Tag Archives: disqualified

Disqualified but energized: Hamilton and Mercedes take hope from the US GP – The Athletic

  1. Disqualified but energized: Hamilton and Mercedes take hope from the US GP The Athletic
  2. Hamilton and Leclerc disqualified from United States Grand Prix for technical breach Formula 1
  3. It took too long – again – to decide Hamilton and Leclerc’s US GP disqualification Motor Sport
  4. How Mercedes and Ferrari were floored by the same critical error in Austin RaceFans
  5. “There’s no f**king way I’m going for a 1 stop”: Pierre Gasly echoes his words of advice to Charles Leclerc pre-race after a strong Austin race Sportskeeda
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read original article here

U.S. women’s 4×400 relay team disqualified from World Championships after disasterous handoff mistake – Yahoo Sports

  1. U.S. women’s 4×400 relay team disqualified from World Championships after disasterous handoff mistake Yahoo Sports
  2. Team USA BARELY survives awkward exchange to clinch women’s 4×100 finals spot | NBC Sports NBC Sports
  3. U.S. women disqualified from 4x400m relay after baton fail Reuters
  4. World Athletics Championships 2023: Sha’Carri Richardson leads USA to 4x100m relay gold over Jamaica’s superstars Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson Olympics
  5. Team USA nearly tumbles out of men’s 4×100 relay after sketchy final baton pass | NBC Sports NBC Sports
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read original article here

Ukraine’s Kharlan disqualified after refusing to shake hands with Russian opponent – Reuters

  1. Ukraine’s Kharlan disqualified after refusing to shake hands with Russian opponent Reuters
  2. Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan disqualified after refusing to shake her opponent’s hand euronews
  3. Acting Director Of Holodomor Museum In Kyiv Plans To File Lawsuit Over Online Bullying Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
  4. Ukraine’s top fencer disqualified from world championships after refusing to shake hands with Russian opponent CNN
  5. Ukraine’s energy operator readies for worst-case scenario next winter Kyiv Independent
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read original article here

Doubles team disqualified as errant hit strikes ball girl – ESPN – ESPN

  1. Doubles team disqualified as errant hit strikes ball girl – ESPN ESPN
  2. Doubles pair of Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi disqualified at Roland Garros Tennis Magazine
  3. French Open: ‘She’s crying!’ – Miyu Kato and doubles partner disqualified after accidentally hitting ball kid Eurosport COM
  4. Controversy hits French Open as ball girl cries after being hit by Miyu Kato, Marie Bouzkova & Sara Sorribes Tormo protest to umpire causing default Sportskeeda
  5. (VIDEO) Default win for Sorribes-Tormo and Bouzkova as ball girl hit during Women’s Doubles at Roland Garros TennisUpToDate.com
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read original article here

DeSantis wants judge disqualified from Disney’s free speech suit – POLITICO

  1. DeSantis wants judge disqualified from Disney’s free speech suit POLITICO
  2. Florida Man Attacks! Ron DeSantis Says “Zero” Chance He’ll Back Down In Disney Battle; Wants “Woke” Judge In Mouse House Suit Tossed Deadline
  3. Disney’s fight with DeSantis masks a bigger problem: Its business is struggling CNN
  4. Tavistock may have some control over what happens next with Disney’s Lake Nona property. See why. The Business Journals
  5. Disney Scrapping Florida Campus, Shuttering Hotel Amid DeSantis Feud The Wall Street Journal
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read original article here

Imran Khan disqualified from holding office for five years, Pakistan’s election commission rules


Islamabad, Pakistan
CNN
 — 

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan will be disqualified from holding political office for five years, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ruled on Friday, a move likely to further inflame political tensions in the country.

While reading out the recommendation, ECP chief Sikandar Sultan Raja stated that Khan was disqualified for being involved in “corrupt practices.”

The commission said its decision was based on the grounds that Khan had “made false statements” regarding the declaration of the sale of gifts sent to him by the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Dubai while in office – an offense that is illegal under the country’s constitution.

There had been a heavy police presence outside the election commission’s office in the capital Islamabad on Friday, in anticipation of protests by Khan’s supporters. Paramilitary troops have been deployed across the city and the Red Zone, which encases major government buildings, including the election commission, has been mostly sealed off to traffic.

