Canada's Max Parrot won an emotional gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics in the snowboard slopestyle, three years after being diagnosed with cancer.

Parrot's score of 90.96 on his second run was enough to secure victory ahead of China's Su Yiming and fellow Canadian Mark McMorris, who won silver and bronze respectively.

Despite only finishing 10th in qualifying, Parrot put together a high-scoring run to go one better than the silver he achieved at PyeongChang 2018.

"This is so incredibly special, especially with the run I did today. It's the biggest run I've done in my entire career," he said afterwards. "I am extremely proud of myself and to take gold on that run means so much for me."

The 27-year-old was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma – a type of blood cancer – in late 2018 and was forced to stop competing so he could undergo chemotherapy.

However, he announced he was cancer-free in July 2019 and worked to get back to his competitive best.

"I don't take anything for granted anymore," he added. "It made me such a better snowboarder, as well. I try to appreciate every day now – the little things in the morning through to my passion of snowboard. I try to smile all day long now, and the results come with that now as well. It's amazing."

Speed skating glory for Wust

Ireen Wust became the first person to win an individual gold medal at five different Olympics after retaining her 1500m title on Monday.

Wust beat the much-fancied Japanese skater Miho Takagi, who claimed silver, breaking the Olympic record in the process with a time of one minute 53.28 seconds.

The 35-year-old is retiring next month, but despite being ranked seventh at the World Cup, had enough to secure her sixth gold medal and 12th medal overall at the Olympics.

In the shorter track events, Italy's Arianna Fontana retained her 500m title while  Hungary's Liu Shaolin Sandor initially won the men's 1000m final but was eventually disqualified for initiating contact when overtaking China's Ren Ziwei.

There was another collision between the two on the finish line but Ren was declared the winner after an official review ahead of countryman Li Wenlong and Liu Shaoang, Sandor's brother.

Valieva makes history in figure skating

The Russian Olympic Committee won gold in the figure skating team event but all eyes were on Kamila Valieva as the 15-year-old became the first female figure skater to land a quadruple jump at an Olympic Games.

The ROC had already sealed the win ahead of the United States and Japan before Valieva executed a quadruple salchow at the start of her free skate, then landing another quad later in the same routine, though she fell after attempting an ambitious third.

Valieva has been breaking records since making her senior debut less than six months ago, becoming the first woman to score more than 90 points and setting a world record in the short program at the European Championships last month.

She is the heavy favourite for the women's event, which takes place on February 15 and 17. 

Feuz wins downhill gold

Switzerland's Beat Feuz won the men's downhill, finishing ahead of 41-year-old Frenchman Johan Clarey at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.

Feuz's winning run of one minute 42.69 seconds was just one 10th of a second ahead of Clarey.

However, Clarey did make history with his silver medal, becoming the oldest Olympic medallist in alpine skiing, while Austria's Matthias Mayer claimed bronze.

"I knew I only had one chance left in my career to get a medal in the Olympics," Clarey said. "When you are a medallist, whether you are 20 or 41, it doesn't matter."

Mikaela Shiffrin was disqualified from the giant slalom on Monday as her Winter Olympics began in disappointing fashion.

The defending champion missed a gate and fell on her hip only five turns into her first run at the challenging course known as the Ice River.

It was a rare error from the United States star, who has three Winter Olympic medals including two golds. She is bidding to become the first American to win three golds at the Games in alpine skiing.

Shiffrin has only failed to finish 14 times in 229 starts across all disciplines at World Cup, Olympic and world championship events and was top of the overall World Cup standings coming into Beijing.

"I won't hide the disappointment, but I'm not going to dwell on it because that won't help me," she said.

"I felt that I was pushing really quite well and attacking. But there was just one turn, I had a small, small mistiming when I really went to push on my edges and that makes all the difference.

"I have been really working on the right timing of my turns and really never thought this was going to be part of the issue. But it wasn't because I was holding back, so I can be proud of that. But it's five turns into the Olympic GS, there's disappointment for sure."

