Winter Olympics Day 5 roundup
February 14, 2018
High winds threatened to derail Day 5 in Pyeongchang as adverse conditions saw the women' biathlon and the alpine skiing postponed. Despite that, there was still plenty of drama to be had as Germany continued their fantastic Games with another medal-heavy haul.
Shaun White stole the show early in the day by claiming his third Olympic gold medal in the men's halfpipe. Japan's Ayumu Hirano pushed White all the way but the American's finale was enough to take the gold and cement his status as an Olympic legend.
With Valentine's Day on the calendar, there was plenty of Olympic love in the air. In figure skating, married couple Alexa and Chris Knierim performed on the day and fittingly for February 14th, the pair finished in 14th.
Germany's day started with a bump as Laura Dahlmeier's chance to claim another gold were put on hold by the weather. Soon after though, Eric Frenzel defended his Olympic title in the nordic combined to beat the same man he did four years ago – Japan's Akito Watabe.
More German glory was to be had in the two-man luge, where Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt squeezed into top spot 0.088 seconds ahead of the Austrian pair. In doing so the Tobis defended their Olympic title and with Germany's Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken winning bronze, it was yet another day of glory for Germany on the ice track.
In the women's 1,000-meter speed-skating event, Dutch dame Jorien ter Mors broke the Olympic record to take gold and continued a strong Netherlands outing on the ice.
The women's ice hockey group stage continued, with Unified Korea scoring their first goal of the tournament in a 4-1 defeat to Japan. The men's competition began with two shocks as both the US and OAR blew two-goal leads to lose to Slovenia and Slovakia respectively.
Curling's round robin began for both the men and the women. Canada are the defending champions in both the men's and women's curling – and both got off to winning starts in their opening matches.
Day 6 promises nine gold medals, with the rescheduled biathlon, as well as alpine Skiing and figure skating.
As it happened:
15:27 Shock time on the ice!
Unbelievable. Both the US and OAR threw two-goal leads to lose 3-2 in their opening ice hockey games in Pyeongchang. What a huge shock that is. The US lost in overtime to Slovenia after conceding an equalizer with less than two minutes left in the third period. The OAR side looked comfortable after scoring two goals in the first five minutes, but Slovakia crept back in and held on to win.
15:02 Hockey close to finishing
Halfway through the ice hockey and Slovakia are on the verge of a huge upset as they have come from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 against OAR. The US are just six minutes from the end but lead only 2-1 now against Slovenia.
14:10 GERMANY win Gold!
Wendl and Arlt just get the gold! They finish 0.088 seconds faster than the Austrian double and with that pair in third, Germany have just won gold and bronze in the men's double! What a success this team has had in the luge over the last few days.
The US are now 2-0 up against Slovenia in the men's ice hockey.
14:08 Austria back on top!
And just like that Peter Penz and Georg Fischler of Austria have stolen top spot off Eggert and Benecken. Can Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt claim gold? They're last up!
14:06 Germany lead!
Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken have stolen top spot in the men's double luge! Just the Austrians and the two Tobys left to run now...
13:54 Drama approaches!
The second run of the men's luge doubles is underway. Germany could well get a one-two finish to cap off another incredible day at the Winter Olympics. A few doubles have raced, and right now Latvian brothers Andris and Juris Sics are in the lead. Germany's two Tobys have yet to go though.
Early in the second period in the ice hockey, Slovakia have come back to tie it 2-2 while the US hold a 1-0 lead over Slovenia.
13:22 Men's hockey starts
After what feels like a long wait, the men's hockey tournament has started. Olympic Athletes from Russia are already up 2-0 against Slovakia, while the US have yet to score 15 minutes into their first period against Slovenia. It's a big day for the US too as they field the first African-American US Olympian in their team. Jordan Greenway is a man hoping to make headlines and win medals.
The tournament this year could be closer than in previous years because of the absence of star NHL power. It's an opportunity for new stars to rise from one of the Olympics proudest events.
Read more: Worth watching even without the NHL
12:45 Curling mayhem
The team curling got into full flow today with a whole host of results in both the men and the women's round robin. There are four games underway now, but quite a few have ended already. Here are the results so far:
Men's Curling:
- Sweden 9-5 Denmark
- Canada 5-3 Italy
- US 11-7 Republic of Korea
- Great Britain 6-5 Switzerland
Women's Curling:
- Japan 10-5 US
- Great Britain 10-3 OAR
- Sweden 9-3 Denmark
- People's Republic of China 7-2 Switzerland
And it's not just the skill of the athletes either, but those curlers, they have a certain style to them.
