It was good day for Norway as they claimed three golds to increase their lead in the medal table at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Tuesday.
Five Norwegian athletes won medals as the Scandinavian nation took their total tally for the Games to 26.
Norway have secured 12 Olympic titles in the Chinese capital, three more than second-placed Germany.
Joergen Graabak was crowned Nordic combined champion for Norway and compatriot Jens Luraas took silver at the end of a dramatic 10-kilometre cross-country skiing race.
Jarl Magnus Riiber led the way for Norway after topping the ski jump standings on the large hill at the National Ski Jumping Centre, but took a wrong turn when he had an advantage of 44 seconds in the cross-country skiing.
Riiber turned around after realising he had gone off track and was left to rue a huge lapse, which his countryman Graabak capitalised on.
Norway also won men's biathlon gold in the 4x7.5km relay event and took the men's team pursuit speed skating title.
German bobsleigh legend Francesco Friedrich led the first podium clean sweep of these Games in the two-man competition at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre.
Johannes Lochner won silver and Christoph Hafer took bronze as Germany took their medal tally to 18, half of which have been gold.
There were no gold medals for third-placed USA, but Anna Gasser won Austria's sixth of the Games in the snowboard big air final.
Switzerland rose to eighth after Corinne Suter and Mathilde Gremaud were crowned women's downhill and freeski slopestyle champions respectively.
Medal table:
1. Norway (G12 S7 B7, Total: 26)
2. Germany (G9 S6 B3, Total: 18)
3. United States (G7 S6 B4, Total: 17)
4. Austria (G6 S6 B4, Total: 16)
5. Netherlands (G6 S4 B3, Total: 13)
6. China (G6 S4 B2, Total: 12)
7. Sweden (G5 S3 B3, Total: 11)
8. Switzerland (G5 S0 B5, Total: 10)
9. Russian Olympic Committee (G4 S7 B9, Total: 20)
10. France (G3 S7 B2, Total: 12)
Corinne Suter won downhill gold and Sofia Goggia claimed an astonishing Olympic silver medal in Beijing on Tuesday less than a month after a huge crash.
Suter mastered the 'Rock course' at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre to top the podium after crossing the line in a time of one minute, 31.87 seconds.
The Swiss world champion suffered a nasty pre-season training accident in Zermatt back in September, but revealed she took inspiration from the great Lindsey Vonn to win the blue riband event.
Suter said: "My head was not really good from the beginning of the season. It's always difficult when you have such a hard crash because you think, 'yeah it's okay', but it's not."
She added: "From the first training run I really liked the slope here and also the snow is really good. Also I [was] watching today the runs from her (Vonn) all the time. She's my biggest idol."
Goggia could surely never have envisaged winning a medal just 23 days after a crash in Cortina left her with a damaged cruciate ligament and a fractured left leg, yet the Italian was only 0.16secs slower than Suter and she was joined on the podium by compatriot Nadia Delago.
An elated Goggia said: "I came here with no days of skiing. I also crashed in super-G training and I said to my coach: ‘I cannot do this, I cannot do this. How can I make it to the downhill if I cannot put my leg down?’ And he said: ‘You will do it because you know how to do it.'"
Goggia added: "I found an incredible strength inside of myself...I was travelling by a sort of light."
Valieva on course for controversial gold
Russian teenager Kamila Valieva started her quest to win a controversial figure skating singles gold medal by recovering a mistake to take the lead.
The 15-year-old was contentiously cleared to go for the individual title on Monday despite the revelation that she had tested positive for performance-enhancing drug trimetazidine in December
After helping the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) secure team figure skating gold last week, Valieva headed into the individual event as the favourite to take the title.
Valieva failed to land a triple axel after being cheered onto the ice for her short program routine, but put that behind her to earn a score of 82.16 from the judges.
She looked very emotional on the ice after such a difficult time for the youngster, who could have found herself thrown out of the Games.
Fellow Russian Anna Shcherbakova is in second spot following her score of 80.20, with Kaori Sakamoto (79.84) of Japan in third heading into the free skate on Thursday.
Riiber's Beijing nightmare takes a huge turn for the worse
Norway increased their lead at the top of the medal table, but Jarl Magnus Riiber endured a Nordic combined nightmare.
The 24-year-old spent two weeks isolating in a hotel room after testing positive for coronavirus when he arrived in China, but was on course to win gold a day after coming out quarantine.
