Norway did not add to their golden haul on Saturday at the Winter Olympics, but they cannot now be caught at the top of the medal table.

Nearest rivals Germany, four behind Norway's all-time record haul of 15 golds, are involved in only three of the five medal events on Sunday's final day of the Beijing Games.

Germany's 11th gold of the games arrived when Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi completed victory in the two-woman bobsleigh, ahead of compatriots Mariama Jamanka and Alexandra Burghardt.

It was almost a 1-2-3 for Germany, only for Americans Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman to take bronze, with Kim Kalicki and Lisa Buckwitz having to settle for fourth place.

China sit third overall after Sui Wenjing and Han Cong delivered gold in the mixed pairs figure skating, fending off the Russian pair of Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov to earn the hosts a ninth triumph of the Games.

Norway's only medal of the day came in the men's cross-country mass start, which was shortened from 50km to 30km due to extreme weather, as Simen Hegstad Krueger took bronze.

Sweden won an eighth gold, a new Winter Olympics best for the nation, as their men's curling team, led by skip Niklas Edin, earned a 5-4 win over Great Britain in the final.

The silver put Team GB on the medal table for the first time, in a tie for 24th place, with either gold or silver to follow on Sunday in the women's curling.

Medal table:

1. Norway (G15 S8 B12, Total: 35)
2. Germany (G11 S8 B5, Total: 24)
3. China (G9 S4 B2, Total: 15)
4. United States (G8 S9 B7, Total: 24)
5. Sweden (G8 S5 B5, Total: 18)
6. Netherlands (G8 S5 B4, Total: 17)
7. Switzerland (G7 S2 B5, Total: 14)
8. Russian Olympic Committee (G6 S11 B14, Total: 31)
9. Austria (G6 S7 B4, Total: 17)
10. France (G5 S7 B2, Total: 14)

Two of the great under-performers of the 2022 Winter Olympics could strike gold on the final Saturday of the Games.

Star US skier Mikaela Shiffrin has endured a dismal fortnight, and the same can be said for the Great Britain team as a whole.

All this could change, as Shiffrin bids to end her Beijing campaign on a high with a first medal at her sixth attempt, while Team GB are guaranteed at least silver in men's and women's curling. They have yet to appear on the medal table, with curling proving the team's salvation.

Sweden will face Slovakia in the men's ice hockey bronze medal game, ahead of Sunday's final between Finland and Russian Olympic Committee.

Here, Stats Perform takes a look at Saturday's gold medal events.

Alpine skiing

Shiffrin remarked that she felt "like a joke" after failing to finish the women's combined – a third DNF of her difficult trip to China. She has also had a ninth place and an 18th, so Shiffrin has a lot on the line in the mixed team parallel slalom.

The event is part of the Olympic programme for just the second time, with Switzerland defending their title and Norway the reigning world champions.

It sees skiers race one another, two at a time, on side-by-side and identical slalom courses, with the first to reach the finish line scoring for their team. Each team contains two men and two women, who race against rivals of the same gender, with 16 teams entered and the competition operating in a knockout mode, with quarter-final places on offer to the first-round winners.

Bobsleigh

Germany lead the way in the battle for the top of the podium after two of the four heats staged so far, with the sled piloted by Laura Nolte in gold medal position, ahead of defending champion Mariama Jamanka.

That creates the possibility of a German one-two, although the USA's Elana Meyers Taylor sat third with aspirations of improving on that position going into Saturday, when the competition concludes.

Cross-country skiing

Finland's Iivo Niskanen is the reigning champion in the 50km mass start and has a gold, silver and bronze from Beijing, but he is sitting out Saturday's event.

There are a host of challengers lining up to succeed Niskanen as champion. Among them, Russian Olympic Committee's Alexander Bolshunov will be looking to improve on his silver from 2018 and add to his four medals accrued so far in Beijing.

Norway's Simen Hegstad Krueger and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo could also be in the mix, along with the likes of Bolshunov's team-mate Denis Spitsov.

Curling

Standing between Bruce Mouat's Team GB rink and the gold medal are a strong Sweden team, led by skip and former army tank commander Niklas Edin.

Edin was not mincing his words when he described the showdown as "a clash of the titans in our sport".

