The Latest on the Pyeongchang Olympics (all times local):
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) – The Latest on the Pyeongchang Olympics (all times local):
4:45 p.m.
Olympic flag bearer Pita Taufatofua is concerned about his home country of Tonga after it was hit by a cyclone that destroyed Parliament House as well as churches and homes.
The 34-year-old cross-country skier thanked people on Facebook for their messages of support and said he still hasn’t heard if friends and family are safe.
Taufatofua gained international attention at the Winter Olympics when he marched bare chested into the opening ceremony carrying his country’s flag. He also marched bare chested in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, albeit in more mild conditions.
Now that he’s in South Korea preparing to compete, part of him wishes he was back home with his countrymen. In the meantime, he is looking to help raise funds for the damaged country.
He competed in the Summer Olympics in taekwondo and decided to try his hand at cross-country skiing. He only picked up the sport within the last two years, but managed to qualify for the games on his last attempt.
He’s not expected to compete for the medal.
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3:50 p.m.
Marcel Hirscher of Austria has won the men’s Alpine combined event, the first career Olympic gold medal for one of skiing’s greats.
Hirscher used his elite skills in the slalom leg to rise from 12th place after the opening run of downhill.
His combined two-run time was 0.23 seconds faster than silver medalist Alexis Pinturault of France. Another Frenchman, Victor Muffat-Jeandet, took bronze, 1.02 behind Hirscher.
The fastest downhill racer, Thomas Dressen of Germany, dropped to ninth place, trailing Hirscher by 2.44. Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway did not even bother to race the slalom despite placing second in downhill.
Hirscher has a record six overall World Cup titles as the season’s best all-round skier, and four career world championships gold medals.
But he had taken just a silver medal – in slalom at the 2014 Sochi Olympics – from two previous Winter Games.
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3:45 p.m.
No American woman has ever won an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing.
But there is at least a fighting chance that drought could come to an end on Tuesday night in the women’s classic sprint at the Pyeongchang Games.
The United States boasts three of the top 10 cross-country sprinters in the World Cup rankings entering the race – Sophie Caldwell (third), Sadie Bjornsen (seventh) and Jessica Diggins (ninth).
The only American ever to win a medal in cross-country skiing was Bill Koch, who took home a silver in 1976.
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3:20 p.m.
Shaun White has won halfpipe qualifying at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games and will drop in last for what’s shaping up as an epic final.
The two-time gold medalist scored a 98.5 to edge Australia’s Scotty James for the prime spot in Wednesday’s three-run final.
Sochi silver medalist Ayumu Hirano of Japan finished third.
Hirano won the Winter X Games last month with back-to-back 1440-degree double corks, a combination that had never been successfully landed in competition. White has said he’s working on the same tricks, while James has the most technically on-point package in the game.
Also in the 12-man final will be Americans Ben Ferguson, Jake Pates and Chase Josey.
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2:30 p.m.
Ryan Zapolski will start in goal for the U. S. men’s hockey team in its opener against Slovenia.
USA Hockey announced the decision Tuesday, removing the kind of intrigue the women’s team had before naming Maddie Rooney.
Zapolski was the no-doubt No. 1 goaltender. He was the first player late general manager Jim Johannson brought up to coach Tony Granato last summer. The 31-year-old from Erie, Pennsylvania, has been one of the best players in the Kontinental Hockey League this season.
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1 p.m.
The governing body of world skiing is being hit hard with questions about why it allowed the women’s slopestyle event to go ahead amid bitter winds and iced-over jumps.
Forty-one of the 50 runs ended with either a rider falling or bailing out because she could not build up enough speed to reach the crest of a jump.
International Ski Federation spokeswoman Jenny Wiedeke says only one team „voiced concerns“ about going ahead with the event. She declined to name the country. It was different at the end of the runs when riders complained openly in the mix zone, the area where athletes speak to reporters.
Wiedeke says „we know it was very difficult conditions for the riders.“ She says „no athlete is forced to go down and compete.“
Wiedeke says the federation has concussion protocols and „most teams come with their own doctors. Those that don’t, there are local doctors on hand and we also have an official FIS doctor. So there are plenty of people on hand to diagnose if they feel it’s necessary.“
She also acknowledged the course was very difficult, even in perfect conditions.
Wiedeke says „at the Olympic Games we set our courses to the highest international standard. We’re very pleased with the entire course-building process. Very cold temperatures here have created ideal snow conditions for our events.“
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12:55 p.m.
Making good use of the No. 1 starting bib, Thomas Dressen of Germany leads the downhill run of the combined event that opened the wind-buffeted Olympic program in Alpine skiing.
Dressen was 0.07 seconds faster than Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, and 0.13 ahead of Matthias Mayer of Austria, the 2014 Olympic champion in downhill.
The world’s best slalom skier, Marcel Hirscher, is well placed with just 1.32 to make up in his specialized discipline later this afternoon. The gold medalist will be the skier with the fastest combined time.
The wind was again a factor at Jeongseon. Gusts higher up the mountain forced organizers to lower the start, cutting 20 seconds from the downhill. Racers were also guided to a safer line cresting the jumps.
One medal contender, Kjetil Jansrud of Norway, said he was not happy with the conditions, after being fourth-fastest, 0.27 behind Dressen.
Hirscher wore bib No. 2, and gusts appeared to get stronger during a 15-minute delay caused by the third racer, Russian Pavel Trickichev, crashing out.
Lower-ranked skiers in a 65-man lineup were yet to start.
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12:50 p.m.
Three events into the Olympic speedskating competition and the Americans remain off the podium.
Their results so far recall four years ago in Sochi when the U. S. team was blanked, a stunning result for a sport that has earned America’s most Winter Olympic medals.
The latest setback came Monday night when world champion Heather Bergsma finished eighth in the 1,500 meters. Brittany Bowe had the highest U. S. finish of fifth, while Mia Manganello was 22nd out of 26 skaters.
Bergsma faded badly on her last lap, with her time going up 3 seconds from her previous lap.
Next up is the men’s 1,500 on Tuesday, with two-time silver medalist Shani Davis in his fifth Olympics. However, the 35-year-old skater appears to be a long shot to medal based on his recent results. Brian Hansen and Joey Mantia will try to reverse the U. S. fortunes, too.
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12:25 p.m.
With a long break between the team competition and the ice dance and women’s events at the Pyeongchang Olympics, many figure skaters are leaving the Olympics atmosphere for a few days of quiet training.
The pairs program begins Wednesday and the men take the ice for their individual event Friday, but the rest are off until next week.
Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and the women’s contingent of Kaetlyn Osmond, Gabrielle Daleman and Larkyn Austman were on their way back to Seoul for a few days of work in an out-of-the-way rink.
Mirai Nagasu became only the third woman and first American to land a triple axel in Olympic competition, helping the U. S. secure its bronze. Now, she’s headed to a secret location outside the host city of Gangneung with teammates Karen Chen and Bradie Tennell to keep the jump sharp. They’ll be joined there by the three American ice dance teams.
Russian and Japanese skaters, meanwhile, are heading to Japan.
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11:50 a.m.
Alpine skiing is finally under way under blue skies and sunshine at the wind-buffeted Pyeongchang Olympics.
Thomas Dressen of Germany was the first racer in the downhill portion of the men’s Alpine combined event in Jeongseon.
The wind is again a factor after forcing organizers to postpone other events earlier in the week.
Gusts higher up the mountain forced organizers to lower the start, cutting 20 seconds from the run. The gates were also moved to let racers take a safer line cresting the jumps.
The third starter, Russian Pavel Trikhichev, crashed out and slid into the safety fences after his left ski hooked a gate.