In total, there were 19 DNFs among the 80 starters in round one alone, including last year's World Cup winner Marta Bassino.

Sweden's Sara Hector took gold at the end of the second run, ahead of Federica Brignone and Lara Gut-Behrami.

Shiffrin, who will compete for five more medals at these Games, will next be involved in the slalom on Wednesday.

Ryoyu Kobayashi ended a 50-year wait for Japan as he landed ski jumping gold at the Winter Olympics on Sunday.

Not since Yukio Kasaya in 1972 had Japan triumphed in the men's normal hill ski jumping event, but the 25-year-old Kobayashi fended off all-comers to top the podium.

It was Japan's first Olympic gold in any form of ski jumping since the country hosted the 1998 Games in Nagano.

Kobayashi scored 275.0 points for his two jumps, placing him ahead of two surprise medallists, Austria's Manuel Fettner and Poland's Dawid Kubacki.

Fettner came into the event having not featured on a World Cup podium in an individual event since January 2017, while Kubacki has been enduring a tough season. Both outshone World Cup leader Karl Geiger, with the German only able to finish 15th.

Kobayashi, who finished seventh four years ago in Pyeongchang, said: "I can't believe it at all. My two jumps were perfect, which I was very pleased with.

"I had only good feelings when I was performing. At the last Olympics I realised many things that I was missing, so this time I did what I had to do. This is why I got the victory."

It was a remarkable day for Australia too, landing two medals on the same day at the Winter Games for the first time, as Tess Coady took bronze in women's snowboard slopestyle and Jakara Anthony struck gold in the freestyle skiing moguls.

Anthony said of her golden moment: "It was really incredible. I really feel like it was my best run on the course, and I'm so proud that I was able to let myself ski like that.

"It's a real mental game to let yourself do what you are capable of, and I really feel I was able to achieve that, which is something really special and something I've been working really hard to be able to do. Gold medal was the plan, so I'd say it went according to plan."

Anthony's gold means Australia now have an all-time haul of nine Olympic medals in freestyle skiing, with five of those won by women.

Snowboard glory for New Zealand

For the first time, New Zealand have a gold medallist at the Winter Olympics. Step forward Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, champion in the slopestyle, who triumphantly navigated an obstacle-packed course described by American silver medallist Julia Marino as "the hardest ever".

Sadowski-Synnott was embraced by Marino and Coady, and said: "That was a pretty special moment and probably I'll never forget it. It was just so amazing and special.

"To win New Zealand's first Winter Olympic gold means so much to me and I can't believe that I managed to do it. I'm just super proud to be Kiwi and I hope I made everyone at home proud."

Bolshunov storms to skiathlon title

Russian Olympic Committee's Alexander Bolshunov insisted there was nothing suspicious about his huge margin of victory in the men's skiathlon cross-country race. 

The 25-year-old finished one minute and 11 seconds clear of compatriot Denis Spitsov, with Finland's Iivo Niskanen taking bronze.

"It is something unbelievable. I am an Olympic champion and this is for life," said a thrilled Bolshunov.

Russian sport has been tainted by doping, but Bolshunov insisted he is a clean athlete and reacted unhappily to being asked about his credibility after landing gold.

He said: "You don't just become an Olympic champion all of a sudden. Over the past years, I proved that in every race and always show distinguished results and also always battle to the end.

"As for doping, when I hear those words, it honestly turns me inside out. I do not accept that and when I hear those words, I don't even want to hear them.

"I hate hearing this because for me it is something that is incompatible with sport. We have clean sportsmen. We have clean athletes here at the Olympics."

Ludwig lives up to billing

It was too windy for downhill skiing on Sunday, with action on those slopes postponed to Monday, but there was no holding back the luge competitors, as Germany's Johannes Ludwig carried off the men's singles gold medal.

