Hello from Milan and Cortina, where Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won gold in the men’s giant slalom, making history for all of South America. Plus, American Jordan Stolz continued his march toward potentially winning four speedskating medals at these Games.
Our correspondents have it all covered below and at NBC News. Catch it all streaming on Peacock.
Live from Milan Cortina
In Jordan Stolz’s quest for four speedskating gold medals at these Olympics, he was supposed to face his toughest test today in the 500-meter final. In his pair, Stolz was matched with the Netherlands’ Jenning de Boo, one of his top competitors.
It didn’t matter.
Stolz sprinted to a time of 33.77 seconds, and de Boo ended up 0.11 seconds behind.
After they crossed the finish line, de Boo slipped and slid into a boundary. He sat on the ice as Stolz took a lap and waved to the crowd.
Stolz is now 2 for 2 at these Games. A few days ago, he won gold and set an Olympic record at the 1,000-meter final. He will race in the 1500-meter final and the mass start event next week.
Also: Team USA men’s hockey overcame an early deficit and eventually overpowered Denmark, winning 6-3.
On the slopes, Jaelin Kauf became the most decorated mogul skier in U.S. Olympic history today when she took second in the debut of dual moguls to Australia’s Jakara Anthony. It was the third Olympic silver medal of Kauf’s career, and she wasn’t the only American to medal, as Liz Lemley took bronze. Lemley had won the individual moguls gold medal just days earlier.
Yesterday, in men’s curling, a shouting match erupted after Team Sweden accused Canada of cheating for allegedly touching the stone after it’d been released. World Curling issued a verbal warning to Team Canada “regarding the language used” as it defended itself.
Athlete Spotlight
When it came to earning medals at the Winter Olympics, athletes from South American countries had gone 0 for 102 years.
Until Saturday.
After Lucas Pinheiro Braathen of Brazil won the men’s giant slalom, he said he hoped the win would “inspire some kids out there that, despite what they wear, despite how they look, despite where they come from, they can follow their own dreams and be who they really are. Because that is the real source of happiness in life.”
Pinheiro Braathen grew up in Oslo, Norway, to a Norwegian father and a Brazilian mother. He skied for Norway until he retired three years ago at 23. But after taking a trip to Brazil to decompress, he came away resolved to return to competitive skiing while representing his mother’s home country. It turned out to be a historic decision.
“I’m not even able to grasp reality, as I stand here right now,” he said after winning his first Olympic medal. “I am just trying to get some sort of emotion here and translate it into words, even though it’s absolutely impossible.”
Behind the scenes
Broadcasting these Winter Olympics requires more than 800 cameras, but 25 have stolen the show in Milan Cortina, in particular.
Welcome to the drone Olympics, where 25 drones — including 15 “first-person-view” drones — are providing bird’s-eye views of skiers, speedskaters, lugers and more, footage that has drawn rave reviews from fans and some athletes. Pilots such as Jelmer Poelsma, a 26-year-old who has been flying drones for 11 years, have become as popular as some athletes. Like the rest of the pilots who operate 15 “first-person-view” drones, Poelsma wears goggles while sitting next to a spotter who ensures the drone never gets too close to the athletes.
“There is no room for error,” Poelsma said.
The drones are specialized for the sport they cover; those used in Alpine skiing can fly up to 75 mph. For safety, they must be flown behind or to the side of competitors. Swapping batteries requires a quick change that one broadcast executive likened to an F1 pit stop. Drones have been used in Olympic coverage since 2014, but their expanded use in Italy stemmed from organizers’ desire to capture the attention of casual sports fans they say make up half the viewing audience.
“We use a technological innovation,” said Yiannis Exarchos, the CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services, “only if it adds to the story that we’re telling.”
Photo of the day
When to watch
Mikaela Shiffrin looks to rebound after a disappointing run earlier in the Games when she competes in women’s giant slalom. Erin Jackson looks to defend her title in the 500 meters, competing against the Dutch duo of Jutta Leerdam and Femke Kok among others. Elana Meyers Taylor, the most decorated female bobsledder and Black Winter Olympian ever, will officially compete in her fifth Olympics when she takes part in women’s monobob.
All times are in Eastern, and an asterisk signifies a medal event:
Sunday, Feb. 15
- 3:05 a.m.: Curling, men’s round-robin (USA vs. Sweden, Germany vs. Great Britain, Norway vs. Italy)
- 4 a.m.: Alpine skiing, women’s giant slalom run 1
- 4 a.m.: Bobsled, women’s monobob heat 1
- 4:30 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, men’s dual moguls 1/16 finals
- 5 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, men’s dual moguls 1/8 finals
- 5:15 a.m.: Biathlon, men’s 12.5km pursuit
- 5:20 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, men’s dual moguls quarterfinals
- 5:35 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, men’s dual moguls semifinals
- 5:46 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, men’s dual moguls finals*
- 5:50 a.m.: Bobsled, women’s monobob heat 2
- 6 a.m.: Cross-country skiing, men’s 4×7.5km relay*
- 6:10 a.m.: Men’s hockey, Switzerland vs. Czechia
- 7:30 a.m.: Alpine skiing, women’s giant slalom run 2*
- 7:45 a.m.: Snowboarding, mixed team cross quarterfinals
- 8:05 a.m.: Curling, women’s round-robin (Japan vs. Korea, Denmark vs. Italy, Great Britain vs. Sweden, USA vs. China)
- 8:15 a.m.: Snowboarding, mixed team cross semifinals
- 8:35 a.m.: Snowboarding, mixed team cross finals*
- 8:45 a.m.: Biathlon, women’s 10km pursuit
- 10 a.m.: Speedskating, men’s team pursuit quarterfinals
- 10:40 a.m.: Men’s hockey, Canada vs. France
- 11:03 a.m.: Speedskating, women’s 500 meters*
- 12 p.m.: Skeleton, mixed team*
- 12:45 p.m.: Ski jumping, women’s large hill individual round 1
- 1:05 p.m.: Curling, men’s round-robin (China vs. Canada, USA vs. Norway, Italy vs. Czechia, Great Britain vs. Switzerland)
- 1:30 p.m.: Freestyle skiing, men’s freeski big air qualification 1
- 1:45 p.m.: Figure skating, pair skating short program
- 1:57 p.m.: Ski jumping, women’s large hill individual final round*
- 2:15 p.m.: Freestyle skiing, men’s freeski big air qualification 2
- 3 p.m.: Freestyle skiing, men’s freeski big air qualification 3
- 3:10 p.m.: Men’s hockey, USA vs. Germany
- That’s it for now! We’ll be back tomorrow.
