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The 2026 Milan Cortina Games continue today with seven medal events, including men's snowboard halfpipe, men's 10000m speedskating and women's snowboard cross.
Thursday was another eventful day at the Winter Games, headlined by 17-year-old Choi Gaon upsetting Chloe Kim to win gold in the women's snowboarding halfpipe final, earning a sparkling 90.25 on her final run.
One of the other big headlines involved skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych and his disqualification by the IOC for continuing to wear a helmet commemorating the lives of Ukrainian athletes lost since Russia’s invasion. He has subsequently filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Follow along for the latest, analysis, reaction and more from our team of reporters at The Athletic throughout the day.
Taylor Swift congratulated U.S. skier Breezy Johnson on her proposal at the finish line on Instagram.
““Where's the trophy? He just comes running over to me” CONGRATULATIONS!!!” Swift wrote.
Johnson crashed out in the women's super-G yesterday morning, but had already won the gold medal in the downhill at the weekend.
Not a bad week for her!
It was a solid morning showing from Americans in the women’s snowboard cross. There were top-20 finishes for Stacy Gaskill, Hanna Percy and Bri Schnorrbusch in the first seeding run to avoid the day’s second seeding run.
It would be quite a story is Gaskill, only a year removed from ACL surgery, can make some noise today. The 25-year-old, who finished seventh overall in the 2022 Games, finished 13th among all riders in the seeding heat.
Czechia’s Eva Adamczykova claimed the top spot by a half-second, followed by France’s Lea Casta and Switzerland’s Noemie Widener. Italian star Michela Moioli finished sixth and is on to the afternoon.
With 20 riders set for seeding in heats, the bottom 12 from the morning run will head back out for another seeding run. Included among them is American Faye Thelen, who finished 22nd overall.
Italian biathlete Rebecca Passler, the only athlete to fail a drugs test during Milan Cortina's in-competition period, has won her national anti-doping appeal and will be able to compete at the Games.
The 24-year-old tested positive for Letrozole, a cancer drug that can also mask steroid use and boost endurance, last month. However, she has repeatedly stated her innocence and now an appeal panel has agreed that this was a case of unintentional use or cross-contamination.
The news comes only a day after the Court of Arbitration for Sport said it did not have the jurisdiction to rule in this case, as Passler had not exhausted the appeal process at national level.
A nice moment that might have been lost a little in all the drama of yesterday's action was a record breaker for Team USA.
54-year-old Rich Ruohonen became the oldest American to compete at the Winter Olympics when he briefly subbed into the men's curling match against Switzerland.
It ended in a pretty heavy defeat for the U.S., but Ruohonen was still happy to have been called upon.
💬 “I would have rather done it when we were up 8-2 instead of down 8-2, but I really appreciate the guys giving me a chance. I knew they would at some point, and it was great. It was an awesome moment for me, even in a loss. I can’t believe it, the dream came true.”
GO FURTHER
Curler Rich Ruohonen, 54, becomes oldest American to compete at Winter Olympics
That is an excellent point from Charlotte about how gracious Chloe Kim was in defeat — albeit with a silver medal as consolation — last evening. And it has been an overwhelming theme of these Games; athletes consoling or congratulating their biggest rivals in victory and defeat.
These guys travel around the world with their competitors all year round on their different World Cup tours, so it is only natural that they form strong bonds and relationships.
But integrity and honor is something we often don't see in sport, so to see so many athletes — so many of them still so young — from different countries carry themselves with grace and dignity has been brilliant to witness.
I’m just reliving what happened last night at the women's halfpipe. I still can’t believe it.
Chloe Kim was the huge favourite and leading until the last run, albeit she was carrying a significant shoulder injury.
Gaon Choi fell and injured her knee badly in the first run. Kim, 25, gives the 17-year-old advice after her crash and then it's Choi who snatches the gold medal on her last attempt!
Not only that but Kim was so magnanimous in defeat, hugging Choi who was crying. It’s rare to see that between athletes competing for that top spot.
Zak Keefer and I looked at each other at the bottom of the slope, shocked as to what had just happened. I'm still stunned today.
If the International Olympic Committee thought the Vladyslav Heraskevych story was finally yesterday's news, it was mistaken.
The Ukrainian skeleton athlete tweeted this morning to say his Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal has started. The tweet included a picture of him smiling, which is something we have not seen so far this week, and the defiant message: “The fight for truth continues.”
Based in Milan, the CAS ad hoc panel, set up to provide quick rulings, is a four-hour drive from Cortina. The geography of these Games alone is against him, as the final runs in the men's skeleton are in Cortina this evening.
It also seems unlikely that the panel will want to rush to judgment on a case as significant and far-reaching as this one. And it has rejected every appeal it has received so far.
