third and final run.
Su’s latest remarkable success went viral on China’s Twitter-like Weibo, where a hashtag about it clocked up about 750 million views in just a few hours.
He took a dominant gold ahead of Norway’s Mons Roisland, on 171.75, with Canada’s Max Parrot — the slopestyle winner — taking bronze with 170.25.
Su has competed in just six World Cup events and last week already became the first men’s snowboarding Olympic medallist in China’s history.
“This feels insane, it’s something I’ve never experienced before ... I can’t believe I got this gold,” said Su, for whom this was an early birthday present — he turns 18 on Friday.
“I trained every day for the past four years. Every night I was dreaming about this moment.”
When he was eight, Su appeared in the epic action movie “The Taking of Tiger Mountain”, before deciding to fully dedicate himself to snowboarding.
With hair that tumbles down below his ears, he still has something of the film star about him.
Su’s silver in the slopestyle had been contentious, with many experts saying that he should have been awarded gold ahead of Parrot.
Iztok Sumatic, the head judge in Beijing, subsequently told the snowboarding magazine Whitelines that they made a mistake in the scoring of Parrot.
Su put all that behind him on Tuesday and said he had been motivated by competing on home snow and by his passion for the sport.
“I wanted to try my best for this,” he said.
“The most important thing though is all about love. Snowboarding is not just about competition.”
In a touching moment, Su pointed at his parents when he was standing on the podium.
“I haven’t seen my parents for the past seven months because I went to Europe for training and to many places for competitions,” he said, attending a press conference with the Chinese flag proudly wrapped around his shoulders.
“This moment is so special for me and also my family.” Su even managed — for a time at least — to upstage Californian-born Gu, his Chinese teammate and the unofficial face of the Games.
The 18-year-old Gu, who represented the United States before switching to the country of her mother’s birth in 2019, also now has one gold and one silver after she came second in the women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle earlier in the day.
The home nation, who have little in the way of tradition when it comes to winter sports, have now won six golds in Beijing.
Four years ago at the Pyeongchang Games, before Gu and Su came on the scene, they took home only one gold.
Heartbreak as Aussie pulls out of Winter Games
By Julian Linden
Australian teenager Abi Harrigan has withdrawn from her final event at the Beijing Winter Olympics because of ongoing complications with a broken leg.
Needing painkillers and a special metal brace just to get to the starting gate, the 19-year-old skier made her Olympic debut in the women’s slopestyle on Monday after previously pulling out of the Freeski Big Air competition.
But after failing to make the finals because she was physically unable to perform her hardest tricks, she has decided not to take any further part so has withdrawn from the halfpipe, starting Thursday.
“Harrigan will now rest and recover from a broken fibula she sustained prior to the Games,” the Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement.
One of the bravest athletes in the Australian team, the 19-year-old from Jindabyne fractured her leg less than a month ago and almost missed the Games altogether.
“I definitely would have liked to have performed a bit better but the injury was holding me back so I was just happy to be out here and have some fun,” she said.
WHY AUSSIES HAVE ALL CLEAR TO PARTY
The last remaining Australian competitors at the Beijing Winter Olympics have been given the thumbs up to party hard for one night only before leaving China’s “closed loop” after an Aussie finally won two medals at the same Winter Olympics.
The only problem is the medals will both count towards New Zealand’s total because the Sydney-born snowboarder who achieved the feat is a proud Kiwi — but that hasn’t put a dampener on the planned celebrations.
Zoi Sadowski Synnott has been one of the breakout stars of the Beijing Winter Olympics, winning New Zealand’s first ever gold, in slopestyle, then adding a silver in the Big Air on Tuesday.
Her Australian rival and close buddy Tess Coady, the bronze medallist in the slopestyle, briefly had a shot at becoming the first Aussie wearing green and gold to win multiple medals at a single Games when she nailed a frontside double somersault on her first run in the Big Air.
But she failed with her two attempts to land the backside double and with the best two scores from the three jumps counting, she tumbled back to ninth.
“I haven’t done a whole heap of Big Airs in my career so it was just a bonus to make the final,” Coady said.
“I knew I was going to have to send it anyway so I just had a crack.
(Sadowski Synnott) is so good, she rode incredible, she’s been riding so well and that’s like such a testament to her.
“She deserves to be on that podium so much and I’m so happy for her.”
Coady hasn’t been far behind the Kiwi in the breakout category, winning the first of the record four medals the Australians have claimed in China — double the combined total of New Zealand and Britain.
Just 23 and at her first Olympics, Coady’s social media accounts have gone into meltdown because of all the messages she has received off the back of her performances, including some that have floored her.
“The coolest one I got was from the DMA’s. I listen to them to get hyped up a lot,” she said.
