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AP Exclusive: US skaters file appeal to get Olympic medals

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ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — The U.S. figure skaters whose Olympic silver medals are being withheld have filed an appeal to have them awarded before the end of the Beijing Games, with a decision expected as soon as Saturday night.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed to The Associated Press that it was hearing the case Saturday evening in Beijing and expected a rapid ruling.

In a letter sent to IOC president Thomas Bach, a copy of which was obtained by AP, attorneys for the skaters said they sought a ruling before Sunday’s closing ceremony.

Kamila Valieva led the Russian team to a victory in last week’s team event, and the U.S. finished second. Soon after, a positive doping test for the 15-year-old skater was disclosed. CAS allowed her to continue skating at the women’s event, but the International Olympic Committee said it would not award medals in any events in which she finished among the top three.

She finished fourth in the women’s event — crying as she left the ice, then criticized by her coach after a mistake-filled long program.

This case involves the team event held the previous week. The Russians won the event by a large margin. Japan was third and Canada finished fourth.

The letter sent on behalf of the American runners-up says the IOC’s “own rules mandate that a victory ceremony ‘to present medals to the athletes shall follow the conclusion of each sports event.’”

In a meeting earlier this week with the skaters, Bach offered them Olympic torches as something of a holdover memento while the doping case, which could take months, or even years, plays out.

In their letter to Bach, the attorneys said they hoped the IOC would reconsider but that because of the urgency, they were filing the appeal.

U.S. Figure Skating executive director Ramsey Baker sent the AP a statement standing in support of the skaters.

“Having a medal ceremony at an Olympic Games is not something that can be replicated anywhere else, and they should be celebrated in front of the world before leaving Beijing,” Baker said.

The letter to Bach, sent by attorney Paul Greene, who represents athletes in doping and other cases against Olympic authorities, said the IOC president had asked the athletes for their input.

“A dignified medal ceremony from our clients’ vantage point is one in the Medals Plaza as originally planned and afforded to all other medalists,” he wrote.

After Valieva’s test became public, Russia’s anti-doping agency at first put her on provisional suspension, then lifted the suspension. That triggered the IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency to lead an appeal to CAS, which acted swiftly and said Valieva could still compete.

That did not resolve the larger question about the result from the team competition.

Nine Americans stand to get some sort of medal out of that — either the second-place prize they’re aiming to receive this weekend, or a gold that could become theirs if the Russian’s are disqualified because of Valieva’s doping case.

Because she is 15, Valieva is considered a “protected person” under anti-doping rules, and is not expected to receive a harsh penalty. Her coaches and doctors are being investigated by Russian and world anti-doping authorities.

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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this report.

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Shcherbakova wins figure skating gold as Valieva collapses

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BEIJING (AP) —

Anna Shcherbakova won a stunning gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Beijing Games on Thursday night, relying on her experience to deliver a clean performance, while Russian teammate Kamila Valieva tumbled out of the medals in a mistake-filled end to her controversial Olympics.

Shcherbakova performed a near-flawless free skate to leap over the 15-year-old Valieva, the leader after the short program, who threw up her arms in resignation and disgust after her program. Russian teammate Alexandra Trusova leaped to silver with her quad-packed program while Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto held onto the bronze medal.

Valieva, the center of the latest Russian doping scandal, was left sobbing in the kiss-and-cry area after her scores were read. She was heavily favored to win the gold medal but is headed home with nothing from the women’s program and still faces investigation for a positive drug test.

Moments after she walked off, workers began setting up for a flower ceremony that the International Olympic Committee said would not take place if Valieva was in the top three. Medals will be handed out Friday at a ceremony that would not have occurred in Beijing if Valieva had reached the podium.

Valieva tested positive for a banned heart medication at the Russian championships in December, but the result was not revealed until last week, shortly after she helped to win a team gold medal that is now also in doubt.

She was cleared to compete earlier this week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that she had protected status as a minor and would suffer “irreparable harm” if she was not allowed to perform. The court did not rule on the full scope of the case, leaving that anti-doping investigators.

The court’s decision has cast a polarizing shadow over one of the marquee events of the Winter Games.

“Do I feel sorry for her? I don’t think so. I wouldn’t say so,” Sakamoto said after her short program. “Of course, there were moments where I thought: ‘What’s going to happen? What’s happening?’”

Valieva has claimed the drug triggering her positive, trimetazidine, entered her system by accident. But the World Anti-Doping Agency filed a brief stating that two other substances she acknowledged taking, L-carnitine and Hypoxen — though both legal — undercut the argument that a banned substance could have been ingested in error.

“You use all of that to increase performance,” U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart said.

In the meantime, IOC President Thomas Bach tried to appease angry American skaters by offering Olympic torches to those who helped win their team silver medals, The Associated Press learned late Wednesday. The torches are meant to serve as holdover gifts while the world awaits the resolution of Valieva’s doping case.

“It’s unfortunate that we aren’t able to get our medals,” said Karen Chen, who competed in the team event for the U.S. and finished 16th in the women’s program Thursday night. “I have yet to see the torch, but once that is like given to us, I think it will be such a special moment that we will cherish forever.”

As the doping case unfolded around her, Valieva tried to go about her business as usual, taking part in every practice on her schedule. And though she looked calm and cool during a run-through for her short program, the first cracks began to appear when she skated off the ice and broke down in tears — even though she was leading the event.

The collapse came with the eyes of the world watching Thursday night.

Valieva was shaky on an opening quad salchow, then stepped out on a triple axel and fell altogether on a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination. She fell again on her other quad toe loop, preventing her from completing a high-scoring combination, and spun out on another jump late in the program — though by that point, her fate was sealed.

The calamitous program only made Shcherbakova’s just before it look better.

With the fewest quads of the three Russian women, the 17-year-old world champion instead captured the gold medal with back-to-back clean programs. She was flawless in her short program and, beginning with a quad flip-triple toe loop, peerless in her free skate, making her the third straight Russian to stand atop the Olympic podium.

Just not the one that everyone was expecting.

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Russian skater Kamila Valieva cleared to compete at Olympics

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BEIJING (AP) — Russian teenager Kamila Valieva has been cleared to compete in the women’s figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics despite failing a pre-Games drug test, setting her up for an attempt at a second gold medal.

Whatever happens on the ice, Valieva will not get a medal ceremony moment in Beijing. Nor will any skater who finishes in the top three with her.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport cleared Valieva to skate less than 12 hours after a hastily arranged hearing that lasted into early Monday morning. A panel of judges ruled that the 15-year-old Valieva, the favorite for the women’s individual gold, does not need to be provisionally suspended ahead of a full investigation.

The court gave her a favorable decision in part because she is a minor, known in Olympic jargon as a “protected person,” and is subject to different rules from an adult athlete.

“The panel considered that preventing the athlete to compete at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in the circumstances,” CAS Director General Matthieu Reeb said.

Now, Valieva and her fellow Russian skaters can aim for the first podium sweep of women’s figure skating in Olympic history. The event starts with the short program Tuesday and concludes Thursday with the free skate.

