Short track mixed team relay gives China first Beijing gold

China won a first gold medal of their home Winter Olympics when they claimed the short track speed skating mixed team relay title on Saturday (February 5) ahead of Italy and Hungary.

Ren Ziwei, Wu Dajing, Fan Kexin and Qu Chunyu clocked two minutes 37.348 seconds over 2,000 metres in the final to kick off the host country’s Games in style at the Capital Indoor Stadium.

Wu won China’s only gold medal at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang.

China won five titles at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and three in Sochi in 2014.

Walter Wallberg of Sweden soared to gold in the men’s freestyle moguls event, unseating favoured champion Mikael Kingsbury of Canada who took silver.

Wallberg, 21, fist-pumped the air and threw down his skis after he landed a Cork 1080 in a lightening fast run that lasted less than 24 seconds.

The slick performance earned him a final score of 83.23, as he edged his Canadian rival.

Wallberg’s win, four years after he was 21st at Pyeongchang 2018, was a surprise as Kingsbury, the most decorated moguls skier in history, was tipped to extend his winning streak.

Ursa Bogataj sent Slovenia into raptures when she won the women’s normal hill ski-jump gold, with compatriot Nika Kriznar claiming bronze as Germany’s Katharina Althaus had to settle for silver as she did four years ago.

No Slovenian had previously won an Olympic ski jumping gold, though Peter Prevc claimed silver and bronze in Sochi in 2014, the year the women’s event was added to the programme.

Bogataj nailed her second jump and joined her team mates in an anxious huddle as Althaus prepared to launch.

The German delivered a clean, long effort but it fell just short in points.

A blistering skiing display by Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe brought his team back form the dead as they claimed victory in a thrilling sprint finish to win the gold medal in the 4x6km mixed biathlon relay.

France took silver, nine-tenths of a second behind the Norwegians, with the Russian Olympic Committee team winning bronze, a further six-tenths of a second off the pace.

Boe’s brilliance allowed Norway to overcome some minor disasters as they seemed to set themselves up for victory only to throw the chance away before he rescued them at the end.

A superb display of shooting allowed Eduard Latypov to maintain a lead for the Russians as many others struggled, but Boe’s blistering power put Norway back in the mix ahead of the last lap behind the French in third place.

The Norwegian closed the gap and then decided to bide his time before accelerating into the home stretch to blast past his opponents, triumphantly punching the air as he crossed the line.

Dutchwoman Irene Schouten won gold in the women’s 3000m speed skating, coming from behind with her skating pair in the latter half of the race to extend her winning streak this season.

She finished the race with an Olympic record of three minutes 56.93 seconds

Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida, who had led in the early stages of the final race, could not hold on to her lead and ended just over a second behind Schouten, winning silver.

Schouten’s time bettered the mark of 3.57.70 that Claudia Pechstein skated to win 3,000m gold at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.

Germany’s Pechstein, competing at a record-equalling eighth Winter Olympics at the age of 49, finished 20th and last, but became the oldest female Winter Olympian.