The day in Beijing was very calm this Thursday. After his serious injury in 2019, Kevin Rolland managed to qualify for the halfpipe final by finishing tenth following the two runs. No miracle for the French in the Nordic combined team, who finished fifth. Russian skater Kamila Valieva, suspected of doping, finished at the foot of the podium in the women’s individual competition. Here is everything you need to remember from this day.
Kevin Rolland, “The Revenant”
No, Kevin Rolland does not have much in common with the character played by Leonardo Di Caprio. However, the tricolor standard bearer has come a long way. After coming close to death on skis in 2019, the Frenchman, who is taking part in his third Olympic Games, qualified for the halfpipe final, finishing tenth in qualifying. Rolland was eleventh during his first run (65.25 points), and improved during the second run (75.25) to validate his ticket for the final, which he will play on Saturday (2:30). “The bet is successful, but I still have it under my feet,” enthused the skier from La Plagne.
Kamila Valieva, the fallen angel
Her tears of despair certainly moved the rink. After a rather convincing short program, the young Russian skater, suspected of doping, Kamila Valieva completely missed the free program this Thursday, falling several times. Because of these errors, the 15-year-old athlete finished just off the podium (224.09) in the women’s all-around, behind her compatriots Anna Shcherbakova, crowned Olympic champion, and Alexandra Trusova (251.73). The Japanese Kaori Sakamoto (233.13) wins the bronze medal.
Big disappointment for Mikaela Shiffrin
The American will have gone through these Games like a lost soul. After her outings in slalom and giant and her ninth place in the super-G, the double Olympic champion came out the back door in the alpine combined. Perfectly placed following the downhill, Mikaela Shiffrin made a mistake in the slalom and finished these Olympics without a medal. It’s the first time she’s left a big event without stepping onto a podium. Already crowned in 2018, the Swiss, Michelle Gisin won Olympic gold in combined. Frenchwoman Laura Gauché finished eighth while Romane Miradoli, fourth in the downhill, straddled in the slalom.
Naeslund ends Canadian ski cross hegemony
It took an exceptional skier to put an end to the unchallenged domination of the Canadian women. The Swede, Sandra Naeslund, leader of the Ski Cross World Cup, was crowned Olympic champion, ahead of the Canadian, Marielle Thompson and the German Daniela Maier. She thus becomes the first non-Canadian skier to win the gold medal since the appearance of the discipline in 2010 in Vancouver. For her first Olympics, the French Jade Grillet-Aubert was eliminated in the quarter-finals while Alizée Baron withdrew before the start of qualifying for back pain.
No miracle for the Blues in Nordic combined
In Nordic combined, the French team made up of Mattéo Baud, Gaël Blondeau, Antoine Gerard and Laurent Muhlethaler finished in an honorable fifth place (+2′15″00). After their fifth place in ski jumping, the Blues left 1″27 behind Austria during the cross-country skiing relay (4x5km). They failed to catch up on the track and finished 2″15 behind Norway, crowned Olympic champion. Germany (+54″9) and Japan (+55″2) complete the podium. Austria, meanwhile, finished fourth (+59″6).
Canada, king of the palace
It’s a hockey classic. For the sixth time in seven Olympic finals, Canadians and Americans compete to try to win the Holy Grail. And this time, it was Canada who won once morest their most faithful enemies (3-2). Beaten in 2018 in Pyeongchang by the United States, Marie-Philipp Poulain’s teammates thus won their fifth Olympic title (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2022).
