BOBSLED
Ukrainian positive for steriod
The International Testing Agency says Ukrainian bobsledder Lidiia Hunko has tested positive for an anabolic steroid at the Beijing Games. The ITA says she failed a drug test after competing Monday. She placed 20th in women's monobob. Hunko is the third athlete to test positive for doping at the Beijing Olympics and the second from Ukraine, after cross-country skier Valnetyna Kaminska. All three ITA cases in Beijing have detected a steroid. The 28-year-old Hunko placed second in the 2016 World's Strongest Woman contest, according to her official Beijing Olympics athlete biography.
FIGURE SKATING
Judges slam officials
The judges who let Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva compete at the Beijing Olympics despite a positive test for a banned substance blamed anti-doping officials for a "failure to function effectively." The Court of Arbitration for Sport, in a newly published 41-page document explaining their decision, cited an "untenable delay" at the testing laboratory in Sweden. It meant Valieva's positive test for a heart medication was only revealed during the Olympics despite her urine sample arriving in Stockholm on Dec. 29. The lab's staffing was affected by the covid-19 pandemic. Her lawyers suggested she was contaminated because her grandfather uses the banned heart medication she tested positive for. The judges' full verdict was published early Friday, hours after the 15-year-old Valieva's mistake-filled free skate dropped her from the lead to finish fourth in the Olympic women's individual event.
CURLING
U.S. men fall in semis
The U.S. men's curling team's bid for a second gold medal ended Thursday after an 8-4 loss in the semifinal to Britain. Four years ago in South Korea, the team won the gold medal -- the first ever in the sport for the United States, which had never been known as a curling powerhouse. That electrifying victory raised the profile of the team and the stakes for its Olympic return. The United States managed a 5-4 record in the round robin, good for fourth place and a semifinal berth. But it could not get past top-seeded Britain. It will still have a chance to play for a bronze medal against Canada today.
SKIING
No medal for Shiffrin
Mikaela Shiffrin arrived in the mountains above Beijing heavily favored to add to her career haul of two gold medals and one silver. After entering all the individual events, she was a startling 0 for 5 with three DNFs -- Did Not Finish. Among the races she skied out of were her two best events, the giant slalom and the slalom. The two times she made it all the way down the course, she finished ninth in the super-G and 18th in the downhill. She had a promising run in the downhill leg of the combined, but then she missed a gate and fell just seconds into the slalom run. Shiffrin sat for a few moments in the snow alongside the course. When she eventually got up, she shook her head, then looked up at the hill. "I'm certainly questioning a lot," Shiffrin said. "I'm really disappointed. And I'm really frustrated." Shiffrin has said she plans to appear in a sixth race on Saturday, a team event that was added to the Olympics four years ago. Michelle Gisin defended her gold medal, making Switzerland the first country to win five Alpine golds at one Olympics.
SPEEDSKATING
U.S. earns bronze in 1,000
Miho Takagi of Japan won the women's 1,000 meters for her fourth speedskating medal of the Beijing Games and the first individual gold of her career. Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands won the silver while Brittany Bowe of the United States claimed the bronze for her first individual career medal.