The International Olympic Committee said Monday afternoon that if Valieva finishes in the top three, there will be no medal ceremony during the Games. There will also be no ceremony for the team event won by Valieva and the Russian team a week ago.

“It would not be appropriate to hold the medal ceremony,” the IOC said.

Valieva landed the first quadruple jumps by a woman at the Olympics as the Russian team won gold in a dominant performance.

The decision not to award medals also affects Nathan Chen and the rest of the second-place American team, who will leave Beijing unsure if they won silver or gold. It would be Chen’s second gold of the Games. If Valieva and Russia are disqualified, Japan moves up to silver and Canada wins bronze.

“We are devastated that they will leave Beijing without their medals in hand, but we appreciate the intention of the IOC to ensure the right medals are awarded to the right individuals,” the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement.

The IOC decision also means the fourth-place finisher in the women’s event will have a good chance to move into the bronze position.

Shortly after the CAS ruling, Valieva skated at practice, watched by her coach, Eteri Tutberidze. She completed her program without a fall, drawing a smattering of applause from the Russian media watching.

Reaction around the world ranged from support of the young skater to complaints that Russian doping had once again damaged a sporting event.

In addition to her status as a minor, the CAS ruling cited fundamental issues of fairness, the fact she tested clean in Beijing and that there were “serious issues of untimely notification” of her positive test.

Valieva tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine on Dec. 25 at the Russian nationals, but the result from a Swedish lab didn’t come to light until a week ago, after she helped the Russian Olympic Committee win the team gold.

Reasons for the six-week wait for a result from Sweden are unclear. In a statement, WADA suggested RUSADA slipped up by not signaling to the Stockholm lab that Valieva’s sample was a priority to be analyzed so close to the Olympics.

Her case has caused havoc at the Olympics since last Tuesday when the team event medal ceremony was pulled from the schedule because of the positive test.

The Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) immediately suspended her, then lifted the ban a day later. The IOC and others appealed, and an expedited hearing was held Sunday night. Valieva testified via video.

Athletes under 16 like Valieva have more rights under anti-doping rules and typically aren’t held responsible for taking banned substances. The focus of any future investigation will be on her coaches, doctors, nutritionists, etc.

This ruling only addresses whether Valieva can keep skating before her case is resolved. It doesn’t decide the fate of the one gold medal she has already won.

Those issues will be dealt with in a separate, longer-term investigation led by RUSADA, which took the sample in St. Petersburg.

The World Anti-Doping Agency will have the right to appeal any ruling by RUSADA, and also said it wants to independently investigate Valieva’s entourage.

The Valieva case means Russian doping has been a major theme for a six straight Olympic Games.

“This appears to be another chapter in the systematic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia,” US Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a statement.

Hirshland said the USOPC was “disappointed by the message this decision sends” and suggested athletes were denied the confidence of knowing they competed on a level playing field.

At the rink Tuesday, the ice dance competition was decided as the CAS prepared its verdict.

Gold medalists Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France and American bronze medalists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue offered, “No comment.”

Nikita Katsalapov, who along with Victoria Sinitsina won the silver medal for the Russians, said simply: “Go Kamila!”

Hubbell and Donohue could have their silver medals upgraded to gold in the team competition.

“There’s no done deal yet, but I know all the people in the team want to receive the medals here as a team’” Hubbell said. “If we miss that opportunity, it’s huge disappointment.”

The IOC now says it will “organize dignified medal ceremonies once the case of Ms Valieva has been concluded,” whenever that may be.

___ AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in Beijing contributed to this report

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Olympics Live: Germany’s Neise captures skeleton gold

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BEIJING (AP) — The Latest on the Beijing Winter Olympics:

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Germany has a new sliding champion.

Hannah Neise has never won a World Cup medal. Or a medal at the world championships. Or a medal from the European championships.

She’s got an Olympic medal now. And it’s the one that everybody wants.

Neise is the Olympic skeleton women’s champion, a bit of a surprise winner. Neise, the 21-year-old who won the junior world title last year, became the first German woman to capture the gold medal in Olympic skeleton by rallying in the final two heats at the Beijing Games on Saturday night.

Jaclyn Narracott of Australia was second. Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands was third.

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Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron broke their own world record in the rhythm dance, scoring 90.83 points to give the four-time world champions from France the lead heading into Monday’s free dance at the Beijing Games.

Papadakis and Cizeron finished second four years ago in Pyeongchang to Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who have since retired. And they appeared intent on making it to the top step this time around, earning Level 3 marks for their midline step and pattern dance but Level 4s everywhere else.

The current world champs, Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia, were second with 88.84 points with two American teams also in the mix. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue were third with 87.13 points, followed closely by teammates Madison Chock and Evan Bates with 84.14 points.

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Marius Lindvik of Norway has won Olympic gold in ski jumping on the large hill by holding off Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan.

Lindvik jumped 140 meters Saturday on his final jump and earned 296.1 points overall to become the first Norwegian to win the event since Toralf Engan in 1964.

Kobayashi earned silver after winning on the normal hill on Sunday. Karl Geiger of Germany finished third.

Two-time defending champion Kamil Stoch of Poland was fourth. He came up short on his shot to become the first to win three straight Olympic titles on the large hill.

Two-time gold medalist Andreas Wellinger is unable to compete in China because he tested positive for COVID-19.

The men will be back on the large hill on Monday for a team competition. Norway, Germany and Austria have won the last three Olympic team events. The trio of traditional powers will likely contend for medals again, trying to hold off Slovenia and Japan.

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Russian ice dancers Gleb Smolkin and Diana Davis, the daughter of controversial figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze, qualified for the free dance with a strong performance in the rhythm dance portion of the competition Saturday night.

Smolkin and Davis received a score of 71.66 points to their program, set to “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas and “Bom Bidi Bom” by Nick Jonas and Nicki Minaj. That’s not enough to threaten for a spot on the podium, but it was easily enough to make the cutoff for the top 20 dancers to advance to Monday’s free dance.

Davis was born in Las Vegas and holds dual citizenship with the United States and Russia.

Tutberidze has come under fire during the Beijing Games for her work with 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, the favorite to win individual gold. Valieva tested positive for a banned medication in December and is now awaiting a decision from the Court of Arbitration for Spot on Monday to see whether she can continue competing in the Olympics.

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The Court of Arbitration for Sport says it expects to announce Monday whether figure skater Kamila Valieva can compete in the women’s individual event at the Beijing Olympics.

CAS says a closed-door appeal hearing will start at 8:30 p.m. local time Sunday at a hotel in Beijing.

A three-judge panel will aim to notify all the parties of its verdict Monday afternoon. That’s less than 24 hours before Valieva is due back on the ice to start the individual event, where she’s the strong favorite.

Russia’s anti-doping agency provisionally banned Valieva on Tuesday because she failed a doping test in December. After an appeal, the agency lifted the ban Wednesday.

The IOC, World Anti-Doping Agency and International Skating Union have challenged the lifting of the ban.

The 15-year-old skater’s positive test was announced only after she helped the Russian Olympic Committee team win gold in the team event.

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Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway skied fast enough to win the gold medal in the biathlon sprint race despite missing one target.

Boe covered the 10-kilometer course in 24 minutes, 0.4 seconds. It’s his third medal of the Beijing Games. He also won gold in the mixed relay and bronze in the individual race.

Quentin Fillon Maillet of France also missed one target but couldn’t match Boe’s ski speed. He won silver, 25.5 seconds back. He won gold in the individual and silver in the mixed relay, where he was outsprinted by Boe. He’s also the overall World Cup leader.

Tarjei Boe, who had a single miss on the day, won bronze, 38.9 seconds behind his younger brother.

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Estonia’s Kristjan Ilves has been released from isolation and cleared to train on the Beijing Games’ cross-country course.

Ilves, the world’s sixth-ranked Nordic combined skier, previously tested positive for COVID-19 and that knocked him out of the normal hill competition and 10K cross-country race on Wednesday night.

He was one of four Nordic combined stars to miss the first of three medal events in China.

Three-time world champion Jarl Magnus Riiber of Norway was still in isolation on Sunday.

Fifth-ranked and three-time Olympic champion Eric Frenzel of Germany and teammate Terence Weber, who is ranked seventh, were still in isolation as of Saturday night.

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Gao Tingyu thrilled the home crowd in Beijing by becoming the first Chinese man to claim an Olympic gold medal in speedskating, winning the 500 meters.

Gao added to the bronze medal he took in the 500 at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

Zhang Hong had been the only Chinese gold medalist at the oval. She won the women’s 1,000 eight years ago in Sochi.

Now, she’s got company.

Gao skated in the seventh of 15 pairs, setting an Olympic record of 34.32 seconds. Then he waited nervously on the infield as 16 other skaters took aim at his time.

None could beat it. The silver went to South Korea’s Cha Min Kyu, whose time of 34.39 gave him a matching medal to the silver he won four years ago in Pyeongchang. Wataru Morishige of Japan took the bronze in 34.49.

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Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin says there will be no hearing until Sunday on whether figure skater Kamila Valieva can keep competing at the Beijing Olympics.

In comments carried by the state news agency Tass, Matytsin says that the Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear the case Sunday.

Valieva tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine in a sample taken at the Russian national championships on Dec. 25.

The CAS hearing will not decide whether she doped, only whether she can keep competing until there is a full disciplinary hearing later on. The women’s competition starts Tuesday and Valieva is the heavy favorite for gold.

Russia’s gold medal in the team competition, where Valieva competed, could also be at risk, but that won’t be decided until later.

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Snowboarding icon Shaun White ’s next big contest is the Super Bowl. He was bound for the airport less than 24 hours after he took his final competitive halfpipe ride at the Olympics.

He’s headed from Beijing to Los Angeles to watch his first Super Bowl in person.

White said his girlfriend, actress Nina Dobrev, has been suggesting he make a list of things he wants to do in retirement “so I’m not sitting around twiddling my thumbs.”

“I’ve been to the house parties and stuff. Never been to the game, so I’m excited to check that off the list,” White said in a phone interview with The Associated Press, as he rode to Beijing on Saturday to catch a late-night flight.

After that, he’ll take some time to relax.

The build-up to his last contest, then the tear-stained aftermath of his fourth-place finish, have been an emotional roller coaster for the three-time champion.

“I woke up this morning and I just felt this peacefulness,” White said. “It was amazing to know I have so much ahead of me.”

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The Russian team started strong and finished strong Saturday in the women’s four-person relay, winning another Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing.

Yulia Stupak broke away early with nine women chasing. On the next leg, Natalia Nepryaeva was chased down by Katharina Hennig of Germany.

The Germans briefly took the lead on the last lap, with Russian skier Veronika Stepanova just behind Sofie Krehl. But Stepanova pulled away on the final climb and won in 53 minutes, 41 seconds. Germany took silver, 18.2 seconds behind. Sweden edged Finland for bronze.

Tatiana Sorina skied the third lap for the Russian team, which is competing at the Beijing Games under the acronym ROC — short for Russian Olympic Committee.

The four-person relay began as a mass-start with 18 racers. Each woman skied two laps on a 2.5-kilometer (1.5-mile) course. The first two skiers raced in the classic style and the last two in freestyle.

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The start of the men’s 500 meters is being delayed at the Olympic speedskating oval.

The ice was all set for the sprint race when workers came out to remove some of the lane markers and repair a section of the outer lane in the corner. One of the Zambonis was reappeared and made two trips around to smooth over that area.

Fifteen pairs are competing in the race.

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Japan has set an Olympic record in the quarterfinals of the women’s speedskating team pursuit at the Beijing Olympics.

Japan broke its own Olympic mark Saturday with a time of 2 minutes, 53.61 seconds, advancing to the semifinals as the top qualifier.

The Japanese will face the fourth-fastest qualifier, the Russian Olympic Committee (2:57.66). Canada (2:53.97) and the Netherlands (2:57.26) also advanced and will meet in the other semifinal.

China and Norway were relegated to the C final. Belarus and Poland will meet in the D final.

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The United States men’s hockey team beat Canada, its biggest rival, 4-2 in a preliminary round game at the Beijing Olympics.

Andy Miele responded to Canada’s early goal by tying it 70 seconds later and Brendan Brisson scored his second of the Olympics.

The Americans are now in the driver’s seat to earn a spot in the quarterfinals of the men’s hockey tournament.

Sean Farrell also set up Ben Meyers to give him three assists and six points and goaltender Strauss Mann made 35 saves to help the U.S. improve to 2-0 in the preliminary round. Beating Germany on Sunday would put the U.S. first in the group and could made it the top seed in the knockout round.

The boom or bust potential of the youngest team in the tournament was on full display against Canada, a bigger, stronger and more experienced opponent.

The U.S. — with 12 college players on the ice — went hit for hit with Canada and used a combination of offensive skill and bad opposing goaltending to take control of the game.

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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.

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.

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The inaugural Olympic monobob starts Sunday at the Beijing Games. In monobob, there’s only one woman in the bobsled.

Americans Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor are expected to be among the top contenders in the new event. Medals will be awarded Monday and the traditional two-woman competition starts Friday night.

Humphries is the reigning world champion in the event and Meyers Taylor is this season’s monobob World Series overall champion.

Humphries and Meyers Taylor were both fighting COVID-19 in recent weeks, yet recovered just in time to keep their Olympic hopes going.

Men compete in the four-man bobsled and Humphries and Meyers Taylor hoped the Olympics would add a women’s event, but most countries besides the U.S. and Canada don’t have enough female bobsledders to compete. So monobob was added instead.

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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 Tuesday’s race.

Goggia did not enter the super-G and arrived late in China to get in some extra rehab at home in Italy. She sprained her left knee, partially tore a cruciate ligament, had a “minor fracture” of the fibula bone in her leg, plus some tendon damage, after the crash in a super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Jan. 23.

There was light snowfall and fog on the top of the course.

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Lindsey Jacobellis has won her second gold medal of the Olympics, teaming with 40-year-old Nick Baumgartner for the title in the new event of mixed snowboardcross.

The 36-year-old Jacobellis took gold earlier this week in the women’s event; it came 16 years after a late showboat move as she was cruising in for an apparent win cost her the title at the Turin Games.

