Home2028 Olympic GamesMILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Coventry says “Games are going really well”; Klaebo equals gold-medal record;...

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Coventry says “Games are going really well”; Klaebo equals gold-medal record; shock fall for Malinin

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

“The Games are going really well.”

That’s International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) on Friday, reflecting her view of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games so far.

She was instantly asked, of course, about the rules over athlete expression and the disqualification of Ukrainian Skeleton rider Vladyslav Heraskevych. Coventry explained:

“I was chairing the Athletes’ Commission in 2020 and 2021 when we heard from athletes that it was really important for us to identify safe spaces for them to express themselves, and to be able to share messages with the world, of all kinds. …

“At the same time, athletes wanted to ensure that we could still provide safe spaces for them and said that if we just opened things up completely, they would potentially by parties outside of the sporting family to carry messages that they do not agree with. And how would we be able to protect them from doing that.”

Coventry said she explained to Heraskevych and his father how the regulations were developed and what they were designed to do, in a “very respectful conversation.” She said “he was very committed to his beliefs, which I can respect, right? But sadly, it doesn’t change the rules.”

She added, “I believe that the rules allow for there to be the safest and fairest way, right now, that we have, to allow for athletes to express themselves but keep athletes safe” and not to be used for messages they don’t believe in.

Coventry was asked about the spread-out nature of the Games and she said the athletes have been enjoying the Olympic experience, especially be able to compete in famous venues that they know from their World Cup seasons. She also enjoyed the enthusiasm of the spectators, which was widespread. In short, “really no complaints.”

For her, so far so good. It has not hurt, either, that the Italian team is on the way to a historic Winter Games performance, which the crowds have loved.
~ Rich Perelman

(Pictured above: U.S. skating star Ilia Malinin embracing a stunned Olympic men’s figure skating gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan; TSX photo by Karen Rosen.)

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Light rain is projected for Milan for Saturday, with a high of 51 F and a low of 43 F. Very little sunshine until Monday.

In Cortina, snow showers are forecast with a high of 30 F and a low of 21 F. Winds are expected to average a mild 4 miles per hour.

● Scoreboard ● Norway and Italy are at the top of the medal table after 51 of 116 events:

● 18: Norway (8-3-7)
● 18: Italy (6-3-9)
● 14: United States (4-7-3)
● 14: Japan (3-3-8)
● 12: Austria (3-6-3)

● 11: Germany
● 10: France
● 8: Sweden
● 7: Switzerland
● 7: Netherlands
● 7: Canada

Seven days in and Italy has 18 medals, against an all-time high of 20.

A better indication of team performance has to go beyond three places, so The Sports Examiner returns our eight-place scoring, using the NCAA track & field format of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 to score each event. After seven days, the top 15:

● 220.5: Norway
● 216.5: Italy
● 170.5: United States
● 165.5: Austria
● 147.5: France

● 131.5: Japan
● 128: Germany
● 100: Canada
● 94: Netherlands
● 93: Sweden

● 92.5: Switzerland
● 62: China
● 47: Czech Republic
● 46: South Korea
● 43: Australia

In terms of top-eight place winners, Italy leads with 44, then Norway at 41, Austria at 37 and the U.S. with 36.

● Television ● Per NBC:

“Through Wednesday, the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is averaging 25.7 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, NBCUniversal Digital Platforms and Versant’s CNBC and USA Network – marking the most-watched Winter Games presentation at this point since 2014 Sochi Olympics, according to official Nielsen Big Data + Panel viewership and preliminary data from Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics.”

All days have been over 20 million, with Wednesday’s coverage at 21.5 million.

Although not truly comparable – the 2026 audience measurement uses a wider Nielsen system and includes the 2-5 p.m. and 8-11 p.m. shows – the indications are that viewership is up over PyeongChang 2018 (19.8 primetime-only average) and Beijing 2022 (11.4 million). The Sochi 2014 Games drew a primetime–only average of 21.3 million.

● Figure Skating ● Questions about the judging of the Ice Dance final that saw France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron win a tight gold-medal battle with the U.S.’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates continued to linger, with the International Skating Union’s statement on Friday explaining:

It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations. The ISU has full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness.”

