Kaillie Humphries made Winter Olympics history on multiple fronts on Monday by surging to victory for the United States in the debut of the women's monobob event.
The 36-year-old only received clearance to represent USA in Beijing two months ago, having previously won two golds and a bronze for Canada across the past three Games.
Humphries switched allegiance in 2019 amid a divisive separation, but it was not until December that she became a naturalised United States citizen and received a passport.
She is the 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.
Not only that, Humphries can now forever hold claim to winning gold in the debut women's monobob event after securing a dominant victory at the National Sliding Centre.
Humphries beat team-mate Elana Meyers Taylor by 1.54 seconds as USA went 1-2, ending Germany's dominance in the process, with Christine de Bruin of Canada in third.
The US pair are the first women competitors to win a bobsled medal at four straight Games, but this latest triumph was particularly special for Humphries.
"This one does feel more emotional for me," she said. "Although each Olympic journey has been different, I've had to choose to walk away from my original birth nation.
"I've had to fight. There have been a lot of people that have tried to stand in my way. And there have been a lot of obstacles to get to this point.
"And so, to know that everybody that supported me and that all the work that I put in has amounted to being the best year, it's very heart-warming to say the least.
"It hits the heartstrings a little bit more to know that I chose a nation and it chose me back and that we could do this together as a team."
The women's monobob was added to the programme for the first time this year, meaning women now have the same amount of bobsleigh medals to compete for as the men.
It is hoped it will encourage further female participation in the sport, and Humphries is more than happy to fly the flag.
"This is huge," she said. "I still remember back in 2002, the first women who won: Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers.
"I hope in the future young girls are going to go, 'I remember Kaillie', and then they get involved.
"They now have two opportunities and hopefully even more opportunities to win more medals in the sport. That's super cool and I will continue to fight for that.
"The women before me have allowed this to happen and I want to make sure that continues for all future generations. This is a huge step forward.
"By no means do I think we're done. I really want to see women do four-woman and I would love to see men do monobob as well. Three events for all genders."
The clearance of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to compete at the Winter Olympics has resulted in calls to reform the anti-doping system.
Valieva was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday to compete in Tuesday's individual event – in which she is considered the heavy favourite – despite the teenager's failed drugs test.
The 15-year-old has already helped Russia to team figure skating gold in Beijing.
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.
Her sample that failed was taken on Christmas Day during Russia's national championships, but Valieva could compete at Beijing 2022 after she appealed against the outcome and RUSADA – Russia's Anti-Doping Agency – removed a provisional suspension on February 9.
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Testing Agency (ITA) appealed against that ruling, leading to the CAS decision after a long meeting on Sunday in Beijing.
Now, Global Athlete, "an international athlete-led movement that will inspire and lead positive change in world sport", has called for immediate reform.
"Today is another example of the failures of the global sport and anti-doping system," read a statement published on Global Athlete's official website.
"The fact that Kamila Valieva, a 15-year-old Russian figure skater, has been found to have a performance-enhancing substance in her system is evidence of abuse of a minor. Sport should be protecting its athletes, not damaging them.
"Doping and the trauma of a positive test pose grave physical and psychological risks to all athletes but especially to minors. It is unacceptable that these risks have been placed on a 15-year-old.
"This power imbalance can only be resolved through an equal partnership between athletes and sporting administrators. Athletes must have independent professional representation and the ability to collectively bargain."
Global Athlete went on to criticise WADA, the IOC and CAS for not taking harsher action on Russia in the wake of the doping scandal that resulted in an initial four-year ban for the nation from competing in any global events, including the Olympics and World Cup.
However, upon appeal from RUSADA, CAS allowed Russians to compete under the provision that they must do so as neutral athletes. As such, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has been represented in Beijing as it was in Tokyo last year.
Global Athlete's statement continued: "It is blatantly clear that Valieva would have never been placed in this position if WADA, the IOC, and CAS had done their jobs and banned Russia from global sport.
"Russia has never been incentivised to reform because sport leaders favoured politics over principle and rebranding over banning.
"Athletes have lost confidence in the global anti-doping system. Calls for reform of WADA have been persistent and loud, but they have been continually cast aside and ignored by those seeking to maintain centralised unaccountable power.
"Sport administrators fear a robust, fully independent, and effective anti-doping system precisely because such a system would hold the perpetrators of institutional doping accountable.
"The doping of Kamila Valieva must be a wake-up call for every fan, parent, and athlete to stand together to demand reform. The doping of minor athletes must be stopped. Any country that systematically dopes its athletes cannot be allowed to participate in international sport. The status quo is no longer acceptable."