The Norwegian topped the ski jump standings on the large hill and held a lead of 44 seconds at the start of the 10-kilometre cross-country skiing race.
Riiber literally lost his way, though, as he headed for the finishing line at the end of the first of four laps, rather than starting another loop.
After realising what he later described as "a silly mistake", Riiber turned back in a hasty retreat, but his advantage had been cut to barely 10 seconds.
He ended up finishing eighth as compatriot Joergen Graabak was crowned champion, and Riiber was left to reflect on a massive gaffe.
Debutants Denmark into last eight
Denmark will face ROC in the quarter-finals of the men's ice hockey competition after beating Latvia 3-2 at the Wukesong Sports Centre.
The Danes are competing in this event for the first time and they are making their presence felt, with goalkeeper Sebastian Dahm describing the defeat of Latvia as "the biggest result in Danish ice hockey."
Germany, silver medallists in PyeongChang four years ago, are out after a 4-0 defeat by Slovakia, who will face the United States in the last eight.
Canada and Sweden will do battle for a place in the semi-finals, while Finland take on Switzerland.
Great Britain flagbearer Dave Ryding takes to the slopes on Wednesday, as he looks to seal the nation's first medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
And he has the support of Liverpool and England footballer Jordan Henderson.
There are two finals in the men's freestyle skiing, too, while Finland and Switzerland's women go for bronze in the ice hockey.
Medals are up for grabs in the biathlon, cross-country skiing and short track speed skating. Here, Stats Perform looks at the main events to come on Wednesday.
Alpine ski
It has been a frustrating Games so far for Team GB, with no medals recorded as of yet. However, one of their big hopes will go for glory in the men's slalom.
Ryding, 35, made history by winning the first World Cup title for Great Britain just prior to the Games. However, he is one of six different winners in the six World Cup slalom events held so far this season, meaning the Olympic field is wide open.
But, he has the full backing of not only Team GB, but his beloved Liverpool, whose captain Henderson sent a message of support to Ryding.
"I just wanted to send you a quick message to say big congratulations on the win and all the very best in Beijing," Henderson said in the video message.
"I hope it goes well. It's nice to hear you are a big Liverpool fan. I hope to see you at Anfield when you get back. Take care mate, good luck.”
Sebastian Foss-Solevag, the 2021 world champion, must be considered among the favourites.
Biathlon
Belarus will be looking to defend their title from 2018 in the women's 4x6km relay, though Sweden and France – silver and bronze medallists respectively in Pyeongchang – are also contenders.
Sweden are the current World Cup leaders, with Norway second and France third, with Belarus down in fifth place.
Cross-country skiing
There are two medal events in cross-country skiing on Wednesday, in the men's and women's team sprints.
The United States are the reigning women's champions, while Norway hold the title in the men's. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo is part of the team, and he is hunting a fourth medal in Beijing.
Freestyle skiing
Likewise, six more athletes will win medals in freestyle skiing. The men's freeski slopestyle final is perfectly poised. Switzerland's Andri Ragettli topped the qualifying standings, but only just ahead of big air gold medallist Birk Ruud, while reigning Olympic champion Nicholas Goepper came third, with fellow Americans Alex Hall and Colby Stevenson finishing in the top six too.
Another American, Chris Lillis, is going for gold in the men's aerials. He helped the United States to victory in mixed team aerials last week.
Ukrainian Oleksandr Abramenko will be out to defend his title, though World Cup leader Maxim Burov is the favourite.
Short track speed skating
Canada, Italy, China, South Korea and the Russian Olympic Committee will battle it out for a podium place in the men's 5000m relay, with 2018 champions Hungary having failed to make the cut.
In the women's 1500m, South Korea are again well represented, with reigning champion and world record holder Choi Min-jeong involved, along with current World Cup leader Lee Yu-bin.
However, Suzanne Schulting is the 2021 World Short Track Speed Skating champion at all distances and has enjoyed a wonderful Games so far, setting two Olympic records, one world record and winning four medals (two gold, two silver).
Jamaican bobsledder Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian may not have claimed any medals but can be considered a winner based on the fact that she was even able to compete at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
After originally being scheduled to compete in both the Women’s Monobob and the two-woman bobsled, the three-time Olympian could only compete in one after the team narrowly failed to qualify for the latter event.
