Madison Olsen (Park City, Utah) punched her ticket to the medal round in women’s aerials on Friday night. After advancing through the first and second round of finals with two lower degree of difficulty jumps, Olsen went for broke and attempted a full, double full for the first time on snow. She missed the landing, but finished an impressive sixth in her first Olympics.

“That was my first time doing that jump on snow, so I was definitely really nervous,” said Olsen. “But, I figured, why not do it in the super final at the Olympics? I could have hit a little bit of a better take off. I got into my twist and when I came out to land, I was just a bit under rotated. I’ll get it next time! I was really just enjoying the moment. The adrenaline was just pumping through my body and I was just super excited to be out there jumping and having a good time. Each round I was just so excited to make it through and see what I could do.”

Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) competed a well-executed full, full in the first round of finals, but went deep on her landing and missed making the second round of finals by one place. She finished 10th.

“I was actually really happy with my jump. In the air it was really good, it was just the landing that got me. I knew as soon as I landed that I probably wasn’t going to get the score that I wanted but, overall, I was happy. I didn’t finish the way that I wanted, but just to be here and be able to say that I’m an Olympian and that I compete on this stage is amazing.”

Belarusian Hanna Huskova took home the gold, landing a lay, full, full for a score of 96.14. Countrywomen Xin Shang and Fanyu Kong took home silver and bronze for China.

Aerials action continues Saturday February 17 and Sunday, February 18 with men’s qualifications and finals.

RESULTS
Women's Aerials

Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.), the defending slalom gold medalist from the 2014 Sochi Games, just missed the podium, finishing fourth, in Friday’s slalom at Yongpyong Alpine Centre.

“It’s not about the medals, it’s about how I feel on my skis,” Shiffrin said. “And today I didn’t feel like myself. Coming here today and skiing real conservative was a huge, huge disappointment.”

Shiffrin struggled to find her rhythm on her first run, finishing fourth almost a half-second off the pace set by Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener. She found her groove on the second run, only to make a costly mistake near the bottom of the course that cost her precious time.

“I know I have the best slalom turns in the world, but I didn’t put it out in the two runs where it mattered,” Shiffrin added. “Sometimes I feel like in slalom that the only one who can beat me in slalom is me. And I beat myself in the wrong way today.”

Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter took the gold, her first Olympic medal, as Holdener held on for the silver. Austria's Katharina Gallhuber, who went from ninth after the first run to post the fastest second run time, took the bronze.

Megan McJames (Park City, Utah.) was 36th, and Alice Merryweather, competing in her first Olympics, was 42nd.

“It was so exciting to get to start this race,” Merryweather said. “I have not skied a lot of slalom recently, but since I found out that I was going to be here, I trained four days of slalom and it’s been going pretty well. But I don’t think my (first) run today really showed all the training that I have been doing, but it was so fun and I was really determined to make it to the finish line, and I did that. So I’ll take what I can get.”

Resi Stiegler (Jackson Hole, Wyo.) straddled a gate and crashed in the first run.

Up next is the women’s super-G on Saturday, 11:00 a.m. KT / 9:00 p.m. EST Friday.

“I won’t be skiing super-G tomorrow,” Shiffrin said. “I’ll cheer on my teammates, then ski the downhill training runs and see how I feel.”

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

Lindsey Jacobellis (Roxbury, Conn.) finished fourth in women's snowboardcross Friday afternoon at Phoenix Park.

Jacobellis, the only American rider to survive the quarterfinals, took the early lead in the big final, but was overtaken on the bottom third of the course before a rider fell in front of her near the finish, which may have been the difference between fourth and a spot on the podium.

“On this course, you really don’t want to have the holeshot because someone is going to draft you,” Jacobellis said. “But that is kind of the risk you take because you don’t want to be stuck in traffic. I tried to stay in the mix and look for opportunities to pass back again. But it just didn’t pan out because we just kind of ran out of course.”

The gold medal went to Italy's Michela Moioli, while Julia Pereira de Sousa Mabileau of France picked up the silver. Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic took the bronze medal, crossing the line a mere 0.03-seconds ahead of Jacobellis, the silver medalist from the 2006 Torino Games.

Meghan Tierney (Edwards, Colo.) and Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City) were in the third heat of the quarterfinal round, but crashed out and did not advance to the semifinals.