Great Britain edged their round-robin tussle 7-6 in Beijing but also have recent experience of losing to Sweden. Competing as Scotland, the GB men were beaten 10-5 by the Swedes in the 2021 World Championship final.

Edin said of Saturday's match: "It might be nerve-wracking, but it's going to be a super well-played game. For the last couple of years they've probably been the most consistent team. And in championships over the past seven, eight years we've been the most consistent team."

Sweden also feature in Saturday's women's bronze medal game, taking on Switzerland, after losing 12-11 to Great Britain in Friday's semi-final.

Figure skating

China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong set the highest score ever achieved by a duo in a short programme to edge ahead in the pairs skating on Friday, with Saturday's free skating to come.

Their score of 84.41 points eclipsed that of Russian Olympic Committee's Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov (84.25), with a second Russian pair consisting of world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov in third.

China have won gold in the pairs once before, when Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, a married couple, triumphed on the Vancouver ice in 2010.

Freestyle skiing

New Zealand have taken a gold and silver from Beijing so far, both going to snowboard marvel Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. Now freeski world champion Nico Porteous will look to follow her lead and reach the podium in the men's halfpipe final.

Porteous will compete in a field otherwise made up of competitors from the United States and Canada, and by setting the second-best score in qualifying has already served a reminder of his medal credentials.

US star Aaron Blunck led the way in qualifying, with another American, Birk Irving, in third. But perhaps all eyes should be on David Wise, winner of this event at the last two Games. At the age of 31, Wise is chasing a hat-trick, and posting the fourth-best score in qualifying suggests the man from Reno, Nevada, should not be discounted.

Speed skating

Action on the speed skating rink wraps up on Saturday with the men's and women's mass start events.

Korea's Lee Seung Hoon is the men's defending champion and is joined in the field by the silver medallist from four years ago, Belgium's Bart Swings. The last time Belgium won a Winter Olympics gold was in the pairs figure skating at the 1948 Games in St Moritz. American Joey Mantia is another with serious designs on gold.

In the women's event, the Dutch duo of Irene Schouten and Marijke Groenewoud are likely to be there or thereabouts, along with Canada's Ivanie Blondin and Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida.

History was made in Beijing on Friday as Johannes Thingnes Boe secured victory in the men's 15km mass start biathlon event.

It meant Norway became the first ever nation to win 15 gold medals at a single Winter Olympic Games, overtaking Canada's previous record total of 14 from 2010.

Boe's success was his fourth gold at Beijing 2022, and fifth medal overall, with Norway cementing their place at the top of the medal table with five more on Friday, including Boe's.

Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen took bronze in the same event, while Tiril Eckhoff and Martu Olsbu Roiseland claimed silver and bronze respectively in the women's 12.5km mass start.

Roiseland became the first athlete to win a medal in all four individual biathlon events at a Winter Games, while Haavard Holmefjord Lorentzen added another bronze in the men's 1000m speed skating.

Hosts China moved up to fourth in the medal table following another win for Eileen Gu in the women's freeski halfpipe, her second gold of the Games.

Netherlands sit level with Sweden in joint-fifth place after Thomas Krol won the men's 1000m speed skating event

Switzerland leapfrogged Austria into seventh after a one-two in the men's ski cross big final as Ryan Regez took gold and Alex Fiva won silver.

France remain 10th behind the Russian Olympic Committee despite gold for Justine Braisaz-Bouchet in women's 12.5km mass start.

Medal table:

1. Norway (G15 S8 B11, Total: 34)
2. Germany (G10 S7 B5, Total: 22)
3. United States (G8 S8 B5, Total: 21)
4. China (G8 S4 B2, Total: 14)
T5. Netherlands (G7 S5 B4, Total: 16)
T5. Sweden (G7 S5 B4, Total: 16)
7. Switzerland (G7 S2 B5, Total: 14)
8. Austria (G6 S7 B4, Total: 17)
9. Russian Olympic Committee (G5 S9 B13, Total: 27)
10. France (G5 S7 B2, Total: 14)

Eileen Gu told herself she was the best before going out and proving it as China's home Winter Olympics superstar landed a second gold medal of the Games in Beijing.