After a slow start, the U.S. now has five gold medals and 11 overall at the Games. Jacobellis accounts for two, while snowboarder Chloe Kim has another.

The Italian team of Omar Visintin and Michela Moioli came in second and the Canadian duo of Eliot Grondin and Meryeta O’Dine finished third.

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Finally, a real sign of winter at the Winter Olympics: real snow in the mountains used for Alpine skiing.

Just a light flurry, mind you.

Still, actual flakes are dropping on the hills of the Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center, about 55 miles northwest of Beijing’s city center.

It is the first precipitation since ski racing competition began last week — the absence of snow is not much of a surprise, given how dry the season usually is in these parts.

All of the snow that American star Mikaela Shiffrin and others have been skiing on is manufactured.

There are no Alpine medals at stake Saturday, just a chance for Shiffrin and other women to take training runs for the downhill along the course known as The Rock. The race is scheduled for Tuesday.

More snow is in the forecast for Sunday, when the men are supposed to contest the giant slalom — and even continuing through Monday morning. A total of about 3 1/2 inches (9 centimeters) is expected at the Alpine skiing venue.

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German pairs skaters Nolan Seegert and Minerva Fabienne Hase practiced for the first time Saturday, 10 days after Seegert tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival in Beijing and was put into quarantine.

Seegert and Hase were forced to withdraw from the team competition, which meant Germany received no points for the pairs short program. That made it impossible for the longshots to advance to the medal round of the event.

The individual pairs competition begins Friday night, so they still have nearly a week to prepare.

The women’s session is later Saturday at the same practice rink near Capital Indoor Stadium. It’s unclear whether Kamila Valieva, who is at the center of a Russian doping controversy, will be on the ice again. She is awaiting a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport on whether she can continue in Beijing with the women’s event beginning Tuesday.

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Beijing Olympics: Live Updates | AP News

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BEIJING (AP) — The Latest on the Beijing Winter Olympics:

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Norway’s Birk Ruud won gold in the Olympics’ first men’s freestyle skiing big air event, re-emerging as a leader in the extreme sport after losing his father to cancer and injuring his knee.

A day after Eileen Gu’s gold medal temporarily broke Chinese social media site Weibo, the men put on another impressive show at Big Air Shougang — a shuttered steel mill that now hosts the world’s only permanent big air jump.

Ruud has two Winter X Games big air gold medals and four world cup wins, but only one since 2019. The 21-year-old’s father, Øivind, died of cancer last April, and Ruud has said the loss pulled his mind away from competitive skiing.

Ruud’s final score of 187.75 was well clear of American silver medalist Colby Stevenson’s 183. Swedish veteran Henrik Harlaut took bronze at 181.

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Defending Olympic champion snowboarder Chloe Kim cruised through the halfpipe on her first run.

She scored 87.75, good enough for the top spot in women’s qualifying Wednesday at Genting Snow Park.

The 21-year-old from California turned it up a notch in run No. 2, but fell on her switch backside 720. She raised her hand as if to say, “Oh well.” She playfully stuck out her tongue while waiting for her score.

Mitsuki Ono of Japan was second in qualifying. This a day after appearing to be bothered by a hip ailment in training and in some discomfort. Cai Xuetong of China had the third-best score in qualifying, with Queralt Castellet of Spain also in the mix.

The biggest surprise was the performance of American Maddie Mastro, who finished just outside of the top-12 that advanced to Thursday’s final. She was in the last spot but was bumped out by one of the final riders, Elizabeth Hosking of Canada.

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Lena Dürr is leading the women’s slalom at the Beijing Games after two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin saw another race end early.

Shiffrin skidded out of control about five seconds into the opening run of Wednesday’s slalom. The 26-year-old American also fell early in the first run of Monday’s giant slalom.

Dürr led from the start as she was first down the course know as the Ice River. The German skier posted a time of 52.17 seconds, 0.03 quicker than Michelle Gisin of Switzerland.

Giant slalom gold medalist Sara Hector of Sweden is 0.12 behind Dürr.

Dürr’s highest individual finish at a major championship is 11th at the worlds in 2019. She has never won a World Cup slalom race.

The 30-year-old is likely to head into the second run in the lead with only lower-ranked skiers remaining.

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Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin has missed a gate early in the first run of the slalom at the Beijing Games and is out of the event.

Just like in her first event of these Olympics, the giant slalom, the American racer was done for the day within a matter of seconds.

After Wednesday’s mistake in the slalom, which she won at the 2014 Sochi Games, Shiffrin sat on the side of the hill and bowed her head.

The 26-year-old Shiffrin is trying to become the first Alpine ski racer from the United States to win three Olympic golds across a career.

She has said she hoped to enter all five individual events at Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center.

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Defending Olympic downhill champion Sofia Goggia is on the Beijing slopes and training after crashing and injuring her left knee and leg last month.

The Italian arrived late to China after she sprained her left knee, partially tore a cruciate ligament and had a “minor fracture” of the fibula bone in her leg. She also had some tendon damage after the crash in a World Cup super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Jan. 23.

Goggia has won the last eight World Cup downhills that she completed.

Goggia arrived in China on Monday and was checked out by the Italian team’s medical staff. She then did three runs of giant slalom and three runs of super-G training on Tuesday and was doing more of the same on Wednesday.

The team says she has not decided yet if she will race the super-G on Friday but she is planning on taking part in the first of three downhill training sessions on Saturday. The downhill race is scheduled for Tuesday.

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Olympian moved to village after tearful video in isolation

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BEIJING (AP) — Kim Meylemans thought she was going to the Olympic Village. She wound up in tears instead.

Such was the start of a few confusing hours for the women’s skeleton athlete from Belgium — whose trip into what would have been a second round of isolation underscored the fears many had about the Beijing Olympics and what happens after someone tests positive for COVID-19.

Her tale went like this: A positive test upon her arrival in Beijing led to a three-day stay in isolation, which she thought was ending Wednesday after she returned multiple negative tests. But when the ambulance that she thought was taking her to the village drove past it, panic set in because Meylemans didn’t know what was happening.

A teary social-media post brought immediate attention, and hours later, Meylemans was transported to the village.

“I am now in a wing that’s just isolation, but at least I’m back in the village,” Meylemans said Thursday. “I feel safe and I’ll be able to train a little better here.”

The scenario is one that had many questioning whether coming to the Beijing Games was worth it, with isolation — and for an indefinite period — a very real possibility for anyone testing positive in China, where zero tolerance for the coronavirus is the rule.

“It’s so confusing,” U.S. bobsledder Kaillie Humphries said of all the unknowns surrounding the aftermath of positive tests. “It’s very frustrating. It’s scary.”

Meylemans’ story, at least this chapter of it, has a happy ending. She is where she wants to be and is expected to make the women’s skeleton field on Feb. 12. She has a reasonable chance of contending for a medal if she slides well.

The International Olympic Committee said her brief trip to a second isolation facility was caused by simple logistics, that no room in the village was ready for her. Others, like athlete advocate Rob Koehler, believe her social media post aided her cause.

