Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics daily briefing: Strong start for Norway as the medals begin

Today in a nutshell: Norway started as they mean to continue with two golds in quick succession, but the windy conditions have been an issue for several events

Next up: There is still some curling, speedskating, freestyle skiing and ice hockey left today, and tomorrow – conditions permitting – we should get the glorious sight of the men’s downhill Alpine skiing

The first gold medal of the Games went to Norway’s Therese Johaug in the women’s 7.5km + 7.5km Skiathlon. She has won 10 world championship titles and it was the fourth Olympic medal of her career, but her first individual Olympic gold. She absolutely bossed it, finishing 30 seconds ahead of Russian Olympic Committee athlete Natalya Nepryayeva in second and Austria’s Teresa Stadlober in third after a gruelling race.

The wind played havoc with the shooting in an exciting Biathlon mixed relay race, gusting up to 5.6 metres per second at some points. A gripping three-man finish gave Norway their second gold, while the Russian team gained a second silver. France recovered from a dreadful first leg to claim the bronze.

The wind was also buffeting the snowboarders. Great Britain’s Katie Ormerod – who missed out in Pyeongchang in 2018 due to a horrendous injury – failed to qualify for the finals of the women’s slopestyle. New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott leads the pack going into tomorrow’s final. Jamie Anderson and Julia Marino of the US, and Australia’s Tess Coady are all safely through. “It’s cold! It’s hard to keep your core temperature warm and then doing tricks feels a little bit more intimidating as you are just, like, stiff,” said two-time Olympic gold medalist Anderson.

The Dutch have been a dominant force at Olympic speed skating for years, and there was no