The 35-year-old pre-Games favourite's combined time of three minutes 48.735 seconds edged him ahead of Austrian silver medallist Wolfgang Kindl and Italian Dominik Fischnaller, who took bronze.

"I said to myself before the last two runs, 'Let's take it like a game, yeah? It's called the Olympic Games, let’s take it like a game,'" said Ludwig. "I hoped that I could make a little bit [of a] show for the people here, then it's a fun race to watch. This was important for me and I just said to myself, 'Let it go'. What happens, happens."

Another long wait ended, as world champion Nils van der Poel became Sweden's first speed skating Olympic gold medallist since 1988, winning the 5,000 metres.

Three-time defending champion Sven Kramer could only finish ninth for Netherlands, saying afterwards it would be his last appearance over the distance.

The medals started to be dished out on Saturday, and there are more up for grabs as the Winter Olympics moves into day three in Beijing.

There are 11 different disciplines to take in on Sunday, with one of winter sport's biggest names in action.

Two-time reigning Olympic champion Jamie Anderson leads the field in the women's slopestyle.

Here, Stats Perform provides a rundown of the medal events taking place on Sunday.

Alpine Skiing

The men's downhill event will be the first time a medal is up for grabs in the alpine ski programme in Beijing.

With the 2018 Olympic champion, Aksel Lund Svindal, having retired, and his compatriot Kjetil Jansrud missing through injury, then Matthias Mayer - who claimed gold in 2014 in Sochi - is among the favourites.

Cross-Country Skiing 

Norway claimed the first gold medal of this year's Games when Therese Johaug stormed to victory in the women's 7.5km x 7.5km skiathlon on Saturday, and her compatriot Johannes Hoesflot will hope to match that feat in the men's equivalent.

Hoesflot is a reigning world champion in three disciplines, and he won three golds in 2018, albeit he finished a disappointing 10th in the 30km skiathlon four years ago.

Norway dominated the podium in the event in 2018, but neither Simen Hegstad Krueger or Martin Johnsrud Sundby will be competing this time. Hans Christer Holund will be looking to improve on his bronze.

Freestyle Skiing

The women's moguls gold is up for grabs on Sunday, with reigning world and Olympic champion Perrine Laffont of France in line to defend her title.

Laffont will face stern opposition from Canada's Justine Dufour-Lapointe, who took silver in Pyeongchang, though Yuliya Galysheva – who took bronze in 2018 and finished second behind Laffont in the world championships last year – needs to go through a second qualification round.

Luge

The men's singles final takes place on Sunday, with reigning champion David Gleirscher, 2018 silver medallist Chris Mazdzer and bronze medalist Johannes Ludwig all pushing for gold.

Ludwig is the favourite, leading the 2021-22 Luge World Cup heading to Beijing, while 2010 and 2014 Olympic champion Felix Loch is also in the mix.

Ski Jumping

The men's normal hill individual field is wide open, given that 2018 Olympic champion Andreas Wellinger failed to qualify this time, while silver medalist Johann Andre Forfang is not competing.

Robert Johansson took bronze last time and will be among the favourites, which will include reigning world champion Piotr Zyla (Poland) and current World Cup leader Karl Geiger (Germany).

Snowboarding

Anderson, a seven-time Winter X Games slopestyle gold medallist and a two-time world champion, is out for her OIympic three-peat. No snowboarder has ever won three golds in a row at the Games, with Shaun White the only snowboarder to have won three golds at all.

She will face competition from Canada's Laurie Blouin, another two-time world champion, while Tess Coady of Australia and New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott must be considered as strong challengers.

Speed Skating

Sven Kramer holds the Olympic record, as well as the gold medal from Pyeongchang in the 5000 metres. He is aiming to defend his title and his record, going up against 2018 silver medalist Ted-Jan Bloemen and reigning world champion and world record holder Nils van der Poel.

After the bright lights, the pageantry and the controversy of the opening ceremony, the first medals of Beijing's Winter Olympics will be won on Saturday.