As if that wasn’t enough for her to contend with, she was also dealing with death in her family as her sister passed away just before the Olympics.
“Right now, I don’t have the words to really express all that I have experienced in these last weeks,” she said in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
“What I can do is say this…Thank You from the absolute bottom of my heart. Competing in Beijing has been wild in more ways than one. I honestly didn’t believe I could be here and I made it and competed with every ounce in me to the best of my ability despite circumstances,” she added.
Fenlator-Victorian finished 19th in the Women’s Monobob with a time of 4:28.56.
“For now, I’m filled with gratitude for every individual that has coached me, mentored me, treated me, cared for me, messaged, shared, contributed, provided, smiled, and more. My heart is exploding, and I want you all to know I truly appreciate it all over the last three Olympics. One love,” Fenlator-Victorian said.
Kamila Valieva showed her emotions under the spotlight after putting herself on course for a controversial figure skating singles gold medal in Beijing on Tuesday.
The 15-year-old Russian was contentiously cleared to go for the individual title on Monday despite testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
Valieva was given the green light to compete at the Capital Indoor Stadium due to "exceptional circumstances", largely due to the teenager's age ensuring she is considered to be a "protected person" under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.
After helping the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) secure team figure skating gold last week, Valieva headed into the individual event as the favourite to take the title.
The Kazan-born sensation, who tested positive for trimetazidine in December, was cheered when she skated out to begin her short program routine.
Valieva made a mistake when she failed to land a triple axel but put that behind her like a champion to ensure she leads heading into the free skate on Thursday.
She avoided hitting the deck when making that error and showed her class to earn a score of 82.16 from the judges.
Valieva looked very emotional on the ice after a difficult time for the youngster, who could have found herself thrown out of the Games.
Fellow Russian Anna Shcherbakova is in second spot following her score of 80.20, with Kaori Sakamoto (79.84) of Japan in third.
Denis Oswald, chair of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) disciplinary commission, revealed earlier in the day that Valieva claimed she may have failed a drugs test after accidentally consuming medication belonging to her grandfather.
"Her argument was contamination which happened with a product her grandfather was taking," Oswald told reporters.
Trimetazidine is a medication that prevents angina attacks but is banned by WADA because it aids blood flow to the heart.
After the first two heats in the Men's two-man Bobsled at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre on Monday, the Jamaican team of Nimroy Turgott and Shanwayne Stephens found themselves in 30th place.
The pair clocked a time of 1:01.23 in their first heat then returned to clock 1:01.35 in the second for a combined time of 2:02.58, which left them last.
On Tuesday, Stephens and Turgott returned for heat 3 and needed to finish in the top 20 to advance to the medal round.
However, after the third heat, they failed to improve their position in the standings, thus ending the quest for a medal. Their final time after three heats was 3:04.12.
The Trinidadian team of Axel Brown and Andre Marcano sat 27th after the two heats with a time of 2:01.70. They eventually fell back a place on Tuesday after heat three, finishing with a time of 3:02.56.
The German team of Francesco Friedreich and Thorsten Margis was the fastest after the first two heats, with a time of 1:58.38, and eventually secured gold in the event with a time of 3:56.89.
Germany secured a historic treble with Johannes Lochner and Florian Bauer finishing second in 3:57.38 and Christoph Hafer and Mathias Sommer finishing third in 3:58.58.
Elsewhere on Monday, Jamaican Alpine Skier Benjamin Alexander finished 46th overall in the Men’s Giant Slalom with a time of 3:18.52.
Haiti’s Richardson Viano also competed in the Men’s Giant Slalom but failed to finish.
The gold medal in the event was won by Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt in 2:09.35 while silver was taken by Slovenia’s Zan Kranjek in 2:09.54 and bronze by Mathieu Faivre of France in 2:10.69.
Jarl Magnus Riiber's Beijing nightmare literally took another huge turn for the worse when he cost himself the chance of Olympic gold by skiing down the wrong route.
The Norwegian was on course to take the men's Nordic combined title on Tuesday when he held a lead of 44 seconds at the start of the 10-kilometre cross-country skiing race.
Riiber was the man to catch after putting himself into the gold medal position by topping the ski jump standings on the large hill at the National Ski Jumping Centre.
The 24-year-old only ended a spell of two weeks in quarantine the day before this event, having tested positive for coronavirus when he arrived in China.