The United States-based teenager triumphed in the women's freeski halfpipe, posting a best score of 95.25 to win comfortably from the Canadian pair of Cassie Sharpe and Rachael Karker.

It made Gu, at the age of 18 years and 168 days, the youngest athlete to win three individual medals at any single edition of the Winter Olympics.

Dubbed the 'Snow Princess', Gu said the Olympic experience had been a life-changer.

"It has been two straight weeks of the most intense highs and lows I've ever experienced," she said. "It has changed my life forever."

After gold in the freeski big air and silver in slopestyle, this was her sign-off event at Beijing 2022, with Gu delivering a mesmerising display of agility and skill after giving herself a pep talk.

"Instead of looking to other athletes and being like, 'Oh, what are they doing? How can I be like them?', I try to build myself up more," Gu said. "So, it's the opposite of what I do in training, but at the top I said, 'My name is Eileen Gu, and I'm the best halfpipe freeskier in the world'."

Gu burst into tears as her achievement sank in. She also cast a little doubt over her future in the sport. Asked if she might consider competing for the USA in future, Gu said: "I have no idea what I'm even doing next year. I'm going to go to college, but in terms of skiing competitively, am I going to continue competing? Who knows?

"I love skiing and I would love to continue competing, but in terms of resources and time and, you know, what else I'm juggling. It just depends, right? I'm going to do whatever feels right and hopefully be able to create some kind of positive change out of any decision that I make."


Medals record for Norway

Johannes Thingnes Boe's fourth biathlon triumph in Beijing established a Winter Olympics landmark as it gave Norway a 15th gold medal, a record haul for a single edition of the Games.

Norway were already the most successful nation in Winter Olympics history, and they have been hammering home that status over the past fortnight.

Boe's latest run to glory came in the 15km mass start, which he won by 40.3 seconds from Sweden's Martin Ponsiluoma. Norway also took bronze through Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen.

The 28-year-old Boe, who also has a bronze from the 20km individual, enjoyed having a team-mate on the podium and said of Norway's record feat: "I feel really proud. We have both been a part of it, winning gold today and also in the men's relay where Vetle won a gold medal for us, so we are making history and as a nation we are really proud."

Norway also landed silver and bronze in the women's 12.5km mass start, which was won by France's Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, ahead of Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland.

Roeiseland's bronze gave her a fifth medal in Beijing, a second third-place finish to add to three gold-winning performances, and she said: "I was maybe not at my best in this cold, but I really tried to fight, and it was so fun to race with Tiril today, we raced the whole race together and the position in the standing was really tough. Today I'm just so happy with the bronze, for me it was like gold actually."

Champion Braisaz-Bouchet said: "I was so shocked I won. I'm really happy to say I'm Olympic champion. It's quite amazing."


Regez leads Swiss cross double

Ryan Regez and Alex Fiva delivered a Swiss one-two in freestyle's men's ski cross, with champion Regez finding the equilibrium he had been seeking all week when it mattered most.

"I've been really nervous for the whole week," Regez said. "It's my first Games and the last big event was the World Championships last year, which Alex won, and I was just super nervous there as well and I was skiing in my head, so thinking whilst skiing and there I messed up.

"Today it was just a lot of pressure on me because I won the last two World Cup events. I'm in the lead of the overall World Cup so for sure everyone was just hoping I would come here and take the victory and eventually it worked out, but there was just so much going on, so much pressure. I phoned a lot with family, friends, and yesterday I had a long talk with my coaches.

"That just calms me down a lot and that was really important. Today actually I wasn't nervous at all, which was quite unusual. In the morning, yes I was, but then as soon as I went on the mountains everything was gone and I just could ski free."

 

Dutch skaters back up to speed

Thomas Krol delivered a fifth long-track speed skating gold medal for the Netherlands team, but a first for eight days after the wins began to dry up.

Krol's victory came in the 1,000 metres, as he edged out fast times from Canada's Laurent Dubreuil and Norway's Haavard Holmefjord Lorentzen.

"It's really hard to express all the emotions that are going through me, a dream just came true," said the 29-year-old, who has aspirations to become a pilot when his sporting career ends. "I'm so intensely happy that I made it. It means everything.

"I was expecting my time not to be fast enough because there were more great skaters coming. So, it was a nerve-wracking 10 minutes for me."