At a press conference right after the announcement by the ECP, leaders from Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI), have said that they will take the matter to the Islamabad High Court, claiming that the ECP’s decision was “biased.”

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said Friday this was the “beginning of a revolution” and called for supporters to “come out of their homes and take to the streets to uphold the constitution.”

The announcement raises the prospect of Khan being unable to stand in the next general election, expected in 2023. CNN has reached out to Khan’s lawyer for comment.

The commission’s ruling is the latest in a series of setbacks for Khan, who was dramatically removed from office in a vote of no confidence in April.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement political party, which is part of the country’s ruling coalition that ousted Khan from power, had pushed for the commission’s investigation.

However, the cricketer-turned-populist leader maintains widespread popularity.

He has repeatedly claimed that his removal from office was the result of a US-led conspiracy against him. He has also alleged the current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistani military were behind his ousting.

His claims have struck a chord with a young population in a country where anger and disillusionment with the political and military establishment is being fueled by a rising cost-of-living crisis and anti-American sentiment is common.

The US, the ruling coalition and the Pakistani military have all denied Khan’s allegations.

His enduring popularity has translated to recent provincial election victories for his party and he has repeatedly called for a new parliamentary vote at mass rallies held since his ouster.

Khan has repeatedly called for early elections and has said he will lead his supporters in a long march to Islamabad.

Read original article here

Chase Elliott won’t celebrate Pocono win after Denny Hamlin disqualified for failing postrace inspection

Chase Elliott left Pocono Raceway as a third-place finisher and learned when he landed home in Georgia that he had been declared the race winner.

For now, at least.

Joe Gibbs Racing can still appeal NASCAR’s decision to strip Denny Hamlin’s victory and teammate Kyle Busch’s runner-up finish on Sunday after their Toyotas failed inspections. Hamlin was the first Cup winner to be disqualified since April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson Speedway in North Carolina was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank.

The Toyotas were shipped to NASCAR’s research and development center in North Carolina for further evaluation and — depending on potential appeals — it could take a week to sort out the winner or other penalties levied against JGR.

Elliott was gifted his fourth win of the season, without the Hendrick Motorsports driver ever leading a lap Sunday in his No. 9 Chevrolet. The series points leader will take the win, even if he doesn’t feel great about achieving it without a checkered flag.

“I was probably just kind of more surprised by it than anything,” Elliott said Monday. “I don’t think any driver wants to win that way. I certainly don’t.”

Hamlin — who had already zipped his young daughter around the track on a victory lap — and the rest of the field had long left Pocono when the NASCAR inspection team found issues in both Toyotas that affected the aerodynamics.

“There really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere it shouldn’t have been. And that does basically come down to a DQ,” NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran said Sunday night.

Team owner Joe Gibbs said Sunday he was “shocked” by the ruling and his organization planned “to review every part of the process that led to this situation.”

Pushing the edge of the rulebook — creatively or illegally — has been a part of NASCAR’s culture since its inception. But NASCAR toughened its punishments entering the 2019 season in a bolder bid to squash cheating. The biggest shift came in inspections, which nailed the JGR drivers on Sunday. NASCAR ensured postrace inspections would take place at the track instead of midweek at the sanctioning body’s research and development center outside Charlotte, North Carolina.

Winning teams found in violation of the rules before 2019 were penalized with postrace fines, point deductions and/or suspensions. But drivers didn’t have victories taken away from them until then.

For example, Joey Logano kept a 2017 win in Richmond even after a midweek teardown of his car at the R&D center showed his Team Penske team broke rules. Logano, though, could not count the win toward postseason consideration.

Hamlin won’t be so lucky. He lost this third win of the season, his record seventh victory at Pocono and a 49th career win that would have tied him on NASCAR’s career list with three-time champion Tony Stewart.

No matter NASCAR’s final judgment, Hamlin will likely stand as the winner among multiple gambling sites. FanDuel said Monday the house rules state bets are settled on the result of the podium presentation regardless of any subsequent disqualifications. Where things gets murky is with fantasy players.

FanDuel said all NASCAR fantasy contests are settled the following day.

The breakdown went like this:

• Elliott received 43 points for finishing first after the postrace inspections.

• Kyle Busch received five points for finishing in 36th place as a result of failing postrace inspection.