12:40 Luge doubles underway!
Are Germany going to get yet another medal in this discipline? The early signs suggest so. The Tobias pair of Wendl and Arlt set the time to beat in the first run and no one has matched them yet. Remember, this first run sets the times and the set up for the second run later on, which follows pretty much immediately afterwards.
12:30 Busy games?
While weather has played a part, there are concerns about how many spectators are at Olympic events in Pyeongchang. Has Olympic fever taken over or is it too early to tell?
Read more: How popular are the Games?
12:17 GOLD for the Netherlands!
No one was catching ter Mors there and her Olympic record is enough to win gold in the Ladies' 1,000m speed skating. Japan's Nao Kodaira was only 0.26 behind the Dutch dame, with Japan also picking up the bronze.
11:55 Go, go, gone - Olympic record!
Hirschbichler's medal hopes disappear quickly after the fittingly-named Japan's Arisa Go takes her place. Such is the nature of long track speed skating though, Go is soon pushed to fifth. Hong Zhang from China takes third, but might have had more were it not for a slip.
Boom! Then came a sensational piece of skating from Jorien ter Mors as she smashes the Ladies' 1,000m Olympic record (1:13.56) to take first with America's Brittany Bowe claiming the silver. Wust now down in bronze.
11:52 Bronze for Germany?
Gabriele Hirschbichler pushes hard in her 1,000m speed skating run and gets into a bronze medal position! Is there no end to Germany's medal haul?
Wust still leads.
11:45 Still to come!
Despite the weather delays, we still have two golds up for grabs today, and plenty of sport to enjoy.
- Ladies 1,000m Speed Skating (Live now!)
- Luge men's doubles (13:30)
- Men's ice hockey starts today (US and the OAR team play)
11:37 Speed Skating underway!
After a Dutch one-two yesterday in the men's 1,000m, it's time to see whether orange is the color again for the ladies' event. We've had 15 skaters and the Dutch dame Ireen Wust is leading the way.
10:43 Korea toppled
Despite scoring their first ever goal, Unified Korea fell to a 4-1 defeat to Japan. That spells the end of the tournament for the two women's ice hockey teams, although with talk of a Nobel Peace Prize for the unified Korea team I'm sure that won't be the last we hear about them.
10:40 GOLD for Germany!
Eric Frenzel has defended his Nordic Combined title! A win in the 10km cross-country was secured despite starting in fifth after the skin jumping section. It's heartache for Japan's Akito Watabe, who once again collects silver behind Frenzel. For Germany, this gold is already their sixth of the Games.
09:45 What a moment!
The Korean team have scored! It's their first goal of the tournament and the honor is Randi Heesoo Griffin's. What a moment for this crowd too - and just a minute later, they could have made it 2-2 but shot wide. The game is well and truly on now!
09:31 Olympic valentine
Day five at Pyeongchang is also Valentine's Day and for US figure skating couple Alexa and Chris Knierim, it was another day on the ice. They performed to "Come What May" from the movie "Moulin Rouge" and, rather fittingly for February 14th, finished in 14th spot in the pairs short programme.
08:50 On the ice!
One sport that the weather can't affect is ice hockey and Japan have just started their match against Korea. Both can't progress out of Group B as Switzerland (9 points) and Sweden (6 points) already occupy the top two spots. It's a game for pride, particularly for the unified Korean team who have conceded 16 goals already in two games! Sadly though, that doesn't look like changing as Japan have taken a 2-0 lead after the first six minutes.
08:35 Chloe mania
After her gold in the women's halfpipe, Chloe Kim appears to have one of the newest faces of these Olympic Games. Along with her success, the 17-year-old's South Korean heritage, strong family connections and quirky manner have proved extremely popular with seemingly all Olympic fans. Interest, as the statistic below shows, has certainly grown.
08:30 Slalom delayed!
The weather has struck again and the women's Alpine skiing has been moved to Friday. I wonder how much outdoor action we will get today?
08:11 Biathlon delayed!
The winds have proved too dangerous for the Biathlon today, which means Laura Dahlmeier will have to wait another day to chase her second gold of the Games. I guess that means more time looking at the first one?
Read more: Dahlmeier puts her stamp on the Games
07:52 Wonderful white
The main news overnight is the victory for Shaun White in the Men's Halfpipe. It was White's third Olympic gold and is perhaps his sweetest after a serious facial injury in October threatened to derail his preparations. His win means so far, the US have won the men's and women's halfpipe, as well as the men's slopestyle.