Dubreuil put disappointment at missing out on gold into context, saying: "My daughter especially helped me. She is just three years old, and she doesn't care about my results. Seeing her not even one per cent sad after my race when I called them, she was running around and having so much fun, running and jumping and yelling. It made me realise, it's just sport."

Eileen Gu has already delighted China by sealing gold and silver medals at Beijing 2022 in freestyle skiing, and she is looking for a third success on Friday.

If the qualifying performance of the 'Snow Princess' on Thursday is anything to go by, Gu will be a worthy hot favourite for the freeski halfpipe.

Elsewhere, Team GB will find out what colour their first medal of these Games will be in the men's curling final, while Netherlands aim for more speed skating gold and biathlon signs off with its final two events.

The two-woman bobsled heats are also due to take place, along with the pairs short programme in figure skating, and the men's semi-finals of the ice hockey as Finland face Slovakia and the Russian Olympic Committee go up against Sweden.

Here, Stats Perform takes a look at Friday's medal events:

Biathlon

The men's 15km mass start takes place on Friday, with France's Quentin Fillon Maillet gunning for his sixth medal.

He became the first biathlete to win five medals at a single Winter Games after securing two golds and three silvers in Beijing, although he has not won a men's World Cup mass start race in the past two seasons.

There will be plenty of competition as six of the last seven World Championship gold medallists in the mass start are competing here, including the Boe brothers of Norway.

In the women's 12.5km mass start, which has been rescheduled from Saturday due to anticipated weather conditions, Norway's Marte Olsbu Roeiseland is looking to match Fillon Maillet's current haul by winning a fifth medal in Beijing.

If she does win a medal, Roeiseland will also become the first biathlete to finish on the podium in all four individual events at a single Winter Games.

The last three world champions in this event, including Roeiseland, will be competing, with Italy's Dorothea Wierer and Austria's Lisa Theresa Hauser looking to overcome the dominant Norwegian.

Curling

Great Britain will win a medal at Beijing 2022, which did not look like it would be the case for the majority of these Games.

Bruce Mouat and his team celebrated a hard-fought 8-4 win against the United States in the semi-final on Thursday, and will face Niklas Edin and his Sweden team in Friday's gold medal match after they beat Canada 6-3.

"I'm really struggling to sum it up, but I guess you saw from our reaction there that it was just pure elation," Mouat said after beating the champions from PyeongChang 2018.

"It's going to be amazing. Niklas and his team have been our rivals for so many years now. We’ve played them in numerous Europeans and World Championships, so it feels really nice to be able to play them in a larger final."

Great Britain beat Sweden 7-6 in the round-robin stage earlier at these Games.

Freestyle skiing

As usual when she competes at these Games, all eyes will be on Gu. She comfortably qualified in first place on Thursday with scores in her two runs of 93.75 and 95.50, with no-one else in the field achieving a score higher than 89.50 from either jump.

"I was journaling last night, I wrote some affirmations, I was like, 'I am fresh. I am not tired. I am excited'," the 18-year-old said after sealing her place in the final.

"The joke is I'm actually exhausted, I'm not fresh, but I was writing in my journal to try to convince myself that I was - and it's working, I slept well last night."

Canada's Rachael Karker, Estonia's Kelly Sildaru, who won bronze in the slopestyle, and Great Britain's Zoe Atkin completed the top four in qualifying and will likely be Gu's biggest competition.

Speed skating

In the men's 1,000m, the Netherlands will be aiming to become the first country to win the event at three consecutive Olympic Winter Games, following Stefan Groothuis (Sochi 2014) and Kjeld Nuis (PyeongChang 2018).

Kai Verbij may be their best hope as the reigning world champion, though Thomas Krol leads the World Cup 1,000m rankings. 

China's Gao Tingyu, who won the 500m, is looking to become only the second skater to win both 500m and 1,000m at the same Winter Games after Eric Heiden of the United States did so in 1980.

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)

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).

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.

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."

Marte Olsbu Roeiseland and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo have already struck gold in Beijing, and the Norwegians go into Sunday's programme with designs on adding to their hauls.

There could be a stirring success for the Netherlands in short track speed skating, where the Dutch 3,000m relay women will have late former team-mate Lara van Ruijven not far from their thoughts.