There is gold, silver and bronze glory up for grabs across a range of skiing and skating events.

Here, Stats Perform provides a rundown of the medal events taking place in Beijing on Saturday.

Biathlon

The mixed relay is the first medal event at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre, with the 4 x 6km getting under way late in the day.

Norway, Belarus, France, Sweden and Russian Olympic Committee are among the titans in this discipline, so one of those would appear likely to strike gold, with 20 teams entered for the event that mixes cross-country skiing with rifle shooting.

Cross-country skiing

The women's skiathlon at Zhangjiakou sees competitors complete 7.5 kilometres in the classic cross-country format before switching to skate skis for the final 7.5km stretch.

Russian Olympic Committee's Natalia Nepryaeva and Sweden's Frida Karlsson are likely gold medal contenders here, with Norway's Therese Johaug and another Swede, Ebba Andersson, also in the mix.

Freestyle skiing

Canada's Mikael Kingsbury is favourite to top the podium in the men's moguls, one of the most eye-catching sports at the Games. The defending champion began his Beijing 2022 campaign with a flawless run in qualifying for Saturday's final, and is the one to beat.

Kingsbury broke two vertebrae in his back in 2020, but he rebounded to win double gold at the 2021 World Championships, his speed over the bumps and mastery of the aerials an effective combination.

Short track speed skating

The mixed team relay could be where China secure a first gold medal of the Beijing Games. Netherlands and Russian Olympic Committee will likely be in with a shout too, but China led the recent World Cup standings with two wins from four races, plus podium finishes when they missed out on first place.

There are quarter-finals and semi-finals to negotiate, however, as the event makes its debut on the Olympic programme.

Ski jumping

Austria's Marita Kramer was expected to be a leading contender for gold in Saturday's women's normal hill event, but testing positive for COVID-19 has kept her out of the Games.

Calling a likely champion in her absence is a tough call, but Japan's Sara Takanashi, who has won 61 World Cup events, has to be in the conversation. This is her third Olympics, with Takanashi looking to improve on her bronze from Pyeongchang. Slovenian Ursa Bogataj and Germany's Katharina Althaus are in form, and both will fancy their chances.

Speed skating

The women's 3,000 metres features five-time gold medallist Claudia Pechstein, the 49-year-old German who has nine Olympic medals in all. Don't expect her to land a podium finish this time, given that last happened in 2006.

Czech world record holder and three-time Olympic champion Martina Sablikova is in the field, while Netherlands' Irene Schouten has strong credentials, along with her countrywoman Antoinette de Jong and Canada's Isabelle Weidemann.

The 24th Winter Olympics was declared open in Beijing after a spectacular ceremony packed with familiar schmaltz and well-meaning speeches, climaxing in an unexpected and controversial twist.

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, in his welcoming speech, told the Olympians: "You the Olympic athletes – you will show how the world would look like, if we all respect the same rules and each other.

"There will be no discrimination for any reason whatsoever. In our fragile world, where division, conflict and mistrust are on the rise, we show the world: yes, it is possible to be fierce rivals, while at the same time living peacefully and respectfully together.

"This is the mission of the Olympic Games: bringing us together in peaceful competition. Always building bridges, never erecting walls. Uniting humankind in all our diversity."

Bach added: "In this Olympic spirit of peace, I appeal to all political authorities across the globe: observe your commitment to this Olympic truce. Give peace a chance."

The concept of the Olympic truce dates back almost 3,000 years and calls for peace during the Games period.

At a time when there are concerns over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is particularly relevant.

Chinese Uyghur athlete Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a 20-year-old cross country skier, was chosen to light the Olympic cauldron alongside Nordic combined competitor Zhao Jiawen.

These Games are also taking place against a backdrop not only of a pandemic but of concerns over China's human rights record, notably with allegations of crimes against humanity being committed against the Uyghur population in the region of Xinjiang.

This has been described by the United States as a genocide against the Muslim ethnic minority, with Amnesty accusing China of "systematic state-organised mass imprisonment, torture and persecution".

