Renowned sports journalist Richard Deitsch offers a global perspective on the Olympics.
The event kicked off at 4:51 p.m. ET and concluded at 4:56 p.m. ET. In those five minutes, a stunning turn of events unfolded at the Milano-Cortina Games. Ilia Malinin, the esteemed male figure skater known as The Quad God and a strong contender for gold, experienced a dramatic downfall on the ice in front of a packed Milano Ice Skating Arena.
NBC announcer Terry Gannon, visibly surprised, emphasized, “A reminder that nothing in sports is guaranteed. There is no such thing as inevitability.”
Tara Lipinski, the NBC figure skating analyst and former ladies gold medalist at the 1998 Nagano Games, revealed that Malinin lost a staggering 72 points due to errors in his jumps during the routine.
Expressing disbelief, Lipinski remarked, “I never anticipated this outcome. I never imagined he would not make it to the podium.”
Malinin, aged 21, left the ice in a state of shock, finishing in eighth place. The gold medal went to Mikhail Shaidorov from Kazakhstan, with Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato securing silver and bronze, respectively. This victory marked Kazakhstan’s second-ever Winter Olympic gold medal.
Malinin acknowledged that his performance was affected mentally. “That was not the performance I intended,” he admitted to NBC. His initial reaction was, “I messed up. It can’t be real.”
As the Games progress, the unexpected turn of events lingers, leaving a lasting impact.
Exceptional Norwegian Athlete
One of the enduring delights of the Winter Olympics is Norway, a nation of 5.65 million inhabitants that consistently surpasses expectations. At the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo solidified his status as an Olympic legend by clinching his third gold medal at the Milano-Cortina Games and eighth gold overall in the men’s 10-kilometer interval-start race.
Klaebo now shares the record for most Winter Olympic golds with three other Norwegian athletes — Marit Bjoergen and Bjoern Daehlie in cross-country skiing, and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in biathlon. The favorite in the upcoming men’s 4 x 7.5km relay, Klaebo is poised to lead Norway to further success.
Matt Weston achieved a track record at the Cortina Sliding Centre with a winning time of three minutes 43.33 seconds in men’s skeleton, becoming the first male athlete from Great Britain to claim an Olympic gold medal. Notably, this was the event Ukrainian slider Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from by the International Olympic Committee.
Anticipated Performances on Saturday
The prominent speed skating star at the Olympics vies for a second gold medal in the men’s 500 meters at 11 a.m. ET. Jordan Stolz of the U.S. set an Olympic record in the 1,000 meters, aiming for a remarkable four Olympic golds, drawing parallels with the legendary Eric Heiden, the sole athlete to secure five gold medals in a single Winter Olympics.
Today marks the day when Marco Odermatt is expected to claim gold in the giant slalom, defending his Olympic title as one of the top alpine skiers of his era. Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen stands a chance to make history as Brazil has never won a Winter Olympic medal. The race commences at 4 a.m. ET with Run 2 following at 7:30 a.m. ET.
The dominant Swedish women’s cross-country ski team, having secured seven out of nine medals, returns for the women’s 4 x 7.5km relay at