The United States and Germany clash in men's ice hockey qualification, while the men's giant slalom promises to be another highlight of the day.

Here, Stats Perform previews each of the day's medal events.

Alpine skiing

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt should be the man to beat in the giant slalom, having won four of five races this season to top the World Cup standings, finishing runner-up on the other occasion.

There has been a pattern in this event, however, that has seen the last three Olympic gold medals go to the reigning world champion. France's Mathieu Faivre won the world title last year, but has not been having the best season.

Another likely contender is Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, who has one World Cup win this year and took Olympic silver in 2018 at Pyeongchang. Norway last won men's giant slalom Olympic gold in 1952.

Biathlon

Roeiseland has two golds and a bronze already in Beijing, and it would be brave to back against her in the 10km pursuit, given she has won four of the six World Cup races this season.

Perhaps the big threat will come from another Norwegian, world champion Tiril Eckhoff, who won seven of 10 races last season. Roeiseland and Eckhoff were team-mates in Norway's mixed relay triumph on the first Saturday of the Games.

The men's 12.5km pursuit is also on Sunday's schedule.

Cross-country

Klaebo has a gold and a bronze for his endeavours in China so far, and opportunity knocks again in the men's 4x10km relay.

He and Norway won gold in this event in Pyeongchang and at the last two editions of the World Championships, and a repeat is a distinct possibility, although Russia are also strong.

Klaebo is savouring another Games experience, saying this week: "In Norway we have this culture of a lot of people watching the Olympic Games, especially the cross-country. It's been for sure a lot of pressure about it and for us athletes it has been challenging sometimes. But I think we have managed to do it right, and I hope they are satisfied back home."

Short track speed skating

The death of Van Ruijven from the sudden onset of an autoimmune illness in July 2020 naturally hit the Dutch team hard. She was already a world champion in the 500m and would doubtless have competed in Beijing.

Coach Jeroen Otter spoke of his continuing sorrow ahead of Sunday's relay, where the Dutch will be firm gold medal favourites.

Otter said: "For me, Lara was a very special person. With my age, they could be my daughters, sometimes it feels like that.

"We lost her in a few days. We brought her to the hospital and I came to visit her. She was happy because she saw someone that spoke Dutch, in this strange hospital in Perpignan. Then a day and a half later, you get the message that she is having an operation. And then, it was over.

"Her team-mates are young athletes, and they bounce back. It's good that they are young. But I'm an old guy. It's easier for them to place it. Every coach wants their team to win, but it will be very special for me if they can do this one.

"For years, we've been dreaming about this team with Lara."

The 1,000m gold medallist Suzanne Schulting will anchor that team, while the men's 500m is also on Sunday's bill.

Speed skating

American Erin Jackson used to be a roller derby star, a wheeled wonder in that riotously exciting world, and a high-level racer on those skates too. Once she discovered blades and ice, a whole new sporting challenge opened up, and on Sunday the 29-year-old Floridian will be aiming to top the podium in the 500m.

She is bidding to become the first American woman to triumph over that short distance in the Olympics since Bonnie Blair in 1994 and brings strong form to the rink, having won four of this season's eight World Cup races in the discipline.

Norway claimed two gold medals on Saturday but Hannah Neise's skeleton triumph saw Germany maintain top spot in the Winter Olympics medals table.

Marius Lindvik ended Norway's 58-year wait for success in the men's individual ski jumping event, while Johannes Thingnes Boe triumphed for Norway in the men's 10km biathlon.

Boe's gold was combined with a bronze for his older brother Tarjei, while France's Quentin Fillon Maillet claimed silver – his third medal of the Beijing Games.

The pair of golds took Norway onto eight in total for the Games, while Lindvik's was the 200th in the nation's Olympic history across both summer and winter events.

However, it is Germany who kept hold of top spot in the medals table thanks to Neise's win in the women's skeleton and a silver for their women's relay team in the cross-country skiing.

"It is mind-blowing. I can't realise it right now. I think it takes some time. It's an unbelievable feeling," said Neise.

"I felt very confident, especially today. I don't know how to describe it. I worked a lot on my mental health and it was on point today."

Germany have won every sliding race so far at the Beijing Games, with Neise equally as thrilled by that team feat as her own.