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been cleared to compete at the Winter Olympics by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), despite the teenager's failed drugs test.
The 15-year-old is due to compete in the individual event on Tuesday, and has been considered the heavy favourite for top spot, having already helped Russia to team figure skating gold.
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.
Her sample that failed was taken on Christmas Day during Russia's national championships, but Valieva could compete at Beijing 2022 after she appealed against the outcome and RUSADA – Russia's Anti-Doping Agency – removed a provisional suspension on February 9.
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Testing Agency (ITA) appealed against that ruling, leading to the CAS decision after meeting late on Sunday evening in Beijing.
DETAILS OF RULING
The CAS statement said: "The Panel determined that permitting the provisional suspension to remain lifted was appropriate."
The case was complicated by Valieva's age, as a WADA ruling means competitors under the age of 16 are "protected persons", and athletes concerned keep anonymity, which was cited as a reason for the decision.
The statement added: "The Panel considered fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality, irreparable harm, and the relative balance of interests as between the Applicants and the Athlete, who did not test positive during the Olympic Games in Beijing."
It continued: "The CAS Panel also emphasized that there were serious issues of untimely notification of the results of the Athlete’s anti-doping test that was performed in December 2021 which impinged upon the Athlete’s ability to establish certain legal requirements for her benefit, while such late notification was not her fault, in the middle of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022."
Norway jumped back to top spot in the Beijing 2022 medal table after another golden moment from Marte Olsbu Roeiseland, while Erin Jackson's historic gold kept up American momentum.
Germany had a barren Sunday in Beijing so dropped from first place to second, with Norway climbing after Roeiseland's triumph in the women's 10km pursuit biathlon and a cross-country skiing silver for the men's 4x10km relay team.
Roeiseland savoured her third gold of the Games, and fourth medal overall. She still has two events to come and is feeling the strain, by her own admission.
"It's something special about the Olympics and I haven't slept so good the past two nights," she said. "Of course it's a bit more pressure and you want to do something big.
"I just tried to be right here, right now and focus on the race. Before the start, my shooting coach told me to remember to enjoy this. This is once in a lifetime. He was so right."
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo was part of the relay squad and now has a medal of each colour. Norway were denied gold, which went to Russian Olympic Committee.
But silver felt good all the same, and Klaebo said afterwards: "We all need to be satisfied with today's result, and I guess we're going to celebrate it in the evening and then some of us need to start preparing for the next race. But still we're going to enjoy this evening."
Team USA, third on the table, won just one medal on Sunday, but it was a special one as Jackson triumphed in the women's 500 metres speed skating.
Trailblazer Jackson became the first black woman to win a speed skating gold at the Games, and she said of that fact: "I just hope it will do something for the sport. Hopefully more people will see this and will be, like, 'Oh, maybe I should try some of these winter sports'."
The 29-year-old's place in the Games was in doubt when she slipped in the trials, before Brittany Bowe gave up her automatic spot to allow Jackson to compete.
"It's been a big roller coaster. There's been happiness, stress, happiness. It's been a wild ride but this makes it even sweeter," said Jackson after landing gold.
"I came into our Olympic trials kind of expecting to qualify easily. Unfortunately, I didn't qualify. At the time, we only knew of having two Olympic spots and I placed third. My team-mate Brittany Bowe was amazing, very selfless. She sacrificed her spot. I was really grateful for her doing that and then luckily we ended up getting that third spot, so then she was able to race as well.
"It was just amazing having her out there on the ice. We could just be happy together after the race. She hugged me, said she is really proud of me, and I just said a lot of thank-yous. I will be grateful to her forever."
Norway have nine gold medals, Germany have eight, while the United States and Netherlands – fourth on the table – both have six.
The order of the medals table is dictated by which team have the most gold medals, rather than by total medal haul.
Norway have the most medals overall, with their total of 21 four better than Russian Olympic Committee's aggregate. Next with 14 medals are Germany and Austria, who sit sixth on the medal table, plus Canada. The Canadians have just one gold, however, to go with their four silver medals and nine bronze, so they sit 14th on the official table.
