Note: This story is no longer being updated. A new article page will be created for Day 8 events later Thursday evening.
The latest Olympics news from Beijing and around the world on Friday. Web links to longer stories if available:
10:40 a.m.: Brianne Jenner and Sarah Fillier each scored hat tricks to lead Canada in an 11-0 quarterfinal win over Sweden in the Olympic women’s hockey tournament Friday.
Jenner and Fillier each have a tournament-leading eight goals apiece.
The United States edged Czechia 4-1 in another quarterfinal.
Both victors awaited the outcome of Saturday’s quarterfinals featuring Russia versus Switzerland, and Finland against Japan, to know their semifinal opponents Monday.
The gold-medal game is Feb. 17 in Beijing.
Jamie Lee Rattray, Erin Ambrose, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull and Emily Clark also scored in Canada’s quarterfinal victory. Sarah Nurse and Marie-Philip Poulin each contributed four assists.
Canada’s Emerance Maschmeyer posted an 11-save shutout in her second start in Beijing.
Swedish counterpart Emma Soderberg stopped 30 of 39 shots for two periods before giving way to Ida Boman and her 15 saves.
10:30 a.m.: In women’s hockey, Canada beats Sweden 11-0 in their quarterfinal matchup and move onto the semifinals.
9:55 a.m.: Switzerland defeats Canada 5-3 in men’s curling. They’re now 2-1 at the tournament.
9:40 a.m.: In women’s skeleton, Mirela Rahneva finished first in her heat with a time of 1:02.03, then 18th in her second heat. Jane Channell finished 13th and 22nd in both heats. In men’s, Canada’s Blake Enzie finished 21st in Heat 3.
9:30 a.m.: Charles Hamelin’s quest for a sixth Olympic medal remains on course.
The Canadian short-track speedskating legend and teammates Maxime Laoun, Steven Dubois and Pascal Dion finished first in their semifinal of the men’s 5,000-metre relay at the Beijing Games on Friday.
A podium finish in Wednesday’s title race would tie the 37-year-old Hamelin with long-track speedskater Cindy Klassen for the most ever by a Canadian winter athlete.
“I’ll do my job to win it, and I’m sure they will do the same,” said the native of Ste-Julie, Que. “We win as a team. We’re ready.”
Dion added the group is motivated to get their childhood hero onto the podium one more time at his fifth and final Games.
“We’ll try our best,” the 27-year-old from Montreal said of the top-ranked Canadians. “And make him, you know, go down in history.”
8:25 a.m. Brianne Jenner scored her tournament-leading sixth goal to give Canada a 1-0 lead over Sweden in the women’s hockey quarterfinal.
7:41 a.m. Defending Olympic champion Wu Dajing of China has easily qualified in the heats of 500-metre short track speedskating.
Also moving on to the quarterfinals on Sunday are Ren Ziwei of China, Steven Dubois of Canada and Hwang Daeheon of South Korea. Liu Shaolin Sandor and his brother, world champion Liu Shaoang, of Hungary moved on. Their American-born teammate, John-Henry Krueger, qualified, too.
7:30 a.m. American Kristen Santos qualified fastest for the 1,000-metre final in short track speedskating at the Beijing Olympics.
Santos’ time Friday of 1 minute, 26.783 seconds topped defending champion Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands. Schulting was timed in 1:28.108.
Schulting set the world and Olympic record of 1:26.514 earlier in the quarterfinals.
6:18 a.m. Ted-Jan Bloemen was on pace to medal halfway through his signature event. Then he started running out of gas.
For the second time in five days, the Canadian speedskater failed to step onto the podium – and failed to meet high expectations – when he finished eighth in the men’s 10,000 metres Friday at the Beijing Olympics.
Bloemen, the defending Olympic champion in the 10,000, was on pace for bronze before fading badly. He showed signs of fatigue and physical distress, and appeared frustrated while passing his coach during the race, shaking his head.
Sweden’s Nils van der Poel won gold in Friday’s 10,000 in 12 minutes 30.74 seconds to shatter his own world record. Graeme Fish, a 24-year-old from Moose Jaw, Sask., finished in 12:58.80 for a sixth-place finish.
5 a.m. Claude Julien is with his team at the Beijing Olympics. And that’s not all Canada’s men’s hockey coach is thankful for.
The 61-year-old made a surprise return to the fold Thursday after not initially travelling with the group to China. Hockey Canada said late last month Julien suffered broken ribs when he slipped on some ice in what was described as a “team-building exercise” during training camp in Switzerland.
While that description was accurate, it didn’t come close to telling the whole story. Julien detailed exactly what happened, including the full extent of his injuries and severity of the situation, to reporters Friday at the National Indoor Centre.
“We went sledding,” he said. “It was icy, slid off the trail there with the sled, ended up hitting a tree, and fracturing the ribs.”
Julien went to hospital to have X-rays and was discharged with an initial diagnosis of bruised ribs.
“When I got back to the hotel, started seeing some symptoms that indicated a little bit more,” he continued. “We went back to the hospital and through a CT scan they found a broken rib and I had a punctured lung.
Read more from The Canadian Press.
3:49 a.m.: Canada’s Jennifer Jones dropped an 8-5 decision to Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa at the Ice Cube.
Under pressure from the start by the 2018 Olympic bronze medallists, Jones was unable to settle into a rhythm in her second round-robin game at the Beijing Games.
It was the first time Jones has lost a match at an Olympic Games. She won her opener here and ran the table en route to a gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia.
Canada’s Brad Gushue was scheduled to play Switzerland’s Peter de Cruz later Friday.
3:06 a.m.: In men’s 15-km cross-country classic, Olivier Leveille was the top Canadian, finishing 29th in 40:52 — 2:57.2 behind gold medallist Iivo Niskanen of Finland. Remi Drolet (41:07.7) was 33rd, while Antoine Cyr (41:17.7) was 37th.
1:29 a.m. (Update): The defending champion United States avoided an early exit and a major upset in women’s hockey by rallying to defeat the Czech Republic 4-1 in their quarterfinal.
The U.S., whose only losses in six previous Olympics have been against Canada (six times) and Sweden (once), managed just four goals on 59 shots and was required to overcome a 1-0 deficit.
The Czechs, making their Olympic debut, became the sixth women’s hockey team to be held without a shot in a period in the Olympics, after the U.S. had an 18-0 edge through 20 minutes, but still managed to open the scoring on their second shot on net, 4:59 into the second period.
12:47 a.m. Australia’s Jaclyn Narracott — a distant 16th at her only other Olympic appearance four years ago — is the leader midway through the women’s skeleton event at the Beijing Games.
Her first two runs on Friday were timed in 2 minutes, 4.34 seconds, putting her jusr ahead of Germany’s Hannah Neise and Tina Hermann.
12:20 a.m.: For a country determined to keep out the virus that first emerged within its borders, bringing in more than 15,000 people from all corners of the world was a serious gamble. It appears to be working.
One week into the 17-day event, there have been 490 confirmed cases — many of them positive tests on symptomless visitors — and no reports of any leaking out to date.
12:17 a.m. (Update): Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami won the gold medal at the women’s super-G at the Beijing Games on Friday. Mirjam Puchner of Austria clinched silver in her first Olympic race, finishing 0.22 seconds behind Gut-Behrami. Michelle Gisin was 0.30 behind her Swiss teammate in third.
11:35 p.m.: Chinese fans are crying foul after 17-year-old Su Yiming finished second in the men’s snowboard slopestyle event on Feb. 7, with Canadian Max Parrot taking gold, despite being the first-ever competitor to pull off an 1800-degree aerial stunt in the Olympics.
Su’s coach Yasuhiro Sato posted an open letter Thursday on social network Weibo, asking the Chinese public to refrain from criticizing the judges, and said that both he and Su respected the outcome.
11:30 p.m. (Update): In the second heat of women’s skeleton, Canadian Mirela Rahneva came in 18th with a time of 1:03.14; Jane Channell finished 22nd (1:03.31).
