After cross-country ski gold, Diggins will carry U.S. flag
This has been a good week for Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins.
On Wednesday night, they became the first U.S. women to earn a medal in cross-country skiing, winning the team sprint freestyle. The next day, Randall was elected as an athlete representative on the International Olympic Committee.
Friday, it was Diggins’ turn for more good news as her teammates selected her to serve as flag bearer for the American squad at the closing ceremony.
“This is such an incredible honor for me,” Diggins said. “I’m really humbled and moved that the athletes voted for me.”
The two-time Olympian joins a list of former closing ceremony flag bearers that includes Dan Jansen, Bonnie Blair and Eric Heiden.
“Jessie’s breakthrough performances here in Pyeongchang have been inspirational and historic,” U.S. Olympic Committee Chief Executive Scott Blackmun said.
About that ban ...: A second Russian athlete failed a doping test, a day before the IOC’s executive board was to decide whether to reinstate the country for the closing ceremony.
Russian Bobsled Federation President Alexander Zubkov said a drug-test sample given by Nadezhda Sergeeva was positive.
The Russian delegation said in a statement the substance was trimetazidine, a medication used to treat angina. It affects metabolism and is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
“This won’t win us any extra credit,” Russian delegation leader Stanislav Pozdnyakov said. “Unfortunately, this case speaks to negligence by the athlete. She has let us down.”
Russia in, Canada out: The Russians should have a great shot at a gold medal with the men’s hockey team advancing to the final after a 3-0 shutout of the Czech Republic. They’ll face the Germans, who shocked two-time defending champion Canada 4-3.
“We deserve to be there, and the best team will win,” Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk said. “We will be ready for the game, for sure.”
After winning back-to-back gold medals in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014, Canada’s self-described band of journeymen were outplayed by coach Marco Sturm’s German team.
“They came out ready to play,” Canada forward Rob Klinkhammer said. “We didn’t. They were the better team.” Also: Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands won the men’s 1,000 meters in speedskating, edging Havard Lorentzen of Norway by 0.04 seconds. Nuis, who also won the 1,500, became the first skater with two gold medals in Pyeongchang . ... Martin Fourcade fell short in his bid for his fourth Olympic gold as France finished fifth in the 4-by-7.5-kilometer biathlon relay, won by Sweden.