RESULTS
Women’s Snowboardcross
 

Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) was the top finisher in 14th for Team USA in super-G Friday afternoon at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

"This was a good day, but having me be the top finisher and no athletes in the top 10 was kind of a bummer – especially when we have had so much success in the past at this event," Cochran-Siegle said. 

Matthias Mayer of Austria won the gold as Switzerland’s Beat Feuz, who won the bronze in Thursday’s downhill, earned the silver medal. Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud, the silver medalist in the downhill, won the bronze.

Jared Goldberg finished 24th. Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.), the reigning Olympic silver medalist in the event after taking bronze at the Vancouver 2010 Games, and two-time Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) both did not finish.

"I knew I was the dark horse coming into super-G, so I needed to take a lot of risks to even have a chance," Ligety said. "I made a dumb mistake at the bottom. My times were good, not in line with a medal position, but in line with what I wanted. Super G is really good training for me for Giant Slalom. It gives me the confidence to arch clean turns at high speeds. I will take how I skied out of today with confidence and move it forward to Sunday (in the giant slalom)." 

Up next, the men compete in giant slalom Sunday. The first run start time is 10:15 a.m. KT / 8:15 p.m. EST Saturday. The second run is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. KT / 11:45 p.m. EST.

RESULTS
Men’s super-G
 

ALPINE
Shiffrin Wins Giant Slalom Gold
It took a few days, but the wait was very worthwhile as Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) won the giant slalom gold medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games Thursday.
After three days of howling winds at the Yongpyong Alpine Centre that first postponed the giant slalom – originally scheduled for Monday – then Wednesday’s slalom event, racers were finally greeted with sunshine and a hard-fast course.
“I skied well,” Shiffrin said after the first run in which she finished second to Italy’s Manuela Moelgg by 0.02-seconds. “I skied loose and I put some of my good skiing from training in there. But I also feel like I can go a little bit harder and there’s nothing to hold back for on the second run. That’s the nice thing about the Olympics – you don’t hold back!"
Indeed, she held nothing back in the second run, posting the fastest time to move atop the leaderboard and put all the pressure on Moelgg, which was too much for the Italian as she slipped to eighth. Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel won the silver, while Italy’s Federica Brignone won the bronze.
“I feel like my best was good enough today," said Shiffrin after her win. "To have an opportunity to win a medal at the Olympics at all is incredible, so for me, today was special. After Sochi, I set a goal that I wanted to come to the next Olympics and I wanted to be one of the best giant slalom skiers in the world. It’s never easy, and I put a lot of fight into the second run, and it feels incredible.” … READ MORE / RESULTS

Bennett Leads Team USA in Downhill
Racing under bright sunshine and on a perfect track, Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) led Team USA in the downhill, finishing 16th, at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games Thursday.
“I treated this run like any other run," Bennett said. "I just didn’t perform the way I wanted. I will use this run to move forward, over the next four years, and I will be ready for the next Olympic Winter Games.”
Aksel Lund Svindal won Norway’s first-ever downhill gold. His countryman Kjetil Jansrud won the silver medal. Switzerland’s Beat Feuz won the bronze.
"I am super happy how I approached today and how I skied," said Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah), who was 20th. "I was skiing at a really high level and I am proud of that. Some things happened with the wind and made it very difficult for anyone in the middle of the pack to break the top 10. I have no control over that so I am just happy how I executed my run."
Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.), who replaced Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y.) after he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Wednesday’s downhill training, was 23rd. Wiley Maple (Aspen, Colo.) made his Olympic debut and finished 30th. … READ MORE  RESULTS

FREESTYLE
McKinnon, Olsen Advance To Finals
After missing out on the top six in the first round of qualifications, Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) and Madison Olsen (Park City, Utah) found redemption in the second round of qualifications, finishing fifth and sixth to advance to Friday night’s medal round. Both McKinnon and Olsen landed a full, full and scored 87.88, with McKinnon taking the higher end of the tie breaker. Both athletes had to wait until the final competitor to see if they had secured their spots.
“I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through, but to make it really means a lot to me,” said Olsen. “It’s a lot to wait and see if your score is going to hold, but I did the best I could and I made it through.”
“I didn’t have the best first jump, so I knew I had to go out there and do the best second jump I possibly could to make it in,” said McKinnon. “After that, it was a waiting game. That final moment when I knew was a huge relief.”
Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) completed two triple jumps, a full, full, full and a lay, full, full, but was unable to land cleanly and missed out on finals.
The medal round kicks off on Friday at 8:00 p.m. KT / 6:00 a.m. EST