Read more: White soars to halfpipe glory
07:45 Weather worry
The winds have been really fierce in Pyeongchang on day five, which has created concern over the scheduling of events. Athletes, journalists and fans have been trying to find cover. This isn't the first day the strong winds have been a concern for organizers, but the hope is it's the last.
07:34 Morning sympathy
Still rubbing the sleep out of your eyes? So are we, but day five at Pyeongchang is on your side. The top events are a little later than yesterday, which gives you time to get on with your day before dipping into the action like an Olympic athlete over the finishing line. Here's a look at what is to come today in terms of medals:
- Nordic combined cross-country 10km (09.45)
- Ladies' 1,000m speed skating final (11.00)
- Women's 15km Individual Biathlon (12:05)
- Luge men's doubles (13:30)
Non medal events:
- Curling Round Robin matches (throughout the morning)
- Ice hockey - women's matches and the men's group stages start today (from 13:10)
- Men and Women skeleton training (from 7:05)
- Ski Jumping - Men's Hill Training (from 12:00)
7:02 Hockey news!
Switzerland have defeated Sweden 2-1 at the Kwandong hockey centre, in their the women’s ice hockey preliminary round Group B fixture.
6:55 Bad news, Nordic Combined normal hill competition fans!
The Nordic Combined normal hill competition has been officially delayed due to bad weather. Strong winds also robbed us of a long overdue dose of Mikaela Shiffrin. The US slalom superstar is having to wait (yet again) to demolish her rivals, with the women's alpine downhill event being pushed back to Friday.
6:33 Meanwhile in the curling...
Switzerland ladies are 1-0 up against China, while team GB are handing it to OAR. It's 3-0 in that one. The away support is looking strong, too. Cracking effort to make that trip.
6:10 Figure skating qualifiers take centre stage
First up, it's bad news for the first Indigenous Australian athlete to compete in the Games. Harley Windsor - alongside his partner Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya - failed to qualify in the pair skating short program.
5:55 Shaun White's gold was USA's 100th in the Winter Olympics
05:25 Love is in the air in Pyeongchang
Valentine's Day still happens at the Winter Olympics, apparently. This random update has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the women's slalom got cancelled and I've nothing better to be doing with my time.
4:40 British curling team defeat Switzerland
Amid all that halfpipe drama, and the short period thereafter in which I was knocking together a quick story, Britain handed it to Switzerland in the curling. Which is (obviously) just as exciting!
4:04 SHAUN WHITE WINS HALFPIPE GOLD
He scores 97.75 to wrestle the crown back from Hirano. What a finale!
GOLD: White (USA)
SILVER: Hirano (JPN)
BRONZE: James (AUS)
03:47 Time for the big 3!
It all comes down to this. The leader, Ayumu Hirano, is up first. The Japanese fluffs his lines and scores just 43.25. The top mark remains his second run tally of 95.25. Can either of the last two (including Shaun White!) top it, though?
Scotty James can't. It's back-to-back 1260s before he loses his balance. It'll be bronze for him. It's all up to White!
OMG! That was spectacular...It's going to be close!
03:48 Run three and it's all to play for...
Callister and Piironen get down without much consequence before Burgener puts his best shift in to move up to fourth at Chase Josey's expense (for now, anyway). Jake Pates is next and he merely cements eighth-spot for the time being before Josey does the same with fifth.
Switzerland's Jan Scherrer stacks-it and will finish ninth. Raiybu Katayama scores a very respectable 87, which is enough to put him fifth for now. Ben Ferguson smashes it to score 90.75. It's good enough for fourth, which is probably about par for him in this competition.
03:36 Scores after run two
Shaun White needs something HUGE on run three.
- Hirano (JPN) 95.25
- White (USA) 94.25
- James (AUS) 92.00
- Josey (USA) 87.75
- Katayama (JPN) 85.75
- Burgener (SUI) 84.00
- Ferguson (USA) 83.50
- Pates (USA) 82.25
- Scherrer (SUI) 80.50
- Callister (AUS) 62.00
- Totsuka (JPN) 39.25
- Piiroinen (FIN) 12.75
03:32 A new leader!
Ayumu Hirano takes the lead with a score of 95.25! What a run. He kicks things off with massive air before landing back-to-back 1440s. He looks delighted. Can he hold on? Scotty James up next...
