标签： Europe

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — In a stunning display of home-track dominance, Italy’s men’s speedskating team captured Olympic gold in the team pursuit event at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium on Tuesday. The Italian trio of Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini, and Michele Malfatti delivered a commanding performance against the reigning world record-holding American team, securing victory by a remarkable 4.5-second margin with a final time of 3 minutes, 39.20 seconds.

The victory marks Italy’s first Olympic title in this discipline since the 2006 Turin Games, achieved before an electrified home crowd that provided continuous vocal support throughout the race. Despite a strong initial showing from the U.S. team comprising Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Ethan Cepuran, the Italian skaters demonstrated superior endurance in the closing laps, surging ahead to claim the championship.

In parallel competition, Canada’s women’s team pursuit squad successfully defended their Olympic title with Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais, and Isabelle Weidemann—the same trio that triumphed in Beijing—posting a time of 2:55.81 to finish nearly a full second ahead of silver medalists Netherlands.

Meanwhile, adverse weather conditions forced the postponement of the women’s snowboarding slopestyle final in Livigno due to heavy snowfall. The event, originally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, was canceled without immediate rescheduling details, delaying New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott’s attempt to defend her Olympic title after she qualified first in Sunday’s preliminary rounds.

In other Olympic developments, France achieved a historic victory in the men’s biathlon relay, overcoming an initial last-place position to claim the nation’s first Olympic gold in the event. Norway’s Jens Luraas Oftebro secured his second Nordic combined gold medal of the Games, while the event itself faced protests regarding the continued exclusion of women from Olympic Nordic combined competition despite their participation in World Cup events and world championships.

In a stunning reversal of fortune at the Winter Olympics, France achieved a historic victory in the men’s biathlon relay on Tuesday, overcoming last-place positioning to dethrone defending champions Norway by a razor-thin margin of 9.8 seconds. The French team of Fabien Claude, Emilien Jacquelin, Quentin Fillon Maillet, and anchor Eric Perrot completed their remarkable comeback on the snow-packed tracks of Anterselva, Italy, securing France’s first-ever Olympic gold in this discipline.

The dramatic finale saw World Cup champion Eric Perrot maintain France’s narrow lead despite missing two shots in his final standing shoot, holding off Norway’s Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen in a heart-pounding finish. The victory served as redemption for France’s silver medal performance at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where Christiansen had shot clean to defeat Fillon Maillet by 28 seconds.

Sweden captured the bronze medal, finishing less than a minute ahead of Germany, while the United States team delivered an impressive performance to finish fifth after climbing from 16th position. The American squad, which has never won an Olympic biathlon medal, showed promise with Campbell Wright’s strong anchor leg bringing them from 11th to fifth place.

The Norwegian team, consisting of Martin Uldal, Johan-Olav Botn, Sturla Holm Laegreid, and Christiansen, expressed disappointment at settling for silver after entering the competition as world champions and heavy favorites. “To get silver is almost like losing gold,” remarked Laegreid following the race.

France’s victory marks their second biathlon gold of these Games, with Perrot and Fillon Maillet having previously won the mixed relay on February 8 alongside Lou Jeanmonnot and Julia Simon. The women’s relay is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

In a commanding display of athletic prowess at the Milan Cortina Olympics, the American speedskating trio of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Ethan Cepuran secured their place in the men’s team pursuit final with a decisive victory over China during Tuesday’s semifinal round. The U.S. team, boasting both a world record set in November 2023 and a bronze medal from the 2022 Beijing Games, finished with an impressive time of 3 minutes, 44.29 seconds, establishing an nearly 8-second advantage over their Chinese competitors.

The American victory sets the stage for a highly anticipated gold medal confrontation against host nation Italy, creating a dramatic rematch of Sunday’s quarterfinal where the Italian team emerged victorious. The Italian squad, comprised of Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini, and Michele Malfatti, demonstrated exceptional form in their own semifinal matchup against the Netherlands, clocking in at 3:38.88 – more than 1.5 seconds faster than the Dutch team.

This championship face-off carries historical significance for Italy, whose only previous medal in men’s team pursuit came from their gold medal performance at the 2006 Turin Games. Meanwhile, the United States continues its pursuit of its first-ever gold medal in the discipline, having previously earned bronze in both men’s and women’s team events.

The competition format, which debuted at the 2006 Olympics, features three skaters from each nation racing together against the clock, with teams starting from opposite sides of the track. The men’s competition covers 3,200 meters across eight laps of the oval.

In other notable developments, two-time defending champion Norway suffered an unexpected elimination during the quarterfinal round, while China and the Netherlands will compete for the bronze medal. The women’s team pursuit semifinals, scheduled for later Tuesday, will feature matchups between the United States and defending 2022 gold medalist Canada, and the Netherlands against Japan.