Good morning from the Milan Main Media Centre where there was a lineup to get the coveted Tina and Milo Olympic mascots at the official store.
I am here with Britt Ghiroli to see if we could get our hands on them. And we did!
Tina secured, selling out in a matter of minutes the store opened. As Britt recently reported on, these are so hard to get your hands on.
Good morning again from Livigno, where we are nearly 6,000 feet above sea level in the Rhaetian Alps near the Swiss border, and it is perfect. Cold, sunny, crystal clear.
Women's snowboard cross is set to begin in a few minutes. All eyes on Italian star Michela Moioli, the gold medal winner in 2018 Pyeongchang. Other favorites include Charlotte Bankes (Britain), Eva Adamczykova (Czechia), Chloe Trespeuch (France), and the young gun — Lea Casta of France.
Lindsey Jacobellis described 19-year-old Costa to me as: “The whole package. A big-mountain rider, who has some free style to her, and totally fearless."
GO FURTHER
Lindsey Jacobellis heard all the noise over five Olympics. Now it’s her turn to talk
One thing that we're never far away from at the Winter Olympics is curling. The men's and women's competitions are underway after Sweden pipped USA to gold in the mixed doubles.
Four matches taking place right now in the men's competition, including a particularly interesting one between neighbors USA and Canada — here are the scores on the doors in the fourth end.
Was there ever any doubt?
Germany overhauled neighbor Austria and takes team/mixed relay gold in the luge with a brilliant final run.
3:41.672 was more than half a second quicker than the Austrians, who took silver, and almost a second quicker than hosts Italy, who were bronze medallists.
USA finished fifth of the nine nations.
One of the most unexpected commodities at the Milan Cortina Games?
Tina and Milo, the two mascot stoats representing the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, whose stuffed animal likenesses are flying off the shelves.
Less than a week into the Olympics, the stuffed animals are sold out in stores around Italy and on the Games’ official website, and any restocked inventory disappears immediately.
While the two mascots appear on other Olympic merchandise such as T-shirts and coffee mugs, the plush toys are the most coveted items.
Here's what Luca Casassa, Games Operations Communications Director, said Wednesday morning about the plushies:
💬 “We’re talking with all our suppliers. We will have the goods back here again, but (this is) the best solution that the organizing committee can give.
“This is a great example of the great enthusiasm and excitement surrounding the Games.”
Vladyslav Heraskevych, the Ukrainian skeleton athlete disqualified earlier Thursday for his refusal to change his helmet honoring fellow athletes who have died during Russia's invasion of his country, has filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Heraskevych registered the appeal with the court's ad hoc division, CAS said in a statement. The group is on-site at the Olympics and can rule on cases quickly, though its statement did not offer a timeline.
Thursday, Heraskevych missed the first two runs of the men's skeleton competition after being pulled from the start list following a ruling on his eligibility from the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation. The International Olympic Committee then withdrew his Olympic accreditation.
Heraskevych is asking to be reinstated immediately or to be allowed to perform supervised provisional runs until CAS rules on the case.
GO FURTHER
Ukrainian sledder Vladyslav Heraskevych files appeal over DQ for skeleton helmet
Chloe Kim needed a masterful run to win her third Olympic gold in yesterday‘s halfpipe but she took a spill on her fourth trick, having to settle for silver.
She was gracious afterwards though, giving a hug to Choi Gaon, who she has mentored leading up to this event, with a smile on her face.
That was class from her and a special moment for the 17-year-old from South Korea.
As ever, though, Kim was very smiley and still very happy to add a silver medal to her collection.
The host Italians continue to lead in overall medals, while Norway is leading in golds. Seven gold medals will be on the line today.
What is coming up next on Day 7 of the Winter Olympic Games? Check out our interactive schedule of events here and keep up with the latest from the Games.
Nine gold medals were earned on Day 6, but arguably most impressive was Choi Gaon of the Republic of Korea taking gold in the women's snowboarding halfpipe final, overcoming a fall on her first run to tally a stellar score of 90.25 on her final run to become the champion. The 17-year-old upset American Chloe Kim, who finished with a silver as she came up just short of a third Olympic victory in the event. Ironically, Kim mentored Gaon leading up to the Games.
Elsewhere, skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified by the IOC for continuing to wear a helmet commemorating the lives of Ukrainian athletes lost since Russia’s invasion, but he filed an appeal.
And the USA and Canada began their men's hockey campaigns with easy wins.
Sure, ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating and curling have been around since the 1924 Chamonix Games.
But the Milan Cortina Games are special because there are eight new events. Here are the competitions debuting at these Winter Olympics:
Unlike the Summer Olympics, the Winter Games have fewer sports. But that doesn’t mean it’s short on excitement.
Here is the list of sports taking place at the Milan Cortina Games:
