The search for gold continues at the 2022 Beijing Olympics as the disappointments seem to have outnumbered the successes so far for Team USA.
(Looking for a recap of Monday's events? We've got you covered.)
The men's individual figure skating competition is underway. Five-time U.S. national champion Nathan Chen turned in a dazzling short program that put him ahead of the field heading into Thursday's free skate.
On the slopes, American Ryan Cochran-Siegle claimed another silver for the United States in the men's super-G, continuing a family tradition after his mother Barbara Cochran won Olympic gold in the women's slalom 50 years earlier.
Chinese-American Eileen Gu thrilled the crowd in her adopted home country with a stellar final run to win the gold medal in the women's Big Air freestyle skiing competition. The San Francisco resident is competing for China, where her mother grew up.
The most dominant performances of the Games to date for Team USA have been in women's hockey. A highly anticipated showdown with Canada finally arrived with both teams sporting 3-0 records in the opening round.
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US women's hockey team loses to Canada in group game
BEIJING — If history is any indicator, these two teams will play in nine days time for gold.
The United States women's hockey team will have to make some adjustments to repeat as Olympic champions, though.
Canada used a three-goal second period to surge past the U.S., 4-2, on Tuesday at Wukesong Sports Centre to wrap up "Group A" play for both teams. Both squads will advance to the tournament's quarterfinals, with Canada (4-0) as the top seed.
The U.S. recorded nearly twice as many shots on goal as Canada (53-27).
U.S. coach Joel Johnson spun his goaltender carousel all the way around and started Maddie Rooney, who has allowed the only goals against the Americans in Beijing. She started the first game against Finland, a 5-2 U.S. win. Ann-Renee Desbiens, the Canadian goalie, was stout with a 51-save performance.
Brianne Jenner had two goals to pace Canada. Dani Cameranesi and Alex Carpenter scored for the U.S.
— Chris Bumbaca
Canada grabs two-goal lead over Team USA in women's hockey showdown
BEIJING — What followed a 1-0 first period was a breakneck 20 minutes that saw the U.S. take a brief lead before allowing Canada to pull away, 4-2.
Dani Cameranesi knotted the game at 1, and Alex Carpenter gave the Americans the lead with a sweet backhand that went to the top shelf on the team’s third power play of the contest.
But the good times for the U.S. stopped right about there. Not even 30 seconds later, Canada’s Sarah Nurse found Brianne Jenner on a turnaround pass, and Jenner netted her second goal of the game to even things up.
The U.S. couldn’t clear the zone two minutes and 25 seconds after that, and Jamie Lee Rattray gave Canada the lead back following a wraparound pass from Nathalie Spooner.
With the U.S. on its fourth power play of the game (third of the period), an errant Jincy Dunne pass wound up on the stick of Marie-Philip Poulin. The Canadian captain raced up the ice and was interfered with by Cayla Barnes. The refs awarded Poulin a penalty shot, which she buried on goalie Maddie Rooney’s stick side.
After the Americans dominated the pace and control in the first, both teams put 16 shots on goal in the second.
-- Chris Bumbaca
Adam Siao Him Fa does Star Wars-themed short program
BEIJING — It starts with the unmistakable sound of Darth Vader's breathing, echoing across the ice.
And it ends with a lightsaber step sequence, set to a hip-hop remix of the Imperial March.
Yes, for his short program at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Tuesday, French skater Adam Siao Him Fa turned to music from Star Wars – an energetic performance replete with the sounds of blasters and the buzz of lightsabers. He even donned a Jedi-themed costume, to boot.
Though he is not expected to contend for a medal at the Olympics, Siao Him Fa likely picked up plenty of new fans Tuesday by skating to music that is a far cry from the somber, classical music of old. And yes, for those curious, he's a big fan of the movies, too.
"I've seen all of them," he said. "I really love it."
-- Tom Schad
Nathan Chen rises to the occasion with stellar short program
BEIJING — Nathan Chen nailed it.
In his long-awaited Olympic short program, the 22-year-old American turned in a near-perfect performance Tuesday, landing both of his quads and finishing it all off with a smile and a fist pump. The score: 113.97, a new world record.
The performance puts Chen in outstanding position entering Thursday's long program, where he is heavily favored to win gold. He has a lead of almost six points over the second-best skater in the short program, Japan's Yumi Kagiyama. And perhaps his chief rival, two-time defending Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu, is on the fringes of contention after bailing on a planned jump, a dramatic error.
The other American in the field, Jason Brown, also had a strong performance and is sitting in sixth. The third member of the team, Vincent Zhou, withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19.
Chen was part of the U.S. team that won silver earlier this week, scoring a 111.71 in the short program in that event. He finished fifth individually at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, winning the long program but doomed by a disastrous short.
— Tom Schad
USA's Ryan Cochran-Siegle skis to silver, following mom's gold in '72
BEIJING — Ryan Cochran-Siegle is adding to his family’s collection of Olympic medals.
Fifty years after his mother, Barbara Cochran, won gold in the slalom at the Sapporo Games, Cochran-Siegle won the silver medal in the super-G on Tuesday. It is the first Alpine medal for the United States in Beijing, coming a day after Mikaela Shiffrin’s shocking DNF in the giant slalom, and assures that the American men will not leave the Olympics empty-handed, as they did four years ago.
Cochran-Siegle finished just .04 seconds behind Austria’s Matthias Mayer, who won gold for a second consecutive Games. Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who had won three of his four super-G starts on the World Cup circuit this season, won the bronze medal.
Cochran-Siegle’s grandparents, Mickey and Ginny Cochran, built a ski area on their property in rural Vermont in 1961. All four of their children would go on to represent the United States at the Olympics, and grandchildren Cochran-Siegle and Jimmy Cochran have kept up the family tradition.
-- Nancy Armour
U.S. women dominate first period but trail Canada 1-0
BEIJING — The game is faster than anything else that’s been played on the ice at Wukesong Sports Centre this Olympic tournament. That’s the expectation when the U.S. and Canada play each other in women’s hockey.
After an off day, the U.S. outplayed the Canadians in the first period, but entered the locker room facing a 1-0 deficit. The Americans outshot Canada 16-5 but had nothing to show for it thanks to stout goaltending from Ann-Renée Desbiens.
Fourth-line defender Caroline Harvey, one of the youngest members of the U.S. team, was whistled for a penalty with 6:26 to go in the period to put Canada on the first power play of the game. And the Canadians capitalized, as Brianne Jenner beat goalie Maddie Rooney following a sweet feed from Sarah Filler, who’s established herself as one of the best players in the world in Beijing.
The U.S. could not capitalize on its power play later in the first.
Earlier in the period, forward Abbey Murphy hit the post on a breakaway after beating Desbiens. The puck hit the post again when it ricocheted off Desbiens’ back.
It was that kind of period for Team USA.
-- Chris Bumbaca
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai attends Big Air final with IOC president
After the IOC confirmed that former pro tennis player Peng Shuai met with IOC president Thomas Bach on Saturday, she was spotted with him again Tuesday at the Big Air Shougang venue watching Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu win the gold medal.
Peng’s public appearances have been heavily scrutinized and orchestrated since she posted on Chinese social media and then quickly deleted an accusation that a former government official sexually assaulted her, sparking worldwide outrage. After going silent for three weeks as friends from the tennis tour and WTA officials tried to reach her, she re-emerged in a series of videos from state-controlled Chinese media sources.
She has since publicly called the entire situation a misunderstanding and denied that she accused anyone of sexual assault, including in an interview that was published Monday with French sports publication L’Equipe.
The interview was held under tightly controlled circumstances, with L’Equipe submitting questions in advance and getting answers in Chinese that were translated by an official on the country’s Olympic committee.
Since Peng’s public re-emergence, the IOC has publicized a series of conversations between her and Bach meant to reassure her safety. The New York Times was able to get access to Bach, who confirmed that he again spoke with Peng.
Later, she was seen sitting besides American freestyle skier Nick Goepper during the competition.
“I spotted her and we had the opportunity to talk,” Bach told the Times. “Now she has to go to quarantine, she told me, because she will leave now the closed loop. She said today.”
-- Dan Wolken
Eileen Gu wows crowd on final run for Big Air gold
BEIJING — Eileen Gu, the 18-year old freestyle skiier who grew up in San Francisco but competes for China, won the gold medal Tuesday in the inaugural Olympic Big Air event with a spectacular trick on her third and final attempt.
With her place on the podium secured, Gu went for a trick she had never successfully landed in either competition or practice -- a left double 1620 that requires 4 1/2 rotations in the air -- and absolutely nailed it as the Chinese fans at Big Air Shougang screamed.
Knowing she had just done something special, Gu could hardly contain her emotions, dropping to her knees and putting her hands behind her head. A few moments later, her score of 94.50 was posted on the video board, confirming that she had moved into first place.
Tess Ledeux of France, who had put down two monster runs to grab the lead, still had a chance to win the gold. But a wobble on the landing made it all but official that Gu had taken it from her in stunning fashion.