In the aftermath of the 2002 Salt Lake City Games judging scandal, the scoring system in figure skating was revamped and in order to exclude clearly unrealistic scores, the highest and lowest scores for each element and program component are discarded, and then the remaining marks from the other seven (of nine) judges are averaged.

If a challenge were to be filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, it is likely to fail absent some evidence of collusion or intentional mis-scoring. The Court of Arbitration generally considers “field of play” decisions as up to the International Federation (in this case, the ISU) to deal with exclusively.

● Skeleton ● As expected, the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the appeal of Ukrainian Skeleton rider Vladyslav Heraskevych, to overturn the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation’s disqualification for the use of the “Memory Helmet” in competition. The decision summary noted:

“The Sole Arbitrator, whilst fully sympathetic to Mr Heraskevych’s commemoration, is bound by rules in the IOC Athlete Expression Guidelines. The Sole Arbitrator considers these Guidelines provide a reasonable balance between athletes’ interests to express their views, and athletes’ interests to receive undivided attention for their sporting performance on the field of play. …

“The Sole Arbitrator is bound by such proportionate rules and has no means to override them.”

● Ukraine ● Heraskevych isn’t the only Ukrainian athlete using their heads – or helmets – to make a statement. Freestyle Slopestyle and Big Air skier Kateryna Kotsar and Short Track skater Oleh Handei were both told not to wear helmets with “political slogans” on them.

Both have apparently cooperated; neither has been disqualified.

● Also on TSX ● A guest column by Olympic historian and Pierre de Coubertin expert George Hirthler (USA), “The Power of a Caring Voice: Kirsty Coventry’s Stunning Global Debut,” reviewing her opening ceremony remarks in Milan.

= RESULTS: FRIDAY, 13 FEBRUARY =
(7 finals across 6 sports & disciplines)

● Biathlon: Men’s 10 km Sprint
France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet won silver in the men’s Sprint at the 2022 Beijing Games, but he took the lead early on Friday and was almost unchallenged on his way to the Sprint gold in 22:53.1 with no penalties.

He was comfortably in front of Norway’s Vetle Christiansen and lovelorn Sturla Holm Lagreid, in 23:06.8 (0) and 23:09.0 (0). The French also finished fourth with Emilien Jacquelin (23:09.0/0).

At 33, Fillon Maillet now has seven Olympic medals and golds from Beijing 2022 (Individual and relay) and Milan Cortina 2026 (Sprint and relay).

Campbell Wright of the U.S., who won the Worlds silver in 2025, finished 12th in 24:03.1 (1); Paul Schommer was 47th (25:31.3/1); Sean Doherty was 65th (26:12.6/3) and Maxime Germain was 66th (26:13.4/3).

● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s 10 km Freestyle
The question coming in was: can anyone stop Norway’s amazing Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo?

No, and history is being made.

Klaebo was second for much of the race behind teammate Einar Hedegart and trailed by 0.7 seconds with 1,000 m to go. But, as usual, he had the most left in the tank and rolled to a win in 20:36.2. He had the fastest final km in the race at 2:02.5.

Hedegart also lost his lead over France’s fast-closing Mathis Desloges and had to settle for the bronze. Desloges took the silver in 20:41.1 and Hedegart finished in 20:50.2, with teammares Harald Amundsen (21:00.2) and Martin Nyenget (21:03.5) following in 4-5.

What Klaebo has done is amazing and historic. At 29, he now has 10 total medals and eight golds, equaling the most ever in Olympic Winter Games history:

● 8: Marit Bjoergen (NOR: Cross Country 2010-18)
● 8: Ole Bjorndalen (NOR: Biathlon: 1998-2014)
● 8: Bjorn Daehlie (NOR: Cross Country: 1992-98)
● 8: Johannes Klaebo (NOR: Cross Country: 2018-26)

Klaebo’s 10 total medals ranks equal-sixth all-time. And he’s not done. He won six golds at the 2025 Worlds in Trondheim (NOR) and the 50 km Classical, Team Freestyle Sprint and 4 x 7.5 km relay are all ahead and he has excellent chances in all three. Wow.

After being held from 1992-1998, the Sprint was eliminated from the Winter Games program until 2026; in the four times it has been run, Norwegians have won all four.