• Hamlin earned six fantasy points for finishing 35th.

NASCAR could hit JGR with stiffer points penalties and fines than Zervakis faced in 1960. The Associated Press reported that officials held up Zervakis’ purse of $1,275 after he won the race without a pit stop and “carried about a half-gallon of gasoline more than is considered stock in the technical ratings of his 1960 Chevrolet.” Joe Weatherly earned the win.

Elliott, 27, the 2020 Cup Series champion and NASCAR’s most popular driver, said he was moving on from Pocono as if he did indeed finish third. And he said he won’t ask for the trophy.

“I’m not going to celebrate someone’s misfortune,” Elliott said. “That doesn’t seem right to me. I crossed the line third. That’s kind of how I’m looking at it.”

DraftKings Sportsbook, however, said it will pay out bets on both Hamlin and Elliott.

DraftKings Sportsbook director Johnny Avello said house rules state all bets will be settled “based on the unofficial results sent out by NASCAR” but also notes that if there is a “change in the official race result, all previous winners will stand and new winners will also be settled as won.”

Caesars Sportsbook said all of its bets were settled according to the official order of finish, with Elliott as the winner and Hamlin and Busch finishing 35th and 36th, respectively.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Read original article here

Chase Elliott given win at Pocono after Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch disqualified

LONG POND, Pa. — NASCAR stripped Denny Hamlin of his win at Pocono Raceway when his No. 11 Toyota failed inspection and was disqualified, awarding Chase Elliott the Cup Series victory.

Joe Gibbs Racing had Hamlin’s car and runner-up Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota both disqualified. Hamlin lost his record seventh victory at Pocono and his third win of the season. Busch led a race-high 63 laps.

NASCAR believed the last time it disqualified an apparent winner was April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson Speedway in North Carolina was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank.

The penalties can be appealed and both Toyotas were sent to NASCAR’s research and development center in North Carolina.

“There was some issues discovered that affect aero in the vehicle,” NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran said. “There really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere it shouldn’t have been. And that does basically come down to a DQ.”

Moran said the parts in question were the front fascia — essentially the nose cone — and final decisions “should be sorted out by next week.”

Elliott, who had finished third, was given his fourth win of the season. He never led a lap in the No. 9 Chevrolet.

Moran said the inspection “rules have tightened up” with the introduction this season of a new car. NASCAR’s newest version is essentially a kit car. Teams get all the same pieces from varying vendors and have detailed instructions regarding how to put it together.

“We don’t want to be here talking about this problem,” Moran said. “But the teams and the owners and everybody was well aware that this new car was going to be kept with some pretty tight tolerances. There’s some areas that all the teams are well aware that we can not go down the path that we had in the past with the other car.”

The failures marred what had been a banner day for JGR.

Hamlin had seemingly won for the third time this season and passed Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon for most wins at Pocono with seven. Hamlin swept two races at Pocono in his rookie season in 2006, and added wins in 2009, 2010, 2019 and 2020. Now, he remains tied with the four-time NASCAR champion.

Hamlin had plenty to handle from the start, when the pole sitter tagged the wall on the opening lap. He recovered — at 400 miles on the 2 1/2-mile tri-oval there’s plenty of racing ahead — then had to watch Busch lead the majority of the race. Oh, then there was this thorny issue of settling a lingering score with Ross Chastain.

Chastain wrecked Hamlin two times in a month earlier this season — Hamlin counted two more times from last season — and was fed-up with the aggressive driving of the watermelon farmer. Hamlin refused to give his rival an inch off a restart at Pocono and forced Chastain into the wall with 16 laps left in the race. Chastain slammed the wall and triggered a wreck that collected several drivers, including winless Kevin Harvick, who is fighting for a playoff spot.

“What did you want me to do? What did you expect me to do,” Hamlin asked in the immediate aftermath.

Chastain, who has two wins this season driving for Trackhouse Racing, sheepishly understood comeuppance was due.

“I think that’s something that’s been owed to me for a few months now,” Chastain said.

Hamlin also lost his tie with former teammate Tony Stewart on NASCAR’s career wins list with 49.

“We’ve just been good friends and he’s certainly someone that I look up to from a talent standpoint,” Hamlin said. “He was the guy that for 36 races was a threat to win, and that’s what I hope to be some day.”

