Kamila Valieva was in tears after an error-strewn routine cost her a medal in the Winter Olympics figure skating singles competition in Beijing.

The 15-year-old Russian had led the standings following Tuesday's short program routine, having been controversially cleared to compete despite testing positive for performance-enhancing drug trimetazidine.

Valieva was unable to add to the gold medal she won in the team event, though, as she made a string of mistakes under huge pressure at the Capital Indoor Stadium on Thursday.

The teenager fell three times and was distraught after failing to secure a place on the podium, with a score of 141.83 for her final routine - and 224.09 overall - leaving her in fourth place.

There was stunned silence before and after Valieva left the ice to warm applause following such a difficult time for the Kazan-born youngster.

Valieva's team-mate Anna Shcherbakova took gold after she was awarded a score of 175.75 for a classy routine, taking her overall total to 255.95.

Alexandra Trusova made it a Russian Olympic Committee one-two after she produced the best routine of the day, earning a score of 177.13 to finish on 251.73, and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan took silver.

Valieva was inconsolable as her coach attempted to comfort her, having come under such huge scrutiny this week on and off the ice.

Mikaela Shiffrin was left feeling "like a joke" after her latest Beijing 2022 disappointment as the American recorded her third DNF in the women's combined.

Thursday's event provided Shiffrin with a chance to redeem herself after crashing out of the giant slalom and slalom, before finishing ninth in the super-G and 18th in the downhill.

But after recording the best time in training on Wednesday, the two-time gold medallist and reigning world champion endured yet more heartbreak on the main run.

She was fifth after the downhill in the two-event competition and well positioned to earn a fourth Winter Olympics medal heading into the slalom run.

However, Shiffrin – famed for her consistency – skied out of the slalom course at the 10th gate at the Yanqing National Alpine Ski Centre.

Switzerland's Michelle Gisin defended her combined crown by finishing more than a second ahead of team-mate Wendy Holdener, while Italy's Federica Brignone took bronze.

Asked by Discovery+ what is not working for her in Beijing, Shiffrin said: "That's the question you want to know and it's what I want to know too. 

"I don't really understand what's not working on these races. Especially today.

"Even in the GS and slalom I felt maybe I had too high intensity, I was trying too hard, and I just didn't get into my rhythm first.

"Today I was much more relaxed. Just 'Hey it's slalom, I know how to do slalom, I will take the chance to get into my tempo and start pushing each gate and build it from there.'

"I didn't want to hold back on the run just to make it to the finish – and I wasn't. But I also wasn't going 110 per cent. I was just skiing, and it still didn't work. 

"I don't have a really good explanation for it, and you can imagine how annoying that is for me, because I always want to find an explanation. Right now it's just, there isn't one."

Speaking to reporters later on Thursday, Shiffrin went further as she opened up on the hurt of falling short in each event.

"The whole shebang in sport is that you can have preparation, you can have confidence, or maybe you're not fully confident, you can have all of these pieces," she said. 

"Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I have literally no idea why we keep coming back and doing it. Especially after today.

"But I'm going to come back out tomorrow and ski some parallel GS, because I'm that much of an idiot. I don't know why we keep doing it, but making good turns feels amazing. 

"And I've been doing that these entire two weeks. I wish there was something to show for it. Right now, I just feel like a joke."

Shiffrin has one final chance to win a medal when competing for the United States in Saturday's mixed team parallel event.

The United States' Nick Goepper won his third successive Winter Olympics medal in the men's freeski slopestyle and became the oldest medallist in event in the process.

Goepper, who won bronze in 2014 and silver in 2018, is only the third freestyle skier to win three Olympic medals in the same event.
 
Aged at 27 years and 339 days, Goepper posted a best score of 86.48 to finish behind compatriot Alex Hall (90.10) as the USA continued its dominance in the sport. 

The USA have won six medals in this event in the three times its has appeared at the Games, while the 31 medals won in freestyle skiing is four more than next-best Canada.

Jesper Tjader took bronze off his first run of 85.38 – Sweden's first medal in this event, and their third in men's freestyle skiing overall at Beijing 2022.