"It means a lot, especially for skeleton sliders," she added. "We haven't had so many medals the past years, and we are very proud to represent our country and our federation. It's a step forward for us."

Norway (17) have the most medals overall, and have three more golds than the United States, the Netherlands and Sweden.

All three of those nations won medals on Saturday, with the USA triumphing in the mixed team snowboarding big cross final to move from sixth to third, while Sweden and the Netherlands took bronze in the women's cross-country skiing relay and the women's skeleton respectively.

Austria are in sixth with four golds, while success for speed skater Tingyu Gao in the men's 500m race has China on four golds too, in seventh.

The Russian Olympic Committee claimed a third gold with a victory in the women's cross-country skiing relay, with Italy and Japan rounding out the top 10 having both won silver medals on Saturday.

Medal table:

1. Germany (G8 S5 B1, Total: 14)
2. Norway (G8 S3 B6, Total: 17)
3. United States (G5 S5 B1, Total: 11) 
4. Netherlands (G5 S4 B2, Total: 11)
5. Sweden (G5 S2 B3, Total: 10)
6. Austria (G4 S6 B4, Total: 14)
7. China (G4 S3 B1, Total: 8)
8. Russian Olympic Committee (G3 S4 B6, Total: 13)
9. Italy (G2 S5 B4, Total: 11)
10. Japan (G2 S3 B5, Total: 10)

American old hands Nick Baumgartner and Lindsey Jacobellis landed a glorious gold in the Winter Olympics mixed team snowboard cross on Saturday.

Jacobellis, 36, followed her individual triumph earlier in the Games by pairing up with 40-year-old Baumgartner, who became the oldest snowboard medallist in Olympic history.

Mainstays of the United States team, the veterans proved a fine combination in the inaugural staging of the mixed team event.

For Baumgartner, who could only manage 10th in the men's individual event on Thursday, topping the podium marked the pinnacle of his career. At his fourth Games, he finally has a medal to show.

The Michigan man said he had become "hungrier" for success as the years have passed, adding: "As you get older, it's tough to watch the young kids take over and try to push you out of the sport, so that hunger is strong.

"We're embracing oldies for goldies! I don't need a jacket right now as I have an inner fire burning!"

He had a message for all 40-year-olds: that there is no reason to step back from life goals.

"You're never too late to take what you want from life and follow your dreams," Baumgartner said. "You let yourself down if you quit too early, [it] doesn't matter how old you are.

"Our success at our age is a perfect example of that and we both hope our stories can inspire other people to go out there. You get one shot at life, you should live the life you want and don't let anything stop you, [it] doesn't matter how old you are. Hard work is the answer. Go out there and get it."


The brilliant Boe brothers

Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Boe and Tarjei Boe took gold and bronze respectively in biathlon's men's 10-kilometre sprint, a giddy thrill for the brothers who grew up amid standard sibling rivalry.

France's Quentin Fillon Maillet denied them a one-two, but it was a gleeful day for the brothers who also won gold in the mixed relay on the opening Saturday.

Younger brother Johannes Thingnes said afterwards that Tarjei, five years his senior, had been "a pain in the butt until he moved out when he was 16, then we saw less of each other".

"Biathlon is easy compared to all the competitions I've had with him," added the champion. "I'm so proud. I'm more proud of him than I am of myself. A bronze medal means gold to him."

They are the first siblings to win medals in the same individual biathlon race in an Olympics, and Tarjei saluted his brother's development, saying: "I saw it quite early, 10 years ago or maybe earlier, that he would be unbeatable in a few years.

"My goal was to win as much as I could before he grew up, and I did – the start of my career was quite strong. Now he is by far the best athlete in the world."

Big hill, big thrill for Lindvik

Norway's Marius Lindvik won the large hill ski jumping gold, finishing ahead of Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi and Germany's Karl Geiger.

Poland's Kamil Stoch took fourth place, edged out of the medals as he attempted in vain to win a third consecutive large hill gold.

Lindvik had finished seventh in the normal hill event but made up for disappointment there with two giant jumps as he became Norway's first champion in the large hill discipline since 1964.

"I knew if I had a good day I was going to fight for the medals," Lindvik said. "After the normal hill I took a step back and reset and just looked forward to the big hill.