Medal table:
1. Norway (G9 S5 B7, Total: 21)
2. Germany (G8 S5 B1, Total: 14)
3. United States (G6 S5 B1, Total: 12)
4. Netherlands (G6 S4 B2, Total: 12)
5. Sweden (G5 S3 B3, Total: 11)
6. Austria (G4 S6 B4, Total: 14)
7. Russian Olympic Committee (G4 S5 B8, Total: 17)
8. China (G4 S3 B2, Total: 9)
9. Switzerland (G3 S0 B5, Total: 8)
10. France (G2 S6 B2, Total: 10)
The Netherlands' short track speed skating team took strength from fond memories of Lara van Ruijven as they secured gold in the women's 3,000m relay on Sunday in Beijing.
The death of Van Ruijven from the sudden onset of an autoimmune illness in July 2020 naturally hit the Dutch team hard. She was already a world champion in the 500m and would likely have competed in Beijing.
While they hold the world record and are ranked number one, it was far from a certainty they would seal the win against strong competition from South Korea and China, who finished second and third respectively.
The Dutch team, anchored by 1,000m champion Suzanne Schulting, set an Olympic record with a time of four minutes, 3.409 seconds, and were understandably emotional on the podium as they received their gold medals.
Yara van Kerkhof said after the race: "Lara is still in our team and she is always in our minds and in our hearts. She was a big reason we had so much fun in this sport, and she is a big reason why we are here.
"I asked Lara to give us strength. I don't know if it helps, but it feels like she is with us, and it feels like it helps. So we take her with us on the ice. We knew we were so good this season."
Schulting added: "It was really important to become Olympic champions, and I am so proud of the girls. Today, Lara proudly looked down on us.
"She has a special place in our hearts. This was her dream, too."
The other short track medals of the day were in the men's 500m, with Liu Shaoang of Hungary taking gold ahead of Konstantin Ivliev of the Russian Olympic Committee in second and Canada's Steven Dubois in third.
In the speed skating, the women's 500m gold went to Erin Jackson of the United States, while the silver was taken by Japan's Miho Takagi and the bronze went to Angelina Golikova of the Russian Olympic Committee.
Odermatt comes through on the slopes
Big things were expected of Swiss star Marco Odermatt coming into these Games, but that did not take away from a sensational win in difficult conditions in the men's giant slalom.
As the snow fell, so did many of the participants, but Odermatt was able to seal gold ahead of Slovenia's Zan Kranjec and France's Mathieu Faivre.
Having not won any medals in the 2021 World Championships or in any of the previous speed events in Beijing, Odermatt had plenty to prove but raced down the slope in a total time from his two runs of two minutes, 9.35 seconds, just 0.19 seconds ahead of Kranjec.
"We changed the ski and binding for the second run because I didn't feel so good on the feet after the first run," Odermatt said. "It took some courage to do it after leading the Olympic race, but it was definitely the right decision.
"Those 19-hundredths are not much. It was definitely because I changed the ski."
Russians win cross-country relay gold
Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) sealed gold in the men's 4x10km relay in cross-country skiing, ahead of Norway and France.
Having also won gold in the women’s 4x5km relay on Saturday, it was another day of triumph and dominance for the Russian team, who led from start to finish.
ROC's margin of victory of one minute, 7.2 seconds is the largest in the event since Norway defeated Italy by one minute, 26.7 seconds in 1992.
Alexey Chervotkin and Alexander Bolshunov gave their team a healthy lead before Denis Spitsov and Sergey Ustiugov brought it home with ease.
This was Bolshunov's third medal at Beijing 2022, adding to his victory in the skiathlon and a silver in the 15km classic.
Chervotkin was also part of the team that came second behind Norway in Pyeongchang and said that everything just "aligned" on the day.
"We were aiming for this,” he said after the win. “We tried to achieve it, and for several years we haven't been able to.
"Today everything aligned. Everything was super. The weather seemed to be hard and there was snow, but it was in our favour so everything was great."
Biathlon dominance continues
Norway's Marte Olsbu Roeiseland secured the women's 10km pursuit at Zhangjiakou on Sunday to win her fourth biathlon medal of the Games, the first woman to ever achieve such a feat.
The 31-year-old missed just a single shot at the range to make it three golds and a bronze from four events at Beijing 2022.
"I had really good preparation and I was looking forward to these Olympics for a really long time," she said after her latest win. "Every medal is special. I'm just trying to be right here and right now and be present. Right now I'm just enjoying this moment."
France's Quentin Fillon Maillet won the men's 12.5km pursuit to also seal his fourth medal in Beijing.
"I never expected to have four medals in four races," said Fillon Maillet, who has won two gold and two silver. "My goal, it's to have one in relay and one in individual, but right now I have four medals and that's incredible."
No man or woman is an island, but if Marte Olsbu Roeiseland classed herself as a country, she would sit ahead of Canada, France, Italy and Japan on the Winter Olympics medal table.