CROSS COUNTRY
Diggins Just Seconds Away From A Medal
Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) finished fifth in the women's 10k freestyle Thursday afternoon at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center.
Diggins was in contention for a medal, positioned in third place at the 6.2km and 8.4km intervals, but fell back over the final portion of the race to finish in 25:37.7, 3.3-seconds away from a podium finish.
“To be that close and to ski with the best in the world is so awesome and I could not have gone any harder, I don’t know where I would have found those seconds,” Diggins said. “I pushed my body way passed my limit and that’s a really good feeling to know I gave it my all and I am really proud of my race.” … READ MORE / RESULTS

Men’s 15k Freestyle Friday
The men’s 15k freestyle takes place Friday at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center starting at 3:00 p.m. KT / 1:00 a.m. EST. Starting for Team USA is Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.), Noah Hoffman (Aspen, Colo.), Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska) and Tyler Kornfield (Anchorage, Alaska).

SNOWBOARD
Baumgartner Fourth, Dierdorff Fifth in Snowboardcross
Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, Mich.) and Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) battled through multiple crash-filled heats to race in the medal round of men’s snowboardcross at Phoenix Snow Park on Thursday.
Both finished just off the podium in fourth and fifth. It was a career-best Olympic finish for Baumgartner, a three-time Olympian, and an impressive showing for first-timer Dierdorff.
Baumgartner and Dierdorff rode in the same semi-final heat and both suffered crashes midway down the course. Both were able to get back up and, due to other crashes, crossed the finish line in second and third to make the big final.
“From when I was 12 years old starting this sport, I've always been told that the race is never over - when you go down you get back up and finish,” said Dierdorff. “That paid off today and I got into the final heat of the Olympics.” … READ MORE / RESULTS

Women’s Snowboardcross Friday
Four-time Olympian and 2006 silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) leads Team USA in the women’s snowboardcross event kicking off with the qualifying rounds Friday at 10:00 a.m. KT / 8:00 p.m. EST Thursday. Joining Jacobellis will be Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City) and Meghan Tierney (Edwards, Colo.). Rosie Mancari (Anchorage, Alaska) was also scheduled to start, but suffered and injury in training and will not compete.
START LIST
Women’s snowboardcross

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15
NBC
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Women's 10k freestyle cross country
8:00 p.m.-12:30 a.m. - Women's snowboardcross finals (live), women's freestyle aerials, women's 10k freestyle cross country

NBCSN
11:00 p.m.-2:40 a.m. - Men's 15k freestyle cross country (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
8:00-9:50 p.m. - Women's slalom first run (Friday)
8:00-9:25 p.m. - Women's snowboardcross seeding
9:00-11:10 p.m. - Men's alpine super-G (Friday)
10:15-11:15 p.m. - Women's snowboardcross finals
11:15 p.m. -12:15 a.m. - Women's giant slalom second run (Friday)
1:00-2:50 a.m. - Men's 15k freestyle cross country (Friday)

FRIDAY, FEB 16
NBC
3:00-5:00 p.m. - Men's 15k freestyle cross country, men's large hill ski jumping
8:00-12:00 p.m. - Women's super G (live), women's aerials finals

12:35-2:00 a.m. - Women's slopestyle skiing finals

NBCSN
10:45 a.m.-2:00 p.m. - Men's large hill ski jumping

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
1:00-2:50 a.m. - Men's 15k freestyle cross country
6:00-7:20 a.m. - Women's aerials finals
7:30-8:40 a.m. - Men's large hill ski jumping qualifying
8:00-9:40 p.m.- Women's slopestyle skiing qualifying (Saturday)
9:00-10:55 p.m.- Women's super-G (Saturday)
11:00-12:35 a.m. - Women's slopestyle skiing finals (Saturday)

SATURDAY, FEB. 17
NBC
3:00-6:00 p.m. - Men's freestyle aerials, women's 4x5k relay.
8:00-11:00 p.m. - Men's giant slalom first run (live), men's ski jumping large hill
11:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. - Men's giant slalom second run (live), men's slopestyle skiing finals