"It means a lot. My goal with the Olympics is to land my best run ever, and today I finally landed it. I couldn't be more stoked," Tjader said.

Stats Perform looks at some more of the standout numbers following the conclusion of Wednesday's action in Beijing.

2 - Erik Valnes and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo led Norway to the team sprint gold medal, the latter becoming the first cross-country skier – male or female – to win two Olympic hold medals in the team sprint.

1 - The Russian Olympic Committee placed second to Sweden in the women's 4x6km relay, meaning they are the first nation to win an Olympic medal in all three biathlon relay events at a single Winter Games following their success in the mixed relay and men's relay.

3 - After helping Sweden to finish second in the cross-country team sprint, Jonna Sundling completed a full set of medals at Beijing 2022 as she added to the gold won in the individual sprint and bronze in the relay.

8 - France came out on top in the men's Alpine skiing slalom for the first time since 2006 thanks to Clement Noel. It is the eighth medal France have won in the event, matching Italy in second but still some way behind Austria (18).

3 - Korean athlete Choi Minjeong successfully defended her gold medal in the women’s 1500m in short-track speed-skating, which was her third medal in Beijing following silver medals in the 1000m and 3000m relay.

Gold for Norway in the men's team sprint classic in cross-country skiing on Wednesday ensured they maintain a three-gold advantage over Germany in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics medal table.

Erik Valnes and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo brought home the victory for Norway ahead of Iivo Niskanen and Joni Maki of Finland and Russian pair Alexander Bolshunov and Alexander Terentev.

Germany's only gold of the day actually came in the women's team sprint event, finishing ahead of Sweden and the Russian Olympic Committee, with the same three countries also taking the medals in the women's 4x6km relay in biathlon (Sweden gold, ROC silver, Germany bronze).

There were two medals for the United States, who stay in third place in the table, with both coming in the men's freeski slopestyle. Alex Hall claimed gold while Nick Goepper won silver.

It was a productive day for hosts China as they leapfrogged both Netherlands and Austria into fourth place after freestyle skier Qi Guangpu's gold in the men's aerials.

Austria fall to fifth despite silver for Johannes Strolz in the men's slalom, while Sweden are now joint-sixth with the Netherlands after their biathlon gold, with both nations on an identical record of six gold, four silver and four bronze.

The Russian Olympic Committee actually has the second most medals at the Beijing Games with 24, adding a silver and three bronze medals to their tally on Wednesday, but with only four gold they remain in ninth place.

France stay 10th despite gold for alpine skier Clement Noel in the men's slalom. 

Medal table:

1. Norway (G13 S7 B8, Total: 28)
2. Germany (G10 S6 B4, Total: 20)
3. United States (G8 S7 B4, Total: 19)
4. China (G7 S4 B2, Total: 13)
5. Austria (G6 S7 B4, Total: 17)
T6. Netherlands (G6 S4 B4, Total: 14)
T6. Sweden (G6 S4 B4, Total: 14)
8. Switzerland (G5 S0 B5, Total: 10)
9. Russian Olympic Committee (G4 S8 B12, Total: 24)
10. France (G4 S7 B2, Total: 13)

Clement Noel was in dreamland after conquering the stress to end France's 16-year wait for an Alpine skiing Olympic gold medal on Wednesday.

A blistering second run of 49.79 seconds sealed the men's slalom title in Beijing.

Noel finished four-hundredths of a second off the podium in fourth place in the PyeongChang four years ago, but took he took the top step on this occasion.

The 24-year-old was in sixth place after his opening run before claiming gold by a huge margin of 0.61 seconds from AustrJohannes Strolz, with Sebastian Foss-Solevaag taking bronze for Norway.

Not since Antoine Deneriaz took the men's downhill title at the Turin 2006 Games had France won an Olympic Alpine skiing gold medal before Noel delivered on the big stage.

He said: "Olympic Games is always stressful, it's once every four years. You have one race, around one minute and 40 seconds just to prove that and show your best skiing so for sure it was stressful.

