Swedish skier is first to gold
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla won the first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Games a few hours before Lim Hyo-jun earned host country South Korea its first gold.
In the first medal event of the Winter Olympics on Saturday, Kalla won the women’s 15-kilometer skiathlon by more than seven seconds. Later in the day, Lim crossed the finish line first in the men’s 1500-meter shorttrack speedskating event, setting off a huge roar from a capacity crowd at Gangneung Ice Arena.
Lim pushed past Sjinkie Knegt of the Netherlands, finishing in an Olympic-record time of 2 minutes, 10.485 seconds. Knegt won silver, while bronze went to Semen Elistratov, the first Russian medalist of the games.
For Kalla, it was her sixth career Olympic medal — and third gold.
Marit Bjoergen finished behind Kalla for silver but made Olympic history by becoming the most decorated female Winter Olympian ever. The Norwegian won her 11th career medal to break a tie with Raisa Smetanina of Russia and Stefania Belmondo of Italy.
Kalla pulled away during the last half of the race in a dominant finish.
“It feels very good to be ahead of Marit,” Kalla said. “She’s a fantastic skier.”
Bjoergen, who will participate in the women’s sprint Tuesday, said this will be her final Olympics, though she isn’t sure how many races she’ll enter in Pyeongchang.
Jessica Diggins placed fifth, missing a chance to become the first American woman to earn a medal in cross-country skiing. Diggins was third in the World Cup standings coming into the race.
Davis not talking
GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Speedskater Shani Davis was noticeably absent from the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics after losing a coin flip to carry the U.S. flag and lead American athletes into the stadium.
A U.S. Speedskating spokesman said Saturday that Davis originally planned to skip Friday night’s festivities because of his training schedule but briefly reconsidered when he was nominated by his teammates to be the flag bearer.
Davis and luger Erin Hamlin tied 4-4 in voting by fellow athletes to carry the flag. Hamlin won the honor in a coin toss, a process the 35-year-old speedskater said was executed “dishonorably” in a post on his Twitter account. His tweet included a hashtag mentioning Black History Month, which raised the question of whether the five-time Olympian was suggesting race played a role in the decision. Davis is black, Hamlin is white.
The tweet drew a firestorm of reaction on social media, with Davis alternately criticized by some and supported by others. He didn’t speak to reporters after his training session Saturday, the second straight day he did not.
A tweet from his account a few hours after the opening ceremony read: “It has been such an honor to have represented the greatest, most diverse country in the world at the last five Winter Games during the same month as #blackhistorymonth #goTeamUSA Watch ‘Origins of Black History Month.’”
Davis’ verified Twitter account has been changed to protected status, which blocks potential followers. Team spokesman Matt Whewell said Davis was intent on staying focused on his Olympic races for now. The two-time Olympic champion is set to compete in the 1500 Tuesday, followed by the 1000 on Feb. 23.
Davis has trained separately from his U.S. teammates for years, including the past two summers in South Korea.
Swiss rout Korea
Alina Muller scored four goals, including three in the first period, to lead Switzerland to an 8-0 win against Korea in the preliminary round for women’s hockey. The first combined Korean team was clearly overmatched by the Swiss, including being outshot 52-8, but that didn’t mute fans’ enthusiasm for a team dressing three North Koreans.
“I think a unified one is stronger than two divided ones … If North and South Korea will send unified teams on sports and all other sectors, we’ll have good results,” North Korean player Jong Su Hyon said after the game.
Fans unfurled a large banner reading “We are one” after the game, and then International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach and South Korean President Moon Jae-in joined Kim Yo Jong (the powerful sister of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un) and Kim Yong Nam (North Korea’s nominal head of state) for photos with the team.
Dutch are rolling
The Dutch are off to a great start on the speedskating oval again with a sweep of the medals in the women’s 3000. Carlijn Achtereekte surprisingly beat two-time champion Ireen Wust, while Antoinette de Jong finished third for the bronze. The Netherlands won 23 of 36 speedskating medals four years ago at the Sochi Games.