Riiber endured another nightmare when he headed for the finishing line at the end of the first of four laps in the cross-country skiing finale, rather than starting another loop.
After realising the error he had made, Riiber turned back in a hasty retreat, but his advantage had been cut to barely 10 seconds.
He ended up finishing eighth as compatriot Joergen Graabak was crowned champion, and Riiber was left to reflect on a massive gaffe.
Riiber said: "It's not fun to show the world that I've maybe wasted a gold medal on that.
"It's a silly mistake, but on a normal day with that mistake as well I would be in the fight, I'm a good sprinter and I would fight for the gold anyway."
Asked about his physical condition following a fortnight in a hotel room, he said: "I like to say I am one of the best cross-country skiers on the normal day with good preparation and I showed that before that I can go fast (in) races."
An Olympic record was set by Canada's women in the speed skating team pursuit as they capitalised on a slip-up from Japan.
Ivanie Blondin, Isabelle Weidemann and Valerie Maltais took advantage of a late fall by Japan's Takagi Nana to clinch gold at the National Speed Skating Oval on Tuesday.
Japan led every lap and looked to be storming towards victory, yet Canada kept themselves within touching distance and pounced when the mistake came.
Canada crossed in an Olympic record time of two minutes and 53.44 seconds, ahead of Japan by 11.03 seconds, with the Netherlands claiming bronze after beating Russia in the B final.
It was Canada's first Olympic gold in the event and just their second medal in women's team pursuit after a silver in 2006.
Canada have now won gold in five different women's speed skating events across their Olympic history, which equals a record set by the Netherlands.
Weidemann, meanwhile, has completed a set of medals in Beijing. She claimed bronze in the 3,000m and took silver in the 5,000m, and becomes the third Canadian speed skater to win at least three medals at a single Games, after Cindy Klassen (five in 2006) and Gaetan Boucher (three in 1984).
"It's always sad to see another team fall," she said. "We've watched Japan for so long, they have taken it to a new level. We have constantly been chasing them."
Teenage Winter Olympics star Kamila Valieva may have failed a drugs test after accidentally consuming medication belonging to her grandfather, it has been claimed.
Denis Oswald, chair of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) disciplinary commission, said on Tuesday this was a theory put forward by the 15-year-old Russian figure skater.
"Her argument was contamination which happened with a product her grandfather was taking," Oswald told reporters in Beijing.
Valieva, 15, helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) claim team figure skating gold last week, and she headed into the individual event on Tuesday as a big favourite to triumph there too.
She was cleared to compete by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which stated that it was appropriate that a provisional suspension had been lifted.
That was after the IOC, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) appealed to CAS against a decision by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to let Valieva skate.
The youngster tested positive in December for trimetazidine, a medication that prevents angina attacks but is banned by WADA because it aids blood flow to the heart.
Oswald said the IOC would respect the CAS ruling and said Valieva's B sample had not yet been examined.
He did not apportion any blame but said the IOC would push for Valieva's entourage to face investigation over the saga.
Speaking in a news conference, Oswald said: "It's clearly a wish and a decision of the IOC, but also mainly on WADA, to examine all aspects of this case, including the situation of the entourage of the girl, because of course you can imagine a girl of 15 would not do something wrong alone. Yes, the entourage will be investigated."
Oswald played down the prospect of any sense of this being a repeat of state-sponsored doping, as experienced previously with Russian competitors, most notoriously at their home Winter Olympics in Sochi eight years ago.
"My impression from what I have seen and heard is that there is no connection with the institutionalised doping we had in Sochi," Oswald said.
"It seems to be a totally different case, but it is difficult to have an opinion without having all the details."
The United States enjoyed a fine day at the Winter Olympics, as their athletes added four medals to the nation's count.
There was no change at the top as Norway stayed in the lead thanks to their nine golds, while Germany claimed a bronze medal in the men's team ski jumping final and remain second.
However, the USA nosed ahead of the Netherlands with their seventh gold of the Games, which came courtesy of Kaillie Humphries' historic monobob victory.
Not only is Humphries – who has previously represented Canada – the first woman to win the gold for two different nations at the Winter Olympics, but she is also the first champion in the newly introduced event.
Team-mate Elana Meyers Taylor completed a one-two for the USA, while Canada clinched bronze thanks to Christine de Bruin.
