The Latest: IOC: Questions on extending Olympics ‘premature’
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) The Latest on the Pyeongchang Olympics (all times local):
1:10 p.m.
It’s only Day 3, but the International Olympic Committee is already getting asked if the Pyeongchang Games will have to be extended.
High winds have postponed the first two Alpine events. The games close Feb. 25 – almost two weeks away.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams laughed at the notion of an extension. He says, ”There’s plenty of time. There’s reserved space in the competition. It’s just a touch premature at this stage.”
Adams describes the delays as typical for Alpine skiing. He says the IOC would never ”take a decision that would put into jeopardy the safety of athletes.”
Organizing committee spokesman Sung Baik-you says the frigid temperatures and gusty winds will moderate later in the week.
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12:55 p.m.
The United States has earned the bronze medal in team figure skating. It clinched third even before its ice dancers took the ice.
Canada already was assured of the gold and the Russians had taken silver heading into the final discipline. The Americans led Italy by four points, and when the Italian ice dancers, Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte, did not score well enough to win the free dance, the U.S. had replicated its third-place finish in the event at Sochi.
That pretty much left Maia and Alex Shibutani’s program as an exhibition.
The medals winners were the same as in 2014, except the Canadians had moved up a spot, and the Russians – the Olympic Athletes from Russia this time around – won gold.
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12:45 p.m.
Russian skater Alina Zagitova says she’s delighted after blowing away the competition in the team event free skate.
The 15-year-old skating star scored a personal-best 158.08 points – 2.38 off Evgenia Medvedeva’s world record. She skated to ”Don Quixote” to win by a 20-point margin, underlining her credentials as a challenger for the individual gold medal later in the games.
”I’m really happy with my skate,” Zagitova said. ”I was able to cope with my nerves and I’m very pleased that I didn’t let my team down.”
Zagitova proved she could beat Medvedeva at last month’s European championships and hopes to do the same at the Olympics, but says there’s no rivalry with her training partner. Instead, she says ”we’ve really bonded during these competitions.”
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12:05 p.m.
Canada has clinched the gold medal in the team figure skating competition.
The Canadians have 63 points through the men’s and women’s free skates, with the free dance still to come, but the second-place Russians have 58 – and the most they could earn is four more points.
Russian Alina Zagitova won the women’s free skate, topping even her performance in taking the European title last month with a season-best 158.08 points – more than 20 ahead of American Mirai Nagasu.
With Zagitova’s flawless performance, the Russians also clinched the silver.
Nagasu had a personal-best 137.53 points, narrowly edging Canada’s Gabrielle Daleman, who had 137.14, for third. Nagasu became just the third woman to land a triple axel at the Olympics, and the first American woman.
The United States has 53 points, four more than Italy, with the bronze on the line heading into the free dance.
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11:45 a.m.
Canada will compete for an Olympic gold medal after sweeping to an 8-4 victory over Norway in the mixed doubles curling semifinal.
Canada went into the seventh end, or round, of Monday’s match leading 5-4 after a tight game. Canada’s Kaitlyn Lawes then threw the defining shot of the game, knocking Norway’s stone out of the center of the house and leaving three Canadian rocks close to the target. That gave Canada an 8-4 lead, and Norway was unable to come back from the deficit.
Switzerland and a team of Russian athletes will face off later Monday in a semifinal match. The winner of that game will play Canada in a gold medal match on Tuesday. Norway will play the loser for bronze.
Canada’s John Morris says it was a high pressure game, but that’s what he lives for.
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11:30 a.m.
Mirai Nagasu has become the first American woman – and third overall – to land a triple axel in the Olympics, accomplishing the rare feat in the women’s free skate at the team competition in Pyeongchang.
The 24-year-old from Montebello, California, skated first of the five women and led off her routine with the triple axel just 21 seconds in. The feat drew huge cheers from the crowd at the Gangneung Ice Arena.
Japan’s Midori Ito and Mao Asada also landed triple axels during the Olympics.
Nagasu completed a flawless routine, pumping both fists as she finished and got a standing ovation from the excited crowd. She received a personal-best score of 137.53.
Going into the women’s free skate, the Canadians were first in the team competition, followed by the Russians in second and Americans in third. The ice dance free skate is still to come.
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11:15 a.m.
Another 19 cases of norovirus have been reported at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
That brings the total confirmed cases to 177 since Feb. 1. Of the new cases, three are among security staff at a youth training center where most of those who got sick are staying. Another 11 cases were confirmed in Pyeongchang and five in Gangneung, the city where the ice sports are taking place.
Authorities say 68 of the 177 people who got sick have recovered and been released from quarantine.
Earlier in the Olympics, about 1,200 security workers were sequestered over norovirus fears, forcing the military to step in to help with security.
Norovirus is a common, infectious bug that causes unpleasant symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting but doesn’t require medical treatment.
There are signs all over the Olympics reminding people to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer.
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11 a.m.
Canada is moving closer to winning the Pyeongchang Olympic team figure skating competition despite a mediocre performance by 10-time national champion Patrick Chan in the men’s free skate.
Chan scored a season-best 179.75, but he fell once, put his hand to the ice on another jump and cut short a combination. His artistry and higher-scoring elements boosted his mark significantly.
The skating was generally uninspiring in the men’s free skate, with Chan getting the highest score, followed by Russian Mikhail Kolyada, who received a score of 173.57. American Adam Rippon had the third-highest mark with 172.98.
The Canadians have 55 points, seven ahead of the Russians, heading into the women’s free skate.
The U.S is third with 44, two ahead of Italy.
Rippon, replacing U.S. champion Nathan Chen, had a fluid and steady routine, but his score was hurt by not hitting a quad.
The women’s and ice dance free skates are still to come.
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9:30 a.m.
The final events of the team figure skating competition are set to get underway at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Canada is ahead going into Monday morning’s events, followed by the Russians. The U.S. is in third but just a point ahead of Italy.
The Canadians have 45 points, six ahead of the Russians, heading into the men’s, women’s and ice dance free skate programs. The U.S. has 35 points.
Patrick Chan, Gabrielle Daleman and ice dance dynamos Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will skate for Canada.
Alina Zagitova will handle the free skate for the Russians, while Mikhail Kolyada tries to rebound from his dismal short program. Dmitri Soloviev and Ekaterina Bobrova will do the ice dance.
The U.S. team is making two substitutions with Mirai Nagasu in for Bradie Tennell and Adam Rippon replacing Nathan Chen. Alex and Maia Shibutani will be back for the dance.
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9:15 a.m.
The women’s giant slalom featuring Mikaela Shiffrin has been rescheduled for Thursday, the same day as the men’s downhill at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
The first two events on the Alpine skiing schedule were postponed because of strong wind. Both will be contested Thursday but on different hills. The women will compete at the Yongpyong Alpine Center used for technical races, and the men about 30 miles (50 kilometers) away at the Jeongseon Alpine Center used for speed races.
The women’s giant slalom, which was supposed to be Shiffrin’s debut at these Winter Games, was called off about three hours before it was supposed to begin Monday. The same happened with the men’s downhill on Sunday.
Now Shiffrin’s first race in South Korea will be Wednesday in the slalom, where she is the defending Olympic champion.
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