11:28 p.m. (Update): In the women’s super-G finals, Canadian Marie-Michèle Gagnon finished 14th with a time of 1:14.65. Teammate Roni Remme came in 24th (1:15.78).
11:20 p.m.: The dining options at a Beijing Olympics hotel have been halved due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
Two cafés, three restaurants, and a convenience store within the Prince Hotel by Secret Garden compound were closed suddenly on Thursday. Staff at the hotel’s reception desk and a member of the hotel’s disinfection team confirmed that the closures were to prevent the possible spread of the virus.
10:38 p.m.: Ayumu Hirano of Japan won an Olympic gold in the men’s halfpipe on Friday with a boundary-pushing final run, ending with a score of 96. The two-time Olympic silver medallist moved past Scotty James of Australia, who scored 92.50. Jan Scherrer of Switzerland took bronze.
American Shaun White finished in fourth place as he fell on the final run of a career that’s seen the American star win three Olympic titles. He teared up as the sparse crowd bid adieu to the 35-year-old and fellow riders lined up to hug him.
10:30 p.m. (Update): Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s right to compete in the women’s event at the Beijing Olympics will be decided at an urgent hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The International Testing Agency said Friday it will lead an appeal on behalf of the IOC against a decision by Russia’s anti-doping agency to lift a provisional ban — which Russian officials had imposed Tuesday — on the 15-year-old Valieva for failing a doping test in December.
A positive test could cost Russia the gold medal from the team competition — bumping Canada up to a bronze.
10 p.m.: Men’s snowboard halfpipe: Ayumu Hirano of Japan has won gold; Scotty James of Australia silver; Switzerland’s Jan Scherrer, bronze. Three-time halfpipe champion Shaun White finished fourth in his final Olympics.
9:30 p.m. (Update): Canadian Mirela Rahneva is first in heat 1 of women’s skeleton with a time of 1:02.03. Fellow Canadian Jane Channell is in 13th with a time of 1:02.59.
6:30 p.m.: Here’s a look at some of Team Canada’s upcoming events.
Both of Canada’s men’s and women’s curling teams are competing Friday: Jennifer Jones’ women’s rink will face off against Japan at 1 a.m. ET. Brad Gushue and the Canadian men will square off against Switzerland at 7 a.m. ET.
Canadians Mirela Rahneva (11) and Jane Channell (13) are competing in the first and second heat of women’s skeleton starting at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Marie-Michele Gagnon (14) and Roni Remme (24) are competing in the women’s super-G finals at 10 p.m. ET.
Olivier Leveille, Remi Drolet and Antoine Cyr are competing in the 15km finals in cross country skiing at 2 a.m.
After a disappointing 10th-place finish in the 5,000 m, Canadian long-track speedskater Ted-Jan Bloeman is looking to redeem himself in the 10,000 m endurance race. The men’s 10 km classic starts at 3 a.m. ET.
Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes, who has already won a surprise bronze for Canada’s mixed ski jumping team, is competing in the men’s large hill individual qualification round. at 6 a.m. ET.
After short-track star (and 2022 bronze medallist) Kim Boutin crashed out in Wednesday’s heats, Canada’s hopes now rest with speedskaters Courtney Sarault and Alyson Charles in the 1,000 m event. It starts at 6:55 a.m. ET.
Canada’s Blake Enzie (19) is competing in the third heat of men’s skeleton starting at 7:20 a.m. ET.
The Canadian women’s hockey team begins the knockout round of the Olympic tournament with a quarterfinal matchup with Sweden at 8 a.m. ET.
3 p.m.: On Thursday evening, in its first game of Olympic tournament, the first Games game ever contested by a Chinese squad, Team China was blown out 8-0. By a bunch of mostly college-level Americans. And one can only cringe at what might have happened had Team USA come to Beijing with a roster of NHL stars.
Read more from the Star’s Rosie DiManno in Beijing: Team China blown out by U.S. in Olympic hockey debut. It’s a small step toward respectability
2 p.m.: Desperate for a game ahead of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament, Canada and the United States held a controlled scrimmage earlier this week minus officials.
