Skiing

Skiing

When Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics, Deer Valley was at the heart of the action - and in 2034 it will once again take centre stage as the venue for freestyle moguls and aerials. Today, guests at The St. Regis Deer Valley can connect directly to that Olympic legacy through an exclusive partnership with the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation.

So many athletes compete for a different country. People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So it's not really about what they think it's about.

Italy's finest ski resorts are often overshadowed by their French and Swiss equivalents. Pity really, as their piste-side rifugi lunches are a divine alchemy of Mediterranean and Alpine cuisine, their hotels, chalets, sunny terrace lunches and ski passes sit at a more civilised price point than the wildly expensive Swiss and French resorts, and their well-connected ski areas wiggle across great swathes of map.

Four years ago at Beijing 2022, Daniela Maier of Germany and Fanny Smith of Switzerland were the unwilling protagonists of a convoluted medal dispute. Smith had crossed the finish line in third ahead of Maier in fourth. But the race jury flipped the result after ruling Smith had interfered with Maier, despite both skiers disagreeing. Smith appealed against the jury's decision to the court of arbitration for sport (Cas), which overruled the officials' decision and deemed that bronze medals should be awarded to both skiers.

I'm feeling unbelievable. I'm so excited. Really, really grateful to be here and to make the finals is a cherry on top for me. I'm officially an Olympian and officially a finalist as well, which is just mind-blowing.

Thanks to the millions of baby boomers hitting retirement age, powder hounds in their 60s and 70s (and beyond) are an increasingly common sight on the slopes. In contrast to the popular stereotype of sun-seeking snowbirds, many older adults head straight to their favorite mountain each year when winter hits. But it turns out some ski resorts are better than others when it comes to catering to senior skiers' needs.

It could be the last Olympics for a sport that mixes the grace of ski jumping with the grind of cross-country skiing. Nordic combined events at the Milan Cortina Games ended Thursday. And the International Olympic Committee is considering scrapping it from future Games because of a small TV audience and podium positions dominated by a tiny group of nations.

If a dog could compete in the Winter Olympics, which disciplines would it be best at? This age-old question took on new relevance Wednesday, when a Czechoslovakian wolfdog dashed onto the cross-country skiing course during the women's team sprint qualifiers. "So I'm going to say that it's domesticated. Wants to enjoy the finish as well," said commentator Duane Dell'Oca as the canine interloper, a local pooch named Nazgul, raced Croatia's Tena Hadzic and Australia's Phoebe Cridland across the finish line.

The pants have achieved cult status in curling circles, with a Facebook page titled The Norwegian Olympic Curling Team's Pants boasting more than 360,000 followers. Asked what it was about the pants that captivated fans, Ramsfjell said: It's something about curling being a bit silly, and then people showing up looking a bit silly. I feel like it's a perfect synergy.

Switzerland's men have dominated the ski slopes of Milano Cortina. Not since the super-G and the team combined were added to the Olympic programme in 1988 has one country won four of the five events a feat achieved with Loic Meillard's victory in the slalom on Monday. Only Brazil managed to stop them in these Games. Franjo von Allmen has been their undisputed star, heading home with three golds in his hand luggage.

But there's also the matter of making sure one's equipment is up to snuff - and, beginning with this year's Winter Olympics, that means not having any PFAS, or "forever chemicals," in the mix. What happens if a competitor does turn out to have such chemicals in their equipment? They'll find themselves disqualified. As GearJunkie's Mary Andino reports, three skiiers have been disqualified so far due to their use of fluorocarbon wax, also known as "fluoro wax."

Levito and the United States' "Blade Angels" are trying to stay calm under pressure at the Olympics, where chaos has reigned at Milano Ice Skating Arena. The United States was expected to dominate figure skating in Milan, but has yet to win a gold medal in an individual event entering Tuesday's women's short program. A supposed sure-fire gold medal disappeared in stunning fashion with Ilia Malinin's eighth-place collapse.

The Italian biathlete Rebecca Passler rejoined her team at the Winter Olympics on Monday after a successful appeal against a suspension handed out before the Milano Cortina Games for an alleged doping violation. Passler began training in the bright sunshine at the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena on Monday afternoon, firing off shots in bunches of five on the range as her coaches watched intently.