Let’s finish with a BANG: Chinese pair set to take home ice, Shiffrin’s last chance for a medal, Blondin in Speed Skating Mass Start + MORE!
Olympics Edition
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Figure Skating ⛸ Pairs Free Program
We’re nearing the end of Figure Skating at Beijing 2022 😢 but not before the Pairs Figure Skating event!
It’s hard to compare events, but this one has it all – jumps, spins, lifts and the THROWS?! Wild! You don’t wanna miss this one.
New Canadian pair Eric Radford and Vanessa James will be competing in their first Olympics together, along with fellow Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro. Radford won bronze in 2018 with Meagan Duhamel in this event, becoming the first pair to throw a quad at the Winter Olympics.
Favourites to win this event are Chinese pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, but they will have to skate better than the THREE Russian pairs fighting for gold – including reigning world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov.
So will the ROC teams cover the podium? Or will China’s hometown heroes have home ice advantage? Watch the Pairs Free Skate Saturday at 5am ET on CBC Sports and CBC Gem.
Alpine Ski ⛷ Team Event
Mikaela Shiffrin arrived at the 2022 Winter Olympics with the goal of competing in all five individual Alpine skiing disciplines, and although it didn’t work out in her favour she’s not done yet!
Shiffrin is going one step further before the Olympic flame is extinguished. The American has confirmed that she will cap off her Winter Games on Friday (ET) by joining the U.S. squad for the first time in the mixed team parallel slalom competition.
And of course I’m always rooting for the Canadians but I do hope Shiffrin can end her Games off on a better note than how she started them. She’s giving herself another chance to not leave empty handed and I commend her for her drive and resilience.
Teams to watch out for in the mixed team parallel event are Switzerland, Austria and Germany. All three of these countries are dominant in the ski disciplines but Austria leads all nations with 121 Olympic alpine medals and 37 golds. And Switzerland is second in both categories.
Tune in to the Alpine ski mixed team parallel event! Friday at 9pm ET on CBC Sports and CBC Gem.
Mass Start Speed Skating Semis and Final ⏱
Do you ever watch the Winter Olympics and think “what if this was just a little more… CHAOTIC?” – if so, then we have the event for you! Ever heard of Mass Start Speed Skating?
Usually, speed skating looks pretty graceful – but not at this event. Imagine watching the roller derby, except instead of roller skates the athletes are wearing giant blades on their feet. Talk about excitement!
The skaters skate 16 laps, completing a series of sprints, and their results in each sprint determine how many points they get. The skaters with the highest amount of points at the end get the medals!
For Canada, Ivanie Blondin, who was part of the team to win gold in the Team Pursuit event, will be competing in the Mass Start with the hope of getting herself another medal.
The Mass Start Speed Skating semifinal and final will take place Saturday at 2am ET on CBC Sports and CBC Gem. Make sure to check it out!
Two-Woman Bobsleigh 🛷
The fourth and final heat of the Women’s Bobsleigh (two-women) event will take place Saturday morning. The teams have already completed three heats of the same track, and this final heat will determine who will win it all.
American Kaillie Humphries, who previously won two gold medals for Canada before switching to team USA, is favoured to win gold in this event - BUT she will have to hold off the two young Germans who are RACING (literally) to knock her off the podium.
For Canada, Christine De Bruin has risen in the ranks and won a bronze medal in the monobob event in Beijing. The other athletes competing for Canada will be Cynthia Appiah and Melissa Lotholz.
After the first two heats of the two-woman bobsleigh competition, Team Canada’s Christine de Bruin has a shot at a second medal at Beijing 2022.
De Bruin, who has already won bronze in the women’s monobob event, and brakewoman Kristen Bujnowski are just 0.42 out of medal contention heading into the final two heats. The Canadians trail American pilot Elana Meyers Taylor, who sits in third with a time of 2:02.79.
Canada’s Cynthia Appiah and brakewoman Dawn Richardson Wilson currently sit in eighth position after two heats with a time of 2:03.64. Appiah, like de Bruin, competed in the monobob event but finished off the podium in eighth.
The third Canadian sled in the two-woman event, piloted by Melissa Lotholz with brakewoman Sara Villani, sits in 16th with a time of 2:04.21.
Check out the Final two heats of the Two-woman Bobsleigh event on Saturday morning starting at 7am ET on CBC Sports and CBC Gem.
📺 Must-see Event: Closing Ceremonies
While there’s still plenty of Winter Olympics competition left, the closing ceremony is just days away.
Sunday marks the end of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after 19 days and 15 sports. Medal winners from Team Canada and all around the world will gather to celebrate the Olympic spirit and pass the torch to the next Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy.
Unlike the opening ceremony, the athletes don’t march behind their nation's flag but instead walk together as a mixed group. And it’s a nice way to recognize the Olympics have brought so many different cultures and countries together to unite and compete in the universal language of sport.
The closing ceremony will take place at the Beijing National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, which sports fans may also recognize from the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.
The closing ceremony will be directed by OSCAR-NOMINATED filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who directed the 2008 ceremonies, as well as the 2022 opening ceremony. The specifics of the artist performances are still under wraps, but the staging is meant to reflect the “simple, safe and splendid” nature of this year’s Games. Traditionally the ceremony includes a parade of flags (and athletes) representing all participating nations, starting with the founding country of Greece and ending with the host nation.
There will also be a presentation of medals from the last event of the Games as well as a speech from the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, declaring the games are over before the flame is officially extinguished.
Make sure to watch the closing ceremony and official end of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Tune in on Sunday at 6:30am ET on CBC Sports and CBC Gem.
🍁 Canada Watch 👀
ANOTHER gold medal for the women?! Canada’s backkkkk babyyyyyy!
Words cannot describe how excited I was when Team Canada beat arch rivals Team USA in a battle for gold in women’s hockey. This was one of the best Canadian hockey teams I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching and I’m feeling really great about my country right about now.
This win was a redemption story for Team Canada, who were forced to settle for silver four years ago in the 2018 Olympic final - also against the U.S. - after taking gold in the previous four Winter Games.
Canada went through this entire tournament without losing and the team scored 57 goals throughout the Games, breaking the Olympic record. WOOOO!
I also feel like I need to point out Sarah Nurse. The Canadian forward made history with the most points and assists in a single women’s Olympic tournament, while Captain Marie-Philip Poulin ended the day as Beijing’s second scoring leader.
All I can say is GO CANADA! Let’s see if the red and whites can make a few more trips to the podium before the end of these Games.
TOTAL MEDAL COUNT: 24 || Women: 10 | Men: 11 | Mixed Team: 3
🥉BRONZE - Count: 8
Isabelle Weidemann (Speed Skating - Women's 3000-metre)
Kim Boutin (Short Track Speed Skating - Women’s 500-metre)
Team Canada (Ski Jumping - Mixed Team)
Meryeta O’Dine (Snowboard Cross)
Team Canada (Aerials - Mixed Team)
Team Canada (Snowboard Cross - Mixed Team)
Christine de Bruin (Monobob - Women’s)
Rachael Karker (Freeski Halfpipe)
🥈SILVER - Count: 3
Isabelle Weidemann (Speed Skating - Women's 5000-metre)
Cassie Sharpe (Freeski Halfpipe)
Marielle Thompson (Ski Cross)
🥇GOLD - Count: 2
Team Canada (Speed Skating - Women's Team Pursuit)
Team Canada (Women’s Hockey)
TV Guide
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