Tuesday in Beijing at the 2022 Winter Olympics has already been jam-packed with excitement as Eileen Gu won the first-ever Olympic gold in freeski big air.
In figure skating, the U.S. team lost one of its biggest stars Monday morning when Vincent Zhou withdrew from competition after testing positive for COVID-19. But three-time world champion Nathan Chen will start his quest for individual gold in the men’s short program. He will face stiff competition from three Japanese skaters: two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu, 2018 silver medalist Shoma Uno and newcomer Yuma Kagiyama. Chen helped the U.S. secure a silver medal in the team event by winning the men’s short program over Uno, but the men’s short is where he faltered in Pyeongchang, and he will look to banish those bad memories once and for all.
Winter Olympics schedule | Medal tracker
If you’re on the East Coast, drink some extra coffee to stay up late — because it’s rivalry time in Beijing.
The U.S. women’s hockey team will face Canada in the final game of the preliminary round. Both teams are undefeated and will advance to the quarterfinals. Seeding will be key in the race for the gold. Canada has outscored its opponents 29-2 while the Americans are coming off consecutive shutouts. The puck drops at 11 p.m. ET so make that brew a large. We’ve got updates on the action here:
Gu becomes the first Olympic champion in freeski big air
By landing two of the biggest tricks in women’s freeskiing, Eileen Gu captured the win in the sport’s Olympic debut in Beijing. In fact, only two women in the world, Gu and Tess Ledeux of France, have ever landed 1620 spins in a freeskiing contest and both did so Tuesday to go 1-2 in big air finals. Gu had never landed the trick in competition. When she did so on her third jump, she screamed, skied to the bottom of the landing and dropped to her knees.
“I’m not crying,” Gu said into the television camera. “I’m definitely not crying.” Gu’s third-run score saw her jump into first place above Ledeux, who had landed the double cork 1620 on her first run. When Gu saw the score, she grabbed her helmet and fought back tears. She took off her skis and bowed to the crowd. Then she waited. In her third and final attempt, Ledeux, who won the X Games big air event for the third time just a few days before flying to Beijing, threw a massive switch 1440, but landed on one ski and was unable to reclaim the lead. Swiss skier Mathilde Gremauld finished third. Darian Stevens, the only U.S. skier to make the final, finished 11th.
Born in San Francisco to a Chinese mother and American father and raised by her mother and maternal grandmother, Gu opted to compete for China at these Games. With the win, Gu ties China’s gold medal haul (3) from the Pyeongchang Olympics — and that’s with two events left to compete: freeski slopestyle and halfpipe.
“That was the best moment of my life. The happiest moment, day, whatever — of my life. I just cannot believe what just happened,” she said after. — Alyssa Roenigk
Take a bow, Donovan Carrillo
Already the first Mexican figure skater to compete in the Olympic Games in 30 years, Donovan Carrillo made even more history for his country on Tuesday by becoming the first skater from his country to qualify for the free skate portion of the event. The 22-year-old Carrillo dazzled those watching in the building and around the world with a high-energy performance, which included a successful quadruple toe loop and a triple axel, set to a medley of music by Santana.
He earned a 79.69 score for his efforts, and immediately qualified for Thursday’s free skate. He couldn’t hide his excitement after completing his routine, and after hearing his score, smiled and raised his hands in jubilation.
Carrillo, who was a flag bearer for Mexico in the Opening Ceremony, practices at an ice rink in a shopping mall in Leon, Mexico. He already owns the record for best result at a world championship by a Mexican skater after finishing in 20th place in 2021. — D’Arcy Maine
Injury update on O’Brien
Team USA skier Nina O’Brien, who was carried off on a stretcher after crashing across the finish line of the second run of her giant slalom event on Monday, posted on Instagram that she had surgery Monday night Beijing time to “stabilize her tibia, which unfortunately was an open fracture through my leg.”
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She added that she would further care back in the U.S.
“I keep replaying it in my head, wishing I’d skied those last few gates differently. But here we are,” she wrote in her Instagram post. “I want to say thank you to everyone who’s taken care of me.”
O’Brien, 24, lost her balance close to the finish line of her run. –Aish Kumar
Peng Shuai watches Eileen Gu
Tennis star Peng Shuai was spotted at the Big Air Shougang venue with IOC President Thomas Bach. They watched Eileen Gu win her gold medal in women’s freeski big air. Bach told the press that Peng is leaving the bubble today and going into the required quarantine to leave the Olympic closed loop and enter the general population of China.
Event schedule (all times ET)
8:15 p.m.: Men’s figure skating — singles short program
9 p.m.: Women’s freestyle skiing — big air final
10 p.m.: Men’s alpine skiing — Super-G
11:00 p.m.: Women’s hockey preliminary — U.S. vs. Canada
5:30 a.m.: Men’s speed skating — 1,500 meters
8:35 a.m.: Women’s luge — singles finals
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