“They’re one of my favourite bands, and they sent me a message which I thought was so sick because they’re super cool.”
After weeks living in the mountains under China’s strict Covid regulations, Coady plans to kick up her heels for one night after relocating to the capital before she heads back to Australia.
“The vibe has been so good,” she said.
“We’ve moved into a new village, and all the snowboarders are staying together in one of the high rises together.
“So yeah, I think it’s going to be pretty funny.”
Pressed on how crazy things could get, she replied: “I don’t know if I can say that but I think you can use your imagination.”
If gold medals were handed out for boozing, Australia would be right at the top of the table after Aussie athletes at last year’s Tokyo Olympics ended up in strife when they partied too hard — with the men’s sevens rugby team ordered to undertake counselling after getting drunk on the flight home.
Although partying is frowned upon by Chinese officials at the no-fun Beijing Olympics, the Australian chef de mission in Beijing Geoff Lipshut told News Corp he wouldn’t be stopping team members from letting their hair down.
“We actually want the athletes to enjoy the experience,” he said.
“That’s why they put themselves through and that’s why they commit themselves to actually get to the Games.”
COADY CRASHES OUT OF HISTORIC BID
Needing a 86.75 to move back into the bronze medal position on her final run, Tess Coady got the speed wobbles — and never looked like landing her trick.
The smiling Aussie landed hard on her left hip to crash out of medal contention.
Her final run, of 8.5, was the worst of all finalists — and put her in ninth place in the finals with a combined score of 114.75 from her first two runs.
Despite not finishing on the podium, Coady’s infectious smile beamed out to Australia, telling Channel 7 her post-Olympics party was about to get started.
“The party will start in about 10 minutes as soon as I get through the media zone,” Coady said after the snowboard big air final.
“Even though I didn’t land the second and third times, super hard because I never tried that trick in competition.
“I definitely pushed it pretty hard on the last one but I am stoked to have tried it and to get the front end.
“Honestly that was such a sick day, it’s always so much fun to be a part of all these events with all the girls.”
It’s been a theme of the Games — barring a handful of US and Russia competitors — with Coady simply stoked to be competing.
“This has been so much fun, I’ve had the best experience,” Coady continued. “I am really looking forward to going home and seeing my family but it’s a bummer it’s come to an end because it’s been the best three weeks.
“I feel so loved and supported by everyone and I couldn’t have asked for a better Olympic Games, it’s been incredible.”
1.40pm - AUSTRIA’S GASSER SHOCKS KIWI TO TAKE GOLD
The first Australian to win two medals at a Winter Olympic Games has done so - but under the New Zealand flag.
Zoi Sadowski Synnott has claimed a memorable silver medal in the women’s snowboard Big Air final - to go with her stunning gold in the slopestyle event last Sunday.
Sadowski Synnott was born and raised in Sydney until she was six, before crossing the ditch where she now represents New Zealand.
Austria’s Anna Gasser stole gold with an unbelievable final run - landing a 95.50 with a ridiculous double cork 1260 melon for a combined score of 185.50.
That moved her ahead of Sadowski Synnott, who had the last run of the final and required a 92.50 to win gold.
However she was unable to land her final trick, and finished with a combined score from her first two runs of 177.00 to take silver.
1.14pm - COADY WITH ONE LAST LAUNCH AT MEDAL GLORY
Coady crashed out in her second run, failing to get enough elevation off the jump to perform her trick - resulting in the Melbourne star botching her landing.
She scored 29.75, which will be a throwaway, but will have a third chance to add to her impressive first run and put her in position to sneak into the medals.
Of more concern has been the big tricks pulled off by her rivals, who posted big scores to send the Australian back in the rankings.
On the combined scores, Coady has slipped to seventh, but her first-run 85.00 still leaves her with the sixth-best single-run score and some wiggle room to fight back with a big final run.
New Zealand’s Sadowski Synnott has a combined 177.00 to remain in gold medal position.
12.53pm - COADY’S DREAM START TO BIG AIR FINAL
After the first round of the Big Air final, Australian Tess Coady is in pole position to create Australian Winter Olympics history.
The youngster landed, who qualified for the finals in eighth position, finished the first round with the third-best score of the 12 competitors, posting an impressive 85.00.
She was bettered by Austria’s Anna Gasser’s 90.00 before New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski Synnott blitzed the field with a stunning 93.25.
Through three runs, competitors will have their best two scores combined to determine who goes home with the medals.
11.45am - AUSSIE EDGES TOWARDS WINTER OLYMPIC HISTORY
This is Tess Coady’s chance to create Australian Winter Olympic history.
No Aussie has ever won two medals at a Winter Games but in the next few hours Coady could put herself up on that pedestal - Australia’s first multi medal winner - above names like Stephen Bradbury, Torah Bright, Alissa Camplin and Jakara Anthony who have their own history as gold medallists.