Yilamujiang, who in 2019 became China's first cross country skiing medallist in an International Ski Federation event, joined Zhao in placing the Olympic torch at the heart of a giant snowflake.

The choice was swiftly condemned as a stunt by campaign group Human Rights Watch, whose China director Sophie Richardson wrote on Twitter: "The @Olympics cauldron was just lit by one person whose #Uyghur community #China govt seeks to destroy.

"You are a disgrace, @Beijing2022, and there is not a hell hot enough for whoever thought this up."

The cauldron lighting followed Xi Jinping, president of China, formally declaring the Games open.

Doubtless there will be much to enjoy about competition during the Games, but this has been a rocky build-up.

Away from the Uyghur situation, concerns also persist about the safety and wellbeing of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, after her accusations, since withdrawn, of sexual assault against a prominent former politician.

This was a ceremony that had been boycotted, officially by some and semi-officially in other cases, by several of the world's political leaders, with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia among those who did not send such representatives to watch the spectacle.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin was in Beijing to meet with President Xi ahead of the ceremony, however, and was also on the guest list for the big show itself.

Friday night's ceremony was held at the Bird's Nest stadium, which also hosted the opening of the 2008 summer Olympics, with the show's artistic direction coming from film-maker Zhang Yimou.

Cross country skier Wang Qiang and halfpipe snowboarder Liu Jiayu were the athletes chosen to deliver the Olympic oath, while snowflakes dominated the show.

A version of John Lennon's Imagine, an inevitable staple of such ceremonies, rang out, and the show was a technological feast of treats, with its centre stage made up of 11,600 square metres of HD LED screen.

Competitors from Ukraine came in dancing and waving, while away from the politics there were flag-bearers with stories to tell, such as Jamaican bobsleigher Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian.

Jamaican bobsleighing is destined to be forever intertwined with the 1993 Hollywood hit comedy movie Cool Runnings, but for Fenlator-Victorian there was a sense of solemnity about this occasion.

"I have a lot of emotions," she said. "My sister recently passed away a few weeks ago.

"I wasn't sure I would even be able to walk in today, so to be standing here without getting too emotional is more than words can say. To have my team-mates backing me up and choosing me as one of the representatives to hold the flag is priceless.

"Back home we are all hustlers, we grind, some people still don't have running water. Different things happen, so instead of dwelling on those negativities we just try and uplift each other and keep the vibes up."

Keeping the vibes up might be as good as any motto for these troubled Olympics.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games officially begin on Friday.

Beijing’s National Stadium - aka, the Bird's Nest - will host the opening ceremony at 20:00 local time (12:00 GMT) 14 years after it did so for the 2008 Summer Games.

President Xi Jinping will be in attendance to officially open the Games, and the ceremony will be directed by celebrated Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who has promised a simpler show than the one he directed in 2008, with an apparently unprecedented method of lighting the Olympic flame.

Away from the pyrotechnics, the flag bearing and the flame lighting, Stats Perform gives you a rundown of what other events take place in Beijing on Friday.

Alpine skiing

The second men's downhill training run takes place on Friday at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.

The field includes highly-fancied Swiss star Marco Odermatt as well as one of his closest contenders, Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.

Curling

This will actually be the third day of the mixed doubles competition, with Italy (2-0) the only team to have not yet lost, though they have only played twice while eight of the other nine teams have played three matches. The Italians play Norway (1-2) in the morning session and Czech Republic (2-1) in the afternoon.

Hosts China (2-1) face Canada (1-1) in the afternoon session, after the Canadians take on Switzerland (2-1).

Australia (0-3) are the only team yet to record a win but will have two opportunities to do so on Friday. They play Sweden (2-1) in the morning followed by Great Britain (2-1) in the afternoon, when Sweden also face the United States (1-2).

Figure skating

The team event begins on Friday, with the men's single short programme followed by the ice dance rhythm dance and the pairs short programme.

