Beijing Winter Olympics: Australia crashes out in brutal snowboard carnage

Australia entered the snowboard cross event with high hopes of bringing home a medal but the high hopes were almost instantly crushed.

It was not a great day for the Aussies as three of our four men’s snowboard cross team crashed out in qualifying for the event.

PyeongChang silver medallist Jarryd Hughes had a horror day, crashing out of the event early, while only Cam Bolton could get through to the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, an Aussie Olympian has apologised for “crying like a b****” after a moment of heartbreak that brutally played out on live TV on Wednesday.

‘I’m so sorry’: Aussies’ brutal wipe out

Australia had high hopes of a monster snowboard cross campaign but just one of our four stars was able to make it through to the quarterfinals of the event.

It was a tough day as the seeding runs didn’t quite go Australia’s way as Cam Bolton in eighth was the best ranked Aussie, while Adam Dickson (15th), Adam Lambert (17th) and Jarryd Hughes (28th) left the Aussies with plenty of work to do.

It didn’t get better after the qualification round as only Cam Bolton could make it to the quarterfinals.

Dickson had a strong run in his race but was beaten on the inside of one of the corners by American Jake Vedder, while Hughes had a shocker of a race, crashing out as he went around a corner.

And it didn’t get any better with Bolton unable to hold on after coming back into the race after a slow start.

He finished fourth in his quarterfinal.

Hughes, who won silver in PyeongChang in 2018, was left close to tears after the result and apologised to Australia.

Hughes struggled to get going. Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

“It was nice to get a hug from everybody — holding back tears — I’m just really disappointed with my result,” Hughes told Channel 7. “I was happy with my riding ability. I got a bit unlucky with some wind in time trials. But I was riding well.

“It has been a lot to get back, especially from surgery. But I have been feeling great the last couple of weeks. It finally felt like it was all coming together.

“But I was very lucky. I rang (Lydia Lassila) up very last minute and got a lot of good advice from her.

“I couldn’t put it together and I’m just so sorry.”

When told he didn’t need to apologise, Hughes added that it was “not what I came to do” and it was a “crap result”.

However he did say that he might be around for the next Olympics.

The news got so much worse for Hughes as well as he was left out of the mixed team event after his performance, despite he and Belle Brockhoff being the reigning world champions in the event.

And to rub salt into those wounds, even if Australia was granted a second team — which they will find out at 4pm on Friday — Hughes won’t even be in that team.

Australia’s top team will be Brockhoff, who finished fourth in the women’s event, and Bolton after his quarterfinal run.

If Australia has a second pair, it will be Josie Baff and Adam Lambert.

🇦🇺 has selected triple Olympians Belle Brockhoff & Cameron Bolton to combine for the newest Olympic event - snowboard cross mixed team.

In the event that 🇦🇺 has 2nd team confirmed, the 2 athletes selected are Josie Baff and Adam Lambert

confirmation of 2nd team at 4pm Friday

— Jason Richardson (@JaseRicho) February 10, 2022

America loses it for ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ superstar

Nathan Chen demolished the competition to win Olympic figure skating gold in Beijing Thursday, easily beating twice defending champion and fierce rival Yuzuru Hanyu, who finished fourth.

The American scored 218.63 on his free programme Thursday, building on his world-record-breaking short programme score from Tuesday to finish over 20 points ahead of second-placed Yuma Kagiyama of Japan.

Nathan Chen is heading for GOAT status. Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

As the music died, Chen dropped his head back in exalted relief. Olympic gold had been the only major prize that had so far eluded the three-time world champion.

Skating to “Rocket Man” by Elton John, 22-year-old Chen lived up to his nickname “Quad King” in a routine in which he landed five quadruple jumps, to rapturous cheers from the crowd.

Hanyu, who finished behind his younger compatriots Kagiyama, who is just 18, and Shoma Uno, had looked in trouble as he fell twice in his routine earlier.

His free programme score of 188.06 was far short of his all-time best of 212.99.

“Honestly, it feels like everything has gone wrong this time around, but I did my best,” Hanyu said.

After a shaky start on Tuesday in the short programme, where he finished eighth, the Olympic champion from the 2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics needed to make up a gap of 18.82 points to beat Chen.

He first attempted a quadruple axel - a jump no skater has ever landed in competition but which he had insisted he would perform at the Beijing Games.

He failed to land it and fell to the ice.

He quickly rose but fell once more, before carrying on his “Heaven and Earth” programme with his usual polished precision.

Looking crushed as the music died down, 27-year-old Hanyu recovered and skated off the rink with his head held high, the crowd still cheering him.

“I think I did everything I could. I definitely landed a better axel than the previous time,” Hanyu said.

“Part of me feels I could’ve done it better, but that’s the best I could pull off, I think.”

—

Kerry nails figure skating routine

Australian flag-bearer Brendan Kerry was on the verge of tears after being informed of his score in the men’s single free skating event on Thursday afternoon AEDT.

The 27-year-old smashed his personal best with a clean program in Beijing, registering a score of 160.01 to briefly occupy top spot in the standings.

