Japan’s defending champion Yuzuru Hanyu produced a stunning short programme to lead the men’s figure skating as Mikaela Shiffrin’s bid to retain her slalom title started with her vomiting and ended in heartbreak at the Pyeongchang Olympics yesterday.
On a day of mixed fortunes for the biggest stars in Pyeongchang, fans looking for unlikely heroes found them in an array of colourful characters who came last but not least on a day that gave true meaning to the Olympic spirit.
None of them had aspirations for multiple gold medals like ski ace Shiffrin. She won the giant slalom gold on Thursday but finished fourth in her strongest discipline yesterday after vomiting at the start gate and initially complaining of virus-like symptoms.
After the race was won by Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter, the 22-year-old Shiffrin said that she was pulling out of today’s super-G. The Olympics in South Korea has been victim of a health scare with more than 200 people falling victim to a debilitating norovirus, including two Swiss athletes.
Initially Shiffrin said the vomiting “almost felt like a virus kind of puking”, but later she said that she was well and had been scratching around for an excuse for her below-par performance. On a day of drama, when South Korea won a lunar new year’s gold in the skeleton, Norway’s dominance in alpine skiing’s men’s super-G came to an abrupt end. Norway have won every Olympic title in men’s super-G since the 2002 Games.
But this time the prize went to Austria’s Matthias Mayer, the downhill winner in Sochi four years ago, with Norway’s best finisher, the defending champion Kjetil Jansrud, taking a disappointing bronze medal. Switzerland’s Beat Feuz took silver.
 
Hanyu flawless
In figure skating, Japan’s Hanyu was peerless, dispelling fears that an ankle injury which has kept him out of competition since November would dent his title chances.
He will take a hefty four-point lead into today’s decisive free skating as arch-rival Nathan Chen’s challenge came unstuck in spectacular fashion.
“I just felt happy to skate and be on the ice again,” Hanyu told reporters. “I’m satisfied with every element and I’m really happy because I was really the feeling the music. I just thought to do my best. I wanted to say to everyone ‘I’m back’.”
Six-time European champion Javier Fernandez of Spain leads the pack chasing after Hanyu. “I’m very happy that I skated with no elements I wasn’t satisfied with,” said the 23-year-old star, who has a cult following home in Japan.
Korean new year celebrations, which open yesterday, were given a timely boost with a second gold medal of the Games for the hosts. Skeleton speedster Yun Sung-bin dominated the day on the icy chute to win Asia’s first medal ever in the daredevil event.
Roared on by a vocal home crowd, the 23-year-old stormed to a popular victory with plenty to spare over Nikita Tregubov, who took silver as a so-called Olympic Athlete from Russia. Dom Parsons took bronze, Britain’s first men’s skeleton medal in 70 years.
Ghanaian no-hoper Akwasi Frimpong finished last in the event, but got a big cheer and celebrated just as hard. “I came last but the most important thing is that I won the hearts of the people,” said Frimpong, who finished 30th out of 30.
Other losers emerged as unlikely heroes, notably in cross country skiing where Tonga’s Pita Taufatofua, the country’s half-naked flag-bearer at the opening ceremony, kept his clothes on in the gruelling 15km cross country race.
Taufatofua finished 114th out of 116. Bringing up the rear was Mexican German Madrazo, 43, who skied over the line waving a Mexican flag and beaming widely despite his exhaustion and lowly position. The United States and Olympic Athletes from Russia rebounded from upset losses with men’s Hockey triumphs yesterday, adding to the tension of their today’s showdown.
Ryan Donato, a 21-year-old Harvard University forward and son of a 1992 Olympian, scored two power-play goals in a 2-1 US victory over Slovakia, following Wednesday’s over-time loss to Slovenia.