Norway are fortunate to have her, with the 31-year-old on Sunday landing her third gold medal of the Beijing 2022 Games when she triumphed in biathlon's women's 10km pursuit. She also has a bronze from this fruitful trip to China.
Roeiseland became the second biathlete to win the women's sprint and pursuit at a single Olympics, following Laura Dahlemeier four years ago in Pyeongchang.
Just how great her achievement is can be quantified by the fact only one biathlete before Roeiseland has won four medals in a Winter Olympics, and that was her legendary compatriot Ole Einar Bjorndalen, who landed four golds at Salt Lake City in 2002, on the way to his career haul of eight gold, four silver and a bronze.
Norway now have eight medals in biathlon at Beijing 2022, and with five events remaining, Germany's record haul of 11 medals, set in 2006, is in their sights.
Roeiseland still has the 4x6km relay on Wednesday to come before the 12.5km mass start event on Saturday, so her personal collection of medals may not be complete yet.
There were plenty of other stars breaking records and posting remarkable achievements, and Stats Perform looks here at the numbers behind their stories.
5 - Marco Odermatt of Switzerland won gold in the men's giant slalom skiing event, backing up his World Cup form after four wins from five races this season. His feat gave the Swiss their fifth giant slalom gold in the history of the Games, matching Austria's record.
7 - Russian Olympic Committee's 4x10km cross-country skiing relay triumph saw history made by Alexander Bolshunov, a key cog in the ROC team. The 25-year-old became the first male athlete representing either the Soviet Union, Unified Team, Russian Federation, Olympic Athletes from Russia or ROC to win seven medals at the Winter Olympics. Farmer's son Bolshunov won three silver and a bronze in Pyeongchang, and he has two gold and a silver from Beijing.
98 - Biathlete Quentin Fillon Maillet became the first French athlete to win four medals in a single Winter Olympics when he triumphed in the 12.5km pursuit, and the first from his country to take four at any Olympics - winter or summer - since fencer Roger Ducret did so 98 years ago when Paris put on the 1924 Games. He has two gold and two silver medals.
17 - Slovakian ice hockey perhaps has a major new star in 17-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky, who leads the men's tournament scoring charts with four goals already (the same number as Sweden's Lucas Wallmark). Youngster Slafkovsky was expected to be a fringe member of the squad but has shone on the big stage, netting on Sunday in a 5-2 victory over Latvia - Slovakia's first win of the competition. They await a qualification play-off on Tuesday, and may again look to Slafkovsky for inspiration. The boy wonder said: "If someone would have told me before coming here that I would score one goal, I would laugh, but actually it is happening. I am pretty surprised. I was coming here for some other role and I am just so happy it is working so well."
Kaillie Humphries will be hoping to become the first ever women's monobob Olympic champion in Beijing on Monday, while whoever wins the women's aerials will have to go through qualification and the final in the same day.
There are just four medal events to start the week, but there are also some intriguing non-medal events.
The women's ice hockey reaches the semi-final stage as Canada face Switzerland, while the United States take on Finland.
The postponed women's downhill from Sunday will hopefully take place, the men and women's curling round robins continue, and the two-man bobsleigh event begins.
The men's and women's big air events in the snowboard get under way as well, with the gold medallists from Pyeongchang, Sebastien Toutant of Canada and Anna Gasser of Austria, both back to defend their titles.
Here, Stats Perform previews Monday's medal events.
Bobsleigh
One of the new events at the Olympics is the women's monobob, which will see its first Olympic champion crowned on Monday.
In Sunday's first two heats it was Humphries of the United States who led the way ahead of Christine de Bruin of Canada and Germany's Laura Nolte.
Another American athlete, Elana Meyers Taylor, was one of the favourites but sat down in fourth place ahead of Monday's crucial final two heats.
Figure skating
The ice dance pairs will see new faces win gold medals as 2018 champions Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany are not competing in Beijing.
The rhythm dance took place on Saturday and saw French pair Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron take first place ahead of Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of the Russian Olympic Committee and Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the United States.
Freestyle skiing
The women's aerials event will take place on Monday, though qualifying was postponed on Sunday due to poor weather and will now take place on Monday afternoon Beijing time. It has been confirmed that the final is still scheduled for later in the day.
When the event finally does get going, Australia's Laura Peel and Chinese duo Xu Mengtao and Kong Fanyu are among those expected to do well.
Ski jumping
The men's team trial round, team first round and final are all scheduled for Monday, with Norway aiming to defend their title from 2018, though Germany and Japan are also likely to be in contention.
