An Olympic stunner, plus the Games’ greatest tales to this point

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Good morning! Today, we’ll be taught the true worth of gold. Inside:

The Games: Olympic superlatives, to this point

Though the specifics rely on whether or not you’re counting by the primary day of competitors, the opening ceremony or the variety of medals awarded, the Winter Olympics are nearly half over. This center weekend of the Games is a pleasant time to take inventory of the occasions at Milan Cortina, which have ranged from the stunning to the unsurprising to the scandalous.

I typically take into consideration consuming the Olympics as ingesting from a firehose. Here are some midpoint superlatives as you get able to browse extra of the Games on a busy weekend:

Most gorgeous letdown: American determine skater Ilia Malinin. This one remains to be contemporary. The gold medal within the males’s singles would have been Malinin’s if he’d simply had a stable free skate, not even a terrific one, yesterday. Malinin carried a lead into the free skate after a commanding efficiency within the different half of the competitors, the brief program. But he went with a high-risk routine regardless of not likely needing it, after which he fell twice and completed eighth. It was a whole shock; Malinin had already put up a free skate within the crew competitors that may have received him the gold medal as a person. Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov received gold.

Highest aggressive drama: The girls’s snowboarding halfpipe. This was Thursday afternoon, East Coast time. Chloe Kim introduced the United States gold medals in 2018 and 2022 and seemed very prone to do it once more when, by way of two of three runs, her 88.00 rating was comfortably finest at school. But simply earlier than Kim went on her closing run, South Korean 17-year-old Gaon Choi placed on a superb show and posted a 90.25. Kim, needing to reply, fell on her final run. Here’s an unbelievable breakdown of how Choi beat her.

Toughest emotional letdown: Lindsey Vonn’s crash. At 41, Vonn grew to become the oldest girl to affix an Alpine race in Olympic historical past. It lasted 13 seconds, because the 2010 gold medal winner, three-time medalist and five-time Olympian caught a bit of a gate and suffered a fancy tibia fracture that required her to be lifted off the mountain. She has a protracted restoration forward.

Other damage factor to watch: Canadian girls’s hockey star Marie-Philip Poulin. The finest participant on the planet missed the group sport towards the United States with a lower-body damage. The Americans drubbed Poulin’s crew with out her, maybe taking some suspense out of the doubtless rematch between these groups within the gold-medal sport subsequent week. If she’s out (and possibly even when she’s not), this seems to be like an American romp. We’ll see if Poulin returns in the present day, when Canada faces Germany within the quarterfinals.

Best technical enhancement: Drone footage. The flying cameras following athletes in varied occasions have felt like a watershed second in sports activities TV. Occasionally, they’ve gotten too shut for some athletes’ consolation, however general, the critiques have been glorious.

Most intriguing not-quite-scandal: Penile injections in ski leaping. We all discovered greater than we ever needed to know concerning the physics of the skintight fits worn by ski jumpers, significantly male ones. The World Anti-Doping Agency stated it was on standby to research whether or not jumpers have been injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid as a way to qualify for greater fits that would create a sail impact and assist them achieve distance. No one’s but come ahead with any fees, however we’re monitoring the state of affairs. You can, um, examine for your self throughout the males’s massive hill particular person medal competitors, beginning at 12:45 p.m. ET in the present day on Peacock.

Worst try at romance: Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid. Do not cheat in your vital different. But in the event you do, don’t use the event of profitable a bronze medal to inform the entire world you cheated in your girlfriend and ask for her again. Did it work? Of course not. Happy Valentine’s Day.

The Pulse apologizes for leaving out your favourite occasion. Much extra to return.

News to Know

Elsa / Getty Images

More Games
Malinin’s stumbles have been understandably the large talker yesterday, however there have been loads of different storylines, together with the aforementioned U.S. girls’s hockey crew reaching the semis after routing Italy. They’ve outscored opponents by a ridiculous 26-1 margin. Elsewhere:

• Norway XC megastar Johannes Høsflot Klæbo received his record-tying eighth profession Winter Olympics gold, and he nonetheless has three occasions to go.
• Skating’s governing physique stood by the French choose whose outlier rating dropped American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates into silver medal place — and made champions of a French pair.
• Skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych noticed his enchantment denied after he was disqualified for carrying a helmet depicting athletes killed in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Full story right here.
• Here’s what was happening with that cursing Canadian roller.

Feds: Clase rigged pitch in postseason
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase texted in code about throwing “rocks” at “roosters” as a part of an unlawful pitch-rigging scheme that spanned a number of seasons, prosecutors allege in an indictment that was unsealed Friday. Among the opposite newly revealed accusations: that Clase threw a rigged pitch in a 2024 playoff sport. Yikes. More right here.

More information:

• “Point God” Chris Paul introduced his retirement in an oddly quiet exit for one of many nice opponents of his period. Make time for this Fred Katz tackle how Paul’s taking part in profession ought to be remembered.
• Bad Bunny apparently tried to pay Carlos Correa’s insurance coverage so the Astros third baseman might symbolize Puerto Rico within the World Baseball Classic. Here’s why it didn’t work out.
• How’s this for a debut: Tyce Armstrong hit three grand slams in his first sport with Baylor. Watch his run-rule walkoff right here.
• A U.S. district choose dominated Brian Flores’ racial discrimination go well with towards the NFL can proceed in open court docket. Read the complete story.
• BYU expelled main receiver Parker Kingston after his arrest on a felony rape cost.

📰 Find extra information right here 24/7.

Watch Guide

📺 Olympics: Men’s speedskating 500m closing
11 a.m. ET on NBC
American Jordan Stolz, contemporary off profitable the 1000m with a report time, is the favourite right here. He may very well be placing collectively one of many nice performances of those Games. Full Olympics schedule here.

📺 NCAAW: No. 3 South Carolina at No. 6 LSU
8:30 p.m. ET on ABC
Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey each have Final Four contenders this 12 months, per traditional. In one of many extra unbelievable streaks in sports activities, LSU has lost 17 in a row to the Gamecocks over 14 seasons. Expect a raucous setting in Baton Rouge.

Get tickets to video games like this here.

Pulse Picks

Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Kaitlyn Mulachy/ Getty, Ronald Martinez / Getty, Rockey Widner / Getty

Whenever the NBA has an enormous authorized drawback on its arms — like potential wage cap schemes or unlawful playing — it makes the identical name, to the identical legislation agency. Here’s an inside take a look at the league’s relationship with that agency.

I lately sat down with skating legend Tara Lipinski — who has spent most of her life on the highway — to listen to about her nonnegotiable journey necessities. Her must-haves to make an Olympic resort room really feel like house? A cashmere sweatsuit and slip-on Uggs, for starters. — Elissa Sanci

Is Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, the true deal? After his dedication to Florida State, Gabby Herzig spoke to consultants concerning the 17-year-old’s golf sport.

Sabreena Merchant has a full WNBA mock draft for us. Big names inside.

🎥 ICYMI: A ball-roundness controversy swept by way of tennis this week. Huh? Let Charlie Eccleshare clarify.

My spouse was gifted a treadmill that matches underneath her desk, and now she hits her steps objective every day whereas working. It’s not for me, however I really like the effectivity. — Jacob Robinson

Most-clicked within the publication yesterday: The particulars of Nick Castellanos’ messy cut up with the Phillies.

Most-read on the web site yesterday:

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