Canada now have 10 third-place finishes to their name in Beijing, becoming the first nation to reach double figures in one particular medal.
The USA's other two medals were both bronze, as they took their grand total to 16 thanks to freestyle skier Megan Nick and ice dance duo Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue.
They are also guaranteed another medal, after their women progressed to the ice hockey final, where they will face Canada.
Austria, meanwhile, moved from sixth to fifth as their men's team took a ski jumping gold.
It marks Austria's first Olympic team gold since 2010 in Vancouver.
"Incredible what happened today, incredible what happened the last two weeks for myself," explained Manuel Fettner, who also won silver in the normal hill individual event in Beijing.
"If somebody would have told me this two weeks ago, I wouldn't have believed him."
Slovenia collected their third silver of the Games, taking them onto seven medals in total. They sit 13th in the overall standings.
It was another good day for China, with ski jumper Xu Mengtao claiming the nation's first gold in the women's aerials.
The hosts are now up to seventh, above the Russian Olympic Committee, who claimed a silver medal in the ice dance, which was won by Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron – that success has moved France up to ninth.
Hanna Huskova was edged out by Xu and had to settle for silver. It is Belarus's second such medal in Beijing.
Medal table:
1. Norway (G9 S5 B7, Total: 21)
2. Germany (G8 S5 B2, Total: 15)
3. United States (G7 S6 B3, Total: 16)
4. Netherlands (G6 S4 B2, Total: 12)
5. Austria (G5 S6 B4, Total: 15)
6. Sweden (G5 S3 B3, Total: 11)
7. China (G5 S3 B2, Total: 10)
8. Russian Olympic Committee (G4 S6 B8, Total: 18)
9. France (G3 S6 B2, Total: 11)
10. Switzerland (G3 S0 B5, Total: 8)
It was a historic moment for more than one reason on Monday when Kaillie Humphries secured the gold medal in the women's monobob event.
Humphries switched allegiance from Canada to the United States in 2019 amid a divisive separation, but only became a naturalised US citizen and received a passport in December.
The 36-year-old previously won two golds and a bronze for Canada across the past three Games, and became the first female to win a Winter Olympics title for two different nations.
She is the second athlete overall to do so after speed skater Viktor An had done the same for South Korea and Russia.
As well as that achievement, Humphries also became the first ever gold medallist in the women's monobob event, which appeared at the Olympics for the first time, with a dominant victory at the National Sliding Centre in an overall time of four minutes, 19.27 seconds.
That's not all, though. Stats Perform has more numbers behind the success of Humphries and others in Beijing.
4 - Humphries and fellow American and silver medallist Elana Meyers Taylor have equalled Bogdan Musiol, Wolfgang Hoppe and Kevin Kuske (Germany) as the only bobsledders to medal at four different Winter Games. Meyers Taylor becomes the fourth athlete representing the United States to win a medal at four different Winter Games.
3 - Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron took gold for France in the ice dance having won silver at PyeongChang 2018. This is the third time in a row the Olympic title has been won by the pair who took silver in the previous edition, after Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States in 2014, and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada in 2018.
1 - Xu Mengtao of China won the gold medal in women's aerials on Monday to add to her silver in mixed team aerials. She becomes the first freestyle skier to win two medals at a single Olympic Winter Games.
50 - Xu's was the 50th gold medal awarded in freestyle skiing in Winter Olympics history. It was just the third won by China, with Canada claiming the most (12) followed by the United States (11).
3 - Austria's gold in the men's team ski jumping was their third in the event at the Olympics, after Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010. This equals Germany, who also have three titles, and won bronze in Beijing on Monday. Both Austria and Germany now have seven overall medals in the team event.
The "Snow Princess" Eileen Gu will look to add to her women's freeski big air gold medal when she competes in the slopestyle event at Beijing 2022 on Tuesday.
Gu – representing host nation China at the Winter Olympics – only finished third in qualifying, but could once again be saving her best for the final in front of her many fans.
Elsewhere, Ester Ledecka became the first female athlete to claim gold in two separate sports at the same Winter Games back in 2018, and the Czech is out to repeat that achievement this time around.
Ledecka already has a parallel giant slalom snowboard title at these games but came up short in the super-G when she made the switch to skis, though she hopes to be ready for the downhill after having had some days of rest.