“Of course, we’re worried,” said Koehler, director general of the athlete-advocate group Global Athlete. “We’re worried about the entire COVID-19 protocol. We’re worried about the quarantine facilities and we’re worried about everything that’s not published, which is the details, and the devil is always in the details. They haven’t been well-informed and it hasn’t been transparent.”

Meylemans put her confusion on display for the world to see Wednesday, her face and eyes red from crying, her words doing nothing to hide her fear and frustration over the unknown. She will still need twice-daily testing for a week before she can leave the isolation wing in the village.

“Our main goal was to get Kim to the Olympic Village in Yanqing as quickly as possible,” Belgian Olympic delegation leader Olav Spahl said. “We are therefore very pleased that this has now been successfully achieved. We understand that the COVID measures are necessary to safeguard the safety and health of participants in the Games, but we believe that the athlete should always be at the center of such an approach.”

IOC member Juan-Antonio Samaranch, who leads the committee overseeing preparations for the Beijing Games, told other members Thursday that “isolation centers’ quality has been dramatically improved” and that more improvements are still needed.

“Relieved to hear that Kim Meylemans is now in the Olympic Village,” IOC spokesman Christian Klaue tweeted. “We are glad that all the efforts led to the successful resolution of this situation.”

Meylemans is considered a “close contact” by the IOC, meaning she can train and compete while living in the Olympic Village but needs to be in a single room, transported by herself and eat alone.

“Since there was no such room directly available, she was temporarily accommodated in a hotel close to the Olympic Village. It is a facility which is dedicated to close contacts in order for them to meet all the criteria to continue to train and compete,” the IOC said.

Humphries can relate to some of what Meylemans is feeling. She tested positive for COVID-19 last month and is staying in a hotel until she gets fully cleared. She can train — her sledmate, Kaysha Love, had to sign a waiver just to be with Humphries for those on-ice sessions — but won’t be allowed in the Olympic Village until next week and will miss Friday’s opening ceremony.

Humphries nearly missed a training session earlier this week because her taxi got stuck in traffic. Another U.S. women’s bobsledder, Elana Meyers Taylor — like Humphries, someone who could be a serious medal contender — remains in isolation after a positive test, though she still has hopes of competing in her two events.

“It’s been very difficult,” Humphries said.

Meylemans finished 14th in her Olympic debut at Pyeongchang in 2018. She has one medal from World Cup races this season, a bronze, and placed no worse than sixth in five of the final six races on the circuit this season.

Official training for women’s skeleton starts next week. At one point Wednesday, Meylemans’ plans to compete seemed in doubt. By early Thursday, the outlook was considerably brighter and Meylemans said she was thankful for the support her teary post generated.

She said she planned to respond to every message, which will take some time.

“Luckily,” she wrote, “I have plenty of time in isolation still.”

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AP National Writer Eddie Pells and AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this report.

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US rolls to women’s hoops gold medal in Bird’s last Olympics

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SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi walked off the basketball court together, arm-in-arm, one last time at the Tokyo Games.

They started their journey together five Olympics ago and ended it in the same fashion as always — with gold medals hanging around their necks.

“All of what we’ve done for USA Basketball, we’ve done together. It’s fitting,” Bird said after the 90-75 win over Japan on Sunday.

And now it’s over — at least for the 40-year-old Bird.

“The best comparison is college since you know it’s the end,” Bird said. “Now I always have a wonderful feeling and a great taste in my mouth my senior year. That’s how it is with USA Basketball.”

All she and Taurasi have done on the international stage is win and now the pair stands alone with five gold medals — the first basketball players ever to accomplish that feat.

“It’s 20 years and people only get to see these moments,” Taurasi said. “We’re on these trips every day together. every conversation. this means a lot to us.”

While Bird is retiring from international basketball, Taurasi left the door open after the game in her on-court interview that she’ll play in Paris in 2024.

She isn’t actually certain she’ll play, saying: “We’ll see.”

But, Bird threw a quick jab at her 39-year-old friend for even considering it.

“Hahaha, idiot,” Bird said laughing while standing next to Taurasi and talking with The Associated Press.

The U.S. has now won the last seven Olympic gold medals matching the country’s men’s program for the most ever in a row. The men did it from 1936-68.

With Bird orchestrating the flow of games and Taurasi’s scoring, they have been a constant force for the U.S., providing stability for the women’s program since the 2004 Athens Games. They have won all 38 of the games at the Olympics they’ve competed in.

The names have changed around the pair, including greats Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, Tamika Catchings and Sylvia Fowles, but the results haven’t.

The Americans are on a 55-game Olympic winning streak dating back to the bronze medal game of the 1992 Barcelona Games.

The U.S. let Japan know that wasn’t going to change on Sunday.

The Americans jumped out to a 18-5 lead behind a dominant first quarter by Brittney Griner. The team lead 23-14 after one as Griner had 10 points, taking advantage of the undersized Japanese team. Japan was able to get within six in the second quarter before the Americans went up 11 at the half and never looked back.

As the final buzzer sounded, Bird and Taurasi embraced and then proceeded to hug all of their teammates and the coaching staff.

Griner finished with 30 points, making 14 of her 18 shots. It was the most points ever by a U.S. player in a gold medal game, surpassing the 29 by Leslie in 1996.

While Bird has said she is moving on, the future is bright for the U.S. behind Griner, Breanna Stewart and the six newcomers on this year’s team. That included A’ja Wilson, who will be counted on to keep the streak going three years from now at the 2024 Paris Games. Wilson, who celebrated her 25th birthday on Sunday, made her presence felt in her Olympic debut, scoring 19 points in the gold medal game.

But there were other milestones of note Sunday besides Bird’s farewell.

The victory also made Dawn Staley, the first Black women’s basketball coach for the U.S., the second woman to win a gold medal as a player, assistant and head coach joining Anne Donovan. Staley said after the game that she won’t come back to coach in Paris.

Staley said being part of six Olympics is enough for her, “I’m full.”

The game also marked the end of Carol Callan’s run as the national team director. She started right before the Americans won the first gold of this streak in 1996 and has been the architect for this unprecedented run.

Japan, which was the only one of the 11 other teams to ever have beaten the U.S. in an Olympics, won a medal for the first time in the country’s history. The team’s best finish before Sunday was fifth.

The host nation has been on the rise since it hired coach Tom Hovasse. He said when he got the job 4 1/2 years ago that his team would be playing against the U.S. for the gold at the Tokyo Games — and would beat them.

He was half right.

The teams met in preliminary pool play and the U.S. won by 17 points after trailing by two after the first quarter. Just like that game, the Americans used their dominant post advantage to control the title game. Japan’s biggest player was 6-foot-1 — no match for the imposing front line led by Griner, who is 6-9.

While the general public and family members couldn’t attend the games because of the coronavirus pandemic, Bird did have fiancee Megan Rapinoe in the stands cheering her on. Bird came over and embraced Rapinoe after the game. She helped the U.S. women’s soccer team win a bronze medal earlier this week, scoring two goals in that game.

A large contingent of Japanese volunteers, who had been in the Saitama Super Arena for the entire tournament sat and applauded their team. No actual cheering was allowed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Camacho-Quinn wins gold in 100m hurdles

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TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:

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MEDAL ALERT

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico has won gold in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, powering ahead of American Keni Harrison.

