Olympics Live: American Marino out of big air competition

BEIJING (AP) — The Latest on the Beijing Winter Olympics:

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Slopestyle silver medalist Julia Marino of the United States has dropped out of the Olympic snowboard big air contest after a fall in practice.

The 24-year-old Marino was set to jump 23rd in the 30-snowboarder field during qualifying Monday, just ahead of 2018 gold medalist Anna Gasser of Austria. It was a surprise when she didn’t appear.

Team USA snowboarding said in a statement that Marino fell during practice a few days ago and is “prioritizing her health.”

Marino’s scratch appears to have been a late decision. The Connecticut resident shared video of herself practicing at Big Air Shougang on Instagram about 12 hours before qualifying began, encouraging followers to tune in.

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Gallery: The youngest and oldest Olympians in history (StarsInsider)

The embattled coach of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, whose future at the Olympics will be announced later Monday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, showed up to watch her daughter compete in the ice dance competition in Beijing.

Eteri Tutberidze stood against the wall in an inconspicuous corner of Capital Indoor Stadium to watch Diana Davis compete with partner Gleb Smolkin in the free dance. Davis and Smolkin finished well out of medal contention.

Tutberidze has come under fire after Valieva’s drug test from December was flagged last week for traces of a banned heart medication. The case was referred to CAS, which met for about 5 1/2 hours at a Beijing hotel late Sunday, to decide whether to allow the 15-year-old gold medal favorite to compete in the women’s competition beginning Tuesday night.

Their decision is expected Monday afternoon in Beijing, just when Valieva is next scheduled to practice.

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