"I'm really looking forward to it because I didn't have much sleep these two days and I will prepare myself, as good as I can," Ledecka said after her super-G disappointment.
Here, Stats Perform previews these and the rest of Tuesday's medal events.
Alpine skiing
The flagship event of alpine skiing takes place on Tuesday with the women's downhill, and while all eyes will be on whether Ledecka can double up on her gold medals again, she is not really among the favourites heading into it.
Switzerland duo Priska Nufer and Joana Haehlen were fastest in the two training runs possible so far (the third was cancelled for bad weather on Sunday). It is another Swiss competitor, Lara Gut-Behrami, who will likely be the one to beat after her gold in the super-G and bronze in the giant slalom already in Beijing.
Defending champion Sofia Goggia of Italy will try to become only the second athlete after Katja Seizinger of Germany to retain an Olympic title in the downhill event.
Biathlon
Norway will be looking to continue their dominance when the men's 4x7.5km relay takes place, having won four of the seven gold medals on offer so far in biathlon, and nine medals in all.
They also won the final IBU World Cup 4x7.5km relay in Italy before the Olympics, beating Russia and Germany into second and third.
Bobsleigh
Germany are in pole position to be among the medals in the two-man event after the first two heats, with Francesco Friedrich leading the way with a combined time of one minute, 58.38 seconds, ahead of compatriot Johannes Lochner (+0.15 seconds) and the Russian Olympic Committee's Rostislav Gaitiukevich (+0.94 seconds).
It already seems unlikely that anyone other than the highly decorated Friedrich or Lochner will take the gold when the final two heats happen on Tuesday, but another German, Christoph Hafer, as well as Michael Vogt (Switzerland) and Benjamin Maier (Austria) remain in with a chance of troubling the race for bronze.
Freestyle skiing
While Gu will be the headline act as the 2021 slopestyle world champion, her second run score of 79.38 was good enough only for third in qualifying, with Estonia's Kelly Sildaru finishing first with an 86.15, and Norway's Johanne Killi second on 86.00.
France's Tess Ledeux will be hoping to make up for missing out on a win in the big air, while defending champion Sarah Hoefflin of Switzerland surprisingly failed to qualify, finishing in 20th place.
Nordic combined
The individual Gundersen large hill 10km takes place on Tuesday, an event in which all three medals were won by Germany at PyeongChang 2018.
Though German Vinzenz Geiger won gold in the normal hill event on Wednesday, strong competition is expected again from Norway's Joergen Graabak and Austria's Lukas Greiderer, who took silver and bronze in the normal hill event.
Question marks remain over the involvement of pre-Olympics favourites Jarl Magnus Riiber (Norway) and Kristjan Ilves (Estonia) after both tested positive for COVID-19, but the latter was recently able to leave isolation and took part in official training.
Snowboard
Big things are again expected of New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in the women's big air final, having already won gold in the slopestyle event.
"I've got a new trick I've been working on," she promised after being the only qualifier to score over 90 on Monday. "I've had to reset since slopestyle, put that gold to the back of my mind. It hasn't sunk in yet. But I'm pretty stoked to put those jumps down."
In the men's event, Canada's Mark McMorris will try to become the first snowboarder to win four Olympic medals, while compatriot Max Parrot is looking to follow up on his gold in the slopestyle, which would make him the first snowboarder to win two gold medals at the same Olympic Games.
Speed skating
The women's team pursuit sees Japan defend their title from 2018, while the Netherlands will be hoping to add to their four gold medals (eight overall) in speed skating, while also getting revenge for losing their 2014 title in the final in PyeongChang.
The men's event has been an open contest since its introduction in 2006, with no country having won gold more than once. All the former champions – Italy, Canada, Netherlands and Norway – have qualified for the event, but Netherlands will likely be favourites having won 12 of 13 world championships in this event.
The United States will meet Canada in the final of the women's ice hockey after the two favourites progressed from their semi-finals at the Winter Olympics.
While the USA defeated Finland 4-1, Canada made light work of their semi-final opponents Switzerland, cruising to a 10-3 rout on Monday.
The respective victories tee up a repeat of the 2018 Olympic final, which the USA won via a shoot-out.
Canada have been the form team in this tournament, however, and beat the USA 4-2 in the group stage.