"I was quite fast in training last few days, I had good feelings, way better than in January. That also fuelled me up for this race today. I knew that I liked the snow. I was quite confident, it’s not the same as a World Cup race.

"Everybody will push hard for the Olympics and I had to do this also without asking myself too many questions."

He added: "It was a goal for me to go back to France with a medal. I knew that I can do this, but it's always really difficult to do it in the most important moment, so [I'm] really happy to manage that pressure and to do it pretty well, especially on the second run."

Finland's women claim ice hockey bronze, USA men's team stunned by Slovakia

Finland celebrated winning a women's ice hockey bronze medal at the expense of Switzerland at the Wukesong Sports Centre.

The Swiss were consigned to a 4-0 defeat as their opponents produced an inspired performance.

There was an upset in the men's competition earlier in the day as the United States were consigned to a 3-2 loss by Slovakia.

With no NHL participation in Beijing, a young American side led 2-1 late in regulation time. However, Marek Hrivik struck with 43 seconds left to force 10 minutes of overtime and Peter Cehlarik was the only player to convert his penalty in a shoot-out to send Slovakia through along with Finland, the Russian Olympic Committee and Sweden, who beat Canada 2-0 to advance.

Fontana makes history

Arianna Fontana became Italy's most decorated Winter Olympian when the speed skating legend won an 11th medal.

The 35-year-old great took silver in the 1500 metres behind reigning champion Choi Minjeong in what is her fifth Games.

Fontana has won more medals than any other short-track skater and broke another record in the Chinese capital.

She moved beyond cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo to go out on her own as Italy's greatest Winter Olympics athlete.

Canada rock Republic of Korea

The final event of the men's short-track speed-skating competition was one to remember, with Canada beating Republic of Korea to relay gold.

Canada came out on top in the 5000m event, stunning the Korean team in a tense final.

There was also drama in the battle for bronze, with Italy getting the verdict in a photo finish despite clocking the same time as the ROC.

Kamila Valieva takes to the ice looking to secure her second figure skating medal of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on Thursday.

The Russian teenager was controversially cleared to continue competing this week despite testing positive for performance-enhancing drug trimetazidine in December.

Valieva won a team figure skating gold last week before her positive test was revealed and is on course to win the singles title after leading the way in the short program routine on Tuesday.

Another teen sensation, China's Eileen Gu – who has already won freeski big air gold and slopestyle silver - begins her quest for a third medal in Beijing as the women's freeski halfpipe qualification gets underway.

Stats Perform takes a look at Thursday's upcoming medal events:

Alpine skiing

The women's alpine program ends with the combined event, with 2018 Olympic champion Michelle Gisin from Switzerland hoping to become the third woman to successfully defend the title after Janica Kostelic of Croatia (2002-2006) and Maria Hofl-Riesch of Germany (2010-2014).

We could see Mikaela Shiffrin's redemption story after the American, who has had a Games to forget so far, crashed out of the giant slalom and slalom, before finishing ninth in the super G and 18th in the downhill.

A silver medallist at PyeongChang 2018, Shiffrin is also the reigning world champion, and achieved the best time in training on Wednesday.

Figure skating

Valieva leads the way in the women's single skating event after receiving 82.16 points in the short program on Tuesday.

The 15-year-old is ahead of another Russian, Anna Shcherbakova (80.20) and Japan's Kaori Sakamoto (79.84) heading into Thursday's free skate.

Freestyle skiing

In the women's ski cross event, all eyes will be on Sweden's Sandra Naeslund. She has won eight out of nine races of this season's World Cup, including the final event before the Olympics last month.

Marielle Thompson of Canada, the 2014 Olympic champion, is the only other woman to have won a World Cup event this season, and she will be hoping to complete an inspirational return after rupturing her ACL in her right knee last March.

The qualification for the men's and women's freeski halfpipe begin, with Gu aiming to win another medal in front of her adoring fans in Beijing, with the women's final set to take place on Friday.

Ice hockey

The anticipated women's gold medal game between Canada and the United States takes place on Thursday.

