Milan Cortina Olympics Commence with Initial Competitions and Early Medal Results

The Milan Cortina Olympics have officially begun, with the first medal events and preliminary competitions now underway or scheduled. The opening day features events such as the men's downhill in Alpine skiing. Early results include gold medals in speedskating team pursuits for Italy and Canada, and in biathlon and Nordic combined for France and Norway, respectively.

Commencement of Olympic Events

The Milan Cortina Olympics' first medal event, the men’s downhill in Alpine skiing, is scheduled for Saturday, marking Day 1 of the Games. Competitions for athletes, including U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin and U.S. cross-country skier Jessie Diggins, are anticipated.

The men's downhill race is set to occur at the Stelvio Ski Center in Bormio. Competitors include Swiss athletes Marco Odermatt and world champion Franjo von Allmen. Italian athlete Dominik Paris, competing in his fifth Games, seeks his first Olympic medal, having previously won six World Cup downhills in Bormio. U.S. skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle, a super-G silver medalist at the Beijing Games, recorded the fastest time in a recent training session. The event is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. local time (1030 GMT, 5:30 a.m. ET), pending weather conditions.

Two-time reigning world champion Ilia Malinin is scheduled to perform his short program as part of the figure skating team event. The U.S. team leads Japan and Italy going into Day 2 of the competition. The event is scheduled to begin at 7:45 p.m. local time (1845 GMT, 1:45 p.m. ET) in Milan. The U.S. ice dance team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates, three-time defending world champions, are expected to compete in the free dance.

Jessie Diggins, a 34-year-old U.S. cross-country skier, will compete in her fourth Olympics. She has previously earned one gold, one silver, and one bronze Olympic medal. Diggins will participate in the 20-kilometer skiathlon. The event starts at 1 p.m. local time (1200 GMT and 7 a.m. ET) in Val di Fiemme.

Additional medal events scheduled for Saturday include the women's normal hill individual in ski jumping, men's snowboard big air, and women's 3000 meters in speedskating.

Recent Event Results

In men's speedskating team pursuit, Italy's team, comprising Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini, and Michele Malfatti, won the gold medal. They finished in 3 minutes, 39.20 seconds, defeating the U.S. team by 4.5 seconds. This marks Italy's first Olympic title in this event since the 2006 Turin Games.

Canada's women's team pursuit squad, featuring Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais, and Isabelle Weidemann, secured their second consecutive Winter Games title, completing the race in 2:55.81. They finished nearly a full second ahead of the Netherlands.

France won the gold medal in the men's biathlon relay. The team, consisting of Eric Perrot, Fabien Claude, Emilien Jacquelin, and Quentin Fillon Maillet, advanced from last place on the first leg to first on the final lap. Perrot maintained a lead over Norway's Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, with the team finishing in one hour, 19 minutes, and 55.2 seconds. Norway earned the silver medal, and Sweden took the bronze.

Norway's Jens Luraas Oftebro claimed his second Nordic combined gold medal within a week, winning the large hill ski jump and 10-kilometer ski race. Johannes Lamparter of Austria received the silver medal, and Ilkka Herola of Finland took bronze. Oftebro started the race in fifth position, 22 seconds behind the leader.

Preliminary rounds for women's hockey have begun. The U.S. team secured a 5-1 victory over Czechia. Their next match is against Finland, scheduled for 4:40 p.m. local time (1540 GMT, 10:40 a.m. ET) in Milan. Finland's initial game was postponed due to a norovirus outbreak. Other scheduled games include Switzerland-Canada, Sweden-Italy, and Germany-Japan.

Postponements and Other Developments

The Olympic final for women's snowboarding slopestyle was postponed due to a heavy snowstorm in Livigno. The final was originally scheduled for Tuesday, and a new date has not yet been announced.

Annika Malacinski, a U.S. team skier, attended the Nordic combined event. She expressed support for her brother Niklas and highlighted the sport's exclusion of women at the Winter Olympics. Nordic combined is currently the only Winter Olympic sport that does not include women, despite women competing in World Cup circuits and world championships.