In fact, the Canadians – who have won a medal in every Olympic Games since women's ice hockey was introduced in 1998 and claimed gold in four straight editions between 2002 and 2014 – have scored 54 times, only conceding eight goals in return.
"It is our dream to be there, that is huge for us," explained captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who is in the hunt for her third Olympic gold. "It will be fun. The team is ready.
"We really appreciate it. The smiles at the end of the game, when our young players came off the ice, was pretty awesome. You can see how exciting it is. It is not routine."
Canada will be hoping for another big display from their leader in the final. In 2010, she scored both goals in a 2-0 victory in the showpiece, while she also scored the golden goal winner in Sochi four years later.
History for Humphries
One athlete who will perhaps be torn by the United States-Canada rivalry is Kaillie Humphries.
She won two golds and a bronze for Canada across the past three games but, in 2018, she switched allegiance to the USA, only receiving clearance to compete in Beijing two months ago.
On Monday, the 36-year-old made history, becoming first female to win a Winter Olympics title for two different nations, and the second athlete overall after speed skater Viktor An for South Korea and Russia, after she won the first ever gold medal in the women's monobob, a newly introduced event.
Elana Meyers Taylor completed a one-two for the USA, while Canada clinched bronze thanks to Christine de Bruin.
French pair triumph on the ice
Four-time world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France won figure skating gold.
They took silver in 2018, meaning that for a third successive Olympics, the ice dance title has been won by a duo that finished second in the previous Games.
Papadakis and Cizeron finished second behind Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov at the European Championships in 2020, but the Russian pair had to settle for silver this time around, with Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue ensuring the USA finished on the podium for the fifth consecutive Games.
"It's sinking in, but before it sinks in, I'll have to lie on the floor and cry," a laughing Papadakis said after claiming France's first gold in the event since 2002. "I am trying to take it all in, very, very, very slowly."
China, Austria add to their tallies
There was more success for hosts China, as ski jumper Xu Mengtao claimed the nation's first gold of the women's aerial events at Beijing.
China had previously won nine medals (seven silver and two bronze), but had never clinched gold – they were already the most decorated nation in the event.
Xu triumphed with a score of 108.61, ahead of Hanna Huskova of Belarus (107.95), with Megan Nick of the United States in third, way behind on 93.76.
Austria also collected a ski jumping gold, with their men's team succeeding. Slovenia came second and Germany took bronze. It is Austria's first gold in the event since 2010.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has scrapped the medal ceremony for the team figure skating event in the wake of the Kamila Valieva verdict.
Valieva, 15, helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) claim team figure skating gold last week, and she is a big favourite to win first prize in the individual event, which begins on Tuesday.
However, the teenager had been unsure if she would be able to compete in Tuesday's event after the IOC and the International Testing Agency (ITA) appealed a decision from RUSADA – Russia's Anti-Doping Agency – to remove a provisional suspension on the athlete.
Valieva tested positive in December for trimetazidine, a medication that prevents angina attacks but is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because it aids blood flow to the heart.
On Sunday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Valieva was able to compete, stating that it was appropriate that the provisional suspension had been lifted.
While accepting this decision, the IOC has decided against holding a medal ceremony for the team figure skating, while it has also stated there will be no such celebration should Valieva finish on the podium in the individual event, as is expected.
A statement from the IOC said: "The CAS has clearly expressed that the decision taken by the Ad-hoc Division today is not a decision on whether Ms Valieva violated the anti-doping rules.
"It was limited to the sole question of whether Ms Valieva could be provisionally suspended from the Olympic competition following a positive A-sample taken on 25 December 2021.
"The management of the case after this positive A-sample has not yet been concluded. Only after due process has been followed can it be established whether Ms Valieva infringed the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) and would have to be sanctioned."
The IOC EB (executive board) has subsequently concluded that: "In the interest of fairness to all athletes and the NOCs concerned, it would not be appropriate to hold the medal ceremony for the figure skating team event during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 as it would include an athlete who on the one hand has a positive A-sample, but whose violation of the anti-doping rules has not yet been established on the other hand."
The statement also confirmed that the IOC had requested the International Skating Union (ISU) allow a 25th competitor to participate in the free skating event, which takes place on Thursday, if Valieva ranks inside the top 24 in the short program on Tuesday.
However, the IOC has promised to hold "dignified medal ceremonies" once Valieva's case has been fully concluded.
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