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The Winter Olympics have proven unforgiving and unimpressed by American favorites.
Lindsey Vonn in Alpine skiing. Chloe Kim in halfpipe snowboarding. Ilia Malinin in figure skating. Sunday saw more disappointment for the Americans as slalom superstar Mikaela Shiffrin faltered again in her pursuit of a medal, and defending champion speedskater Erin Jackson finished hundredths of a second short of another medal.
Shiffrin, the winningest skier in the sport, penned another disappointing chapter in her Olympic history with an 11th-place finish in the women’s giant slalom.
The American has won seven of eight World Cup races this season in the slalom. But Shiffrin has only two victories in 12 individual Olympic races across four Games. She has one more chance to medal in Cortina when she is scheduled to compete in the women’s slalom Wednesday.
Italy’s Federica Brignone thrilled the home crowd with a victory in the giant slalom, her second gold medal of these Games. Sweden’s Sara Hector and Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund shared silver, both finishing in exactly 2:14.12. No bronze was awarded.
If you want the complete rundown of the day’s major moments, scroll through our live updates blog here and catch up on the medal count here.
USA men beat Germany to claim No. 2 seed in hockey tourney
The American men downed Germany 5-1 to win Group C and earn the No. 2 seed in the tournament and a bye into the quarterfinals.
Canada romped past France 10-2 earlier Sunday, giving the Canadians an enormous plus-17 in goal differential in their three opening-round games and the No. 1 seed.
The No. 2 seed for the U.S. means it will likely draw Sweden, which surprisingly fell to the No. 7 seed, in the quarterfinals. The Swedes will face Latvia in a qualification playoff Tuesday, with the winner advancing to face the Americans on Wednesday.
Captain Auston Matthews scored two goals and added an assist for the U.S. in the win over Germany. Defensemen Zach Werenski and Brock Faber and forward Tage Thompson scored the other goals. Connor Hellebuyck, in his second start in goal of the tournament, recorded 23 saves for the victory. He has allowed only two goals in two games.
Quinn Hughes of the United States battles for the puck against the boards with Nico Sturm of Germany. Hughes led U.S. skaters in time on ice and had an assist. (Geoff Burke / Imagn Images)
Erin Jackson fails to repeat in speedskating
Speedskater Erin Jackson joined Shiffrin on the disappointment podium. The defending champion in the women’s 500-meter race finished fifth in an agonizingly close competition. Jackson’s time of 37.32 was just five-hundredths of a second behind Japan’s Miho Takagi’s bronze medal time.
Femke Kok of the Netherlands won the gold in an Olympic-record time of 36.49, and her teammate, Jutta Leerdam, captured silver in 37.15.
Jackson served as one of two U.S. flag bearers during the opening ceremony.
Erin Jackson finished just five-hundredths of a seconds short of a medal in the women’s 500m speedskating. (Amber Searls / Imagn Images)
Klæbo wins fourth cross-country gold, sets sights on two more
Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won his fourth gold of these Olympics when Norway finished first in the team relay Sunday. Klæbo has competed in four events and won the gold in each. He will compete in two more and try to add to his career total of nine, the most gold medals for any Winter Olympian.
His last two races are a team sprint and then a 50-kilometer race Saturday. If he claims gold in both, he will become the first Olympian to win six golds at a single Winter Games.
Klæbo said it was “great to be able to give this gold medal to Norway.” The Norwegians lead the medals table with 26, including 12 golds.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway displays his record-breaking ninth gold medal, from the cross-country team relay Sunday. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP via Getty Images)
Canada claims first gold of Milan Cortina Games
It took nine days, but Canada has its first gold medal of these Winter Olympics.
Mikaël Kingsbury, the most accomplished freestyle skier of all time, won Olympic gold in the inaugural men’s dual moguls competition in Livigno on Sunday. In the final ski off, Kingsbury bested Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, a three-time world champion in moguls.
Kingsbury, 33, has indicated this is likely his final Olympics. His accomplishments are extraordinary: two Olympic golds, five Olympic medals, nine world championships, 100 World Cup wins (record) and 143 podiums.
Mikaël Kingsbury was Canada’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP via Getty Images)