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.

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.