China stay king in aerials as Wang wins gold at Olympics

LIVIGNO: Wang Xindi took gold in freestyle skiing men’s aerials at the Winter Olympics on Friday to strengthen China’s dominance in the discipline.

The 30-year-old took over the crown from compatriot and five-time Olympian Qi Guangpu, who came sixth and last in the final.

It was Wang’s first podium after three Winter Games. At Beijing 2022, China won gold in men’s and women’s aerials and silver in the mixed team and in these Olympics, Xu Mengtao defended her women’s aerials title on Wednesday.

In Friday’s men’s aerials, current world champion Noe Roth of Switzerland won silver, while another Chinese freeskier, Olympic first-timer Li Tianma, got bronze.

Wang took top spot with a remarkable score of 132.60, out of a maximum of 150. Roth was close behind on 131.58, while Li got 123.93.

China’s four athletes all made it into the final, held in snowy, overcast conditions in the Alpine resort of Livigno.

They squared off against Roth and fellow Swiss Pirmin Werner. Chinese supremacy over aerials could be extended further on Satur­day, when a mixed teams final is due to take place on the penultimate day of the Milano Cortina Olympics.

In the men’s biathlon 15-km mass start, Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway hit a perfect 20 for 20 on the shooting range to storm to victory and give made his country record-holders for most golds at a Winter Games.

Norway’s 17 gold medals so far at Milano-Cortina surpasses their own previous record for a single nation of 16 at Beijing 2022.

Dale-Skjevdal’s compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid took the silver, 10.5 seconds behind, with Quentin Fillon Maillet of France storming past Germany’s Philipp Horn on the last lap to secure bronze.

Dale-Skjevdal was the only biathlete in the 30-man field not to miss a shot on the day, and it paved the way for gold for the hugely talented but often erratic 28-year-old.

“There’s a lot of feelings. Olympic champion. Damn, it’s sick, it’s a dream ... I have no words,” Dale-Skjevdal told Norwegian TV.

Meanwhile on Friday, the paralympic committees of Ukraine and the Czech Rep­u­blic announced that they will boycott the opening ceremony at the Paralympic Gam­es over the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.

The Ukrainian team, who­se country has been battling a Russian invasion since Feb­ruary 2022, anno­unced a boycott of the March 6 ceremony in Verona late on Thursday.

The protest follows the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) decision to allow Russian and Belar­usian athletes to compete under their national flags.

LIU DAZZLES

On Thursday, Alysa Liu delivered a dazzling performance to win the gold as she capped a remarkable comeback journey to snap a 20-year Olympic medal drought for Americans in the women’s figure skating event.

Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto took silver, finishing ahead of her 17-year-old team-mate Ami Nakai, who claimed bronze.

Skating with joyful confidence, Liu nailed jump after jump in her Donna Summer disco-themed free skate to bring the sold-out crowd to their feet.

“When I was skating, hearing the cheers, I felt so connected with the audience. I want to be out there again,” she said. “The way I felt out there was calm, happy and confident. I’ve been having fun. This experience is really cool.”

Liu stunned the skating world when she retired from the sport aged just 16 after the Beijing Games in 2022, citing burnout and the desire to pursue other interests.

The Californian returned two years later with a new perspective — and more creative control — taking charge of her music choices, programmes and costumes. That reset helped spark a resurgence that included a world title in Boston last year.

US SEAL HOCKEY GLORY

It was double delight for Americans as their women ice hockey team delivered another gold, pipping rivals Canada 2-1.

The US tasted revenge sweeter than maple syrup as they came from behind to win gold in an overtime thriller.

Megan Keller netted the winner to dethrone their arch rivals in an instant classic, sealing a spine-tingling affair and bringing a roar of Ame­rican joy that echoed throu­ghout Santagiulia Arena.

The US looked headed for more disappointment after losing to their hated foes four years ago, as they were kept off the scoreboard and trailing late in the third period.

But captain Hilary Knight played the hero one more time in her fifth and final Olympics, tying it to take the tight-checking Games deci­der to three-on-three sudden death hockey, where Keller went around defender Claire Thompson and slipped the puck past the Canadian goa­lie to clinch a third Olympic gold for the US women.

The game gave fans yet another classic chapter in the sport’s greatest rivalry, and the packed stands offered duelling chants of “Canada!” and “USA!” from puck drop.

“I was just trying to make a move, take a chance. I was trying to win, not play to not lose. That’s what we talked about in the locker room,” said Keller. “In my view, this is the best hockey team the world has ever seen.”

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2026

if you want to get more information about this news then click on below link

More Detail