The Victorian snowboarder is through to the Big Air final, with the first of her three runs starting at 12.30pm AEDT, as the eighth ranked competitor but in this no guts no glory sport - and she could pull another spectacular performance out of her hat just as she did last Sunday when she took bronze in the slopestyle.
Coady was ranked in the same eighth position for the slopestyle final - so can history repeat itself?
She played it safe in qualifying. Now there’s no pressure, no expectation, just opportunity to stun the world yet again.
OLYMPIAN COLLAPSES IN HORRIFYING SCENES
A Norwegian Olympic athlete collapsed from exhaustion seconds after a Eurosport commentator had inaccurately declared her the bronze medallist in the 10km biathlon, a sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.
Just as she became on track to medal, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold fell to her exhaustion. At first, she remained stationary, being passed by other athletes. Eventually, Tandrevold managed to begin skiing again, and was on track to be in 14th place just as she had her terrifying tumble right at the finish line.
When the 25-year-old hit the ground, her fellow athletes rushed to her aid. She was treated by medics on the snow before they carted her away.
Norway team doctor Lars Kolsrud told the press that Tandrevold was upset about what had occurred, and it was caused by exhaustion.
“She went empty on top of the hill and hardly got to the finishing line. When she got there, she was very sad and sorry, because she lost this medal and she was all empty for power,” Kolsrud said. “She was not unconscious but she was very, very exhausted. She said nothing except: ‘I’ve spoiled everything.’”
Following her collapse, Tandrevold told the press on Monday that she would be returning to Norway and that she was ruled unfit to compete.
“I just think I pushed my limits in the altitude and in a tough race, but since I’ve had issues with my heart earlier in my career, we need to be careful and we need to check it out further,” she said, per the Associated Press. “I’m not allowed to compete more in these Olympics so I will go home to Norway.”
This article was from the New York Post
US FUME AS OLYMPICS ‘HIJACKED’ BY DOPING SCANDAL
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) accused Russia of “hijacking” the Beijing Olympics on Monday following the decision to allow teenage skater Kamila Valieva to continue to compete despite a positive drugs case.
In a statement following the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling which allows Valieva to take part in individual events in Beijing, USADA expressed sympathy for the athlete at the centre of the controversy.
Chief executive Travis Tygart said “only time will tell” if Valieva should have been allowed to compete in Beijing after testing positive for the endurance-boosting angina medication trimetazidine.
But Tygart said if Valieva was later disqualified, the CAS ruling will “once again permit the Russians to taint the Olympic Games.”
“Either way, for the sixth consecutive Olympic Games, Russia has hijacked the competition and stolen the moment from clean athletes and the public,” Tygart said.
“If Russia would have properly processed this sample which they collected weeks prior to the Olympic Games, we would know for certain whether the women’s individual event starting tomorrow will be a real competition and whether she should have been allowed to skate in the Figure Skating Team Event.”
The Valieva case has hinged on the delay between her sample — provided at a competition in Russia on December 25 — and its analysis, which was only carried out six weeks later.
Normally drug tests involving athletes preparing to compete in major championships would be expedited by the national anti-doping authority of the country involved.
But the World Anti-Doping Agency said the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) made no request to accelerate testing of Valieva’s sample.
“If Russia had followed the rules, we would know for certain the outcome of the Figure Skating Team Event and those athletes who gave it their all could have their podium moment during these Games as they rightfully deserve,” Tygart added.
Meanwhile, US sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson slammed the decision to allow Valieva to continue to compete, contrasting the case with her own doping suspension from the Tokyo Games last year.
Richardson was barred from competing at the Olympics after testing positive for marijuana during the US track and field trials in Eugene, where she won the 100 metres.
The 21-year-old Texan was subsequently suspended for 30 days, making her ineligible to participate in Japan where she had been tipped as a medal contender.
And the CAS ruling on Valieva failed to impress Richardson.
Responding on Twitter to a column in USA Today which described the Valieva decision as a “slap in the face” for clean athletes, Richardson wrote: “Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines?
“My mother died and I can’t run and was also favoured to place top 3. “The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady.” Richardson admitted using marijuana after her positive test last year, saying she took the drug after learning of her mother’s death.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency enforced her suspension while acknowledging her case was “heartbreaking on many levels.” Richardson on Monday also noted that marijuana was “definitely not a performance enhancer!!!”.
She also took aim at the fact that Valieva’s sample was provided in December but not tested until February.
“Failed in December and the world just now know however my resulted was posted within a week and my name & talent was slaughtered to the people,” Richardson wrote.
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Originally published as Winter Olympics 2022 live schedule, day 14: Tess Coady misses shot at history, Abi Harrigan withdraws from final event
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