Hamlin is pretty close: He’s a three-time Daytona 500 champion and part owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan. About the only blemish on his resume is the championship he’s failed to win — and the first DQ of his Cup career.

Hamlin’s young daughter burst into tears of joy and he sent her to retrieve the checkered flag. Taylor Hamlin clutched the flag as she slid through the passenger’s side window and took a victory lap around Pocono with dad at the wheel.

TY GAME

Ty Gibbs finished 16th for 23XI Racing in his first career Cup start subbing for the injured Kurt Busch.

Busch suffered a head injury during a hard hit Saturday in qualifying and was not cleared to race by NASCAR’s medical staff. That opened the door for the 19-year-old Gibbs.

In a pinch, the grandson of Joe Gibbs wore Busch’s firesuit and Hamlin’s shoes.

“I never thought I’d race with these guys,” Gibbs said. “It was just cool being next to them on the track. To 10-year-old Ty, that means a lot.”

Grandpa Joe was pretty proud. “He was discouraged that he couldn’t get more out of it,” Gibbs said. “I think he realizes how tough it is.”

NO DEAL

Gibbs remained concerned JGR has yet to reach a new contact with Kyle Busch.

“We had a couple of companies, we thought [were in] that wound up to be disappointments for us,” Gibbs said. “But it is hard and it is discouraging.”

UP NEXT

IndyCar and NASCAR share next weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. IndyCar races Saturday on the road course; NASCAR races Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Read original article here

Medina Spirit disqualified from Kentucky Derby win, Baffert suspended

After more than nine months of delay, litigation and laboratory tests, the 2021 Kentucky Derby finally reached at least a temporary resolution Monday when stewards disqualified Medina Spirit and suspended the deceased colt’s Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert, for 90 days.

The disqualification had seemed inevitable to racing officials because Kentucky racing regulations allow no detectable betamethasone in a horse’s system on race day. But Baffert’s attorneys argued the ban applied only to injectable betamethasone; that Medina Spirit had absorbed the corticosteroid through the ointment Otomax; and that the concentration was insufficient to have any impact on America’s most prestigious horse race. 

Their argument did not prove persuasive. Seven days after a Feb. 14 hearing, the three stewards adjudicating the case — Barbara Borden, Brooks Becraft and Tyler Picklesimer — issued rulings disqualifying Medina Spirit, ordering the Derby purse to be redistributed and fining Baffert $7,500 in addition to his 90-day suspension. 

“We are disappointed by the Commission’s ruling, but not surprised,” said Baffert’s attorney, Clark Brewster. “This ruling represents an egregious departure from both the facts and the law, but the numerous public statements by KHRC officials over the last several months have made perfectly clear that Bob Baffert’s fate was decided before we ever sat down for a hearing before the three stewards, one of whom is directly employed by Churchill Downs as the racing director at Turfway Park (Picklesimer). We will appeal, and we will prevail when the facts and rules are presented to detached, neutral decisionmakers.”

Kentucky Derby disqualification: With Medina Spirit disqualified and Bob Baffert suspended, here’s what happens next

Runner-up Mandaloun on track to become Kentucky Derby winner

Pending that appeal and potential litigation, runner-up Mandaloun stands to become the winner of Derby 147 and further enhance the resume and the net worth of Louisville trainer Brad Cox, who had already set a North American earnings record in 2021 with $31 million in purses. The Derby winner’s purse is worth $1.86 million. Cox would also benefit from fourth-place finisher Essential Quality being moved up to third place behind trainer Doug O’Neill’s Hot Rod Charlie. 

Churchill Downs issued a statement recognizing Mandaloun as the Derby winner and congratulating Cox, owner Juddmonte and jockey Florent Geroux.

“Winning the Kentucky Derby is one of the most exciting achievements in sports,” the statement said, “and we look forward to celebrating Mandaloun on a future date in a way that is fitting of this rare distinction.”

Churchill Downs plans to switch the paddock sign honoring Medina Spirit for one bearing Mandaloun’s name Tuesday morning. The Kentucky Derby trophy, yet to be engraved, remains in the possession of the track.