"It was probably two of my best jumps. It's pretty sick that I managed to perform two good jumps when it counts."

Golden Gao lifts hosts, breaks curse

Tingyu Gao took the men's speed skating 500 metres title in an Olympic record of 34.32 seconds, giving hosts China a fourth gold of the Games.

It made the 24-year-old, who was a bronze medallist four years ago in Pyeongchang, only the second Chinese speed skater to win an Olympic gold medal. Zhang Hong was the first in 2014, winning the women's 1,000m.

Gao said he intended to "go back to school" after achieving his sporting goal and predicted China would be "unstoppable" in speed skating in years to come.

He was China's flagbearer at the opening ceremony, and that has typically been seen as a cursed privilege, with those handed the honour often failing to match expectations when they go into action.

Gao bucked that trend and said: "I was really scared of this, but as the Republic of China's flagbearer, I wanted to win gold for China.

"In the competition, I didn't care about the curse. I think I did very well leading the Chinese athletes to achieve their goals. As a Chinese you need to walk the talk and fulfil your promises."

Saturday sees us pass the halfway point of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, with six medals on the line in China's capital.

More drama awaits in the snowboarding as the first mixed team snowboard cross takes place at the Olympics, while Japan's Kobayashi Ryoyu looks to cement his place as the world's premier ski jumper.

One of the more intriguing non-medal events of the day will see the United States and Canada face off in the men's ice hockey, the first time that the two nations have met since Canada beat their rivals 1-0 in the semi-finals at Sochi 2014.

Here, Stats Perform previews each of the day's medal events. 

Biathlon

Norway's Johannes Thingnes Boe already has two medals from these Games, but is aiming to arguably win his most important one on Saturday in the men's 10km sprint, the only one that eluded him at Pyeongchang 2018.

He will likely face fierce competition from France's Quentin Fillon Maillet, who won gold in the individual biathlon on Tuesday, while Sweden's Sebastian Samuelsson could also be one to keep an eye on.

Samuelsson currently leads the World Cup standings and finished ahead of both Boe and Fillon Maillet in consecutive sprint events in Ostersund earlier in the season.

Cross-country skiing

The women's 4x5km relay takes place on Saturday, with Norway hoping to successfully defend their title from Pyeongchang.

Norway has won two of the last three golds in this race, with Sweden taking the win at Sochi 2014.

Skeleton

Women's skeleton is celebrating its 20th year on the Olympic programme, and Germany's Tina Hermann will be hoping to replicate the success of compatriot Christopher Grotheer, who won the men's gold on Friday.

Hermann won the test event at this track in October, and sits in third place on a time of two minutes, 4.57 seconds after the first two heats on Friday. 

Australia's Jaclyn Narracott is in first place heading into the final two heats on two minutes, ahead of another German, Hannah Neise.

Ski jumping

The men's large hill event qualifying saw Norway's Marius Lindvik and Halvor Egner Granerud take first and second respectively, and both will be fancied in Saturday's final.

Granerud was the 2020-21 overall World Cup winner, but he and his compatriot will have to look out for Japan's Kobayashi Ryoyu, arguably the favourite for gold. The 25-year-old won the recent Four Hills Tournament as well as the normal hill event in Beijing.

According to the Beijing 2022 website, the large hill at the National Ski Jumping Centre has a height of 446 feet, "with the landing funnelling straight into a large stadium which can be used for football matches in the summer."

Snowboard

History will be made as the first mixed team snowboard cross medals will be handed out at the Olympic Games.

Pairs made up of one male and one female competitor will face off in quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final on Saturday, with current world champions Australia among the favourites along with the United States. 

There will be 15 teams competing from 10 nations, with Australia, Canada, France, Italy and the United States having two teams.

Speed skating

Haavard Lorentzen will look to defend his title from 2018 but faces strong competition in the men's 500m. The 29-year-old set an Olympic record in Pyeongchang and became the first Norwegian to win gold in the event since 1948.

Canada's Laurent Dubreuil recorded the fastest time in the 500m last year and is currently at the top of the World Cup standings, while South Korea's Cha Min-kyu will aim to make amends for missing out four years ago when Lorentzen beat him by 0.01 of a second in the final.

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