Olympics Overnight: Speedskater Blondin wins silver in the mass start, Bowman narrowly misses podium in halfpipe skiing, Jamaica returns to bobsled track

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This article was published 19/02/2022 (1299 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 Star-related Winter Games content, visit our Olympics page here.

Good morning from snowy Toronto! We’re less than 24 hours away from the closing ceremonies, but there is still plenty of action left in Beijing.

Overnight, speedskater Ivanie Blondin nabbed a silver medal in the mass start, pushing Canada’s medal total to 25 (4G, 8S and 13B). That’s just four fewer than Canada’s haul in Pyeongchang.

Skier Noah Bowman of Calgary finished narrowly missed the podium in the men’s halfpipe for the third straight Olympics.

Meanwhile, Sweden took gold in the men’s curling and Jamaica returned to the four-man bobsled event after 24 years.

Here’s a roundup of highlights and key results from Day 15.

Blondin nearly steals gold in mass start

What a race!

After 16 breakneck laps in the women’s mass start speedskating event, the race culminated in a nail-biting sprint to the finish between Canada’s Ivanie Blondin and Irene Schouten of the Netherlands.

Schouten crossed the line six-hundredths of a second before Blondin to claim her third gold of the Winter Games (those Dutch skaters are machines on ice!)

Blondin, a 31-year-old from Ottawa, now has two medals, after winning gold in the team pursuit with Isabelle Weidemann and Valerie Maltais earlier this week.

Here’s what Blondin had to say after the race:

Meanwhile, in the men’s mass start, Bart Swings of Belgium won gold, with South Korean skaters Chung Jae-Won and Lee Seung-Hoon taking silver and bronze.Toronto’s Jordan Belchos was 13th and Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que., came in 15th.

Read more on Blondin’s silver from the Star’s Bruce Arthur.

Noah Bowman barely misses the podium in men’s halfpipe

Skiing in his third Olympics, Calgary’s Noah Bowman threw down some impressive runs despite tough conditions in the pipe:

Unfortunately, Bowman just missed the podium, finishing in a respectable (but also heartbreaking) fourth place behind New Zealand’s Nico Porteus (gold), and U.S. skiers David Wise (silver) and Alex Ferreira (bronze).

“It’s definitely tough,” Bowman, who finished fifth in both the 2014 and 2018 Winter Games. “I was here to give it everything I had and I can confidently say I did that. So I’m proud of myself but it’s really hard to be here and off the podium again.”

Canada eyes podium finish in four-man bobsled

Who doesn’t love a bit of bobsled action?

On Saturday in Yanqing, Canada’s Justin Kripps — sliding with teammates Ryan Sommer Cam Stones and Benjamin Coakwell — laid down a two-run time of 1:57:38. That time was good enough to place them in third midway through the event.

“It was pretty good execution. The boys pushed well, loaded clean and drove pretty well, so I was pretty happy,” Kripps told the Canadian Press. “(We’re) going to look to come out and do the same thing tomorrow (Sunday).”

Kripps will be chasing two German sleds in the final, which will take place at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Throwback to Calgary ‘88

Speaking of bobsled, the Jamaican team — Shanwayne Stephens, Rolando Reid, Ashley Watson and Matthew Wekpe — made their first Olympic appearance in 24 years.

Ahead of their second run, Jamaica’s coach Pat Brown was spotted wearing a t-shirt from the Calgary Winter Olympics, where the team made their debut back in 1988 (inspiring the beloved film “Cool Runnings.”)

Jamaica finished in 28th.

Gold for Sweden in men’s curling

Led by Niklas Edin, Sweden defeated Great Britain in a tight match to capture gold in men’s curling. An impressive feat for Edin, who won bronze in 2014 and silver in 2018.

Meanwhile, Brad Gushue and the boys received their bronze medals. Well done, fellas!

American figure skaters want their medals as doping controversy continues

Last week — which feels like a decade ago — the Russian team took gold in the figure skating team event. A couple of days later, 15-year old Kamila Valieva tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Soon after, the International Olympic Committee said it would not award medals in any events in which she finished among the top three.

But the U.S. figure skaters, who came in second place, are hoping to receive their medals before leaving Beijing.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed to The Associated Press that it was hearing the case Saturday evening in Beijing and expected a rapid ruling.

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Soundtracked by M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” Team Canada’s speedskating team took a celebratory slide down the ski slopes.

More Canadian results

• In the two-woman bobsled, Canada’s Christine de Bruin and brakewoman Kristen Bujnowski, who entered the final heats in fourth place, dropped one spot to fifth. Fellow Canadians Cynthia Appiah and Dawn Richardson Wilson finished eighth despite flipping their sled on the final corner of their third run and crossing the finish on their side.

• In the pairs figure skating, Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro finished in 10th, while Eric Radford and Vanessa James were 12th. Sui Wenjing and Han Cong captured the Olympic gold medal that eluded them by a razor-thin margin four years ago, edging Russian rivals Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov by less than a point.

• Olivier Léveillé finished 27th and Rémi Drolet was 35th in the weather-shortened men’s 30 km freestyle cross-country ski race.

Looking forward

• Canada expected to announce its flagbearer at 8 p.m. ET.

• Alpine skiing mixed team competing in 1/8 Finals, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

• Justin Kripps pushing for bronze in final two runs of four-man bobsled, starting at 8:30 p.m. ET.

• Closing ceremonies on Sunday at 7 a.m. ET.

The Star in Beijing:

Bruce Arthur: ‘I’m a fighter’: Canadian speedskater Ivanie Blondin pulls herself out of dark hole and captures Olympic silver in mass start

Dave Feschuk: In 2018, the Canadian women had to finally admit they were No. 2 in hockey. Here’s how they got back to Olympic gold

Rosie DiManno: Cassie Sharpe, Rachael Karker give Canada two more medals in the halfpipe

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Bruce Arthur: Speedskater Laurent Dubreuil goes the distance for silver after narrow miss earlier in Beijing

Medal count

Canada currently has 25 medals: 4 gold, 8 silver and 13 bronze.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Richie Assaly is a Toronto-based digital producer for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @rdassaly