Medina Spirit death: In death as in life, Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit still matters

Bob Baffert’s suspension

Baffert’s 90-day suspension is scheduled to start on March 8 and run through June 5, a span that would include the first two legs of the Triple Crown: the Derby and Preakness Stakes. The trainer has 10 days to request a review of the stewards’ ruling by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission or to apply for a stay from the commission’s executive director, Marc Guilfoil.

He may eventually take his case to Franklin Circuit Court, which could delay final resolution of the race for months or even years. The previous Derby drug disqualification, the 1968 case in which Dancer’s Image was taken down in favor of Forward Pass, was not ultimately resolved until owner Peter Fuller abandoned his court fight on behalf of Dancer’s Image in 1973.

Medina Spirit bets: What happens to bets placed on Medina Spirit if Derby winner is disqualified?

Baffert’s 90-day suspension reflected not only Medina Spirit’s Kentucky Derby positive, but a rash of violations in the year prior to the 2021 Derby. KHRC guidelines call for a 30-60-day suspension in the event of a third positive test within a one-year span for a Class C drug, but there is no formal provision for additional positives.

Gamine, a Baffert-trained filly, was disqualified in January, 2021, after testing positive for betamethasone following the 2020 Kentucky Oaks. Baffert also experienced a positive test at Del Mar and two on Arkansas Derby day at Oaklawn during 2020. The stewards’ ruling referred to Medina Spirit’s positive test as Baffert’s fourth medication violation in a 365-day span, but it could have qualified as his fifth.

“We applaud the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for taking action against American horse racing’s most infamous violator, Bob Baffert, and are pleased to see some justice brought to the tragic life and death of Medina Spirit,” said Marty Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action. “Baffert continues to drag horse racing through the mud in scandal after scandal, and we call on every racing jurisdiction in the nation to hold him accountable by reciprocating the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s suspension in their own state. We’re elated that Baffert won’t be participating in the upcoming 2022 Kentucky Derby and believe the horses will be better off, and the event will have more credibility, without him.” 

Though Baffert admitted Gamine’s betamethasone positive from the Oaks, while claiming the filly had been taken off the medication prior to the state’s 14-day withdrawal period, he bitterly disputed Medina Spirit had been treated with the same substance in confirming the initial test results, only to back down days later by acknowledging the horse had been treated for a skin condition with Otomax, an ointment containing betamethasone.

Baffert’s attorneys sought to draw a critical distinction by insisting Kentucky regulations applied only to the injectable drug and not the ointment. But regulators, including Guilfoil and Dr. Mary Scollay, executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, clung to the letter of Kentucky law, which defines a positive test as the presence of a restricted or prohibited drug in a sample. KHRC general counsel Jennifer Wolsing told Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate in a June hearing that the method in which betamethasone is administered is “not differentiated” in Kentucky regulations.

Bob Baffert: Sullivan: Rules show odds against Bob Baffert in avoiding Kentucky Derby disqualification

Baffert sued the KHRC to seek additional testing in an effort to confirm the origin of the betamethasone, and his attorneys claimed vindication when a New York lab reported Medina Spirit’s sample contained betamethasone valerate (which the ointment contains), but not the acetate version found in the injectable betamethasone. Though the attorneys have characterized the results as definitive, the report issued by the New York Drug Testing and Research Program included a caution that its research had not been peer reviewed.

While Scollay insisted the positive test meant a “non-negotiable” disqualification, regardless of the source of the substance, Baffert’s camp was also waging a public relations battle in an effort to minimize the trainer’s potential penalties and the impact on his business.

Mandaloun: Which horse came in second in the 2021 Kentucky Derby? What to know about Mandaloun

Despite an earlier two-year suspension imposed by Churchill Downs, and the approach of Derby 148, Baffert’s clients have mostly remained loyal. Seven different horses would have accumulated Derby qualifying points if they were not being trained by Baffert, and all but one of them remain in his barn. Of the 21 prep races eligible for qualifying points that have already been run, six have been won by Baffert horses.

Unless Baffert’s owners move their horses to other trainers or the trainer somehow finesses the stewards’ suspension and Churchill’s ban, some of the year’s most promising 3-year-olds will be unable to run for the roses. If that should diminish Derby 148, that’s a price Churchill Downs appears willing to pay.

“The Derby’s got deep roots,” said Louisville-based trainer Dale Romans. “I think it would have diminished the Derby if he didn’t get the penalty.”

