Olympics: Meyers Taylor Wins Monobob Gold; Gu Takes Freeski Silver; Team USA to Hockey Final.

Post-event, athletes at the Olympics display varying degrees of joy: some are thrilled by their medal wins, while others find contentment simply in participation. Those who medal achieve accolades and recognition, whereas others derive satisfaction from fulfilling long-held aspirations, even if it took an extended period, perhaps a quarter-century, to reach them.

During Monday evening’s pairs figure skating competition, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kiahara of Japan secured the gold, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava from Georgia took silver, and Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin earned bronze. American duos Emily Chan and Spencer Howe placed sixth, with Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea finishing eighth. Each pair experienced happiness uniquely, yet none quite matched the profound contentment of Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek, whose journey is truly singular.

At 42 years old, Stellato-Dudek exemplifies perseverance, resolve, and tenacity – a relentless determination to pursue her Olympic ambitions even after a prolonged hiatus. As a promising junior skater, holding a silver from the 2000 World Junior Championships, her initial focus was the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. However, recurring injuries led to her retirement in 2001, seemingly closing her figure skating chapter for sixteen years.

Yet, an unresolved feeling lingered within her. During a corporate team-building activity in her mid-thirties, she unexpectedly declared her ambition to win an Olympic gold medal if failure were impossible. This led her to pursue another Olympic bid, a path that required overcoming skepticism from nearly everyone, as very few athletes resume Olympic training in their mid-thirties.

Canada secured its place in Thursday’s women’s ice hockey gold medal match by overcoming Switzerland with a 2-1 victory on Monday.

Following an initial period without goals, the Canadian team established a 2-0 advantage in the second frame, thanks to Marie-Philip Poulin. Switzerland, however, halved the lead with an early third-period goal from Rahel Enzler.

The Swiss squad sustained offensive pressure in Canada’s zone during the final fifteen minutes, even withdrawing goaltender Andrea Braendli for an extra attacker with two minutes remaining. Nevertheless, an illegal hit penalty against Ivana Wey nullified any potential strategic benefit.

The showdown for the gold medal between Canada and the United States is scheduled for Thursday at 1:10 p.m. ET. Earlier that day, at 8:40 a.m. ET, Switzerland will compete against Sweden for the bronze medal.

The American team has claimed gold in women’s monobob, with Elana Meyers Taylor taking the top position. The United States will also feature two athletes on the medal stand, as Kaillie Humphries secured the bronze.

Meyers Taylor completed the event’s four heats with a cumulative time of 3:57.93, edging out Germany’s Laura Nolte (3:57.97) by a mere four-tenths of a second. Humphries achieved her bronze medal with an aggregate time of 3:58.05.

Fellow American Kaysha Love secured seventh place, ensuring three U.S. competitors were among the top eight finalists.

Megan Oldham of Canada clinched the gold medal in the women’s freestyle big air event on Monday, meaning China’s Eileen Gu, the 2022 gold medalist, received the silver medal.

Oldham accumulated a total of 180.75 points after her initial two out of three attempts, making her final run unnecessary for victory. Gu’s concluding run resulted in a total score of 179.00, but Oldham’s gold was already confirmed before her last descent.

Flora Tabanelli, representing Italy, earned the bronze medal with a score of 178.25.

The American women’s curling squad suffered their second defeat in Session 8 of the round-robin stage, losing to host nation Italy by a score of 7-2 on Monday.

With a 4-2 record, Team USA shares the second-place standing in the round-robin with Switzerland. Sweden leads the group undefeated at 6-0. A victory for Korea against China on Monday could create a three-way tie for second. The top four teams will advance to the semifinals.

The United States team has two remaining games in the round-robin series, scheduled to play Denmark on Tuesday and Great Britain on Wednesday.

Inclement weather persistently disrupted Monday’s competition calendar, leading to the official cancellation of the men’s super team ski jumping final round because of harsh conditions.

The scores from the concluding round were nullified, with the final standings based on the results after the second round.

The Austrian team claimed the gold medal with 568.7 points, trailed by Poland (547.3) and Norway (538.0).

Team USA eventually registered a point, clinching the sixth end with a 1-0 score.