The United States, Russian Olympic Committee and Japan are expected to perform well, though Japanese superstar Hanyu Yuzuru is saving himself for the men's singles competition, with Uno Shoma listed instead for the short programme.

Ice hockey

Two more games in the women's preliminary round take place as hosts China face Denmark while Russian Olympic Committee take on Switzerland.

Both China and Switzerland will be hoping to fare better than they did on Thursday, with the former losing 3-1 to Czech Republic while the latter were thrashed 12-1 by Canada.

Luge

It is also the third day of the luge, with the fifth and sixth men's training runs scheduled for Friday.

The German and Austrian athletes have so far dominated in Group A while the slightly more open Group B has seen Italy's representatives mostly impress, though Latvia's Kristers Aparjods has also been among the frontrunners.

Ski jumping

Day two of the men's and women's normal hill training takes place at the Zhangjiakou National Ski Jumping Centre.

Thursday saw Japan's Sara Takanashi rank first in two of the three women's rounds, while in the men's event there was little consistency to be found anywhere, though Norway's Daniel Huber registered the longest jump of 106 metres across the three rounds.

Superstars of the winter sports world are lining up at Beijing 2022 to create more breathtaking Olympic memories.

This festival of fast-paced action and technical excellence, a bewilderingly brilliant show set on snow and ice, has delivered sporting legends since it was first staged 98 years ago.

The Winter Olympics has ballooned in scale since Chamonix 1924, but its foundations were set then, with bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, skiing in its varying forms and both figure skating and speed skating on the original programme.

Here, Stats Perform looks at the achievements of the greatest athletes to strike gold.

BIATHLON: Ole Einar Bjorndalen

Stemming from the sport known in 1924 as military patrol, biathlon is that peculiar blend of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It might be archaic in origin, but so too is the 100 metres dash at the summer Olympics, and biathlon remains an integral part of the winter programme.

Norwegian master Bjorndalen has been its greatest exponent, winning five solo gold medals and three in relay events. He competed at each Games from Lillehammer 1994 through to Sochi 2014, first striking gold at Nagano 1998. Bjorndalen peaked at Salt Lake City in 2002, landing four golds.

His fame has never rivalled that of a Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt, even though biathlon commands huge television audiences in parts of mainland Europe. Yet the man whose hunger for devouring the competition earned him the nickname of 'The Cannibal' belongs in Olympic legend.

Four silvers and a bronze took him to 13 Olympic medals in all, the most successful male Winter Olympics athlete for the most successful nation in the history of the Games.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING: Marit Bjorgen and Bjorn Daehlie

Bjorgen is the most successful athlete in Winter Olympics history, with eight gold medals, four silver and three bronze, out-ranking even Bjorndalen in Norway's parade of great champions.

She scooped 18 World Championship golds too, had 114 wins among 184 top-three finishes at World Cup events, and ranks as the third most successful Olympian of all time in terms of medals won, after swimming great Phelps (28 medals, including 23 golds) and Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina (18 medals, nine golds).

Bjorgen made her Olympic debut in 2002 but had to wait until 2010 before landing a first gold at the Games, triumphing in the pursuit, the sprint and the 4×5km relay. Three more triumphs followed in Sochi, before Bjorgen, by now a mother, won twice again at Pyeongchang in 2018. Her career climaxed in a dazzling triumph by almost two minutes in the 30km race on the final day of competition, the gold vaulting Bjorgen above Bjorndalen on the all-time list in the process. She retired a matter of weeks later, a mission accomplished.

Oslo-based Bjorgen ranks only just ahead of compatriot and fellow cross-country superstar Daehlie in the grand totting up. Daehlie was the first Winter Olympics star to land eight gold medals, winning those from 1992 to 1998, including two in front of home crowds at Lillehammer in 1994.

He captured four silver medals across his Olympic career, too, and might have gone on to enjoy success in subsequent Games, only for injuries from a roller-skiing accident to force him into retirement in 2001, at the age of 33.

