Olympics Live: ‘Blade Angels’ begin gold quest in women’s figure skating

On Tuesday, inclement weather conditions impacted the qualification rounds for both men’s and women’s snowboard slopestyle and aerials.

On Tuesday, the U.S. squad comprising Ethan Cepuran, Casey Dawson, and Emery Lehman concluded their race 4.51 seconds adrift of the Italian gold medalists.

Dawson and Lehman were previously members of the American trio that earned a bronze medal four years prior in Beijing.

The United States now holds a 5-2 record, occupying second place after seven matches. Their next opponent is Great Britain on Wednesday, followed by their final round-robin match on Thursday versus Switzerland.

The American women established a lead against Denmark on Tuesday by scoring three points across the fifth and sixth ends. The Danes, requiring significant scores, could not close the gap, and the U.S. secured victory with a four-point advantage in the eighth end, prompting a concession from the Danish team.

The lineup for the men’s hockey quarterfinals is almost complete, with qualification playoff games unfolding on Tuesday.

In initial contests, Germany triumphed over France 5-1, and Switzerland eliminated Italy with a 3-0 victory.

February 18th, Thursday
6:10 a.m. ET: Slovakia faces Germany
10:40 a.m. ET: Canada plays Czechia or Denmark
12:10 p.m. ET: Finland competes against Switzerland
3:10 p.m. ET: The U.S. takes on Latvia or Sweden

Seeding will be re-evaluated following the quarterfinal matchups.

The ice hockey rink perimeter at Milano Santagiulia Arena is set to undergo a visual alteration for the duration of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

The International Ice Hockey Federation intends to switch the color of the rink-side boards to a brighter hue, based on input received from various competing squads and national organizations, as per Emily Kaplan of ESPN.

While the IIHF customarily performs maintenance on the boards to address damage and general wear halfway through a competition, this specific modification addresses worries that the current darker turquoise shade deviates from the standard appearance in professional European and NHL venues.

Specifically, the darker tone has been observed to hinder puck visibility as it moves along or above the boards. Typically, NHL and European professional hockey rinks feature white boards, even when displaying advertisements.

Initially, the notion of the Winter Olympics was straightforward. During the early 1920s, a proposal emerged from the International Olympic Committee to dedicate a week to snow and ice sports. By 1964, participation had expanded to over 1,000 competitors across 34 disciplines.

Thirty years subsequent, the Winter Games adopted a revised timetable, separating them from the Summer Olympics calendar. In recent times, they have incorporated contemporary, youth-oriented sports such such as snowboarding and freestyle skiing.

Nevertheless, these modifications have not addressed a fundamental challenge intrinsic to winter athletic events: with the exception of a few athletes predominantly hailing from mountainous European nations, the Winter Games exhibit a deficit in variety and prominent figures. Even within the United States, only exceptional athletes like Lindsey Vonn or Shaun White manage to capture widespread public attention.

This necessitates an adjustment to the Winter Olympics’ selection criteria to incorporate the globe’s most beloved winter sport.

It is time to relocate basketball from the Summer Games to its rightful place.

American bobsled athlete Elana Meyers Taylor has finally secured her inaugural Olympic gold medal after a thrilling late surge in Monday’s monobob final at the Milan Cortina Games.

The 41-year-old mother of two now shares the distinction with speedskater Bonnie Blair for the highest number of Winter Olympic medals won by a U.S. woman, totaling six. Additionally, she has become the oldest Winter Olympian to achieve a gold medal in a solo discipline, surpassing a record established by Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl only days prior.

Renowned Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn is progressing in her recuperation following several surgical procedures on her leg. On Monday, Vonn shared a video from her hospital room, featuring segments of her post-operative recovery.

The footage depicts Vonn consuming food, having her hair cleaned, and undergoing muscle stretching.

Tuesday saw the cancellation of men’s aerials owing to snow, a precursor to subsequent events. The women’s aerials, initially slated for a later time, were likewise called off on Tuesday due to the snowfall.

The U.S. squad required a substantial rally to draw even with China in men’s curling, only to squander their efforts in the decisive final end. After scoring three points to level the score in the ninth end, Team USA conceded defeat on the game’s ultimate stone.

The tenth end was marked by numerous errors from the American side, which China capitalized on with the advantage of the hammer. Although the Americans appeared poised to gain two points before China’s final throw, Xiaoming Xu of China successfully removed both U.S. stones from the scoring area with his last stone, securing an 8-5 victory for China.

Before this, the U.S. had overcome a 5-2 disadvantage in the ninth end, scoring three points to enter the tenth tied. This outcome was particularly disheartening given their initial recovery.

While snow is beneficial for ski slopes, it poses challenges for events where competitors launch into the air. In Livigno, the planned venue for today’s freestyle skiing aerials qualifying, continuous snowfall has significantly reduced visibility. Consequently, the men’s qualifying round has already been called off, and the women’s event has been pushed back. The situation remains changeable, and further updates will be provided.

The women’s slopestyle competition is slated for 7 a.m. ET, with our reporter Dan Wolken at the site indicating that a “decision on that will be made later.”

Poulin holds the Olympic career record for goals scored in women’s ice hockey – yet, will she secure a gold medal when facing the United States?

Ice skating has been featured in the Olympics for a period exceeding the existence of the Winter Games themselves. Indeed, men’s, women’s, and pairs skating competitions occurred during the 1908 Summer Olympics, whereas the Winter Games first appeared in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Even ice dancing boasts a half-century history, having debuted in Innsbruck in 1976.

Team skating, conversely, is a relatively recent addition, introduced only in Sochi in 2014. National squads, now in the fourth cycle of team competition, are still determining optimal roster constructions to enhance prospects for both collective and personal achievements.

The less-than-obvious reality of the team skate is its substantial influence on a skater’s individual showing. Given that the team event kicks off the Olympic schedule, and the Games are conducted within a condensed timeframe, the physical and psychological demands of the team event can profoundly impact individual competitions, potentially derailing personal aspirations.

Post-event, two types of content Olympians emerge: those who rejoice in earning a medal, and those content merely to participate. Medal winners return home with accolades and renown; others find fulfillment in realizing their aspirations, even if it took, for example, an additional quarter-century to achieve.

During Monday night’s pairs figure skating competition, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kiahara of Japan secured gold, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia took silver, and Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany claimed bronze. American pairs Emily Chan and Spencer Howe placed sixth, while Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea finished eighth. Each pair found happiness uniquely, yet none quite matched the joy of Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek, whose narrative is unparalleled.

At 42, Stellato-Dudek epitomizes perseverance, resolve, determination—any term for the drive to pursue Olympic ambitions even after an extended hiatus. As a promising junior skater, with a silver medal at the 2000 World Junior Championships to her name, her initial objective was the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. However, recurring injuries led to her retirement in 2001, seemingly concluding her figure skating journey for 16 years.

Yet, an inner calling, an unresolved matter, persisted. During a team-building activity in her mid-thirties, she unexpectedly responded to the query, “What would you do if you were guaranteed success?” with “I would win an Olympic gold medal.” Subsequently, she resolved to make another attempt at the Olympics, facing skepticism from almost all sides. After all, few Olympians resume skating in their mid-thirties.