BEIJING, China — Friday was another big day for some U.S. athletes. That includes becoming the answer to a new Olympics trivia question: Which country won the first-ever mixed team snowboardcross gold medal at the Winter Olympics?
There’s a lot more to that answer than just “Team USA.”
Nick Baumgartner, Lindsey Jacobellis win mixed snowboardcross
Americans Nick Baumgartner and Lindsey Jacobellis won the gold medal in the Winter Olympics debut of mixed team snowboardcross. That’s the second gold medal in Jacobellis’ tally this year and third overall — but for Baumgartner, it was his first Olympic medal ever.
Baumgartner is a four-time Olympian and the U.S.’s oldest athlete at the Beijing Olympics. He was frustrated this week when he failed to make the semifinals of men’s snowboardcross. Jacobellis, now at her fifth Olympics, won her first gold earlier in the women’s snowboardcross final.
At 40 years, 57 days, Baumgartner, the concrete worker/contractor from Michigan, becomes the oldest snowboarder to win an Olympic medal. At 36 years, 177 days, Jacobellis, the author of a children’s book, is the second-oldest.
For the self-titled “80’s babies,” it was the perfect end to a roller coaster of a week.
The U.S now has five gold medals to go with five silver and one bronze as of Friday night. Norway and Austria lead all countries with 14 total medals each. Germany has the most gold with seven.
Valieva has shaky practice as she awaits fate over doping test
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was in tears after a shaky practice Saturday at the Beijing Olympics that included a fall on a triple axel — a jump she typically executes without a problem.
Valieva was doing a run-through of her short program when she fell. She later landed two combos, a triple flip-triple toe loop and a triple lutz-triple toe loop, before skating to the boards and giving her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, an emotional hug.
Valieva has continued to practice while the Court of Arbitration for Sport considers whether a failed doping test will keep the 15-year-old sensation out of the women’s competition. The event begins Tuesday in Beijing (Monday night in the U.S.).
Valieva helped Russia win team gold last weekend. Then on Monday, a test taken in December was flagged for traces of the banned heart drug trimetazidine, putting the medal won by her entire team in possible jeopardy.
US defeats Canada in men’s hockey
The U.S. men’s hockey team took a 2-1 lead late in the first period and never looked back on the way to a 4-2 win over Canada in preliminary play.
Kenny Agostino, Andy Miele, Ben Myers and Brendan Brisson all scored for the U.S.
The U.S. leads Group A with 6 points and is virtually assured of a spot in the quarterfinals. Before that, the Americans play Germany in the final preliminary match-up on Sunday.
US women’s curling remains undefeated
The U.S. women’s curling team remained unbeaten in round robin play after a dominating 8-to-4 win over China. The U.S. was 3-0 in round robin play after Friday’s action with six more preliminary contests to go.
Crash costs American Kristen Santos shot at medal
A last-minute crash cost American Kristen Santos a chance at a medal in the 1,000-meter short track speedskating final. Arianna Fontana of Italy was penalized for a lane change that caused contact with Santos, who was in third place on the final lap. Both skaters went down and slid on their sides into the padding.
Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands defended her title, while Choi Minjeong of South Korea took silver. Hanne Desmet of Belgium earned bronze.
Shiffrin takes on downhill training
Defending Olympic champion Sofia Goggia of Italy appeared content after completing the opening downhill training session at the Beijing Games less than three weeks after injuring her left leg and knee in a crash.
Goggia finished 1.55 seconds behind leader Priska Nufer of Switzerland.
Mikaela Shiffrin was slightly quicker in ninth and 1.33 back.
Two more training sessions are scheduled before Monday’s race.
Germany has its first Olympic skeleton champion
Christopher Grotheer was a runaway winner in the men’s skeleton event that ended Friday night, the first German to win gold in the discipline where sliders navigate the icy chute headfirst at speeds that can exceed 80 mph.
Swedish speedskater sets world record
Nils van der Poel of Sweden has broken his own world record and captured his second gold medal of the Beijing Olympics with a dominating victory in men’s 10,000-meter speedskating.
Van der Poel added to his victory in the 5,000, which was a much closer affair. On Friday, it was just him against the clock.
Van der Poel’s victory came after he ripped the Dutch federation over a report that it was trying to influence ice makers at the oval to set up conditions that benefit its skaters.
While saying he had nothing against athletes from the Netherlands, van der Poel called the report a sign of “corruption” that needed to be investigated by the IOC and the International Skating Union. Dutch officials shrugged off the complaints.