BEIJING — SILVER BY A SKATE BOOT
When Ivanie Blondin passed Irene Schouten on the final lap in speedskating's mass start, she thought for sure the top podium spot was hers for the taking. The Canadian looked poised to claim her second gold medal of the Beijing Olympics when she was a stride ahead of Schouten on the final turn. But with just metres to go, the Dutch star caught the Canadian and edged her by a skate boot at the finish line. "Schouten had an incredible race and an incredible last lap. I did think I had her for sure," said Blondin. "When I passed her on the inside on the backstretch I was like, 'This is game over. This is mine.'" Valérie Maltais, who led much of the race, finished sixth. In the men's mass start, Toronto's Jordan Belchos was 13th and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que., came in 15th.
TAKE A BOW(MAN)
Calgary's Noah Bowman was proud of how he skied and the effort he put forth in difficult, windy conditions in the men's freeski halfpipe. But the 29-year-old couldn't deny that coming so close to a podium — again — stung. Bowman finished fourth in the event, missing out on bronze by two points after a solid second run. He finished fifth in 2014 at Sochi and again in 2018 at Pyeongchang. "It's definitely tough. I was here to give it everything I had and I can confidently say I did that," he said. "So I'm proud of myself but it's really hard to be here and off the podium again." Nico Porteous won gold for New Zealand. Calgary's Brendan Mackay was ninth in his Olympic debut. Simon D'Artois of Whistler, B.C., was 10th.
SLIDING ON ITS SIDE
Canadian pilot Cynthia Appiah and brakewoman Dawn Richardson Wilson were fortunate to avoid serious injury after crashing during the third heat of the women's bobsled event at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre. The sled flipped over in the track's final corner but the Canadians amazingly managed to finish the heat, with the sled on its side, and ended up placing eighth overall. "I know that crash looked a lot worse than it was. I was more upset that the crash happened than anything. Got a little bit of a shoulder bruise, but all things considered it could have been worse and I'm glad that's the worst of it," said Appiah.
THE WIND OF CHANGE
Wind and cold wreaked havoc in the mountains, disrupting three Olympic events on the penultimate day of the Games. Strong gusts and wind chills down to minus-32 C prompted delays and altered plans at several outdoor events. Alpine skiing's mixed team parallel was pushed back a day because of the strong winds. The men's 50-kilometre cross-country ski race was trimmed to 30 kilometres to ensure athletes were not outside too long. And strong winds at Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park made it difficult to land high-scoring tricks in the men's freeski halfpipe. Several competitors took hard spills and the icy gusts broke some television light stands. "Conditions were really tough and it's frustrating that we don't quite get to show the world our top level of competition here," said Bowman.
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MEDAL APPEAL DISMISSED
The figure skaters who participated in the team event will head home empty-handed after arbitrators rejected a last-ditch request by the American team to have their silver medals awarded before the end of the Olympics. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said early Sunday in Beijing that it dismissed the appeal by the nine skaters to have a medal ceremony before the closing ceremonies. The results in the figure skating team competition, won by Russia, are considered provisional due to an ongoing doping investigation into ROC skater Kamila Valieva, who could be disqualified by virtue of a positive drug test from before the Olympics. The second- and third-place United States and Japanese teams have been offered holdover souvenirs while waiting to see if their medals are upgraded, but prominent voices have advocated for the athletes to get their moment on the podium. Canadian pairs skaters Vanessa James and Eric Radford — who placed 12th at Saturday’s pairs event — are among those who may or may not ultimately get the bronze for their performance in the team event. “I think every athlete deserves to have a medal ceremony,” James said. “It’s an Olympic experience.”
— with files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2022.
The Canadian Press
