Around Beijing
Highlights from Day 3:
Oskar Eriksson of Sweden competes against Switzerland in the curling mixed doubles.
Mixed curling: Italy romped over the Czech Republic, 10-2. ... Canada topped host China, 8-6. ... Britain went to extra ends to beat Australia, 9-8. ... The United States oulasted Sweden, 8-7, in extra ends. ... Norway beat Australia, 10-4. ... Sweden rolled past Switzerland, 6-1.
Men’s downhill skiing: On their second trip down a previously unknown Olympic hill, the world’s top skiers had to deal with strong winds. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde handled it the best, posting the fastest time Friday in the second men’s downhill training session. The Norwegian, who leads the World Cup downhill standings, had a time of 1 minute, 43.72 seconds through gusts of winds as the skiers tested the Rock course for the second time. Max Franz of Austria was second fastest, 0.06 seconds behind Kilde, and Broderick Thompson of Canada was third, 0.20 behind. The start of Friday’s session was delayed for an hour because of the wind. Kilde’s main challengers for the gold medal are expected to be Swiss skiers Beat Feuz and Marco Odermatt, the overall World Cup leader. Feuz was 0.58 slower than Kilde. Odermatt was more than two seconds off the pace. Brodie Seger became the first racer not to finish the course after crashing on a turn. The Canadian spun around and slid down the slope, grazing the safety nets, but avoided serious injury. The third and final training session for men’s downhill skiing was canceled because of high winds. Organizers say they made the decision “in the best interest of safety.” Organizers said Saturday there was no window in the forecast that would allow them to push back the third session rather than canceling it. Only three skiers had set off, including Kilde. The men’s downhill opens the Alpine competition Sunday.
Women’s hockey: The Russian Olympic Committee thumped Switzerland, 52, in a Group A match. Polina Bolgareva had a hat trick and Yekaterina Dobrodeyeva and Anna Shibanova each scored for the ROC. Daria Gredzen and Maria Sorokina combined to make 28 saves for the ROC. Alexandra Vafina and Fanuza Kadirova each contributed two assists. Lara Stalder and Alina Muller were the goal scorers for Switzerland. ... Malene Frandsen gave Denmark an early lead, but China rebounded to win, 31. Lin Qiqi scored one each in the second and third periods to power the victory. Zhou Jiaying and Chen Tiya combined for 22 saves for China.