That kept the United States out of the win column at the Olympic track meet for yet another session.

Camacho-Quinn finished in 12.37 seconds for a .15 second win over the world-record holder, Harrison. Jamaica’s Megan Tapper finished third.

Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory that competes under its own flag at the Olympics, has one more track gold medal than the deepest team at the Games, as the meet approaches its halfway point.

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MEDAL ALERT

Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece has edged Cuba’s Juan Miguel Echevarria for the men’s long jump gold medal with a winning jump on the last attempt.

Tentoglou’s 8.41 meters in the last round equaled Echevarria’s best mark but he won on a countback because he had the better of the next-best jumps.

Echevarria, jumping last, lost rhythm in his run-up and stopped before the board, kneeled on the ground and hit the runway with his hands.

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U.S. women’s volleyball star Jordan Thompson is sitting out the final pool play match against Italy after rolling her right ankle earlier in the tournament.

Thompson left Saturday’s match against Russia early after stepping on a teammate’s foot. She missed practice on Sunday to get treatment but USA Volleyball says she is expected to be able to return before the end of the Olympics.

The U.S. is already assured of a spot in the quarterfinals and the match against Italy is to determine seeding only.

Thompson came into the day tied for the third most points in the tournament with 66. Annie Drews started in her place.

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World champion Sifan Hassan has made an incredible recovery from a fall at the final bell to win her 1,500-meter heat at the Olympics on Monday.

Hassan picked herself up after getting in a tangle with Kenyan runner Edinah Jebitok at the start of the last lap. She sped around the outside of the pack on the back straight and ended up crossing the line first in 4 minutes, 5.17 seconds to qualify for the semifinals.

It kept alive the Dutch runner’s bid for a rare distance-running treble at the Tokyo Games.

Hassan has qualified to run in the 5,000-meter final later Monday at the Olympic Stadium, when the energy she expended on that last-lap scramble in the 1,500 heats might catch up with her.

She’s expected to battle with two-time world champion Hellen Obiri of Kenya for the 5,000 gold.

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April Ross and Alix Klineman have advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament.

The American “A-Team” beat Cuba 21-17, 21-15 on Monday. The win came a day after two other U.S. teams were ousted in the first knockout round.

After taking the first set, Ross and Klineman lost the first four points in the second. Cuba’s Lidy Echeverria and Leila Martinez led 9-7 when Echeverria was slow to get up after a collision at the net. The Americans took the point, and went on to win the second set as well.

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US wins relay, 5th Tokyo gold for Dressel

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TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:

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MEDAL ALERT

American Caeleb Dressel has claimed a fifth gold medal in the Tokyo Games as the U.S. men won the 4×100 medley relay.

Britain won silver and Italy won bronze.

Dressel join Americans Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi, as well as East Germany’s Kristin Otto, as the only swimmers to win as many as five golds at a single Olympics. Phelps did it three times.

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MEDAL ALERT

Emma McKeon has claimed her historic seventh swimming medal at the Tokyo Olympics with Australia’s victory in the women’s 4×100 medley relay.

The 27-year-old from Brisbane becomes the first female swimmer to win seven medals at a single games. The only men to do it are Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi.

Capping a brilliant performance by the entire Aussie women’s team, McKeon followed her victory in the 50-freestyle earlier in the session to take the butterfly leg on the relay. Cate Campbell closed strong on the freestyle, touching in an Olympic record of 3 minutes, 51.60 seconds to edge the two-time defending champion Americans.

Kaylee McKeown and Chelsea Hodges started things off for the winning Australian team.

Abbey Weitzeil touched in 3:51.73 to give the United States a silver. She anchored a team that also included teenagers Regan Smith, Lydia Jacoby and Torri Huske.

The bronze went to Canada in 3:52.60.

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MEDAL ALERT

Britain’s Charlotte Worthington put on a show in BMX freestyle’s Olympic debut, landing the first 360 backflip in women’s competition to knock off American Hannah Roberts at the Tokyo Olympics.

Roberts, a three-time world champion at 19, set the bar in her opening run, landing a backflip with a tailspin for a 96.1.

Worthington crashed on her first run, but pulled out all the stops in her second. The 25-year-old added a front flip to her 360 backflip and closed with another backflip for a 97.5.

Roberts, the top seed, had a chance to top the Brit, but landed hard off an early jump and waved off the rest of her second run.

Switzerland’s Nikita Ducarroz took bronze with an 89.2 in her second run.

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MEDAL ALERT

American Bobby Finke has won gold in the grueling men’s 1,500-meter freestyle race.

The American won his second gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics with another strong finishing kick.

Just as he did in winning the 800-meter freestyle, Finke stayed closed throughout the 30-lap race and turned on the speed at the end. He touched in 14 minutes, 39.65 seconds.

Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk took the silver in 14:40.66, while the bronze went to Germany’s Florian Wellbrock in 14:40.91. Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri faded to fourth in 14:45.01.

The top four were close nearly the entire race, often separated by less than a second at the turns. But that was right where Finke needed to be. After his closing lap in the 800, he knew he had the speed at the end to beat everyone else.

Finke has been perhaps the biggest American surprise at the pool. Relatively unknown before the U.S. trials, he become the first American male to win the 1,500 since Mike O’Brien at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

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MEDAL ALERT

Australia’s Emma McKeon has claimed the gold medal in the women’s 50-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics.

It is the sixth medal of the games for the Aussie star, who has one more chance to make it seven in the 4×100 medley relay.

McKeon completed a sweep of the 50- and 100-meter freestyle with an Olympic-record time of 23.81 seconds. The silver went to Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström in 24.07, while defending Olympic champion Pernille Blume of Denmark settled for bronze this time in 24.21.

American Abbey Weitzeil finished last in the eight-woman field.

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MEDAL ALERT

American Caeleb Dressel has won his fourth swimming gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics with a victory in the 50-meter freestyle.

Dressel cruised to a relatively easy victory in the frenetic dash from one end of the pool to the other, touching in an Olympic record of 21.07 seconds.

France’s Florent Manaudou repeated as the Olympic silver medalist in 21.55, while Brazil’s Bruno Fratus claimed the bronze in 21.57 — edging out American Michael Andrew for the final spot on the podium.

Dressel has one more shot at a gold in the 4×100 medley relay, an event the United States has never lost at the Olympics. He’ll swim the butterfly leg in a race that caps nine days of swimming competition at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

If Dressel claims a fifth victory, he would join Americans Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi, as well as East Germany’s Kristin Otto, as the only swimmers to win as many as five golds at a single Olympics. Phelps did it three times.

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Katie Ledecky is bidding farewell to the Tokyo Games after claiming four medals, two of them gold.

The American swimming star went on Twitter to post her thanks to the people of Tokyo and everyone who gave her “tremendous support this week and over the years!” Even though the stands were largely empty at the Olympic pool because of the coronavirus pandemic, Ledecky says she “could hear you all!”

Ledecky wasn’t quite as successful as at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she swept her three individual events and also won a gold and a silver in the relays.