NBCSN
7:10-10:30 a.m. - Men's freestyle aerials
10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. - Women's 4x5k cross country relay
1:30-5:30 p.m. - Men's large hill ski jumping
7:00-10:10 p.m.- Men's slopestyle skiing (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
4:30-5:45 a.m. - Women's 4x5k relay
7:30-9:15 a.m. - Men's large hill jump
8:00-10:05 p.m. - Men's slopestyle skiing qualifying (Sunday)
8:15-10:20 p.m. - Men's giant slalom first run (Sunday)
11:15 p.m.-12:50 a.m. - Men's slopestyle skiing finals (Sunday)
11:45 p.m.-1:45 a.m. - Men's giant slalom second run (Sunday)

Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) finished fifth in the women's 10k freestyle Thursday afternoon at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center.

Diggins was in contention for a medal, positioned in third place at the 6.2km and 8.4km intervals, but fell back over the final portion of the race to finish 3.3-seconds away from a podium finish.

“To be that close and to ski with the best in the world is so awesome and I could not have gone any harder, I don’t know where I would have found those seconds,” Diggins said. “I pushed my body way past my limit and that’s a really good feeling to know I gave it my all and I am really proud of my race.”

The gold medal was won by Norway's Ragnhild Haga. Charlotte Kalla of Sweden took the silver, while Marit Bjoergen of Norway and Krista Parmakoski of Finland tied for the bronze.

Team USA's Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) was 15th; Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) 16th; and Liz Stephen (East Montpelier, Vt.) was 30th.

RESULTS
Women's 10k

Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, Mich.) and Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) battled through multiple crash-filled heats to race in the medal round of men’s snowboardcross at Phoenix Snow Park on Thursday. Both finished just off the podium in fourth and fifth. It was a career-best Olympic finish for Baumgartner, a three-time Olympian, and an impressive showing for first-timer Dierdorff.

Baumgartner and Dierdorff rode in the same semi-final heat and both suffered crashes midway down the course. Both were able to get back up and, due to other crashes, crossed the finish line in second and third to make the big final.

“From when I was 12 years old starting this sport, I've always been told that the race is never over - when you go down you get back up and finish,” said Dierdorff. “That paid off today and I got into the final heat of the Olympics.”

In the big final, both riders missed their starts but planned to execute some passes farther down the course. Unfortunately both Baumgartner and Dierdorff carried a lot of speed into a jump between turns two and three and went deep, wiping out on their landings.

Despite missing the podium, Baumgartner and Dierdorff were both satisfied with their performances on the world’s biggest stage.

“I'm proud of how I competed,” said Baumgartner, with his 13-year-old son Landon by his side. “My kids not disappointed with me, so how can I be disappointed. I crashed, but that's part of the game. Sometimes you gotta pay to play. I’m walking out of here with fourth place, my best finish yet. My son is here to enjoy it with me - it’s a proud moment.”

“I go out here every day to try and win the race,” said Dierdorff. “I know how proud all my supporters are. Coming down to the finish and getting to see all my friends and family who came out here, I don't know if I've had a better feeling in my life. That made it all worth it.”

France’s Pierre Vaultier took home the gold followed by Australia’s Jarryd Hughes with the silver and Spain’s Regino Hernandez with the bronze. USA’s Hagen Kearney (Telluride, Colo.) missed advancing to the semifinals and finished 13th. Jonathan Cheever (Sagus, Mass.) was 28th.

Olympic snowboardcross action continues on Friday, February 16, with women’s seeding rounds at 10 a.m. KST / 8 p.m. EST Thursday and finals at 12:15 p.m. KST / 10:15 p.m. EST Thursday.

RESULTS
Men’s Snowboardcross

It took a few days, but the wait was very worthwhile as Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) won the giant slalom gold medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games Thursday.

After three days of howling winds at the Yongpyong Alpine Centre that first postponed the giant slalom – originally scheduled for Monday – then Wednesday’s slalom event, racers were finally greeted with sunshine and a hard-fast course.

“I skied well,” Shiffrin said after the first run in which she finished second to Italy’s Manuela Moelgg by 0.02-seconds. “I skied loose and I put some of my good skiing from training in there. But I also feel like I can go a little bit harder and there’s nothing to hold back for on the second run. That’s the nice thing about the Olympics – you don’t hold back!"

