Olympic Update: Gerard Qualifies For Slopestyle Finals

ALPINE
Goldberg Eighth In Final Downhill Training
Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) finished eighth in the third and final downhill training run before Sunday’s race. Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was ninth, followed by Thomas Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y.) 13th; Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) 20th; and Wiley Maple (Aspen, Colo.) 23rd.
Starting for Team USA in Sunday’s downhill are Goldberg, Bennett, Biesemeyer and Maple. The men's downhill begins at 11 a.m. KT Sunday/9 p.m. EST Saturday.
RESULTS
Downhill training run 3
START LIST
Men’s downhill

FREESTYLE
Women’s Moguls Finals Sunday
The U.S. women’s moguls team will compete in the medal round on Sunday. Morgan Schild (Pittsford, N.Y.), Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) and Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) qualified through to finals from the first round of qualifications. Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.) will compete to earn a spot in finals in the second round of qualifications beginning on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. KT/5:30 a.m. EST. The finals begin at 9:00 p.m. KT/7:00 a.m. EST.

CROSS COUNTRY
Diggins Just Seconds From A Medal
Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) posted the best U.S. women’s Olympic cross country finish in history, placing fifth in the skiathlon event as the first medals of the Olympic Winter Games were awarded Saturday afternoon at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center.
“I’m really proud of my race. I could not have pushed harder,” said Diggins. “Being seconds away from a medal and seeing it right there - I know it’s possible, I know I have what it takes. I think I’m in a good place in these games.”
The event combined two 7.5 km legs, the first skied in the classic style with a second leg raced in the freestyle technique. Diggins was 10th at the halfway transition, 5.4 seconds off the pace. She was able to take 3.3 seconds off that lead by the halfway point of the second leg, but a grueling pace set by Sweden's Charlotte Kalla over the last three kilometers left the field fighting for silver.
Calla covered the 15 km in 40:44.9 to claim the first gold medal of the Games, 7.8 seconds ahead of silver medalist Marit Bjoergen of Norway. Finland's Krista Parmakoski won the bronze medal in 40:55.0. Diggins posted a time of 40:59.6.
Caitlin Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska) finished 34th for Team USA, while Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) was 40th; Rosie Brennan (Anchorage, Alaska) was 58th. ...READ MORE/RESULTS

Men’s Skiathlon Sunday
Starting for Team USA in the 30k men’s skiathlon Sunday are Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.), Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska), Noah Hoffman (Aspen, Colo.), and Paddy Caldwell (Lyme Center, N.H.).
“I’m very excited and anxious to get the racing started,” Bjornsen said. “The 30k skiathlon should be a good event for me. I’d love to start things off on a high note!”
The men’s skiathlon begin at 3:15 p.m. KT Sunday/1:15 a.m. EST.

SKI JUMPING
Bickner 18th in Men’s HS109 Finals
Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill.) placed 18th on the men's normal hill in ski jumping competition at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Center Saturday evening - the best U.S. Olympic result since Alan Alborn was 11th in the normal hill at 2002 Olympics.
The Norge Ski Club athlete soared to 14th after his first ride with the second longest jump of the round at 109.0 meters.
"Before I came here my goal was to have a top 20 - I've now achieved that," said Bickner. "Given the day I had, I think I can set my expectations higher. I’ll try to take my first jump tonight and transfer it over to the big hill."
His first jump was a huge motivator for Bickner. "Everything just really worked out," he said. "All the little things I was tweaking through the week came together, I got lucky with wind and I was able to throw one down to the bottom."
Germany's Andreas Wellinger took the win. One of the favored nations, Poland, was shut out of the medals as Norway's Johann Andre Forfan took silver and Robert Johansson bronze.
It was a cold, blustery night on the jumps with wind forcing multiple delays and pushing the competition to past midnight.
Ski jumping continues on Monday, Feb. 12, with the women's normal hill competition, scheduled for 8 p.m. KT/6 a.m. EST. Nita Englund (Florence, Wisc.), Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, Utah) and Abby Ringquist (Park City, Utah) will represent Team USA.
RESULTS
Men’s HS109

SNOWBOARDING
Gerard Qualifies For Medals Round
Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) earned a spot in the final round of men's snowboard slopestyle during qualifying runs Saturday at the Phoenix Sports Park.
Currently the FIS Snowboard World Cup leader, Gerard placed third among the 18 riders in the second qualifying heat Saturday, scoring 82.55 points. He trailed a pair of Canadians - Max Parrot, who led with an 87.36, and Mark McMorris, who posted an 86.83. American Kyle Mack (West Bloomfield, Mich.) finished 11th with a best score of 53.55 and did not qualify for the finals.
In the first qualifying heat, Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) and Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska) were unable to advance, finishing ninth and 17th respectively. The men's snowboard slopestyle finals begin at 10 a.m. KT Sunday/8 p.m. EST Saturday.
RESULTS
Men's slopestyle heat 1
Men's slopestyle heat 2
START LIST
Men's slopestyle finals

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST.
SATURDAY, FEB. 10
NBC
3:00-6:00 p.m. - Men's slopestyle snowboarding; men's normal hill ski jumping medal round.