The top American in the Sprint was John Hagenbuch in 14th (21:41.1), with Zanden McMullen in 32nd (22:17.7), Zak Ketterson in 38th (22:28.4) and Gus Schumacher in 39th (22:30.8).

● Figure Skating: Men’s Singles
The men’s Free Skate started with three men who scored more than 100 points during the Short program: World Champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. (108.16), Beijing 2022 runner-up Yuma Kagiyama (JPN: 103.07) and France’s 2024 Worlds bronzer Adam Siao Him Fa (102.55). There was a wide drop-off to fourth place Daniel Grassl (ITA: 93.46).

The final group was energized by Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov, who got a lifetime best of 198.64 and a total of 291.58 to take the lead. Grassl was next, with the home crowd cheering heartily, but he touched a hand to the ice once; he scored 170.25 and his total of 263.71 left him a disappointed sixth following his routine.

France’s Siao Him Fa also had an early full fall and had other errors that quieted the crowd; he added a backflip that the crowd loved. But he scored 166.72 and a total of 269.27, in sixth with two to go. That meant Shaidorov was a medalist, a first for Kazakhstan since Denis Ten’s 2014 bronze.

That brought up Kagiyama, trying to pressure Malinin, but he fell on a quad Flip early on. His score of 176.99 and total of 280.06 was deeply disappointing, but it earned the bronze, and assured Shaidorov of at least silver.

Malinin had the crowd absolutely silent at the start and until his quad Flip, and he did not attempt his patented quad Axel. He did throw in a quad Lutz, but the routine was toned down. And then he fell on a quad Lutz, and then fell again on his last jumping pass. He threw in his famed backflip, but this was a flawed routine that left him devastated, skating off the ice.

He said while waiting for the score, “it’s not easy.” The score was 156.33 for a total of 264.49 that left him in eighth. It also made Shaidorov an unlikely Olympic champion, as the only one to skate a flawless routine in the six-man final grouping.

Malinin told NBC’s Andrea Joyce afterwards, “I was not expecting that,” and said he might have been too confident coming in. He added, “I can’t process what happened,” said it was “definitely mental.”

He confessed that the Olympic Games “is not like any other competition” and “that was not the skate I wanted.” His bottom line: “I blew it. There’s no way that just happened.” He’s 21; he’ll be back.

Malinin hadn’t lost since 2023. The other U.S. skaters included Andrew Torgashev (259.06) for 12th and Maxim Naumov scored 223.36 for 20th.

Kagiyama (280.06 for silver) and Shun Sato (274.90 for bronze) and extended the Japanese men’s medal streak to five straight Olympics.

● Skeleton: Men
In the first two races on Thursday, favored Matt Weston (GBR) won both and leads at 1:52.09, 0.30 up on Germany’s 2022 silver winner Axel Jungk (1:52.39) and 0.46 on defending Olympic champ Christopher Grotheer (1:52.55). China’s Wenhao Chen was a close fourth at 1:52.68.

The third run saw Weston win by 55.63 to 55.72 over Jungk to extend his lead, with Grotheer fourth at 55.92, and Weston took the fourth heat in 55.61 to seal a clean win and the gold medal by almost a second in 3:43.33.

Grotheer and Chen went 2-3 in heat four and Jungk was fifth. Added up, it left Jungk second at 3:44.21 and Grotheer with the bronze at 3:44.40. Chen remained fourth (3:44.59).

Austin Florian was the top American, in 12th (3:46.59) and Daniel Barefoot was 20th (3:49.86).

Britain won its first-ever gold in men’s Skeleton, to go with three for the women. Germany won two medals for the second straight Games.

● Snowboard: Men’s Halfpipe; Women’s SnowCross
Japan’s 2021 World Champion Yuko Totsuka was on it from the start in the men’s Halfpipe final, ripping off a 91.00 first run and then improving to 95.00 in the second round.

The only one close, not surprisingly, was four-time World Champion Scotty James (AUS), already an Olympic bronzer in 2018 and silver winner in 2022. He scored 95.00 in qualifying, and 93.50 in the second round, but had to wait until the last jump of the day to see if he could catch Totsuka.

Japan’s Ryusei Yamada was also hot, scoring 92.00 as the leader in the first round, and teammate Ruka Hirano, the 2025 Worlds runner-up, at 90.00 in both rounds. They stood 3-4 going into the final round of jumps.