There will be a lot more on the line, and plenty more emotion, when the countries meet again Saturday afternoon — Friday night back home — for Group A bragging rights in Beijing.
1 p.m.: Give Team Canada’s Eric O’Dell credit for arriving at the rink clearly seeking revenge, writes Star columnist Dave Feschuk in Beijing.
His merciless levelling of German defenceman Marco Nowak in the game’s opening throes forced the giveaway that led directly to the Alex Grant goal that made it 1-0 Canada. And from that moment forward, the Canadians largely dominated the rink.
Full column from Dave Feschuk in Beijing: Canada’s Olympic redemption tour opens with a bang against Germany
1 p.m.: Team Canada’s Eric O’Dell had two assists to go along with a crushing hit that sparked an early surge, and Maxim Noreau blasted home a power-play goal as the men’s hockey team cruised past Germany 5-1 at the Beijing Games.
12 p.m.: Laurent Dubreuil will be competing in the “Ice Ribbon’’ at the Beijing Olympics, where he will be going for the gold at 500-metre long-track speedskating on Saturday, writes Star columnist Rosie DiManno.
The 29-year-old is also contending in the 1,000 metres on Feb. 18, is among Canada’s best prospects for Olympic gold.
Read more from Rosie DiManno in Beijing: ‘I can skate faster.’ Laurent Dubreuil has momentum in Canadian’s quest for Olympic gold
11:17 a.m.: Germany has swept the gold medals in luge’s four events at the Beijing Games.
The Germans won the team relay Thursday night, holding off Austria and Latvia for the victory. Natalie Geisenberger won the women’s gold, Johannes Ludwig the men’s gold, and Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt the doubles gold. They then teamed up to take the relay by less than one-tenth of a second over Austria.
11:15 a.m.: Irene Schouten of the Netherlands has completed a speedskating sweep of the women’s distance events at the Beijing Olympics, setting another Olympic record with a victory in the 5,000 meters.
Schouten also won the 3,000 on Saturday. Schouten finished 4.67 seconds ahead of silver medallist Isabelle Weidemann of Canada, while the bronze went to Martina Sáblíková of the Czech Republic.
11:15 a.m.: Figure skating’s governing body has declined to address reports that the 15-year-old who helped the Russians win gold in the team event at the Beijing Olympics previously tested positive for doping. Russian media say Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned heart medication before the Beijing Games.
A positive test could cost Russia the gold medal from the team competition — bumping Canada up to a bronze.
9 a.m.: On day two of the great Russian doping scandal at the Beijing Olympics, there was not a lot more information than there was on the first: it has already been reported that team figure skating medals have not been awarded because of a positive drug test for 15-year-old Russian skating superstar Kamila Valieva, writes Star columnist Bruce Arthur.
The world of anti-doping has been turned into a hall of mirrors anyway. This appears to be one more reflection. And as we know, Russia has gotten its way on doping more than once. Valieva would be a prize worth fighting hard for.
Read the full column here from Star columnist Bruce Arthur: The many layers of the Kamila Valieva doping mystery at the Beijing Olympics
9 a.m.: Austrian skier Johannes Strolz and his father Hubert have become the first father-son duo to win gold in the same Olympic ski racing event.
Strolz’s father won gold in combined and silver in giant slalom at the 1988 Calgary Games, then almost won another Olympic combined four years later. Johannes was born later that year, in 1992.
7:15 a.m.: Canada’s Marion Thenault, Miha Fontaine and Lewis Irving clinched a medal in the first-ever mixed aerials event at an Olympics. While the United States and China topped Canada’s score, the Canadians are still guaranteed a bronze on Thursday at the Beijing Games.
Previously: Canada’s Brad Gushue defeated Steffen Walstad (Norway) 6-5 in men’s round-robin play; Eliot Grondin scores a silver medal in snowboard cross; Jack Crawford wins Canada’s first-ever medal — bronze — in combined alpine skiing; American Nathan Chen wins gold for superlative “Rocket Man” program in men’s skate.
For a full write-up of what you missed yesterday at the Beijing Olympics, click here.
For full coverage of the Beijing Olympics, click here.
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