NBCSN
7:00-9:45 p.m. - Men's slopestyle snowboarding finals (live)
9:45 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Women’s slopestyle snowboarding qualifying (live)

Olympic Channel: Home Of Team USA
12:00-12:30 p.m. - Winter Olympics Daily with Jimmy Roberts

NBCOlympics.com - Live Streaming
8:00-9:45 p.m. - Men's slopestyle snowboarding finals (Sunday)
9:00-11:05 p.m. - Men's downhill (Sunday)
11:30 p.m.-1:35 a.m. - Women's slopestyle snowboarding qualifying (Sunday)

SUNDAY, FEB. 11
NBC
7:00-11:00 p.m. - Women's alpine giant slalom first run (live), women's moguls, women's slopestyle snowboarding finals
11:35 p.m.-1:00 a.m. - Women's giant slalom second run (live), women's halfpipe snowboarding qualifying (live)

NBCSN
6:45 - 9:00 a.m. - Men's cross country skiathlon
8:00-11:30 p.m. - Women's slopestyle snowboarding finals (live)

Olympic Channel: Home Of Team USA
5:00-7:00 a.m. - Medal Ceremony (live)
12:00-12:30 p.m. - Winter Olympics Daily with Jimmy Roberts

NBCOlympics.com - Live Streaming
11:30 p.m.- 1:35 a.m. - Women's slopestyle snowboarding qualifying
1:15-3:10 a.m. - Men's cross country skiathlon
5:30-6:00 a.m. - Women's moguls qualifying
7:00-8:40 a.m. - Women's moguls finals
8:00-9:45 p.m. - Women's slopestyle snowboarding finals (Monday)
8:15-9:55 p.m. - Women's first run slalom (Monday)
11:30 p.m.-1:00 p.m. - Women's halfpipe snowboarding qualifying (Monday)

MONDAY, FEB 12
NBC
3:00-5:00 p.m. - Men's freestyle moguls finals, women's ski jumping finals
8:00-11:30 p.m. - Men's alpine combined downhill (live), women's halfpipe snowboarding finals (live), men's halfpipe qualifying (live)

NBCSN
7:00-11:00 a.m. - Men's freestyle moguls finals
11:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. - Women's ski jumping finals
11:30 p.m.- 2:40 a.m. - Men's halfpipe snowboarding qualification (live)

Olympic Channel: Home Of Team USA
5:00-7:00 a.m. - Medal Ceremony (live)
12:00-12:30 p.m. - Winter Olympics Daily with Jimmy Roberts

NBCOlympics.com - Live Streaming
11:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m. - Women's slopestyle snowboarding qualifying
11:45 p.m.-1:35 a.m. - Women's alpine giant slalom second run
5:30-6:00 a.m. - Men's moguls finals
7:50-9:20 a.m. - Women's normal hill ski jumping finals
8:00-9:40 p.m. - Women's halfpipe snowboarding finals (Tuesday)
9:30-11:10 p.m - Men's alpine combined slalom (Tuesday)
11:00 p.m.-12:50 a.m. - Men's halfpipe snowboarding qualifying (Tuesday)
1:00-2:25 a.m. - Men's alpine combined downhill (Tuesday)

TUESDAY, FEB. 13
NBC
3:00-5:00 p.m. - Men's and women's classic sprint finals
8:00 p.m.-11:30 p.m. - Women's alpine slalom first run (live), men's halfpipe snowboarding finals (live)
12:05 a.m.-1:30 a.m. - Women's alpine second run (live)

NBCSN
5:00 a.m.-7:10 a.m. - Men's and women's classic sprint qualifying
9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. - Men's and women's classic sprint finals

Olympic Channel: Home Of Team USA
5:00-7:00 a.m. - Medal Ceremony (live)
12:00-12:30 p.m. - Winter Olympics Daily with Jimmy Roberts

NBCOlympics.com - Live Streaming
11:00 p.m.-12:50 a.m. - Men's halfpipe snowboarding qualifying
1:00-2:25 a.m. - Men's alpine combined downhill
3:30-4:45 a.m. - Men's and women's classic sprint qualifying
6:00-8:00 a.m. - Men's and women's classic sprint finals
8:15-9:50 p.m. - Women's alpine slalom first run (Wednesday)
8:30-10:10 p.m. - Men's halfpipe snowboarding final (Wednesday)
11:45 p.m.-1:25 a.m. - Women's alpine slalom second run (Wednesday)