It has been a history making day at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing with more penalties, disqualifications, and record setting performances.
South Korea has filed a protest over penalties assessed in short track speedskating events. After Hwang Daeheon and Lee Juneseo were both disqualified in the semifinals of the 1,000 meter race, South Korea has filed protests with International Skating Union and International Olympic Committee. This was just the latest in a series of issues involving athletes in the 2022 Winter Olympic games.
Five women from four countries were disqualified from the ski jumping competition for the design of their uniforms. The outfits were deemed loose fitting or baggy.
It was a record setting night for the men in the short program in figure skating. In a night where the quadruple jump was the big feature, American Nathan Chen set a new world record with a score of 113.97 points, eclipsing the old record by over two points.
Despite not throwing any quads into his routine, fellow American Jason Brown performed an artist masterpiece that put him in sixth place heading into the long program on Thursday.
Olympic favourite and the previous record holder Yuzuru Hanyu failed to land his first jump – a quad salchow – ended up in eighth place with 95.15 points. Hanyu said that there was a hole in the ice at the spot he had planned to jump and it kept him from making the jump.
In the medals awarded during the day…
In the men’s super-g Austria’s Matthias Mayer successfully defended his gold medal by earning his third gold.
American Ryan Cochran-Siegle made history when he won the silver medal – 50 years after his mother earned a medal of her own in the Olympics.
In the men’s 20k individual biathlon, France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet added to his collection of medals with the gold. He was also a part of the silver medal winning mixed relay team.
In the men’s sprint free cross country skiing event, Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo successfully defended his Olympic title with another gold, leading the race from start to finish.
In the women’s sprint free cross country skiing event, Jonna SUndling of Sweden took home the gold; finishing nearly three seconds ahead of fellow country member Maja Dahlqvist.
American Jessie Diggins made history by being the first women in the U.S. to win a medal in the Winter Olympics for the event when she won the bronze medal.
In the mixed doubles curling event, Italy took home the gold in a near perfect event.
In the women’s Big Air, Eileen Gu won the gold for host country China. Gu has been in the news for being one of two American born athletes who chose to represent China in the Olympics.
In the women’s single luge, Germany’s Natalie Geisenberger became the first women to become a three time Olympic gold winner.
In the men’s snowboarding Parallel giant slalom, Austria’s Benjamin Karl took the gold.
In the women’s snowboarding parallel giant slalom, the Czech Republic won their first medal of the Olympics when Ester Ledecka earned her second gold, successfully defending her title as champion.
In the men’s 1,500 meter speedskating event, Kjeld Nuis from the Netherlands successfully defended his title winning the gold medal.
Three more countries join the list of medal inners for a total of 22 countries winning awards. The ROC continues to lead the list of medal winners as it becomes the first country to reach double digits. Sweden holds the lead in gold medals with four.
2022 Beijing Olympics February 8 medal count:
ROC – Russian Olympic Committee – 10
Norway – 8
Netherlands – 7
Italy – 7
Austria – 7
Sweden – 6
Canada – 6
People’s Republic of China – 5
Germany – 5
Slovenia – 5
France – 5
United States – 5
Japan – 4
Switzerland – 3
Australia – 2
Hungary – 2
Finland – 1
Poland – 1
Czech Republic – 1
Ne Zealand – 1
Belarus – 1
Republic of Korea – 1