Jumping eighth in the final-round, Hirano improved to 91.00, but stayed in fourth. Yamada started 10th and flew to a 92.00 score, but remained in third and was assured the bronze. That brought up Totsuka, who did not improve. James had the last chance, but had no heroics and had to settle for a second straight silver (plus his 2018 bronze).

The Americans: Jake Pates (77.50) was eighth, Alessandro Barbieri (75.00) was 10th, and Chase Josey (70.25) was 11th.

Japan now dominates this event, with back-to-back Olympic golds and six medals across the last four Games.

Italian Michela Moioli, the 2018 Olympic winner, looked good as the women’s SnowCross races progressed. She won her round-of-16 race, then her quarterfinal and her semi and was into the final as another possible Italian star in 2026.

On the other side of the bracket, however, the 2023 Worlds runner-up, Josie Baff, was looking strong with a heats win, second in her quarter and then winning her semi over Czech Eva Adamczykova, the 2014 Olympic champ and a two-time World Champion.

Those three looked like the medal winners and in the medal final, Baff got to the lead past the halfway mark and kept it, edging Adamczykova and Moioli for the medals and winning Australia’s first medal in the event.

For Adamczykova, it completes an Olympic medal set, with a silver to go with her 2014 gold and 2018 bronze.

American Faye Thielen made the small final and finished seventh overall.

● Speed Skating: Men’s 10,000 m
This painful race had the world-record holder, the reigning World Champion and two former Olympic champions. And the winner was a 19-year-old, first-time Olympian from the Czech Republic.

After Poland’s Vladimir Semirunniy – the 2025 Worlds silver medalist – set a hard pace in the third pair, finishing at 12:39.08, the final three pairs had a hard time catching him.

World-record man and 2025 World Champion Davide Ghiotto (ITA) couldn’t keep pace with 2014 Olympic champ Jorrit Bergsma – 40 – in the fourth pair and Bergsma moved into second place at 12:40.48. Ghiotto ended up finishing sixth in 12:46.72.

That brought up 2018 Olympic champ Ted-Jan Bloemen (CAN: 39) and Czech teen Metrodej Jilek, the 5,000 m silver winner but also the winner of the lone 10,000 m on the World Cup circuit this season. And Jilek was methodical, unwinding nine straight sub-30-second laps in the middle of the race and then holding on to take the lead at 12:33.43. Bloemen was well back at 13:00.01.

The final pair had Norway’s 5,000 m winner, Sander Eitrem and France’s Tim Loubineaud, the former world-record man in the 5,000 m. Eintrem was out hard early, but Loubineaud won the pair easily in 12:44.20, but could not squeeze past Bergsma for the bronze.

So, Jilek won a race that first debuted in the original Winter Games back in 1924 and he and Semirunniy are the first from their countries ever to win a medal in this distance. Bergsma completed his medal color-set, adding a bronze to his 2014 gold and 2018. Dutch skaters have won a medal in this race in 11 straight Winter Games.

Elsewhere:

Curling: The U.S. men’s team, skipped by Daniel Casper, fell to 1-2 in round-robin play, losing to 2014 Olympic gold winner Brad Jacobs’ Canadian rink, 6-3. Round-robin play continues through the 19th.

The women’s tournament saw 2018 Olympic champ Anna Hasselborg’s Swedish rink beat the Tabitha Peterson-led U.S. team on Thursday by 9-4, but the Americans rallied on Friday to go to 2-1 with a 9-8, extra-end win over three-time World Champion Rachel Homan and Canada! Round-robin play also continues through the 19th.

● Ice hockey: Quarterfinals in the women’s playoffs started Friday, with sixth-ranked Sweden upsetting third-ranked Czech Republic by 2-0. The no. 1 U.S. faced Italy, and had only a 1-0 lead after the first, on a goal by Megan Keller at the 13:31 mark, despite a 20-2 shots edge.

The game broke open in the second, with Kendall Coyne scoring at 1:41 and 4:51 of the period for a 3-0 advantage. Laila Edwards scored 26 seconds later for a 4-0 lead and Britta Curl got a short-handed goal for the U.S. at 11:29. Hannah Bilka’s goal at 18:27 ended the period at 6-0 (with 19-2 on shots in the period).