Tim Sullivan: 502-582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @TimSullivan714



Read original article here

Olympics Live: Mikaela Shiffrin Disqualified; Canada Beats U.S.

Credit…Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

All through the Beijing Games, the unchecked swagger of Canada’s women’s hockey team had been conspicuous for all to see — and to admire, fume over and fear.

There were the humiliations of the teams that would play for the bronze medal, the edgy digs at rivals, the nuanced critiques of the failed strategies to score on Ann-Renée Desbiens, the goaltender who made the Canadian crease a fortress.

The Canadians proved Thursday that all of it was justified: They overpowered the United States in the gold medal game, 3-2, and reclaimed the Olympic crown that the Americans had wrested away four years ago.

Canada

United States

Canada’s victory was a display of strong-armed, swarming play, blended with a few doses of luck and an angsty, furious drive that started with the Olympic loss in 2018.

The outcome was one that the Canadians had tiptoed toward predicting. To them, a gold medal often seemed less about redemption and more about simply meeting a ceaselessly high standard.

“We’ve been playing so well that when we do play our way — and not focus on other teams or focus on who we’re playing — we are unstoppable,” said Natalie Spooner, a forward on her third Canadian Olympic team.

Canada appeared to strike about seven minutes into Thursday’s game, when the American goaltender Alex Cavallini deflected a puck and saw Spooner sweep it in with a powerful shot. The United States, though, challenged that Canada had been offside, an assessment the officials upheld.

“I owe you one,” Spooner said her teammate Sarah Nurse told her on the bench. “I was offside.”

Thirty-five seconds later, the goal arrived: After Canada won a face-off, Nurse took a pass, spun and scored.

Canada doubled its lead later in the period on a shot by Marie-Philip Poulin, the Canadian captain who was playing in her fourth Games, and pushed it to 3-0 when Poulin scored again midway through the second.

Hilary Knight scored a short-handed goal for the United States late in the second, promising that the Americans would at least avoid the indignity of being shut out when a gold medal was for the taking.

A power-play goal with 13 seconds to play made the final score close. By then, though, the Canadian team knew its victory was assured.

So did the Americans.

“We wanted to just get a lot of pucks in there and actually have a lot of bodies, and I don’t think we did enough of a great job of that,” U.S. forward Abby Roque said.

Thursday’s spectacle was familiar ground, the sixth gold medal game between Canada and the United States since women’s hockey became an Olympic sport in 1998. The United States captured the first Olympic title but not another until 2018, when it won a game decided by a shootout that was seen, at least in Canada, as an aberration, not a harbinger of a power shift.

Credit…Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times
Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Many of the meetings leading to Thursday’s game suggested as much. The Canadians won a preliminary round game in Beijing, 4-2, and posted a 4-2 record in a series of pre-Olympic exhibition games in North America.

The teams were the unquestioned titans of the Games. Entering Thursday, Canada had scored 54 goals, an Olympic tournament record, and had three women — Brianne Jenner, Sarah Fillier and Jamie Lee Rattray — among the five top scorers in Beijing.

The United States had logged two shutout wins, and had twice defeated Finland, which won the bronze medal on Wednesday night.

Led by Kendall Coyne Schofield, the captain and one of the world’s fastest skaters, and Knight, who on Thursday set the American record for most games played by a women’s hockey player at the Olympics, the United States possessed a fearsome attack that forced rival goalies to confront a storm of shots through the tournament.

But the Americans struggled again on Thursday to turn chances into goals. At the same time, they found a Canadian squad eager — and able — to score quickly. In the first period, Canada tied the United States for shots, with 11, a marked shift from their last meeting, when the Americans had 16 attempts in the first and the Canadians managed only five.

Canada

3 21 0 for 2 6

United States

2 40 1 for 3 4

The United States eventually outpaced Canada in shots again, calling to mind the Canadian judgment after their first meeting that the Americans were all too happy to try to overwhelm opponents with a barrage of shots that were not always good ones.

Still, it was a strategy that worked for most of the Games. But as time faded on Thursday, with the Americans scrambling to a final soundtrack of clacking and hitting and emptying their net with more than three minutes to play, it was clear which team had shown itself to be the better one.

Just as Canada had long asserted that it would.

Read original article here