But it's not up to standard and he knows it. Low eighties for the Australian. Now it's White's turn!
But Shaun White falls! He'll be gutted with that as his last run now has to be huge to reclaim top spot. No pressure then!
3:24 Back to the halfpipe final
Patrick Burgener slips and then hurries back up the mountainside.
USA's Jake Pates is up next. It's a clean run and he looks thoroughly "stoked". He scores 82.25, which isn't enough to worry any of the big guns. Chase Josey falls on his second run and scores in the low fifties.
Switzerland's Jan Scherrer then scores 82.25. Which is fine...But nothing more.
Raiybu Katayama appears to take an injury to the throat/chin on his second run and stops halfway through. He looks fit to take a third crack at it though.
USA's Ben Ferguson makes up for his earlier debacle with a solid score of 82. He seems pleased. Now for the big players...
3:10 Women's slalom is postponed!
Due to strong winds, the women's slalom final, featuring American superstar Mikeaela Shiffrin, has been postponed until Friday. Boo!
3:09 Run two is underway. Ouch!
Callister and Piiroinen start things off again but neither trouble the top spots. The big news is a heavy fall onto the pipe for Yuto Totsuka. He's in a bad way and the stretcher is called for. Whatever he's done, it's certainly ended his Olympics. Get well soon!
3:00 Medal positions after the first run...
- White (USA) 94.25
- James (Australia) 92.00
- Josey (USA) 87.75
2:57 The big dogs are loose
Japan hotshot and biggest threat to the Shaun White crown, Ayumu Hirano, emerges looking menacing. This is gonna be good, I can feel it...It isn't. He falls over. Next up is Australian judge-basher Scotty James.
The Australian smashes it! He's beating his chest and punching the air before his score's even come up. And for good reason. He scores 92 to take the lead. Now it's White's turn. The moment we've all been waiting for...
Wow! It's a superb showing from the Californian! He launches his helmet high into the air after a stylish run. 94.25 his score. It puts him in a gold medal position after the first run. Boom!
2:50 This is more like it!
Switzerland's Patrick Burgener scores a respectable yet unspectacular 84 points.
USA's Jake Pates does nothing special before compatriot Chase Josey nails his run to score 87.75 and take the lead...for now at least.
Switzerland's Jan Scherrer looked a little nervous before stacking-it on his third trick. We all saw that coming.
Japan's Raiybu Katayama went right instead of left after launching. I like that! His run looked pretty neat too. He gets 85.75 points, which would be enough for a silver if things ended now.
USA's Ben Ferguson would end up with nothing if things ended now. He gets a low score after taking a tumble.
2:32 The men's halfpipe final is underway
The 12 riders go out in reverse order of their qualification score. They get three runs each, with the best score counting.
Australia's Kent Callister kicks things off by falling on his backside. He's followed by Finland's Peetu Piiroinen, who does exactly the same thing. So does 16 year old Japanese rider Yuto Totsukar...So far, I would be in a medal position just by having stayed on my feet. (Yeah, but that's not the point...)
2:30 Most unwise Olympic criticism of the week award goes to...
2:14 Switzerland 1-2 Great Britain
Team GB lead again! There's 8 minutes to go until the men's halfpipe (featuring the 'flying tomato' himself, Sean White). I hope you'll forgive me for redirecting my attention that way for the next hour or so. I'll be sure to post curling scores up as and when I can.
1:59 Switzerland 1-1 Great Britain
I told you this would happen. Nail-biting start to proceedings.
1:52 Switzerland 0-1 Great Britain
There you go! Team GB are hungry for revenge and are off to a jolly good start. If I know Swiss curlers, which I definitely do, they won't take this lying down.
1:40 Curling Switzerland v Great Britain
Let's get this show on the road with a nice spot of curling: everybody's favorite sport for 2 weeks, once every 4 years. It really is good. Honest!
It's a tough game for Team GB: their Swiss opponents took bronze at the 2017 World Championships and beat them in the quarter-finals of the Perth Masters last month. A chance for revenge, perhaps?
00:30 Wakey wakey!
Hello again! It feels like yet another thrilling day in Pyeongchang only just ended, but we're back for another delicious slice of Winter Olympic action. There's plenty to look forward to today, including Shaun White and Mikaela Shiffrin (U-S-A, U-S-A!) going for golds, the men's double luge (which just sounds like a blast!) and the ladies' 1,000m speed skating final. Let's do this!