But she did win gold in her two longest events, the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle, in addition to swimming a brilliant anchor leg that almost pulled out a gold for the United States in the 4×200 free relay.

Along the way, Ledecky became the first female swimmer to win six individual golds in her career, the first woman to win the 800 free at three straight Olympics, and one of just five American female swimmers to earn 10 career medals.

At age 24, Ledecky has no plans to stop swimming.

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UPSET ALERT

Americans Sarah Sponcil and Kelly Claes are out of the beach volleyball tournament after a three-set loss to Canada in the knockout round opener.

Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson beat the U.S. 22-24, 21-18, 15-13 at the Shiokaze Park venue. Americans Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena are set to meet Qatar in the afternoon session.

Claes and Sponcil entered the games as the hottest team in the world, winning the last two events of the pandemic-extended qualifying period to grab the second U.S. spot in Tokyo. In the process, they knocked out five-time Olympian Kerri Walsh Jennings.

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Sports

Dutch windsurfer Badloe wins gold in Tokyo

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TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:

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MEDAL ALERT

Kiran Badloe won the Netherlands’ third straight gold medal in windsurfing RS:X. Thomas Goyard of France earned silver and Bi Kun of China was third, becoming the first male athlete from China to medal in sailing.

Dorian van Rijsselberghe won the previous two golds in the events. The Netherlands also won three straight golds in equestrian’s eventing (1924-1932) and dressage (2000-2008).

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MEDAL ALERT

China won its 20th gold medal of the Tokyo Summer Olympics when Lu Yunxiu edged Charline Picon of France in women’s windsurfing RS:X. Lu finished the competition with 36 points to Picon’s 38. Emma Wilson of Britain took the bronze in sailing’s first medal of these Games.

China leads all countries with the 20 golds, followed by Japan with 17 and the United States with 16. The United States has the most medals with 45. China has 42 and ROC, 34.

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MEDAL ALERT

Nina Christen of Switzerland has won women’s 50-meter three-position rifle for her second medal of the Tokyo Olympics.

Christen pumped her fist after a 10.2 on her final shot and had an Olympic-record 463.9 points to beat Russian Yulia Zykova by 2.0.

The 27-year-old member of the Swiss armed forces also took bronze in 10-meter air rifle in her second Olympics.

Russian Yulia Karimova earned bronze for her second medal in Tokyo. She also took bronze with Sergey Kamenskiy in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event.

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China had another dominating day at the diving pool, taking the top two spots in the semifinals of the women’s 3-meter springboard.

In a repeat of the preliminaries, defending Olympic champion Shi Tingmao posted the highest score over five dives and teammate Wang Han ranked second. The pair already teamed up to win the 3-meter synchronized event.

Shi led the way with 371.45 points. Wang (346.85) and Canadian Jennifer Abel (341.40) were the only ones even close to the leader, stamping China as a huge favorite to earn its fourth diving gold in five events at these games.

Americans Krysta Palmer and Hailey Hernandez also finished in the top 12 to advance to Sunday’s final, where the scores will be wiped clean and the final standings settled with another five more dives.

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Japan will compete for its 10th judo gold medal in at the Tokyo Olympics when it faces France on Saturday night in the final of the first-ever Olympic mixed team event at the Budokan.

Japan got off to a shocking start in its opening match when gold medalists Uta Abe and Shohei Ono both lost their bouts to Germany’s Theresa Stoll and Igor Wandtke, respectively. The powerhouse home team then rattled off eight consecutive victories over Germany and the Russian team to reach the final.

France barely survived its opening-round match with underdog Israel, winning only on Margaux Pinot’s golden-score victory in the tiebreaking seventh bout. France then rolled past the Netherlands in the semifinal.

Israel rebounded with a 4-2 victory over Brazil to secure a shot at a bronze medal against the Russian team in the evening. Israel has won just 10 medals in its entire Olympic history, with half of those in judo.

Germany will meet the Netherlands in the other bronze medal match.

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MEDAL ALERT

Ivan Litvinovich has given Belarus a second straight gold in men’s trampoline.

The 20-year-old Litvinovich put together a spectacular routine during the finals on Saturday, posting a score of 61.715 to edge 2012 Olympic champion Dong Dong of China.

Dylan Schmidt of New Zealand earned the bronze.

Dong earned his fourth Olympic medal in the competition in which athletes put together 10 consecutive jumps while incorporating an intricate series of flips and twists. He took silver in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and bronze in 2008 in Beijing to go along with his gold from London.

Dong qualified fifth for the eight-man final. He raised his hands after drilling his set and watched as the next three competitors failed to match his 61.235. Litvinovich, however, was just a bit better and he broke into tears when his score was flashed.

Litvinovich’s teammate, defending Olympic champion Uladzislau Hancharou, finished fourth.

Gao Lei of China, a four-time world champion and a bronze medalist in Rio de Janeiro, did not make it through his second routine during qualifying and failed to make it to the finals.

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MEDAL ALERT

Spain’s Alberto Fernandez and Fatima Galvez have won gold in mixed team trap shooting at the Tokyo Olympics.

They defeated San Marino’s Gian Marco Berti and Alessandra Perilli 41-40 in the gold medal match.

San Marino went into its final two shots with a chance to tie and send the match to a shoot-off, but Berti missed his to give the gold to the Spaniards.

The medal is San Marino’s highest in the Olympics and just its second in 61 years of competition after Perilli won bronze in women’s individual trap.

The gold was the first Olympic medal for Fernandez, a three-time world champion who’s been one of the world’s most decorated shooters.

Brian Burrows and Madelynn Ann Bernau of the United States won the bronze medal match in a shoot-off 3-2 after tying Slovakia Erik Varga and Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova with 42 targets each.

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Hannah Roberts will have the top seed when BMX freestyle makes its Olympic finals debut.

The 19-year-old from Indiana had a two-run seeding average of 87.70 to lead American teammate Perris Benegas by 1.2 heading into Sunday’s finals.

Roberts has already won three world championships.

Gold medal favorite Logan Martin of Australia led the men’s qualifying with a 90.97 average. Rim Nakamura of Japan was second at 87.67.

Riders will get two one-minute runs in the final and scoring will be the average of the two.

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American BMX racer Connor Fields has been moved out of critical care unit at St. Luke’s International hospital a day after suffering a brain hemorrhage during a horrific qualifying crash at the Tokyo Olympics.

Fields was injured during his third qualifying run when he slammed into the first turn and was hit by two other riders. The 28-year-old from Las Vegas was taken by stretcher to an ambulance.

USA Cycling says Fields spent the night in the ICU and doctors reported no additional bleeding or injuries.

USA Cycling staff have been in contact with his family to navigate his care options. Fields will remain in the hospital until cleared.

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Japanese judo gold medalist Shohei Ono has lost his first bout since 2015 in the quarterfinals of the Olympic debut of the mixed team competition.

Ono was stunned by Germany’s Igor Wandtke in the second bout of the six-match quarterfinal. Wandtke fought very defensively and incurred two penalties, but then threw Ono for a stunning waza ari with 16 seconds left.

Ono’s loss occurred immediately after fellow gold medalist Uta Abe lost her own opening bout to Theresa Stoll, putting Japan down 2-0 in the best-of-six mixed team round.

