Norway nabbed the first gold medal of the Winter Games on Saturday as the politics dominating the Beijing Olympics began to make room for the snowy feats of the world's best athletes.
Norwegian Therese Johaug powered to victory to take the gold medal in the women's skiathlon race, well ahead of Russian Natalia Nepryaeva and Austria's Teresa Stadlober, who snagged the bronze medal.
Further back in 43rd place was Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a 20-year-old cross-country skier whose role as a final torchbearer for China in the opening ceremony continued to make waves.
The selection of Yilamujiang, from Altay in China's western Xinjiang region, as one of two final torchbearers came as many western nations diplomatically boycotted the Games over China's treatment of Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minority groups. China rejects allegations of human rights abuses.
The International Olympic Committee on Saturday insisted Yilamujiang's ethnicity had nothing to do with her selection.
"She has every right, wherever she comes from, whatever her background, to compete... and to take part in any ceremony," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams.
Chinese president Xi Jinping, who triumphantly opened the Games on Friday night in a partially-filled Bird's Nest stadium, continued his diplomatic push on the Games' sidelines.
GROUNDBREAKING ALLIANCE
The day after forming a groundbreaking alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin against the West, Xi met with leaders of Serbia, Egypt, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan ahead of a Lunar New Year-themed banquet at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.
Toasting his fellow leaders, Xi expressed "heartfelt thanks to all governments, peoples and international organisations who care about and support the Beijing Winter Olympics."
It was unclear if Putin had attended the lunch, or if he would watch any competition before leaving Beijing. Women hockey players from the Russian Olympic Committee were due to play the United States later on Saturday night.
In a stunning collision of sports and politics not seen since the Cold War era, Xi and Putin on Friday declared a no-limit partnership on the sidelines of the Games, backing each other over Ukraine and Taiwan and inking new deals on energy and trade.
Taiwan condemned the 'contemptible' timing of the partnership, while the United States said Xi had wasted an opportunity to take action on Ukraine.
Beijing's slopes were not without their own controversy. Switzerland's Marco Odermatt hit out at Olympic ski organisers after Saturday's downhill training was cancelled with just three runners having completed the course.
COVID CASES
The number of cases of COVID-19 cases inside the Games bubble hit the second highest since arrivals began after 45 new cases were detected on Feb. 4. Organisers said the situation was under control and cases were confined to a 'closed loop'.
The 2022 Winter Games are being held in Beijing in extraordinary circumstances with metal fences, robot bartenders, workers in hazmat suits and strict mask policies meant to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
At least one athlete said he was determined to make the most of it.
American snowboarder Shaun White, who became the face of the sport, winning three gold medals, said on Saturday the Beijing Olympics would be his last snowboarding competition and that he would retire from all contests.
White, 35, said he was "enjoying every moment" of his final Olympics in Beijing.
White said he had decided to retire recently, during a quiet moment when he got lost and had to take a chair-lift over an empty mountain by himself.
"I was watching ... the sun go down and it just hit me," he said.
"It was very sad and a surreal moment but really joyous as well," said White, adding that he "broke down" a little before calling his friends and family to tell them of his decision.
Schouten wins gold with Olympic record in women's 3,000m
Dutch speedskater Irene Schouten won gold in the women's 3,000 metres with an Olympic record at the Beijing Winter Games.
Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida, who led in the early stages of the final race, could not hold on to her advantage and finished with silver, while Isabelle Weidemann of Canada won the bronze.
Schouten's time of three minutes 56.93 seconds beat the Olympic record of 3:57.70 set by German Claudia Pechstein at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
Lollobrigida clocked 3:58.06 and Weidemann 3:58.64. World record holder Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic was fourth.
Pechstein became the oldest woman to compete at a Winter Olympics, at the age of 49, when she finished last in the 20-athlete field, at her eighth Olympics.
The 30-year-old Lollobrigida, a great-niece of 1950s and 1960s film star Gina Lollobrigida, kept a steady lead ahead of Schouten in the early stages as the pair glided around the National Speed Skating Oval.
Schouten, 29, never let the Italian stray too far and overtook her at the midway point of the race before crossing the line first to take the gold and the record.
Brilliant Boe bags mixed relay gold for Norway
Norway's Johannes Thingnes Boe came out of isolation to deliver a blistering skiing display that brought his team back from the dead as they claimed victory in a thrilling sprint finish to win the gold medal in Saturday's 4x6km mixed 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, but it was Boe's brilliance that won the day.
Allowed to train, but forced to isolate from his team mates due to him being a possible close contact of a COVID case, Boe laughed off the restrictions as he celebrated the win.
"I can train, and I can win gold for Norway," a beaming Boe told reporters, his second Olympic title after winning the 20km race at Pyeongchang 2018.
The close contact restrictions were still in place as the winners were presented with their bouquets of flowers, Boe standing apart from his team at the ceremony, just as he had stood out from the field half-an-hour earlier.
His brilliance allowed Norway to overcome some minor disasters as they seemed to set themselves up for victory only to seemingly throw the chance away before Boe rescued them at the end.
Norway's Marte Olsbu Roieseland survived trouble with her ski poles and rifle to build a lead of 21 seconds over the Italians at the first changeover, but Tiril Eckhoff let that slip with some wayward shots to allow Italy's Dorothea Wierer to cruise into first place.
In a topsy-turvy race, France held the advantage at the second changeover, closely followed by the Italians and Swedes as darkness closed in on the National Biathlon Centre.
With the flags fluttering in all directions in the swirling breeze, all three nations shot perfectly from the prone position to leave France's Emilien Jacquelin with a 22.7 second lead entering his second lap and the Norwegians far down the field.
Despite freezing temperatures, a pressure-cooker atmosphere was building inside the Biathlon Centre and it exploded in the form of Boe as he took over from his brother Tarjei for the final lap.
The 28-year-old Norwegian powerhouse 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.
Firestarter Fillier sets Canada on hot streak
Youth kept pace with experience on Team Canada this week, as 21-year-old forward Sarah Fillier made her presence felt at the Olympic women's ice hockey preliminary group round in Beijing.
The youngest woman to wear the maple leaf at the tournament is looking more like a veteran in her Olympic debut, putting the puck in the net four times in two games, including a pair in Canada's 11-1 slaughter of Finland on Saturday.
"I've wanted to be here for the past four years," said Fillier. "To be able to come out and just gel with my linemates right away and put some pucks in the back of the net is really special. It's just really cool to be here."
The Princeton Tiger scored Canada's opening two goals in their 12-1 trouncing of Switzerland on Thursday and roared past Finland's defences Saturday, scoring 61 seconds into the affair before landing a sublime backhanded goal in the second period.
The performances saw Fillier ascend to the top of the goal scoring standings along with compatriot and Pyeongchang competitor Laura Stacey, who scored twice on Saturday as well.
"(Thursday) she scored, you know, our first two goals and got us off to a hot start and I kind of joked with her in the locker room, like, 'Hey want to go out and score another goal in the first shift?' and she's like, 'Okay, first minute? Sure!' kind of just joking and then we went out and did it," said team mate Natalie Spooner, who recorded four assists on Saturday.
"Maybe I should keep challenging her to that every game."
The medal favourites are fighting to recapture gold after the United States won gold in Pyeongchang, ending Canada's reign of four straight Olympic titles.
Canada and the other four Group A teams – the top seeds in the event – are granted automatic entry to the quarter-finals per tournament rules along with the top three performers in Group B.
Canada next face the Russian Olympic Committee on Monday.