Indeed, she held nothing back in the second run, posting the fastest time to move atop the leaderboard and put all the pressure on Moelgg, which was too much for the Italian as she slipped to eighth. Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel won the silver, while Italy’s Federica Brignone won the bronze.

“I feel like my best was good enough today," said Shiffrin after her win. "To have an opportunity to win a medal at the Olympics at all is incredible, so for me, today was special. After Sochi, I set a goal that I wanted to come to the next Olympics and I wanted to be one of the best giant slalom skiers in the world. It’s never easy, and I put a lot of fight into the second run, and it feels incredible.”

Three-time Olympians Megan McJames (Park City, Utah) and Resi Stiegler (Jackson Hole, Wyo.) finished 31st and 36th respectively. Patricia Mangan made her Olympic debut, but slide out on the first run and did not finish.

“Skiing wise, I’m happy to have laid it all on the table,” said Mangan, who has been enjoying her first Olympic experience, including watching a number of events. “I love watching the other events … speed skating, which I have never seen before, and when you’re right there next to the rink, it’s crazy, it’s so awesome. Being at the Olympics, you have an appreciation for how much work everybody has put in to get here.”

Up next, Shiffrin defends her 2014 Olympic gold in slalom Friday, first run is 10:00 a.m. KT / 8:00 p.m. EST Thursday. The second run is 1:15 p.m. KT / 11:15 p.m. EST Thursday. Other starters for Team USA include Stiegler, McJames and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.).

RESULTS
Women’s giant slalom

Racing under bright sunshine and on a perfect track, Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) led Team USA in the downhill, finishing 16th, at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games Thursday.

“I treated this run like any other run," Bennett said. "I just didn’t perform the way I wanted. I will use this run to move forward, over the next four years, and I will be ready for the next Olympic Winter Games.”

Aksel Lund Svindal won Norway’s first-ever downhill gold. His countryman Kjetil Jansrud won the silver medal. Switzerland’s Beat Feuz won the bronze.

"I am super happy how I approached today and how I skied," said Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah), who was 20th. "I was skiing at a really high level and I am proud of that. Some things happened with the wind and made it very difficult for anyone in the middle of the pack to break the top 10. I have no control over that so I am just happy how I executed my run."

Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.), who replaced Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y.) after he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Wednesday’s downhill training, was 23rd.

"I feel for him (Biesemeyer) right now," Cochran-Siegle said. "When I was coming back from my injury we were working closely together, so I understand what he is going through and I only want the best for him. I am going to try best as possible to send him positive vibes and race with him again soon. I am proud of my run today and excited to race tomorrow.”

"Coming into today I felt excited," said Wiley Maple (Aspen, Colo.), who made his Olympic debut and finished 30th. "I was looking forward to racing. The Olympics are notorious for allowing anyone to do anything. I didn’t come in with the highest expectation but there is always a little bit of a dream that if I do ski well, maybe I could sneak into the top. I wasn’t too nervous, I just felt excited to be here."

Thursday’s downhill was originally scheduled for Sunday, but high winds at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre forced Olympic organizers to reschedule the event.

"There is a great energy in this group of skiers," said men's coach Johno McBride. "Although it is very difficult to have three athletes get hurt, there is a lot of positive momentum moving forward. I am very proud of the way everyone skied today. These athletes put a plan together and executed that plan. That is what I am most proud of. Their result isn’t indicative of their performance - that is just a part of the sport."

Up next the men will compete in super-G Friday at 11:00 a.m. KT / 9:00 p.m. EST Thursday. Starting for Team USA will be Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah), Goldberg and Cochran-Siegle.

RESULTS
Men’s downhill

START LIST
Men's super-G
 

Team USA downhill skier Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y.) suffered a season-ending right ankle injury during downhill training on Wednesday. He was taken by team medical staff to a local clinic, where he was treated and released. He will not compete in the men’s downhill on Thursday. His place in the race will be taken by Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.).

For Biesemeyer, it was a heartbreaking injury on the eve of his first Olympic event.

"I wonder why this happens. It is hard to not think if there is a deeper meaning to it all. You are supposed to be optimistic in times like these and say something like, ‘I will come back stronger than ever.’ But I just can't bring myself to do it. I am honored to have been named to Team USA and walking in the Opening Ceremony is a moment I’ll never forget.“