IOC president Kirsty Coventry was in tears as she spoke to the media after the IOC’s decision to ban Heraskevych. “This is price of our dignity,” Heraskevych posted on X shortly after his meeting with her.
announces the decision to ban Vladylsav Heraskevych Photograph: Fatima Shbair/AP
Good morning! It’s another heart-lifting morning in northern Italy as the Games roll into day seven. Fittingly, seven golds await today’s athletes, and one could end up around a British neck.
Not to jinx Matt Weston, but he started the Olympics as this country’s hottest chance of gold, and remains that halfway through the skeleton competition. In supreme form this season, after winning five of seven World Cup golds, he goes into this evening’s medal run comfortably first after two of four races. Britain’s Marcus Wyatt lies seventh.
Fellow racer Vladyslav Heraskevych made an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport last night after being disqualified from the skeleton 21 minutes before racing over his “helmet of memory” which honoured Ukrainian athletes killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But he does so with the competition happening without him.
Elsewhere, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo goes for gold in the men’s cross-country skiing, as does another Nowegian, Johan-Olav Botn, in the shooting and ski-ing double-endurance biathalon. He’ll be chased by French World Cup leader Eric Perrot and Italian favourite Tommaso Giacomel.
British snowboarder Charlotte Bankes is searching for her first Olympic medal, either in French or British colours, when she sets off in the exhilarating snowboard cross. Australian Scotty James hopes to add a gold to his collection this evening in the men’s halfpipe final.
Then there’ s the lactic acid challenge of the men’s 10000m speed skating final, and the artistic beauty of the men’s figure skating, free skate final, where all eyes rest on the USA’s Ilia Malinin and his marvellous quadruple axel.
For good measure, throw in men’s and women’s ice-hockey, and curling– which kicks things off this morning. Britain’s in-form men play Italy, after beating arch-rivals Sweden yesterday, while the women’s quartet, who lost to China last night, take on Korea at lunchtime.
Do join us, we’ll be here all day.
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