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Men’s aerials: the first jump for the 2023 and 2025 world champ is a good one – he soars 11.99 metres up, which is about the height of a telegraph pole.
Sixteen year old Assan Assylkhan launches himself off a slope and flies high, unfortunately he slaps onto his back on landing and tumbles down the slope.
Men’s aerials: a quick channel change to keep an eye on the acrobatics. The snow looks a bit grubby, but there’s a beautiful twist and landing by young Canadian Emmile Nadeau, who goes top three.
It’s snowing again now, big fat flakes. Maybe a winter sports expert can correct me, but it feels as if there is more jeopardy with the tin man ski half pipe than the graceful snowboarding.
Lots of union jacks for Liam Richards, at 18 the youngest member of Team GB, and whose parents both sailed for Britain. He learnt his trade growing up in beautiful Wanaka.
On his Olympic debut he doesn’t hit every trick but makes it down in one piece, scoring 54.50.
The first person down the half pipe was world champ, Finley Melville Ives, who lost a ski mid-air and is languishing at the bottom of the leader board.
Ah, here comes Gus Kenworthy, he of the the urinated ‘fuck ICE’ snow message, and silver medallist in the 2014 ski slopestyle for the US, before switching to Team GB. He’s a brave guy, and has received death threats since his protest.
He looks happy enough with 81.25 to nestle just behind Hess in these run one standings.
It’s the turn of the gloriously named Hunter Hess of the USA. He doesn’t fall off and it all looks good to me but Tim and Ed are a bit sniffy about his altitude. He looks pleased however, and he scores enough to go third as things stand.
The conditions are much kinder this morning, and we have action at last at the men’s freeski halfpipe. The qualifying is underway which means everyone’s favourite winter duo, Tim and Ed, are back in their commentary shoebox.
Medal events
All times in GMT:
12.10pm Women’s Ski Cross 🥇
1.15pm Men’s biathlon 15km mass start 🥇
1.30pm Men’s Aerials 🥇
3.30pm Women’s 1500m Speed Skating 🥇
6.05pm🥉: Men’s bronze medal match
6.30pm Men’s Halfpipe skiing🥇:
8.18pm Men’s short track speed skating, 5000m relay 🥇
9pm Women’s short track speed skating, 1500m 🥇
The BBC are showing replays from yesterday’s ski mountaineering, where ridiculously fit men and women ski up a mountain, sprint a flight of steep stairs, before skiing back down again, with jeopardy at each boot change, and in high winds and heavy snow. Truly a different breed of human.
Some beautiful, and blizzard heavy pictures, from Thursday have been curated by our talented picture desk.
Medals table
The Norwegians still reign supreme, but the USA have leap-frogged the hosts to settle into second.
1 🇳🇴 Norway 🥇 16 🥈 8 🥉 10 – Total: 34
2 🇺🇸 United States 🥇 9 🥈 12 🥉 6 – Total: 27
3 🇮🇹 Italy 🥇 9 🥈 5 🥉 12 – Total: 26
4 🇫🇷 France 🥇 6 🥈 8 🥉 5 – Total: 19
5 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🥇 6 🥈 7 🥉 3 – Total: 16
That table in full:
Yesterday’s 40 centimetres of snow means we’re playing catch up today: and things begin with the rescheduled men’s halfpipe and men’s aerial qualifications. Both kick off in half an hour.
Preamble
Good grey morning readers, let us hurry to northern Italy where the skies are blue and the slopes powdery.
Medals galore today as we round the final corner.
After the USA clinched the women’s ice hockey gold on Thursday, more drama at the rink with the men’s semi-finals. Canada play Finland this afternoon and the USA take on Slovakia this evening.
A busy day for the world’s best skiers, in women’s cross finals, and the men’s 15km biathlon.
The men’s halfpipe freestyle final also takes place, under the drama of darkness, with eyes on teenage champion Finley Melville Ives as well as veteran American Nick Goepper; and the day finishes with two short-track speed skating finals, in the men’s 5000m relay and the women’s 1500m.
There’s also more curling. Great Britain’s men get a rest after yesterday’s heroics, but there’s a men’s bronze medal match to look forward to and the women’s semi-finals. Finally, the rearranged men’s aerial finals, where Switzerland’s Noe Rot is hoping to follow in the snowsteps of his mum, who won an aerials bronze 28 years ago.
We’ll be here to cover each stumble and gold, do join us.