“I’m so, so happy,” he later told Channel 7.

“It wasn’t just a season’s best, it was a personal best by a long way ... I don’t really have words for it.”

Brendan Kerry was thrilled with his effort. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Kerry ultimatley slipped out of medal contention, but regardless, it was a solid performance from the Aussie hero.

“He’s struggled in the free programs for a number of years,” Australian great Belinda Noonan said on Channel 7.

“He has laid down the best one of his entire career.

“Such beautiful technique. His upper body stays absolutely rock solid all the way through. He was in the zone.”

He previously placed 20th at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, but his worst possible result in Beijing can only be 17th.

Aussie Winter Games flag-bearer Brendan Kerry just put in the performance of his life to briefly top the men’s figure skating at the Beijing Games. Will be reeled in by Nathan Chen et al but what a stage to smash his personal best. #beijingolympics#figureskatingpic.twitter.com/4XDZoISbUT

— Ian Ransom (@MyRansomNotes) February 10, 2022

Day 6 schedule (Aussies in action)

From 12.30pm — Figure skating, men’s single skating free skate (Brendan Kerry)

From 12.30pm — Skeleton, men’s heat 1 (Nick Timmings)

From 2pm — Skeleton, men’s heat 2 (Nick Timmings)

From 2.15pm — Snowboarding, men’s snowboard cross qualifying (Jarryd Hughes, Adam Lambert, Adam Dickson & Cam Bolton)

From 6pm — Cross country skiing, women’s 10km classic (Jessica Yeaton & Casey Wright)

From 6.15pm — Snowboarding, men’s snowboard cross finals (Jarryd Hughes, Adam Lambert, Adam Dickson & Cam Bolton)

* All times AEDT

Text messages reveal Aussie Olympic truth

The lack of snowfall in Australia means the nation’s sporting fans aren’t well accustomed to the Winter Olympic events in Beijing.

Although Australia typically places highly on the Summer Games medal tally, gold medals in the Winter Olympics are few and far between.

But despite this, Australian sporting fans have been absolutely captivated by the wild events in China.

From the curling feats of Aussie duo of Dean Hewitt and Tahli Gill to the rush of snowboarding, Australians have been glued to their television screens this week.

Do we know all the rules? Absolutely not — even some of the Channel 7 commentators have been a touch out of their depth.

Former Hockeyroos and AFLW star Georgie Parker shared a text message exchange on Twitter that perfectly encapsulates Australia’s dumbfounded awe with the Beijing Games.

Georgie Parker's text message exchange.

American star secures nation’s first gold

US ski star Mikaela Shiffrin’s Beijing Olympics threatened to turn into a winter nightmare, but there was long-awaited redemption for snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis as she won Team USA’s first gold of the Games on Wednesday.

Six gold medals were up for grabs on the fifth day of full competition in the Chinese capital, but Shiffrin’s wait goes on in her faltering pursuit of a career third Olympic gold in alpine skiing.

The 26-year-old made a shock early exit from the giant slalom on Monday and with the pressure on, suffered the same fate in the slalom, with rival Petra Vlhova of Slovakia taking full advantage.

Vlhova produced a stunning second leg to clock a combined total of 1min 44.98sec over the two runs and edge Austria’s reigning world champion Katharina Liensberger into silver by eight-hundredths of a second.

In stark contrast, Shiffrin slid wide after just a handful of gates before skiing out in the first leg, then plonked herself down on the snow, head in hands.

Mikaela Shiffrin of Team United States. Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

The American said she felt “pretty awful”, although added: “But it won’t feel awful for ever. I just feel pretty low right now.”

Shiffrin will compete in three more individual events in Beijing, with the super-G on Friday, followed by the downhill on Tuesday and alpine combined on February 17.

Olympic storm explodes, 15yo Russian named

The medals ceremony for the team figure skating at the Winter Games was delayed by a legal issue, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday, before reports emerged of a doping issue within the Russian team.

The Russian Olympic Committee or ROC — known as such because Russia’s anthem, flag and name were banned from major competitions as a result of the nation’s brazen state sanctioned doping program — won the gold medal with the United States taking silver and Japan bronze, but the ceremony was removed from its scheduled slot on Wednesday.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams cited a “legal consultation” with the sport’s governing body, the International Skating Union, as the reason for the delay.

Kamila Valieva of Team ROC. Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

As mystery continued to swirl around the situation, reports emerged on Thursday morning (AEDT) of a positive drug test by a skater within the ROC team.

Respected Olympics website Inside The Games exclusively reported 15-year-old sensation Kamila Valieva was at the centre of the legal issue responsible for the hold-up.

According to USA Today, one of the skaters on Russia’s six-person team had tested positive to a banned substance and Russian media then reported Valieva was that skater.

Russian newspapers RBC and Kommersant said Valieva had tested positive to Trimetazidine, a drug used to treat angina — a chest pain caused by lack of blood flow to the heart.

The Kremlin was asked about the situation and spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Let’s, for the sake of understanding, wait for some explanations either from our sports officials or from the IOC.”

— with AFP