Nonetheless, Tara Peterson’s team must significantly increase their offensive output in the remaining two ends to force the match into extra ends.

Following a postponement caused by a snowstorm at Livigno Snow Park, the women’s freeski big air final has been rescheduled to proceed at 2:45 p.m. ET.

The American women’s curling squad finds themselves in a more challenging position after five ends, currently trailing 4-0. Despite holding the hammer, Team USA has failed to capitalize on opportunities due to multiple inaccurate throws.

Similar to Sunday’s match against China where they were down 4-1 after five ends, the U.S. team must begin executing their shots effectively when chances arise.

Can the American women’s curling team mount yet another rally? Team USA currently faces a 3-0 deficit after host nation Italy scored two points in the fourth end.

Both Cory Thiesse and Tara Peterson failed to convert chances for double points with their respective throws. Marta Lo Deserto skillfully executed her final throw, capitalizing on the U.S. team’s error to secure two points.

Both the United States and Italy saw two initial ends of their round-robin contest on Monday result in blank scores.

However, the Italian team eventually secured a 1-0 advantage in the third end, following a flawless throw by Stefania Constantini. Team USA was compelled to relinquish the steal and yield the point.

Monday’s ongoing weather problems led to the postponement of the women’s freeski big air final at Livigno Snow Park.

According to Dan Wolken of Yahoo Sports, reporting live from Livigno, “The conditions outside are severe… Visibility is non-existent, with snow swirling horizontally.”

Reports indicate the event is not expected to commence before 3 p.m. ET.

Following three heats in the women’s monobob event, American bobsled athletes presently occupy the second and third rankings.

Elena Meyers Taylor is currently poised to claim a silver medal, while Kaillie Armbruster Humphries is positioned for bronze, with two more runs remaining. Kaysha Love is also contending for a podium spot, currently in fifth place.

MILAN — While the Swedish team displayed strong performances in Milan, their semifinal match against the United States presented a formidable obstacle. Sweden was listed as a 28-to-1 underdog for an outright win, according to BetMGM. A Swedish triumph would have been as unexpected in women’s hockey as the New York Giants’ “helmet catch” against the New England Patriots or Buster Douglas’s upset victory over Mike Tyson.

However, such an upset did not occur, and as anticipated, the U.S. squad advances to contend for the gold medal, an honor they last secured in 2018.

The women’s gold medal contest is scheduled for Thursday, February 19th.

Atle Lie McGrath appeared well-positioned to secure a slalom medal on Monday, yet the demanding course conditions intervened. After an error at a gate, McGrath prematurely concluded his run and visibly demonstrated his displeasure by tossing his poles before exiting the course.

Television coverage showed McGrath subsequently lying in the snow adjacent to the course boundary fence.

This outcome was particularly disheartening for McGrath, especially given that he recorded the quickest time in the event’s first run earlier on Monday.

The slalom competition proved exceptionally challenging during Monday morning’s early hours. Approximately half of the participating athletes recorded a “Did Not Finish” status during the first run.

The day began with significant snowfall, likely contributing to the numerous errors and tumbles experienced by the competitors.

Among those who fell in the initial run was River Radamus of Team USA, consequently preventing him from advancing further in the event.

Having placed fourth in the initial heat, Team USA demonstrated improvement in the second heat of the two-man bobsled event. Following their attempt, the American squad temporarily held the leading position in that heat.

However, maintaining this lead proved challenging, as the three German teams — each having secured a top-three finish in the first heat — were still to compete.

Predictably, all three German teams surpassed the U.S., relegating Team USA to fourth place once more in the second heat.

The third and fourth heats are scheduled for Tuesday. Team USA retains a chance for a medal, though Germany’s performance could be exceptionally tough to beat.

Kristen Santos-Griswold will not be among the medalists in speed skating. The American competitor was unsuccessful in her quarterfinal heat, placing third and consequently being knocked out of the competition.

Santos-Griswold participated in the third quarterfinal race, where she trailed closely behind Xandra Velzeboer from the Netherlands and Gilli Kim of Korea.

Given that Santos-Griswold was the 1000m champion at the 2024 World Championship, her early elimination on Monday was a notable letdown.