It will be the final ski jumping event of Beijing 2022.
Marte Olsbu Roeiseland and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo have already struck gold in Beijing, and the Norwegians go into Sunday's programme with designs on adding to their hauls.
There could be a stirring success for the Netherlands in short track speed skating, where the Dutch 3,000m relay women will have late former team-mate Lara van Ruijven not far from their thoughts.
The United States and Germany clash in men's ice hockey qualification, while the men's giant slalom promises to be another highlight of the day.
Here, Stats Perform previews each of the day's medal events.
Alpine skiing
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt should be the man to beat in the giant slalom, having won four of five races this season to top the World Cup standings, finishing runner-up on the other occasion.
There has been a pattern in this event, however, that has seen the last three Olympic gold medals go to the reigning world champion. France's Mathieu Faivre won the world title last year, but has not been having the best season.
Another likely contender is Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, who has one World Cup win this year and took Olympic silver in 2018 at Pyeongchang. Norway last won men's giant slalom Olympic gold in 1952.
Biathlon
Roeiseland has two golds and a bronze already in Beijing, and it would be brave to back against her in the 10km pursuit, given she has won four of the six World Cup races this season.
Perhaps the big threat will come from another Norwegian, world champion Tiril Eckhoff, who won seven of 10 races last season. Roeiseland and Eckhoff were team-mates in Norway's mixed relay triumph on the first Saturday of the Games.
The men's 12.5km pursuit is also on Sunday's schedule.
Cross-country
Klaebo has a gold and a bronze for his endeavours in China so far, and opportunity knocks again in the men's 4x10km relay.
He and Norway won gold in this event in Pyeongchang and at the last two editions of the World Championships, and a repeat is a distinct possibility, although Russia are also strong.
Klaebo is savouring another Games experience, saying this week: "In Norway we have this culture of a lot of people watching the Olympic Games, especially the cross-country. It's been for sure a lot of pressure about it and for us athletes it has been challenging sometimes. But I think we have managed to do it right, and I hope they are satisfied back home."
Short track speed skating
The death of Van Ruijven from the sudden onset of an autoimmune illness in July 2020 naturally hit the Dutch team hard. She was already a world champion in the 500m and would doubtless have competed in Beijing.
Coach Jeroen Otter spoke of his continuing sorrow ahead of Sunday's relay, where the Dutch will be firm gold medal favourites.
Otter said: "For me, Lara was a very special person. With my age, they could be my daughters, sometimes it feels like that.
"We lost her in a few days. We brought her to the hospital and I came to visit her. She was happy because she saw someone that spoke Dutch, in this strange hospital in Perpignan. Then a day and a half later, you get the message that she is having an operation. And then, it was over.
"Her team-mates are young athletes, and they bounce back. It's good that they are young. But I'm an old guy. It's easier for them to place it. Every coach wants their team to win, but it will be very special for me if they can do this one.
"For years, we've been dreaming about this team with Lara."
The 1,000m gold medallist Suzanne Schulting will anchor that team, while the men's 500m is also on Sunday's bill.
Speed skating
American Erin Jackson used to be a roller derby star, a wheeled wonder in that riotously exciting world, and a high-level racer on those skates too. Once she discovered blades and ice, a whole new sporting challenge opened up, and on Sunday the 29-year-old Floridian will be aiming to top the podium in the 500m.
She is bidding to become the first American woman to triumph over that short distance in the Olympics since Bonnie Blair in 1994 and brings strong form to the rink, having won four of this season's eight World Cup races in the discipline.
Norway claimed two gold medals on Saturday but Hannah Neise's skeleton triumph saw Germany maintain top spot in the Winter Olympics medals table.
Marius Lindvik ended Norway's 58-year wait for success in the men's individual ski jumping event, while Johannes Thingnes Boe triumphed for Norway in the men's 10km biathlon.
Boe's gold was combined with a bronze for his older brother Tarjei, while France's Quentin Fillon Maillet claimed silver – his third medal of the Beijing Games.
The pair of golds took Norway onto eight in total for the Games, while Lindvik's was the 200th in the nation's Olympic history across both summer and winter events.
However, it is Germany who kept hold of top spot in the medals table thanks to Neise's win in the women's skeleton and a silver for their women's relay team in the cross-country skiing.
"It is mind-blowing. I can't realise it right now. I think it takes some time. It's an unbelievable feeling," said Neise.
"I felt very confident, especially today. I don't know how to describe it. I worked a lot on my mental health and it was on point today."
