Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloeman won gold in the Men’s 10,000m Speed Skating breaking the Olympic record in the penultimate heat set by Jorrit Bergsma 15 minutes prior in the second heat. Bergsma timed 12.41.98 while Bloeman broke it in 12.39.11. Bergsma settled for silver while Italy’s Nicola Tumolero took the bronze. Sven Kramer, the most decorated male speed skater in Olympic history with four gold, two silver and two bronze, could not get his hand to a medal in this event. The 10,000m remained the one title that eluded him.
Three-times world champion Johannes Thingnes Boe won the gold in the Men’s 20km Biathlon Individual. Boe underperformed at the range by missing the target and also was handed a two-minute penalty, but he showed immense courage in coming back strongly during the skiing. He finished 5.5 seconds ahead of Slovenia’s Jakov Fak who won silver and Austria’s Dominik Landertinger who won bronze. Both Fak and Landertinger hit all 20 targets.
22-year-old Hannah Oeberg of Sweden clinched gold in the Women’s 15km Individual Biathlon at her first Olympic appearance. She clocked the quickest time of 41:07.2 minutes and finished 24.7 seconds ahead of Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kuzmina. Oeberg became the second youngest woman to win an Individual Biathlon event at the Olympic Winter Games after Bulgaria’s Ekaterina Dafovska won it at the age of 22 years and 73 days in Nagano 1998.
Ragnhild Haga of Norway produced an incredible second lap that won her a gold in Women’s Cross Country 10km Freestyle race. Haga clocked 25 minutes and 00.5 seconds and beat Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla, who took silver and Norway’s Marit Bjoergen and Finn Krista Parmakoski who were tied for the bronze medal. Kalla, who won gold in this event in Vancouver 2010, wanted to recreate the occasion but was beaten by Haga’s determination and grit. She accelerated her speed on the second lap and went ahead of all the pre-favourites of the event.
Pierre Vaultier of France edged past his competitors to win his second gold in Snowboard Cross after he won it in Sochi 2014. He is also Vaultier a five-time World Cup champion. Australia’s Jarryd Hughes claimed silver and Spain’s Regino Hernandez took bronze. Hernandez’s bronze gave Spain their third medal in Olympic Winter Games history, after a gold in Slalom gold at San Francisco 1972 and a bronze at Albertville 1992.
Mikaela Shiffrin of USA also defended her gold at Sochi 2014 when she won gold in the Women’s Giant Slalom. She climbed from second position in her first run to lead, with a second-run time of 1:09.20 and a combined time of 2:20.02. 19-year old Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel produced her best skiing to take silver while Federica Brignone of Italy took bronze.
Aksel Lund Svindal became the first man from Norway to win gold in Men’s Downhill that is regarded as one of the Olympic Winter Games’ most classic events. His gold helpedNorway’s to enter the elite club of six nations whose athletes have won a Men’s Downhill Olympic gold. Austria leads that group with seven wins. Svindal’s compatriot Kjetil Jansrud took silver but the reigning World Champion Beat Feuz of Switzerland had to settle for a bronze. Svindal skied won a Super-G gold at Vancouver 2010.
German pair of Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot in Figure Skating set a new World Record of 159.31 points to grasp the gold after a stunning routine. They beat the previous record that was also set b them at the Grand Prix Final in 2017. Savchenko won two Olympic bronze medals at Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 204 but this is the first time she got hold of a gold. While Svchenko is a veteran, Massot debuted in this year’s Olympics at the age of 29. Chinese pair Wenjing Sui and Cong Han took silver. Canada’s Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford won bronze.
Germany’s dominance in Luge continued after they won gold in Team Relay after gold in the Women’s Singles and Men’s Doubles and a bronze in the Men’s Singles. Women’s singles champion Natalie Giesenberger started the race excellently that helped second rider Johannes Ludwig to remain ahead. Men’s doubles champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt sealed the victory with a seamless third run. The Canada team won the silver while Austria won the bronze.
