Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics daily briefing: a day of records and firsts

Today in a nutshell: High winds put paid to the men’s downhill, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott secured an historic New Zealand gold and Kamila Valieva stunned on the ice

Next up: There are medals yet to be won today in the women’s moguls and men’s single luge, and tomorrow we’ll see the first ever Olympic mixed team ski jumping competition

After one hour and 16 minutes of gruelling cross-country skiing, Alexander Bolshunov crossed the finish line carrying a Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) banner, some 71 seconds ahead of compatriot Denis Spitsov. Iivo Niskanen of Finland had been instrumental in setting up the breakaway for the three men. He held off a late double Norwegian challenge to claim bronze in the 15km + 15km men’s skiathlon.

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott made history by winning New Zealand’s first-ever Winter Olympics gold, capturing the women’s slopestyle title with a dramatic final run that ended US dominance of the discipline. “I tried to think about it last night what it would mean if I managed to land my run and come away with gold, and honestly it feels unreal,” she said. Julia Marino of USA and Australia’s Tess Coady won silver and bronze, the first medals of these Games for their respective nations.

Australian curling duo Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt have had a rollercoaster of a day. They were originally told they were going home after a positive Covid test for Gill, only for health officials to say they could continue after all under “close contact” provisions. They then beat Switzerland 9-6 in the mixed doubles.

Italy’s unbeaten run in the curling stretched to seven with victory over China. That guarantees the Italians a semi-final spot. Canada, Great Britain and Sweden have five wins apiece, and Norway sit in fifth