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Pyeongchang 2018: Freestyle skier wins bronze, Team Canada nets 4-0 hockey win against Korea
PYEONGCHANG 2018

Feb. 18, 2018: Kim Wonjung of South Korea in hockey action with Wojciech Wolski of Canada.

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Latest news

For the most recent Olympic guide, please go here.

  • Canada’s men’s ice hockey team beat the Olympic host nation, South Korea, in a 4-0 round-robin game on Sunday.
  • The Canadian men’s bobsleigh team sped off to a solid start Sunday in its first two runs in the two-man competition. Pilot Justin Kripps’s sled came in second, while Chris Spring and Nick Poloniato’s sleds tied for 10th.
  • A Russian athlete at the Games is suspected of a doping violation, according to reports from Reuters and Russian news agency TASS. More than 160 Russians are competing under strict conditions after Moscow was penalized for widespread doping at the 2014 Sochi Games.
  • Canada’s Alex Beaulieu-Marchand notched a bronze medal in the men’s freestyle skiing slopestyle event on Sunday.
  • After losing her first three games, Canadian curler Rachel Homan continued her turnaround performance, beating Switzerland 10-8. On the men’s side, Kevin Koe fell to 4-2 in the round robin after an 8-6 loss to the Swiss. The Globe and Mail’s Cathal Kelly asks whether Canada is doing all it can to stay ahead of the competition in a sport where Canadians have dominated for so long.
  • There have been death threats directed towards athletes at the Olympic Games, including Canada’s Kim Boutin. Nathan VanderKlippe reports that behind the threats exists a South Korean fan culture that takes speed skating seriously.

What you missed

Freestyle skiing (Men's slopestyle)

Canada's Alex Beaulieu-Marchand won a bronze medal in the men's freestyle skiing slopestyle event. Oystein Braaten of Norway established his dominance early on with a 95 in his first run to win gold. Nick Goepper, a bronze medalist at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, finished in second. Beaulieu-Marchand, a Quebec City native, vaulted into second with a 92.40 with his second run but was pushed down by Goepper.

Alex Beaulieu-Marchand of Canada competes during the Freestyle Skiing Men’s Ski Slopestyle Final on day nine of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park on February 18, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.

Bobsleigh (Two-man bobsleigh runs 1-2)

The Canadian men's bobsleigh team got to work with the first two runs in the two-man competition. Pilot Justin Kripps's sled came in second, while Chris Spring and Nick Poloniato's sleds tied for 10th. After being shut out of the medals four years ago in Sochi, the team left nothing to chance in the leadup to Pyeongchang, even enrolling Kripps and Spring in golf lessons with the aim of sharpening focus and improving mental toughness. Both drivers have had outstanding World Cup seasons and are among the medal contenders.

Interactive: How mental preparation is key to Olympic sledding sports

Nothing can compare to an actual run down the course, but luge, bobsleigh and skeleton athletes lean on mental visualizations as a means of practice ahead of race day.

Men's ice hockey (Canada vs. South Korea)

There was plenty of Canadian flavour on both sides of the ice when Team Canada played host South Korea in the men's hockey round robin, defeating them 4-0. Six members of the Korean side are Canadians who play in domestic pro leagues. Coach Jim Paek is Korean-born but was raised in Canada. It was the first time South Korea has ever iced a team at the Winter Olympics.

Curling (Men's and women's round robin)

Canadian curler Kevin Koe fell to 4-2 at the Winter Olympics after an 8-6 loss to Switzerland. It was the Calgary skip's second straight defeat in the tournament after a 5-2 loss to Sweden on Saturday. Benoit Schwarz, Switzerland's vice skip who throws fourth, scored four points in the opening end for a commanding early lead. Although Koe came back with a deuce in the second end, the Swiss kept adding to their lead with the Canadians unable to gain any ground.

Canadian curler Rachel Homan came from behind to defeat Swiss skip Silvana Tirinzoni to improve to 2-3. Homan and her Ottawa rink have struggled to find their groove at the tournament but scored four points in the last two ends to defeat Switzerland 10-8 in a clutch finish. Tirinzoni missed both of her shots in the ninth and Homan delivered a hit to move into the lead. The Swiss skip was heavy with her final throw in the 10th to give Canada a point and the victory.

Canada’s skip Kevin Koe throws a stone during a men’s curling match against at Switzerland the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018.

Cross-country skiing (Men's 4x10km)

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo secured a majestic victory in the men's 4x10km relay with a stunning late spurt as Norway won their fifth gold in eight cross-country skiing competitions. The lead changed hands several times during a thrilling final lap as the Norwegian battled it out with Denis Spitsov, representing the Olympic Athletes from Russia who took silver 9.4 seconds behind, with France nabbing the bronze. Canada finished in ninth with a time of 1:36:45.9, 3:41 behind the Norwegians.

What's coming up

All times Eastern

  • 7:05 p.m. Feb. 18: Curling (Women’s round robin)
  • 8:00 p.m. Feb. 18: Figure skating (Ice dancing short dance)
  • 12:05 a.m. Feb. 19: Curling (Men’s round robin)
  • 6:00 a.m. Feb. 19: Speed skating (Women’s team pursuit qualifications, Men’s 500m)
  • 6:15 a.m. Feb. 19: Bobsleigh (Two-man bobsleigh runs 3-4)
  • 7:10 a.m. Feb. 19: Women’s ice hockey semifinals (Canada vs. Olympic Athletes of Russia)

In case you missed it

More from The Globe

  • How did Team Canada do in 3-2 shootout loss against the Czech Republic? ‘Real good’ is a stretch, coach, writes Cathal Kelly
  • At Pyeongchang Games, Patrick Chan makes graceful exit from a figure-skating world that’s left him behind, Grant Robertson writes
  • ’Un-cool Runnings’: The bizarre story of Jamaica’s bobsleigh team, an ex-coach and Red Stripe beer, Nathan VanderKlippe reports

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With files from Canadian Press