In a commanding display of ice hockey prowess, Germany secured an emphatic 5-1 victory against France during their Olympic matchup on Tuesday, setting the stage for a quarterfinal confrontation with Slovakia. The German team established their dominance early with a three-goal explosion in the opening period. Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl initiated the scoring with a precise low wrist shot on a power play at the 3:40 mark, assisted by Joshua Samanski. Frederik Tiffels extended the lead with an unassisted goal from an acute angle, followed by JJ Peterka of the Utah Mammoth capitalizing on a perfect setup from Tim Stutzle to beat French goalkeeper Julian Junca. Despite a second-period consolation goal from French captain Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Germany maintained control with additional goals from Samanski on the power play and Nico Sturm into an empty net. German netminder Philipp Grubauer delivered a solid performance in goal throughout the contest. The victory completes Germany’s group stage campaign while France concludes their Olympic tournament without a win in four appearances.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — As the alpine skiing events at the Milan Cortina Olympics approach their conclusion, all eyes turn to American skiing phenomenon Mikaela Shiffrin as she prepares for her final medal opportunity in Wednesday’s slalom competition. The most decorated ski racer in history finds herself in an unfamiliar position—still seeking her first podium finish at these Games and her first Olympic medal in eight years.

Shiffrin’s campaign at Tofane has been marked by near-misses and uncharacteristic performances. A surprisingly slow slalom run during last week’s combined event cost her a potential medal, while her 11th-place finish in giant slalom—though just three-tenths off the podium—demonstrated the razor-thin margins separating champions in this highly competitive field.

The 30-year-old champion approaches her signature event having already secured a record ninth World Cup slalom title this season with two races remaining. Yet Olympic glory has remained elusive since her teenage triumph in Sochi twelve years ago. Shiffrin acknowledges the unique challenges of her discipline, noting that despite 71 career slalom victories, ‘it never gets easier—you become more aware of how challenging it is.’

The psychological burden remains significant for the athlete who has rewritten her sport’s record books. Shiffrin arrived in the Dolomites confident she had moved past her disappointing zero-medal performance at Beijing 2022, but the combined event left her mystified and subdued. Her aggressive giant slalom performance, however, restored optimism.

Slovakian rival Petra Vlhova, the reigning gold medalist returning from January knee surgery that shredded multiple ligaments, expressed empathy for Shiffrin’s position: ‘I can imagine what she’s feeling right now. She’s strong and I believe she can make it, but it takes a lot of energy.’

The technical course setup appears flatter and potentially easier than typical World Cup venues, suggesting another tightly contested race similar to the giant slalom. Shiffrin’s margin for error—both physical and mental—may be smaller than usual. She has analyzed her combined performance where she placed 15th—her worst slalom finish since 2012—citing equipment misalignment, difficult light conditions, and an imperfect mindset.

U.S. Ski and Snowboard president Sophie Goldschmidt has praised Shiffrin as ‘the ultimate role model,’ noting her grace under pressure and support for teammates even while processing her own challenges. However, the unique pressure of the quadrennial Olympic spectacle continues to present a distinctive challenge for the athlete widely considered the Greatest of All Time in her sport.

As Shiffrin prepares for her two runs on Wednesday, she does so with open eyes: ‘I’m kind of going into it with my eyes open that we can see a very similar situation and I will try to handle it differently in my head.’ Whatever the outcome, those who know her best understand she will leave everything on the mountain.

French football club Olympique Marseille finds itself engulfed in unprecedented institutional chaos as sporting director Medhi Benatia dramatically reversed his resignation just 48 hours after stepping down. The stunning development comes amid a deepening crisis at the Mediterranean club, which has seen coach Roberto De Zerbi depart and fan protests intensify.

American owner Frank McCourt confirmed Benatia’s unexpected return through an official statement, revealing the director had agreed to remain until season’s end to oversee all sporting operations. This restructuring simultaneously shifts club president Pablo Longoria into a more institutional role focused on representing Marseille within French and European football bodies.

The club’s on-field performance has mirrored this administrative disarray. Marseille’s recent 2-2 home draw against Strasbourg, after squandering a two-goal lead, followed a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain and Champions League elimination after a 3-0 loss to Club Brugge. These disappointing results have left the club languishing twelve points behind league leaders Lens in fourth position.

Fan frustration reached boiling point during the Strasbourg match when Ultras groups vacated both stands behind the goals in protest. One prominently displayed banner demanded the immediate departure of McCourt and Longoria, declaring “all of your projects go up in smoke!”

The nine-time French champions, who haven’t lifted a trophy since the 2012 League Cup, now realistically only contend for the French Cup, where they face Toulouse in next month’s quarterfinals. Meanwhile, reports indicate former Marseille defender Habib Beye, recently dismissed by Rennes, is poised to be named as the new head coach. Assistant coach Jacques Abardonado has been serving in an interim capacity since De Zerbi’s departure.