Gu, who is also a fashion model associated with roughly two dozen ad campaigns in China surrounding these Olympics, came into the Games with big expectations and a chance to medal in three events. She more than delivered in her first performance.
-- Dan Wolken
Support overwhelms Vincent Zhou, coach after skater's positive COVID test
BEIJING — U.S. Olympic figure skating coach Tom Zakrajsek came to Beijing to coach Vincent Zhou in both the figure skating team competition and the men’s individual event.
But when the U.S. team was announced and stepped onto the second rung of the podium at Capital Indoor Stadium, Zhou wasn’t there. He had tested positive for COVID-19 and was about to go into quarantine.
So, as the men’s short program went on without Zhou Tuesday morning, Zakrajsek sent his thoughts via text message to USA TODAY Sports: “It’s a tough day. It’s a gut punch. After being here for 11 days and Vincent testing negative every day except the last couple it’s hard to imagine,” he wrote.
“Vincent and I have been in touch daily. This is heartbreaking for Vincent and everyone on his team ... The outpouring of support has been amazing. From U.S. Figure Skating and Team USA in general and across social media.”
-- Christine Brennan
U.S. skier Nina O'Brien heading home after breaking leg in giant slalom fall
BEIJING — Nina O’Brien has a compound fracture of her left tibia and fibula and will be taken back to the United States for further treatment.
O’Brien had initial surgery at a hospital in Yanqing, near the Alpine ski venue, after a gruesome crash Monday afternoon in the second run of the giant slalom.
“I had surgery last night to stabilize my tibia, which unfortunately was an open fracture through my leg,” O’Brien said in an Instagram post Tuesday. “I’ll get the rest fixed at home, but for now I’m in great hands. I want to say thank you to everyone who’s taken care of me, especially those who rushed to me in the finish and my doctors and nurses in Yanqing.”
O’Brien crashed just short of the finish line. Skiing at top speed, she lost her balance at the second-to-last gate. Her legs flew wide, and she tumbled past the last gate and into the finish line.
“Well, I gave everything I had, and maybe too much,” O’Brien said in her Instagram post. “I keep replaying it in my head, wishing I’d skied those last few gates differently. But here we are.”
O’Brien had been the top U.S. woman in the giant slalom after Shiffrin skied out, finishing sixth in the first run. She was also supposed to compete in Wednesday’s slalom event, and will be replaced by fellow American A.J. Hurt.
-- Nancy Armour
Speedskater Casey Dawson battling the clock even before arriving in Beijing
ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Forget the race. Just making to the starting line has been a mad dash for American speedskater Casey Dawson.
The 21-year-old had been set to compete in his first Olympics before testing positive for COVID almost four weeks ago. He thought he would be able to clear two negative tests in time to travel, and he did do that. But he learned he would need four and to get them from a different lab, something that delayed his travel until Sunday.
Dawson embarked on a trek that would take him from Salt Lake City to Atlanta to Paris and then finally to Beijing, all in less than two days. Having already missed the 5,000 meters, Dawson is racing to get here in time for the 1,500 later Tuesday here in China.
Dawson logged his journey on Instagram, and he arrived in Beijing around 7 a.m. One problem – his bags didn’t.
Dawson told NBC’s Gadi Schwartz that he had all he needed to race in his carry on, except for his blades.
Dawson made it to the village by 10 a.m. local time, but his luggage had not yet made it to him.
“My blades are actually in my suit case, and kind of need those to skate,” he said.
Dawson is still awaiting the results of his COVID test upon arrival at the airport. Once cleared, he’ll have a matter of hours to get ready for the 1,500.
-- Rachel Axon
Path to skating gold goes through Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu
Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan is the two-time defending champion in Olympic men's figure skating, winning gold medals in Sochi (2014) and Pyeongchang (2018).
Hanyu suffered a sprained ligament in his right ankle from a fall in practice on Nov. 9, and did not compete in any of the Grand Prix figure skating events this fall. But he shouldn't be counted out.
He'll compete against American Nathan Chen and others in the men's figure skating short program on Tuesday. Hanyu is scheduled to skate at 12:19 p.m. in Beijing (11:19 p.m. ET, Monday).
-- Steve Gardner
Chinese-American Eileen Gu overcomes pressure to reach Big Air final
BEIJING — There is no bigger star in China at these Olympics than Eileen Gu, the 18-year old freestyle skier from San Francisco who is headed to Stanford after these Olympics.
