Source : ABC NEWS
Protective gear is in short supply in Italy as tensions boil over in the curling and a Norwegian-born Brazilian makes history.
Here are the quick hits from the Winter Olympics.
1. Olympic Village in crisis as condoms run out
Protective gear is in short supply at the Winter Games. (Getty Images: Jared C. Tilton)
Both on and off the ice, protective gear is in hot demand at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.
And some of it is in perilously short supply, according to Italian outlet La Stampa.
The newspaper has reported that the complimentary condom allowance at the Olympic Village has been exhausted in record time.
“The supplies ran out in just three days,” an anonymous athlete said.
“They promised us more will arrive, but who knows when.“
Reportedly, just 10,000 condoms were made available at the start of the Games, compared with the 300,000 that were provided at the Summer Games in 2024 (although there were over three times as many athletes in Paris as there are currently in Italy).
Before the supply ran dry, Spanish athlete Olivia Smart took to Instagram to provide proof of the Lombardy-branded prophylactics.
The video, as seen below, was also shared by President of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana.
Loading Instagram content
2. Norwegian-born Brazilian claims South America’s first-ever medal
After 102 years, South America finally has its first Winter Olympic medal.
Brazilian skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen was the athlete to break the continent’s duck, emphatically claiming gold in the men’s giant slalom, finishing almost a minute ahead of 2022 champion Marco Odermatt.
But Pinheiro Braathen wasn’t always a Brazilian skier. Up until a shock retirement in 2023, he represented Norway, the country of his birth.
However, five months after hanging up the skis, Pinheiro Braathen was back on the international circuit, but this time in the colours of Brazil, for whom he is eligible through his mother.
Loading Twitter content
Two years later, Pinheiro Braathen is a history maker, and in no doubt about his decision.
Upon winning gold, he collapsed onto the snow, overcome with the enormity of his achievement.
“I’ve tried over and over again to put words to what I’m feeling, but it’s simply impossible,” Pinhero Braathan said.
“If there is anything that I hope I can be as a source of inspiration today, it’s that you dare to be who you are.”
3. Cheating curling chaos
Curling’s international governing body says it will have officials monitoring for rule violations during the rest of the competition after Sweden’s men’s team accused Canada of cheating in a tense round-robin game.
Tensions boiled over when Brad Jacobs’s Canada beat Sweden 8-6, with Niklas Edin’s rink alleging their opponents were double touching the stone during the contest.
Canada was embroiled in curling controversy in Italy. (Getty Images: Andrew Milligan/PA Images)
World Curling has introduced electronic handles on stones at the Games, which flash red if players are still making contact with the stone beyond the hog line — the point where curlers must let go during delivery.
However, the sensor for detecting violations is in the handle, with Sweden claiming Canada’s players were touching the granite, where there are no sensors.
“It is not possible for World Curling to have game umpires positioned to observe all hog lines for every stone delivery,” World Curling said in a statement.
“However, beginning with the Saturday afternoon session, two officials will move between all four sheets and observe deliveries.”
After Sweden and Canada asked officials to keep an eye on their opponents’ deliveries early on, there was a heated exchange between the teams’ thirds Marc Kennedy and Oskar Eriksson towards the end of the game.
Eriksson told Kennedy he would show him a video replay of him touching the stone repeatedly.
The Canadian responded with an expletive.
4. Skier breaks ski, still claims silver
Ebba Andersson was forced to race with one ski for 30 frantic seconds. (Getty Images: Alex Slitz)
Sweden was favourite heading into the women’s 4×7.5-kilometre team relay, but its hopes of finishing atop the podium were all but dashed in the second leg.
Ebba Andersson crashed forward dramatically, not only losing ground on her opponents but breaking a ski in the process.
Rising from the snow, she was forced to hobble along with just one blade for 30 bizarre, painstaking seconds.
And the comedy of errors was only added to when a member of the support team, racing to restore Andersson’s symmetry, slipped in their haste.
However, Sweden wasn’t done there, responding impressively to claim silver.
5. More injury pain for Australia
Laura Peel officially withdrew from the Games on day eight. (AAP Image: Dan Himbrechts)
On day eight, Milano Cortina officially became Australia’s most successful Games in history.
But amid the ecstasy of Jakara Anthony’s history-making dual moguls gold was another little bit of agony for an already injury-ravaged Australian team.
Australian aerial skier Laura Peel was the latest athlete to be forced to withdraw from the Games, following an injury sustained at a training camp in Switzerland earlier this month.
Nursing a torn ACL, the two-time world champion and genuine medal contender was always facing an uphill battle to prove her fitness, but she was understandably “heartbroken” nonetheless.
Peel is the fourth Australian to have their Olympic dreams dashed by injury in recent days, with Cam Bolton fracturing his neck in training, Misaki Vaughan being concussed during her preparations and Daisy Thomas belatedly succumbing to a reinflammation of her ACL injury.
ABC/Reuters