SPEED SKATING: Eric Heiden, Clas Thunberg and Viktor Ahn

Heiden's story is remarkable, with the American sweeping the board by winning five gold medals at his home Winter Olympics in 1980, taking the Games in Lake Placid by storm and instantly making himself an all-timer in speed skating. He snatched Olympic records across the board, and his feat would be remarkable enough if the story ended there, as the only winter athlete in history to win five gold medals in a Games, but Heiden had more up his sleeve.

He turned his focus to cycling and represented the United States on the track before switching to the road, winning a US national championship and competing at the 1985 Giro d'Italia and 1986 Tour de France, crashing out of the latter late on in the race. Later he became an orthopaedic surgeon, and to this day operates a medical centre in Park City, Utah.

Finland's Clas Thunberg also won five Olympic golds in speed skating, three at the inaugural Chamonix Games and two at St Moritz in 1928, before he went on to serve as a politician. Claudia Pechstein of Germany and Ireen Wust of the Netherlands have also both won five golds.

The only speed skaters to win more have been Lidiya Skoblikova, a six-time gold medallist for the Soviet Union in the 1960s, and Viktor Ahn, a more modern marvel.

Ahn, a short-track speed skater, won the first three medals of his set competing for South Korea as Ahn Hyun-soo in 2006 at Turin. He added three more after switching to race for Russia at the 2014 Sochi Games, a tough pill for Seoul to swallow, with Ahn having cited a lack of support from South Korean authorities as the reason for his sporting defection. South Korean president Park Geun-hye demanded answers.

Ahn was controversially not invited to compete for the Olympic Athletes from Russia team at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. A state-sponsored doping scandal from Sochi saw the Russian Olympic Committee banned, with a makeshift team entering in their place. Ahn, who insists he has never cheated, said it was "outrageous" to exclude him.

FIGURE SKATING: Sonja Henie

Before she became a Hollywood movie star, and before Adolf Hitler became an admirer of her graceful routines, Norwegian Henie made her Winter Olympics debut as an 11-year-old in 1924. She was a raw talent at the time but in 1928 she landed the gold medal at St Moritz, before repeating the feat four years later at Lake Placid and completing a hat-trick in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936. She had a fan in Hitler and warmly greeted the Nazi leader before the 1936 Games, which did not sit well with many, although she managed to set the controversy aside. Henie elected to turn professional after that triumph in Germany, ensuring she could monetise her talent, and American film studios soon beckoned.

Henie became an ever bigger star, appearing in a host of major box-office movies. Her Olympic gold medal success has never been beaten in figure skating, although Sweden's Gillis Grafstrom also won three consecutive titles in the men's event, with the first of those coming at the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp, where figure skating was part of the programme.

ALPINE SKIING: Kjetil Andre Aamodt and Janica Kostelic

Alberto Tomba, Pirmin Zurbriggen and Marc Girardelli were bona fide superstars of the slopes in the 1980s and early 1990s, but none of them have an Olympic record to match that of Aamodt.

At the age of 20, Aamodt denied Girardelli the super-G gold at Val d'Isere in Albertville's 1992 Games, pulling off a shock victory that was an omen of things to come, although it was 10 years before he won a second Olympic gold. In Salt Lake City, Aamodt captured the super-G and combined titles, while four years later in Turin he edged out Hermann Maier to take a third super-G title, becoming the first male alpine skier to win four Olympic golds. That he did that after two injury-blighted years, at the age of 34, only enhanced the achievement.

Within minutes of Norwegian Aamodt reaching four, so too did Croatia's Janica Kostelic, the only woman to achieve such a haul. She had won three times in Salt Lake City in 2002, taking the slalom, giant slalom and combined titles, and in Turin, after a bout of sickness disrupted her preparation, Kostelic defended the combined.

Aamodt has eight Olympic medals in all (four gold, two silver, two bronze), while Kostelic has six (four gold, two silver).