In the third, there was no scoring and the play got physical at times. The U.S. ended with a 51-6 shots advantage and four straight shutouts. Gwyneth Phillips got the shutout in goal.

The playoffs continue on Saturday with Canada vs. Germany and Finland vs. Switzerland. The semis will be re-seeded.

= PREVIEWS: SATURDAY, 14 FEBRUARY =
(8 finals across 8 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Giant Slalom
Swiss superstar Marco Odermatt lost the Downhill to teammate Franjo von Allmen, finishing fourth and then won a bronze behind von Allmen in the Super-G.

So how about an Odermatt win in the Giant Slalom? More than reasonable; he’s the defending Olympic champion! And the 2023 World Champion, and won three Giant Slaloms this season at the FIS World Cup.

But there were other winners, like Austrians Raphael Haaser – the 2025 World Champion – and Stefan Brennsteiner and Marco Schwarz. Swiss Loic Meillard won twice this season on the World Cup circuit and has been silver-bronze in the last two Worlds.

Perhaps the most motivated skier in this event will be ex-Norwegian and now Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who won four World Cup silvers this season, two each in the Giant Slalom and Slalom. He’s hungry to win a medal for his “new” country.

Given Italy’s amazing Games so far, their best hope for a medal is likely Alex Vinatzer, who won a Worlds bronze in Slalom in 2023.

● Biathlon: Women’s 7.5 km Sprint
Like most of the women’s events, the Sprint has been mostly about France, with the last two World Championships going to Julia Simon in 2024 (she already won the Individual race in 2026) and Justine Braisasz-Bouchet, in 2025.

In fact, Simon was at the head of a French sweep in 2024, with Lou Jeanmonnot – the 2026 Individual silver winner – and Braisasz-Bouchet taking the other medals.

But another sweep seems unlikely. There are two returning medalists from 2022: Sweden’s Hanna Oeberg (silver) and Italy’s Dorothea Wierer. German Franziska Preuss and Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen went silver-bronze at the 2025 Worlds.

In the four times the Sprint was contested during the IBU World Cup season, Minkkinen, Jeanmonnot, Oeberg (twice) and sister Elvira Oeberg all won. Jeanmonnot was the most consistent, with three medals, but Minkkinin won two and both Wierer and teammate Lisa Vittozzi both won one medal. Perhaps the sleeper is Sweden’s Anna Magnusson, who took two Sprint medals early in the season, but has been quiet since.

● Cross Country Skiing: Women’s 4×7.5 km Relay
Sweden went 1-2 in the Skiathlon, 1-2 in the 10 km and swept the Sprint. No doubt, they are prohibitive favorites. They are the reigning World Champions from 2025, winning a tight race with Norway with a team of Emma Ribom, Frida Karlsson, Ebba Andersson and Jonna Sundling.

Andersson had won medals in this event in the last two Games: silver in 2018, bronze in 2022.

Norway’s depth makes them the attractive second choice, led by Skiathlon bronze winner Heidi Weng, Astrid Slind and two more top-10 finishers in the 10 km Interval Start. Germany and Finland were 3-4 at the 2025 Worlds and close, followed a couple of minutes later by the Swiss and the U.S.

Will Jessie Diggins be healthy enough to go in this race? If so, will she be close enough to have a shot at a medal?

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Dual Moguls
The U.S. went 1-2 in Moguls with Elizabeth Lemley and Jaelin Kauf, and Kauf is even better in the Dual Moguls than she is at Moguls. This is the first time the Dual Moguls has been held at the Winter Games.

How good? She’s the 2025 World Champion, edging teammate Tess Johnson in the gold-medal final, won silvers in 2019 and 2023 and a Worlds bronze in 2017. At the only FIS World Cup held this season, she led a U.S. sweep ahead of Lemley and Johnson!

Best bets to break up an American sweep start with French star Perrine Laffont, the 2018 Moguls gold winner and who just won the 2026 Moguls bronze. She also won the 2023 Worlds Dual Moguls over Kauf, with Austria’s Avital Carroll taking bronze. Japan’s Rino Yanagimoto and Anastassiya Gorodko (KAZ) figure as possible spoilers as World Cup medal winners last season; Gorodko won the Worlds bronze in 2025.