Germany have won every sliding race so far at the Beijing Games, with Neise equally as thrilled by that team feat as her own.
"It means a lot, especially for skeleton sliders," she added. "We haven't had so many medals the past years, and we are very proud to represent our country and our federation. It's a step forward for us."
Norway (17) have the most medals overall, and have three more golds than the United States, the Netherlands and Sweden.
All three of those nations won medals on Saturday, with the USA triumphing in the mixed team snowboarding big cross final to move from sixth to third, while Sweden and the Netherlands took bronze in the women's cross-country skiing relay and the women's skeleton respectively.
Austria are in sixth with four golds, while success for speed skater Tingyu Gao in the men's 500m race has China on four golds too, in seventh.
The Russian Olympic Committee claimed a third gold with a victory in the women's cross-country skiing relay, with Italy and Japan rounding out the top 10 having both won silver medals on Saturday.
Medal table:
1. Germany (G8 S5 B1, Total: 14)
2. Norway (G8 S3 B6, Total: 17)
3. United States (G5 S5 B1, Total: 11)
4. Netherlands (G5 S4 B2, Total: 11)
5. Sweden (G5 S2 B3, Total: 10)
6. Austria (G4 S6 B4, Total: 14)
7. China (G4 S3 B1, Total: 8)
8. Russian Olympic Committee (G3 S4 B6, Total: 13)
9. Italy (G2 S5 B4, Total: 11)
10. Japan (G2 S3 B5, Total: 10)
Marius Lindvik ended Norway's long wait for a Winter Olympics gold in the men's large hill individual event as the ski jumper triumphed on Saturday.
Lindvik topped qualification on Friday and kept up that level of performance to claim gold ahead of reigning champion Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan and Germany's Karl Geiger.
The 23-year-old Lindvik sealed his title with a combined score of 296.1 points thanks to jumps of 140.5m and 140m.
Lindvik's success ended a 58-year wait for a Norway gold in the men's event, since Toralf Engan won in 1964.
No nation has won as many medals (22) or golds (eight) in the event as Norway, however, with the country having triumphed six consecutive times from 1924 to 1952, when there was only one ski jumping event.
Despite their prior success, Norway's 58-year drought was the longest wait for any country to win a second gold in the large hill.
It also brought up a milestone 200th gold medal across both the Olympics and Winter Olympics for Norway in total (60 summer, 140 winter). They are the ninth nation to reach the landmark.
"It feels insane," Lindvik said. "I couldn't imagine it."
American old hands Nick Baumgartner and Lindsey Jacobellis landed a glorious gold in the Winter Olympics mixed team snowboard cross on Saturday.
Jacobellis, 36, followed her individual triumph earlier in the Games by pairing up with 40-year-old Baumgartner, who became the oldest snowboard medallist in Olympic history.
Mainstays of the United States team, the veterans proved a fine combination in the inaugural staging of the mixed team event.
For Baumgartner, who could only manage 10th in the men's individual event on Thursday, topping the podium marked the pinnacle of his career. At his fourth Games, he finally has a medal to show.
The Michigan man said he had become "hungrier" for success as the years have passed, adding: "As you get older, it's tough to watch the young kids take over and try to push you out of the sport, so that hunger is strong.
"We're embracing oldies for goldies! I don't need a jacket right now as I have an inner fire burning!"
He had a message for all 40-year-olds: that there is no reason to step back from life goals.
"You're never too late to take what you want from life and follow your dreams," Baumgartner said. "You let yourself down if you quit too early, [it] doesn't matter how old you are.
"Our success at our age is a perfect example of that and we both hope our stories can inspire other people to go out there. You get one shot at life, you should live the life you want and don't let anything stop you, [it] doesn't matter how old you are. Hard work is the answer. Go out there and get it."
The brilliant Boe brothers
Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Boe and Tarjei Boe took gold and bronze respectively in biathlon's men's 10-kilometre sprint, a giddy thrill for the brothers who grew up amid standard sibling rivalry.
France's Quentin Fillon Maillet denied them a one-two, but it was a gleeful day for the brothers who also won gold in the mixed relay on the opening Saturday.
Younger brother Johannes Thingnes said afterwards that Tarjei, five years his senior, had been "a pain in the butt until he moved out when he was 16, then we saw less of each other".
"Biathlon is easy compared to all the competitions I've had with him," added the champion. "I'm so proud. I'm more proud of him than I am of myself. A bronze medal means gold to him."
