Olympics Overnight: Canadian speedskaters Bloemen, Fish fade in 10,000 metres, U.S. snowboarding legend Shaun White bids tearful farewell

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/02/2022 (1306 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rise and shine, Olympics fans. Here’s what you missed overnight and need to know about the 2022 Beijing Olympics this morning.

For all the Winter Games content, visit our Olympics page here.

“Thank you, snowboarding. It’s been my life.”

There were tears in Beijing Friday as American snowboarder Shaun White bid adieu to the sport he helped push into the mainstream in the early 2000s. And while the three-time Olympic snowboarding halfpipe gold medallist wasn’t standing on the podium in his fifth and final Winter Games, a tearful farewell following his fourth-place performance generated an outpouring of support from fellow boarders and fans alike.

Meanwhile, it was relatively quiet overnight for the Canadians after a four-medal day on Thursday. Speedskater Ted-Jan Bloemen, the defending Olympic champion in the 10,000-metre, struggled to keep up and faded to finish in eighth place, while teammate Graeme Fish finished a commendable sixth.

Also, Jennifer Jones and the women’s curling team lost in a shocker to Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa. It was the 2014 Olympic champion’s first loss ever at a Games.

Here’s what else you missed overnight at Day 7 of the Beijing Olympics:

Bloemen runs out of gas

At first, it seemed like speedskater Ted-Jan Bloemen had a shot at reaching the podium.

But as the 10,000-metre event went on, the 35-year-old Bloemen, who won a silver and a gold in 2018, seemed to just not have it in him. He finished eighth despite high expectations leading into these Games. He had also faded in the 5,000 metres, finishing tenth.

Bloemen’s 24-year-old teammate Graeme Fish finished sixth in the event while Sweden’s Nils van der Poel won gold — his second in Beijing — in 12 minutes 30.74 seconds, breaking his own world record.

White hangs up the board, plus halfpipe judging drama

It may have not been finish he was hoping for, but Shaun White is still leaving competitive snowboarding as a legend. After falling in his final run, White finished in fourth, but as he made his way down the halfpipe, the crowd cheered and a number of his Olympic counterparts lined up to hug him.

“I wanted it,” White said, according to the Associated Press. “My legs were giving out on me every hit.”

Ayumu Hirano of Japan won the gold, but not without some controversy from the judges. In his second run, Hirano pulled off an impressive and dangerous triple cork, but wasn’t rewarded by the judges, sparking boos from the crowd and shock from announcers.

A crisis was averted when Hirano — a two-time silver medallist— simply did it again in the third run, which helped push him into first place. Scotty James of Australia got the silver and Jan Scherrer of Switzerland took bronze.

Well, this is a first

Skipper Jennifer Jones has never been in the losing column before at an Olympics, but there were no bad feelings between the Canadians and the Japanese team that handed them that loss in the curling round-robin play Friday.

According to the Canadian Press, Team Japan member Chinami Yoshida told the 47-year-old Jones that she was her “idol” as the two embraced following the match.

Canada has plenty of chances to make it up as they sit 1-1 in the tournament. They face Sweden next.

Claude Julien opens up about injury

When it comes to the Canadian men’s hockey team’s coaching situation, there’s been bit of confusion. Just weeks before the Olympic Games were set to begin, Julien was injured in what was originally called a “team-building exercise” in Switzerland.

The injury was serious enough to hand the head coaching reins to Jeremy Colliton for a few weeks, but just before Canada’s opening match against Germany, Julien reappeared in Beijing and took the head coaching job back.

Then Julien spilled the beans on what really happened.

“We went sledding,” he told the Canadian Press. “It was icy, slid off the trail there with the sled, ended up hitting a tree, and fracturing the ribs.”

The broken ribs then punctured one of his lungs, therefore prolonging the recovery time. But Julien’s brushing it off now, and is back leading Team Canada, hopefully, to the podium.

Decision on doping

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s right to continue competing at the Olympics will be decided at an emergency hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday. The 15-year-old had tested positive for a banned heart medication.

Valieva is part of the Russian team that originally won gold at the mixed team figure skating event. If Russia is disqualified, then fourth-place Canada will be boosted to a bronze.

Other Canadian results:

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

• In women’s Super G, Marie-Michèle Gagnon finished 14th and Roni Remme 24th.

• In men’s 15-km cross-country classic, Olivier Leveille was 29th, Remi Drolet 33rd and Antoine Cyr 37th.

Justin Smirlies is a Star digital producer based in Toronto. Reach him via email: jsmirlies@thestar.ca