But Japan’s lineup contained five gold medalists, and the next four players won their bouts to send Japan into the semifinals. Aaron Wolf finished Johannes Frey early in golden score for the clinching fourth victory.

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MEDAL ALERT

Britain has claimed swimming gold in the new 4x100m mixed medley relay with a world record of 3 minutes, 37.58 seconds.

The silver went to China in 3:38.86, while Australia took the bronze in 3:38.95.

The relay is a new event where men and women compete together and it can be hard to tell who’s winning.

The American swimmers were fifth, ending Caeleb Dressel’s bid to win six gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics.

His hopes were snuffed out before he even dove in the pool.

The Americans tried a different strategy than everyone else, going with Dressel on the freestyle while the other seven teams all closed with a woman.

When 18-year-old Torri Huske passed off to Dressel after the butterfly leg, the Americans were more than 7 seconds behind the leaders in last place.

Dressel turned in the fastest time, but it wasn’t nearly enough to chase down all the teams ahead of him.

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Simone Manuel’s Olympics are over.

The American swimmer failed to advance from the semifinals of the 50-meter freestyle. Her time of 24.63 seconds was 11th-fastest, eliminating her from Sunday’s final. Only the top eight advance.

At the 2016 Rio Games, Manuel became the first Black American woman to win an individual swimming gold medal in the 100 freestyle. She also claimed a silver in the 50 free.

This time, her preparations were hampered by overtraining syndrome. She failed to make the U.S. team in the 100 free, leaving the 50 as her only individual event. She did claim a bronze medal in the 4×100 free relay.

Australia’s Emma McKeon was the top qualifier, setting an Olympic record for the second day in a row with a time of 24.00.

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DRESSEL ALERT

Caeleb Dressel’s busy morning continues.

Just minutes after collecting his gold medal for a world-record victory in the 100 butterfly, Dressel returned to the deck for the semifinals of the 50 freestyle.

He posted the top qualifying time of 21.42 seconds, sending him to Sunday’s final with a chance to win another gold.

And Dressel still has one more race to go on the next-to-last day of swimming. He’ll anchor the United States in the 4×100 mixed medley relay, a new Olympic event featuring two men and two women.

He’ll be the only man to swim the anchor freestyle leg, which means he’ll surely dive into the pool with a hefty deficit to make up on the women anchoring for the other seven teams.

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MEDAL ALERT

Katie Ledecky has closed out her Tokyo Olympics with another gold medal.

Ledecky became the first female swimmer to capture six individual gold medals in her career with a victory in the 800-meter freestyle.

Ledecky led all the way in a race she hasn’t lost since 2010. But she was pushed hard by Australian rival Ariarne Titmus, who claimed the silver in 8:13.83.

The bronze went to Italy’s Simona Quadarella in 8:18.35.

Ledecky finished the Tokyo Games with two golds, two silvers and a fifth-place finish in the 200 free. She lost her first two individual matchups with Titmus, but finally beat her in the 800.

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USA Gymnastics says Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the Olympic event finals in the vault and uneven bars.

She continues to be evaluated daily to determine whether she’ll compete in the finals for floor exercise and balance beam.

Biles said she was putting her mental health first when she withdrew from the gymnastics team event after one rotation. The U.S. women won silver there. She also decided not to compete in the all-around. American Sunisa Lee won gold in that event.

MyKayla Skinner, who had the fourth highest score in vault during qualifications, will compete in vault finals for the U.S. alongside Jade Carey, who finished with the second highest score. Biles was the defending Olympic champion in the vault.

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MEDAL ALERT

The Australian women have claimed another gold at the Olympic pool.

Kaylee McKeown completed a sweep of the backstroke events with a victory in the 200-meter butterfly. Her winning time was 2 minutes, 4.68 seconds.

The silver went to Canada’s Kylie Masse in 2:05.42, with another Australian, Emily Seebohm, claiming the bronze in 2:06.17.

Americans Rhyan White and Phoebe Bacon finished fourth and fifth.

The Australians have won six women’s swimming gold medals in Tokyo and seven golds overall.

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MEDAL ALERT

American Caeleb Dressel has won his third gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics with a world record in the 100-meter butterfly.

Dressel led right from the start and held off Hungary’s Kristof Milak to win in 49.45 seconds, breaking the mark of 49.50 that he set two years ago at the 2019 world championships.

Milak, winner of the 200-meter butterfly, earned the silver with a blistering 49.68. The bronze went to Switzerland’s Noe Ponti.

Dressel’s victory came in the first of three races on his morning schedule. He’ll also compete in the semifinals of the 50 freestyle before returning to the deck one more time to anchor the 4×100 mixed medley relay, a new Olympic event that features two men and two women.

He’ll likely dive into the pool with a big deficit since he’s the only man in the field to swim the freestyle leg.

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American Caeleb Dressel will be the lone male anchor on the freestyle leg in the 4×100-meter mixed medley relay final. The event is making its Olympic debut in Tokyo.

The U.S. team will consist of Ryan Murphy, Lydia Jacoby, Torri Huske and Dressel, with the Americans swapping out all of their swimmers who competed in the preliminaries.

As the only team with a man swimming the final leg, the Americans will be facing a deficit going into the last 100 meters. They’ll leave it to Dressel to overhaul the field in a bid for gold.

ROC, Italy and China are going with the traditional order of two men and then two women. Britain, Australia, the Netherlands and Israel are going with a woman, two men swimming the middle legs and a woman on the anchor leg.

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Great Britain has won gold in the triathlon mixed relay, making it the winningest national team in the history of the sport.

The U.S. took silver and France claimed bronze in the mixed relay at Odaiba Marine Park.

Georgia Taylor-Brown, Jessica Learmonth, Alex Yee and Jonathan Brownlee made up the team that gave Great Britain its third triathlon gold and eighth overall medal, besting Switzerland’s record.

Taylor-Brown and Yee both also medaled in the individual contests earlier in the week, bringing home silver in the women’s and men’s events, respectively.

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Hong Kong’s rising star Siobhán Haughey has withdrawn from the semifinals of the 50-meter freestyle at the Olympics because of a hip injury.

The 23-year-old swimmer earned a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle on Friday, to go with the silver she won in the 200 free two days earlier. They are the first swimming medals won by Hong Kong.

Her coach, Rick Bishop, said the injury first bothered her during the 100 free, but she kept going. She finished 15th in the 50 free preliminaries.

Hong Kong was cheering her on, excited to see success for the first time at the Olympic pool. Her two silvers are among six medals won by the country since it first competed in the Summer Games in 1952.

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Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare has been provisionally suspended after a positive test for human growth hormone. She was due to run in the semifinals of the women’s 100 meters at the Olympics on Saturday.

The Athletics Integrity Unit said Okagbare tested positive in an out-of-competition test on July 19. The AIU says it was only informed of the finding on Friday, after Okagbare had already run in the 100-meter heats at the Tokyo Games.

The AIU informed Okagbare of the finding and her provisional suspension on Saturday morning.

Okagbare won her heat in 11.05 seconds at the Olympic Stadium to progress to the semis.

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— More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports



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