They are the first siblings to win medals in the same individual biathlon race in an Olympics, and Tarjei saluted his brother's development, saying: "I saw it quite early, 10 years ago or maybe earlier, that he would be unbeatable in a few years.
"My goal was to win as much as I could before he grew up, and I did – the start of my career was quite strong. Now he is by far the best athlete in the world."
Big hill, big thrill for Lindvik
Norway's Marius Lindvik won the large hill ski jumping gold, finishing ahead of Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi and Germany's Karl Geiger.
Poland's Kamil Stoch took fourth place, edged out of the medals as he attempted in vain to win a third consecutive large hill gold.
Lindvik had finished seventh in the normal hill event but made up for disappointment there with two giant jumps as he became Norway's first champion in the large hill discipline since 1964.
"I knew if I had a good day I was going to fight for the medals," Lindvik said. "After the normal hill I took a step back and reset and just looked forward to the big hill.
"It was probably two of my best jumps. It's pretty sick that I managed to perform two good jumps when it counts."
Golden Gao lifts hosts, breaks curse
Tingyu Gao took the men's speed skating 500 metres title in an Olympic record of 34.32 seconds, giving hosts China a fourth gold of the Games.
It made the 24-year-old, who was a bronze medallist four years ago in Pyeongchang, only the second Chinese speed skater to win an Olympic gold medal. Zhang Hong was the first in 2014, winning the women's 1,000m.
Gao said he intended to "go back to school" after achieving his sporting goal and predicted China would be "unstoppable" in speed skating in years to come.
He was China's flagbearer at the opening ceremony, and that has typically been seen as a cursed privilege, with those handed the honour often failing to match expectations when they go into action.
Gao bucked that trend and said: "I was really scared of this, but as the Republic of China's flagbearer, I wanted to win gold for China.
"In the competition, I didn't care about the curse. I think I did very well leading the Chinese athletes to achieve their goals. As a Chinese you need to walk the talk and fulfil your promises."
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will learn on Monday if she can continue to compete at the Winter Olympics, after the teenager's failed drugs test came to light.
The 15-year-old is due to compete in the individual event, starting on Tuesday, and has been considered an overwhelming favourite for gold.
Valieva tested positive in December for trimetazidine, a medication that is used to prevent angina attacks but is on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned list because it improves blood flow to the heart.
The result came from a sample taken on December 25 during Russia's national championships, but Valieva was allowed to come to Beijing 2022 after she appealed against the outcome and RUSADA – Russia's Anti-Doping Agency – lifted a provisional suspension on February 9.
The International Testing Agency (ITA) said that decision was reached on the grounds of a "reasoned decision" that has not been disclosed.
A dazzling Valieva helped Russian Olympic Committee win team figure skating gold on Monday, but the medals for that event have yet to be handed out.
She has continued to train on the Olympic ice, but the youngster's active participation in the rest of the Games hinges on a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing on Sunday evening in Beijing, with the outcome due to be announced on Monday afternoon in the Chinese capital.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and WADA appealed against the RUSADA decision, and they were joined in that action on Saturday by the International Skating Union (ISU).
CAS, in a statement issued on Saturday, confirmed a three-person panel would deal with the IOC, WADA and ISU procedures together, with the hearing held by videoconference.
Saturday sees us pass the halfway point of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, with six medals on the line in China's capital.
More drama awaits in the snowboarding as the first mixed team snowboard cross takes place at the Olympics, while Japan's Kobayashi Ryoyu looks to cement his place as the world's premier ski jumper.
One of the more intriguing non-medal events of the day will see the United States and Canada face off in the men's ice hockey, the first time that the two nations have met since Canada beat their rivals 1-0 in the semi-finals at Sochi 2014.
Here, Stats Perform previews each of the day's medal events.
Biathlon
Norway's Johannes Thingnes Boe already has two medals from these Games, but is aiming to arguably win his most important one on Saturday in the men's 10km sprint, the only one that eluded him at Pyeongchang 2018.
He will likely face fierce competition from France's Quentin Fillon Maillet, who won gold in the individual biathlon on Tuesday, while Sweden's Sebastian Samuelsson could also be one to keep an eye on.
Samuelsson currently leads the World Cup standings and finished ahead of both Boe and Fillon Maillet in consecutive sprint events in Ostersund earlier in the season.
Cross-country skiing
The women's 4x5km relay takes place on Saturday, with Norway hoping to successfully defend their title from Pyeongchang.
Norway has won two of the last three golds in this race, with Sweden taking the win at Sochi 2014.