Both teams comfortably made it to the final on Monday after Canada beat Switzerland 10-3 and USA overcame Finland 4-1 in the semis.

The rivals have already played each other in Beijing, with the Canadians winning 4-2 in the group stage.

Nordic combined

The final event of the Nordic combined, the team Gundersen large hill 4x5km relay, will see Norway's team of Joergen Graabak, Jens Luraas Oftebro, Espen Bjoernstad and Espen Andersen looking to increase their nation's dominance.

Norway (three) is the only country to have won more than one Nordic combined medal so far, but they will likely face competition from the other nations to medal: Germany, Austria and Japan.

Speed skating

In the women's 1000m, we will certainly have a new champion after Jorien ter Mors of the Netherlands, who won gold in 2018, recently retired.

Fellow Dutch skater Jutta Leerdam, the 2019 world champion, is her nation's best hope, while United States duo Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson, who won gold in the 500m, are also among the favourites.

Japan's Miho Takagi could become the third reigning world sprint champion to win Olympic 1000m gold after Karin Kania-Enke of Germany and American Bonnie Blair.

United States forward Sam Hentges accepted his side could have no complaints after suffering a shock elimination from the men's Winter Olympics ice hockey competition at the hands of Slovakia.

The two-time champions were knocked out at the quarter-final stage for the second Games running with a penalty shoot-out loss in Wednesday's contest at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing.

USA fielded a young side and recovered to lead 2-1 in the closing stages of regulation time, but Marek Hrivik struck with 43 seconds left to force 10 minutes of overtime and it was Slovakia who held their nerve as the contest went the distance.

Peter Cehlarik was the only player to convert his penalty in the shoot-out, with Andy Miele's saved attempt ensuring Slovakia advanced to the final four with a 3-2 victory.

"That's what happens when you don't play well," said Hentges, who gave USA the lead after Nick Abruzzese had cancelled out Juraj Slafkovsky's opener.

"We didn't play well in the second and third period and when you get to this level that's what happens.

"We didn't play how we played the last three games. It's as simple as that, that's why we lost."

USA, who were outshot 36-35 by Slovakia and went 0-for-4 on the power play, end their Beijing 2022 campaign with three wins and a defeat.

Ben Meyers agreed with Hentges that there can be no excuses.

"We played really well in our first three games and this is our first bad game," he said. "Now we are done. 

"I have no complaints at all about anything. I'm just disappointed that we lost this time."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has denied applying double standards towards American and Russian athletes amid the Kamila Valieva doping scandal.

Russian teenager Valieva was controversially cleared to go for a second gold of the Beijing Winter Olympics this week despite testing positive for performance-enhancing drug trimetazidine in December.

Valieva won a team figure skating gold last week before her positive test was revealed and is on course to win the singles title on Thursday after leading the way in the short program routine on Tuesday.

The 15-year-old was given the green light to compete at the Capital Indoor Stadium due to "exceptional circumstances", largely due to the her age ensuring she is considered to be a "protected person" under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.

American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson was incensed by that decision, as she was banned from competing in the Tokyo Olympics last year after testing positive for cannabis.

Richardson claimed to have had smoked marijuana after discovering from a reporter that her biological mother had died.

She cited racial discrimination for being unable to go for gold in Japan and questioned how her positive test came to light so quickly compared to Valieva's.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams on Wednesday stated that the two cases should not be compared.

"You can't talk about double standards in relation to Russian and American athletes, each case is individual," he said.

"Richardson's positive doping test was discovered on June 19, and the result was received before the start of the Olympics. She was suspended for a month. There is nothing in common between these two cases."

Adams confirmed there will be an asterisk placed against the women's figure skating competition in Beijing until Valieva's doping case is concluded and expressed sympathy for the teenager.

"This Games, which has not concluded, concerns an issue in December," he said. "She is in the centre of a lot of speculation. It must be very tough for her.

"We of course are in touch with the team, her welfare is the team's first priority, and obviously we are very careful of that but there's only so much that we can do."

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 19^th 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."