Source : ABC NEWS
A petition to investigate the judging of the ice dance competition has been dismissed by the sport’s governing body, as two injured Australians are forced home from the Games.
Here are the quick hits from the Winter Olympics.
1. Skating union stands by judge’s controversial score
Earlier this week, France claimed ice dance gold in one of the most controversial moments of the Games so far.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron finished with an overall score of 225.82 in the free dance, with American silver medallists Madison Chock and Evan Bates hot on their heels with a total of 224.39.
The US felt aggrieved to miss out on a gold medal in the ice dance. (Getty Images: Matthew Stockman)
The French victory was heavily impacted by judge Jezabel Dabouis — who also happens to be French.
Despite a terrific dance from the Americans and a seemingly less than perfect dance from the French, Dabouis favoured her compatriots by a margin of almost eight points.
Without Dabouis’s score, the US figure skaters would have risen to the peak of the dais, with five of the nine judges favouring the Americans.
Since then, more than 10,000 people have signed a Change.org petition urging the International Skating Union (ISU) and the International Olympic Committee to investigate the result.
But yesterday the ISU threw cold water on any suggestion of judging dishonesty, saying it had “full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness”.
“It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations,” an ISU spokesperson said.
2. Two Aussies forced to return home
While the Aussie camp is still cheering loudly for Josie Baff and Cooper Woods, it’s a different story for two of their peers.
Australian team officials confirmed Daisy Thomas had to make the difficult decision to withdraw from the freeski big air competition after consultation with her coach and the Australian Olympic medical team.
Daisy Thomas was forced to pull out of her Olympic debut at Milano Cortina. (Getty Images: David Ramos)
Last November, Thomas suffered a ruptured ACL during competition. After extensive rehab, time in the gym and getting mentally focused, Thomas returned to the World Cup circuit and was selected to make her Olympic debut.
Then this month, she landed awkwardly during slopestyle training and after returning to official training, was unable to complete the session.
Meanwhile, Aussie snowboarder Cam Bolton is returning to Melbourne after being airlifted to hospital after breaking his neck at the Winter Olympics two days ago.
The decision was made — after scans and assessment in Milan — that the best and safest line of management for Cam would be to return home.
Cameron Bolton of Australia at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. (AAP: Dan Himbrechts)
3. Ukrainian skeleton athlete Heraskevych loses appeal, receives Order of Freedom
Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych’s helmet depicts Ukrainian athletes who have died during Russia’s invasion. (AP: Steve Moore)
Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Milano Cortina Games earlier this week over the use of a helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Heraskevych’s team appealed the decision but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed the case.
Heraskevych has reacted to the decision by saying: “CAS has failed us. We will consider our next steps.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree awarding Heraskevych the Order of Freedom.
Zelenskyy said the helmet was about honour and remembrance.
“Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors. Unfortunately, the decision of the International Olympic Committee to disqualify Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych says otherwise,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
“This is certainly not about the principles of Olympism, which are founded on fairness and the support of peace. I thank our athlete for his clear stance.”
4. Sturla Laegrid earned another bronze medal — didn’t confess an affair afterwards this time
Norwegian biathlete Sturla Laegreid cemented himself as one of the main storylines of the 2026 Winter Games when he confessed to an affair in his live post-race interview after winning bronze for the 20km individual race.
It was a moment that will overshadow just how well he’s doing at these Games.
Three days after that initial bronze, he won another one, this time in the men’s sprint biathlon race. However, this one made fewer headlines outside his home country.
He’s also set to be a favourite to medal in the pursuit, mass start and relay later in Milano Cortina.
Perhaps learning from the fallout from that first confession, he didn’t reveal anything personal this time post-victory.
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And in case you missed the ex-girlfriend’s response, she said the cheating was “hard to forgive”.
“Even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world,” she told Norwegian newspaper VG in a statement.
“I did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it.”
5. Norway’s Klaebo ties all-time Winter Olympics gold record
Norway’s cross-country skiing star Johannes Hosflot Klaebo won his eighth Olympic gold medal (third at these Games), putting him equal with the all-time Winter Games record.
Johannes Hosflot Klaebo has equalled the record for most Winter Olympics golds. (Getty: Lars Baron)
His latest victory came in the men’s 10km interval start free.
Coming from quite a country of winter athletes, he now shares the record with countrymen (who have all retired) Marit Bjoergen and Bjoern Daehlie in cross-country skiing and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in the biathlon.
However, there’s a good chance he’ll overtake them, as he still has three races ahead of him.