Skeleton
Women's skeleton is celebrating its 20th year on the Olympic programme, and Germany's Tina Hermann will be hoping to replicate the success of compatriot Christopher Grotheer, who won the men's gold on Friday.
Hermann won the test event at this track in October, and sits in third place on a time of two minutes, 4.57 seconds after the first two heats on Friday.
Australia's Jaclyn Narracott is in first place heading into the final two heats on two minutes, ahead of another German, Hannah Neise.
Ski jumping
The men's large hill event qualifying saw Norway's Marius Lindvik and Halvor Egner Granerud take first and second respectively, and both will be fancied in Saturday's final.
Granerud was the 2020-21 overall World Cup winner, but he and his compatriot will have to look out for Japan's Kobayashi Ryoyu, arguably the favourite for gold. The 25-year-old won the recent Four Hills Tournament as well as the normal hill event in Beijing.
According to the Beijing 2022 website, the large hill at the National Ski Jumping Centre has a height of 446 feet, "with the landing funnelling straight into a large stadium which can be used for football matches in the summer."
Snowboard
History will be made as the first mixed team snowboard cross medals will be handed out at the Olympic Games.
Pairs made up of one male and one female competitor will face off in quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final on Saturday, with current world champions Australia among the favourites along with the United States.
There will be 15 teams competing from 10 nations, with Australia, Canada, France, Italy and the United States having two teams.
Speed skating
Haavard Lorentzen will look to defend his title from 2018 but faces strong competition in the men's 500m. The 29-year-old set an Olympic record in Pyeongchang and became the first Norwegian to win gold in the event since 1948.
Canada's Laurent Dubreuil recorded the fastest time in the 500m last year and is currently at the top of the World Cup standings, while South Korea's Cha Min-kyu will aim to make amends for missing out four years ago when Lorentzen beat him by 0.01 of a second in the final.
Europe dominated the Winter Olympics medal table after Friday's successes were shared out, with no nation picking up more than one gold and Germany holding on to top spot.
Snowboard halfpipe champion Ayumu Hirano was the only non-European to earn podium-topping honours, as he delivered Japan's second gold in Beijing.
Hirano competed in skateboarding at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and said that stood him in good stead for his mission on snow, as he fended off rivals including Shaun White, who finished in fourth.
"Experiencing something that is different from snowboarding helps me mentally and how I manage my emotions," Hirano said.
"Skateboarding helped me substantially in that sense. This event was a huge challenge for me, but that experience itself gave me a lot of confidence, looking back over the last four years. Skateboarding helped make me stronger."
American success dried up for 24 hours, after a golden day for Team USA on Thursday, and they slipped to sixth after missing out on the medals front.
Germany consolidated first place, now with seven gold and two silver medals, after Christopher Grotheer led a one-two in men's skeleton, ahead of team-mate Axel Jungk.
Norway sit second, with Marte Olsbu Roeiseland an emphatic winner of the women's 7.5km sprint biathlon and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo taking bronze in the men's 15km classic cross-country, behind Finnish winner Iivo Niskanen.
Klaebo, a 25-year-old who has four Olympic gold medals to his name, including three from 2018 in Pyeongchang, did not mind his first experience of a lower position on the podium at the Games.
"For me it's the first [Olympic] medal in distance and I think this one is as good as a gold medal for sure. So really, really satisfied," he said.
Netherlands struck gold in speed skating again, this time in the short course 1,000 metres discipline as Suzanne Schulting successfully defended her title. After setting a world record to win her quarter-final, Schulting did not need to go so quickly in the final.
She was runner-up in the 500m earlier in her Beijing campaign, and said on Friday: "I was really happy with the silver. But when I was at the medal plaza and stood on the medal podium, I was like, 'I really want to have that gold one'. So it was kind of motivation for today."
Behind third-placed Netherlands sat Sweden, who landed a second speed skating gold through Nils van der Poel, and then Austria, completing an all-European top five on the medal table, with the USA and China sixth and seventh after relatively quiet days.
Medal table:
1. Germany (G7 S4 B0, Total: 11)
2. Norway (G6 S3 B5, Total: 14)
3. Netherlands (G5 S4 B1, Total: 10)
4. Sweden (G5 S2 B2, Total: 9)
5. Austria (G4 S6 B4, Total: 14)
6. United States (G4 S5 B1, Total: 10)
7. China (G3 S3 B1, Total: 7)
8. Russian Olympic Committee (G2 S4 B6, Total: 12)
9. Italy (G2 S4 B4, Total: 10)
10. Japan (G2 S2 B4, Total: 8)
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