Roundup of Olympic gold medals from Friday, Feb. 18
Feb 17, 2022, 12:15 PM | Updated: Feb 18, 2022, 2:18 am
Gold medal winner China's Eileen Gu celebrates during the venue award ceremony for the women's halfpipe at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
BEIJING (AP) — A roundup of gold medals from Friday, Feb. 18, at the Beijing Games:
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BIATHLON
MEN’S 15KM MASS START
Johannes Thingnes Boe looked like his old self again, dominating from the start and holding his composure through the four shooting stages to win the Olympic gold medal Friday in the biathlon mass start race.
The Norwegian great threw his arms in the air as he crossed the line in 38 minutes, 14.4 seconds.
Martin Ponsiluoma of Sweden only missed one target in the last shooting and left the range chasing Boe. He earned silver, 40.3 seconds behind Boe. Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen of Norway shot clean in the last shooting and took bronze, finishing 1:12.5 behind.
WOMEN’S 12.5KM MASS START
Justine Braisaz-Bouchet moved to the front with strong, patient shooting and stayed there with her cross-country skiing to win the women’s biathlon mass start race at the Olympics.
Braisaz-Bouchet only missed once in the last standing shooting and skied out of the range in first place. She held on and crossed the line carrying a French flag in 40 minutes, 18 seconds.
Norwegian teammate Tiril Eckhoff chased hard and crossed the line for the silver, trailing Braisaz-Bouchet by 15.3 seconds.
Roeiseland took bronze, her fifth medal at the Beijing Games.
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CURLING
MEN’S
Sixteen years after he won the Olympic curling gold medal, Brad Gushue is going back to Canada with a bronze medal.
The Canadians capitalized on a missed final shot by American — and reigning Olympic champion — John Shuster in the second-to-last end that turned a one-point edge into an insurmountable 8-5 lead.
Sweden and Great Britain will play for gold Saturday.
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FREESTYLE SKIING
MEN’S SKICROSS
Ryan Regez led a 1-2 finish by Switzerland in the Olympic skicross final at Genting Snow Park.
Regez grabbed the lead early and never relinquished it along a course filled with bumps, jumps and rolling terrain. He raised his arms in triumph shortly after crossing the finish line.
His teammate, 36-year-old Alex Fiva, finished with the silver medal and Russian athlete Sergey Ridzik grabbed the bronze.
WOMEN’S HALFPIPE
Eileen Gu captured gold in the women’s ski halfpipe final on a breezy and cold morning to become the first action-sports athlete to earn three medals at the same Winter Olympics.
Gu warmed up with a score of 93.25 on her first run, before going even higher and even bigger to post a 95.25 her second. For her third and final pass, and with the contest locked up, she took a nice leisurely stroll.
The standout American-born freestyle skier who represents China already possessed a gold from big air and a silver from slopestyle.
Defending Olympic champion Cassie Sharpe of Canada finished second and her teammate Rachael Karker earned the bronze. Teenager Hanna Faulhaber was the top American finisher in sixth place.
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SPEEDSKATING
MEN’S 1000M
Thomas Krol won gold in the 1,000 meters, giving the Netherlands its third straight Olympic speedskating title in the event.
Krol was timed in 1 minute, 7.92 seconds.
Laurent Dubreuil of Canada took silver. Haavard Lorentzen, the 2018 silver medalist, earned bronze.
The Netherlands earned its fifth gold medal in 12 events in Beijing with one day of competition remaining.
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