● Short Track: Men’s 1,500 m
Canada’s William Dandjinou won nothing in the 1,000 m, but is the reigning World Champion at this distance. In the World Tour season, Dandjinou won four races and one silver in six meets. He is the favorite.

But there are challengers. Teammate Steven Dubois is the Beijing 2022 runner-up, Korea’s Ji-won Park won the 2023 Worlds gold and Dutch star Jens van’T Wout – who won the 1,000 m – won the 2024 Worlds silver at this distance. China’s Long Sun won the 2024 Worlds and won one World Cup medal this season.

What about Italy? With a dreamy Games so far, surely Pietro Sighel has to be a contender. He won two World Cup bronzes this season and appears ready for more.

But all eyes will be on Dandjinou.

● Skeleton: Women
Dutch racer Kimberley Bos won the Olympic bronze in 2022 and moved up to Worlds silver in 2023 and then to World Champion in 2025. Beijing Olympic champ Hannah Niese (GER) won the 2024 Worlds bronze and four medals in this World Cup season, but teammate Susanne Kreher was the 2023 Worlds gold medalist. Canada’s Hallie Clarke won a surprise Worlds gold in 2024.

But none of these rate as favorites. Austria’s Janine Flock, 36, won the Worlds silver back in 2016, but won six medals in eight World Cup races this season, including the last three before the Games! She has to be the one to beat.

Belgium’s Kim Meylemans won once and had three medals and British sliders Amelia Coltman and Freya Tarbit each won once. All are contenders.

On the first two runs, the top five were within 0.53. Flock led run one and was second on run two with a fast close and timed 1:54.58 for a 0.04 lead on Kreher and 0.13 on second-run winner Jacqueline Pfeifer (GER).

There was a small gap back to Niese in fourth (1:54.85) and Britain’s Tabitha Stoecker in fifth (1:55.01). Tarbit was sixth and Meylemans was eighth. The American leader was Kelly Curtis in 10th (1:55.69) and Mystique Ro was 17th (1:56.36).

● Ski Jumping: Men’s Large Hill (141 m)
Slovenian star Domen Prevc was off his game in the Normal Hill final, placing only sixth, as Germany’s Philipp Raimund sprung the upset. In the Team Normal Hill final, Prevc’s teammate, Anze Lanisek was the best of the day and Prevc was close, both sailing over 100 m as Slovenia won the gold decisively.

Prevc was the 2025 Large Hill World Champion has 11 wins on the World Cup circuit this season, every one on a Large Hill. He has to be the favorite, right?

Lanisek has three wins this season and looks ready to be in the medal mix along with Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi, the 2022 Olympic Large Hill runner-up, teammate Ren Nikaido, a six-time World Cup medalist this season and Austrians Jan Hoerl – the 2025 Worlds runner-up – Daniel Tschofenig and three-time World Champion Stefan Kraft.

Raimund, of course, cannot be counted out. But this should be Prevc’s opportunity to fix his failure on the Normal Hill event.

● Speed Skating: Men’s 500 m
American star Jordan Stolz won the 1,000 m and two 500 m Worlds golds in 2023 and 2024. But this will be his stiffest test, facing 2025 World Champion Jenning De Boo and Poland’s Damian Zurek, who won the last two World Cup races prior to the Games and was second three times.

Stolz won the season title, with five wins and two seconds and a third, but will have to get a fast start and avoid mistakes to get this gold. Teammate Cooper Mcleod was a surprise Worlds bronze winner last year and will be looking for a repeat.

Japan has a contender in 2022 bronze winner Wataru Morishige, who was fourth in the seasonal World Cup, and defending champ Tingyu Gao (CHN) is back, but was only 18th in the seasonal World Cup standings. An American hasn’t medaled in this event since 2006; Stolz is trying to end that streak.

= INTEL REPORT =

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The Los Angeles City Council approved without debate on Friday a request for the LA28 organizers to “tie the allocated contingency as a percentage to the budget, and therefore increase the allocated contingency as the budget increases.”

This reflects the City Council’s continued worry about a deficit by the LA28 organizers that the City would ultimately be liable for, and requires a change in the Games Agreement between the City and the organizing committee.

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