Despite her American roots, Gu chose in 2019 to compete for China, the country where her mother grew up and where she has become a fashion model and a breakthrough star.
Given the hype surrounding her debut at the Beijing Games, Gu admitted there was some pressure to perform well Monday in the first Big Air competition for skiing ever at the Olympics.
“I would not feel satisfied if I didn’t make finals,” she said. That outcome was in question until Gu nailed her last run, putting her over the top and in position to challenge for a medal in Tuesday's final.
-- Dan Wolken
Nathan Chen hoping history doesn't repeat itself
BEIJING — It's a big day for Nathan Chen.
The presumptive gold-medal favorite will take the ice in Beijing on Tuesday (Monday in the U.S.) for the first half of the individual competition. He'll be performing his short program, set to "La Boheme" by Charles Aznavour, just after midnight on the East Coast.
Chen, 22, had a near-flawless performance with this same program a few days ago, setting a new season-best en route to a victory in the team competition. But this event, the short program, is also the one that doomed him in 2018.
Chen's primary competition will come from Japanese skaters Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno, who finished first and second respectively in Pyeongchang. Hanyu is a two-time defending gold medalist. He's struggled with injuries this season and was a dramatic late arrival to the practice rink on Monday.
-- Tom Schad
'QUAD KING:' Get to know five-time U.S. national champion Nathan Chen
COVID, quarantine make life difficult in Olympic Village
BEIJING – Athletes are speaking out about the conditions they faced or observed in quarantine hotels in China used by athletes who test positive while at the 2022 Winter Olympics. They described "inedible meals," little or no access to training equipment and a confusing and at times seemingly illogical COVID-19 testing regime.
Short track speedskater Natalia Maliszewska of Poland tested positive for coronavirus on Jan. 30, when she was ruled out of Saturday's qualifying race for the 500 meters, her strongest event. But Maliszewska was unexpectedly released from isolation on the eve of the race, only to test positive a few hours before it started and was immediately ushered back into quarantine. The next day – Sunday, the day after the qualifying event – she was released after again testing negative.
"My heart can't take it," Maliszewska wrote in an Instagram post.
Russian biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova used Instagram to complain about the food she received in her quarantine facility. On Feb. 3 she posted an image of what she claimed was "breakfast, lunch and dinner for five days already." The photo consisted of some plain pasta, charred meat, an orange-looking sauce and no apparent vegetables.
-- Kim Hjelmgaard
'This rivalry is like no other:' USA, Canada meet again in women's hockey
The United States and Canada have played each other for Olympic gold in women's hockey five times (out of six tournaments), with the Americans winning in a shootout four years ago in Pyeongchang.
"I think both groups like to play each other because it brings out the best in them, and at the same time, they don’t like each other. I think that’s OK," U.S. coach Joel Johnson said. "I think that’s what makes a great rivalry. When I watch them play, it’s exciting. I wish I could have experienced that as an athlete myself. Now it’s fun to be a part of."
Both teams are sporting 3-0 records in opening-round play heading into Tuesday's clash. Although the only thing on the line is seeding in the next round, expect both teams to play like a gold medal is at stake.
"This rivalry is like no other," U.S. defender Savannah Harmon said. "I think there’s a lot of pride on the line each night. We definitely take advantage of every game we get to play against them and I think that shows on both sides."
-- Chris Bumbaca
After positive COVID test, Vincent Zhou out of men's figure skating competition
U.S. figure skater Vincent Zhou said in an Instagram post on Monday he has to withdraw from the individual event after testing positive for COVID-19.
In a five-minute video, an emotional Zhou said he tested positive as part of a routine COVID screening and then got additional testing. He said it was "pretty unreal that of all the people, it would happen to myself,"
Zhou was expected to compete in the individual competition, starting with the men's short program. He will not be replaced in the men’s individual event.
'HE DESERVES TO BE UP THERE:' Zhou misses medal ceremony, celebration
Are those nuclear reactors at the Olympic games?
BEIJING – There’s no great need or demand for permanent venues to host a sport as niche as Big Air, but the Chinese went ahead and did it anyway. It is a towering, dramatic structure rising above a former industrial park where they used to mill steel, flanked by cooling towers that evoke images of nuclear winters moreso than the Winter Olympics.
And yet it might just be the best idea the Chinese have had at these Beijing Games.
“It’s amazing, the facility is crazy,” said Norway’s Birk Ruud, who posted the best qualifying score in the men’s competition.
“It’s definitely cool being in a stadium vibe,” said Darian Stevens, the only American who made the women’s final. “That’s not typically a thing.”
-- Dan Wolken
