And there ends day 13 of the 2018 Winter Olympics. It’s been a thrill. If you’ve missed any of it, here’s your summary of another action-packed day. Bye!
Switzerland’s Michelle Gizin waltzed off with the women’s alpine combined, leaving silver to America’s Mikaela Shiffrin. Lindsey Vonn, in what could be her final Games, did not finish.
David Wise of the US clinched gold in the men’s ski halfpipe, with countryman Alex Ferreira in silver, and a breathtaking bronze for 16-year-old Nico Porteous of New Zealand.
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USA's David Wise overcomes kit issues to win gold in ski halfpipe – video
New Zealander Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, also 16, also won bronze, this time in the women’s snowboard big air.That was won by Austria’s Anna Gasser, with Jamie Anderson of the US in silver.
China’s Wu Dajing broke the world record twice on his way to 500m speed skating gold, while there were shocks in both the women’s 1,000m – won by Holland’s Suzanne Schulting – and the men’s 5,000m relay, in which Korea crashed out and Hungary took a surprise gold.
Germany won gold in the Nordic Combined Team Gundersen large hill, continuing their dominance of the discipline.
Darya Domracheva anchored Belarus to gold in the women’s 4x6km biathlon relay, with the favourites, Germany, nearly a minute back in eighth at the end of a race held in swirling wind and, for much of the time, heavy snow.
Sweden will play the USA in the men’s curling final, after the former eased past Switzerland and the latter edged past Canada in the semi-finals. Earlier the Swiss eliminated Great Britain in a play-off: here’s Sean Ingle’s report on how the Swiss thumped their way back from 4-5 down to a 9-5 win with just one deft stone.
And away from the action, the Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky was stripped of his mixed doubles bronze medal after testing positive for meldonium.
USA will play Sweden in the men’s curling final! They complete a shock victory over Canada – their second of the week – by controlling the final end to seal a 5-3 success. Canada will play Switzerland for bronze.
Sweden qualify for the men’s curling gold medal match! At the end of the eighth end, with the Swedes holding a 9-3 lead, Switzerland accept the inevitable. They will have a chance of bronze, but still don’t know who they’ll be facing.
Another end, and another step closer to the final for Sweden, who now lead 9-2. But who will they be playing? Midway through end eight, it’s still Canada 2-2 USA.
So Thursday’s action is over, everywhere except for the Gangneung curling centre, where the men’s semi-finals are both on end six. It’s currently Canada 2-2 USA, and Sweden 6-2 Switzerland.
There’s another sporting power couple in the biathlon: Domracheva’s husband is the Norwegian Ole Einar Bjorndalen, 13 years her senior and a veteran of six Olympics – with eight gold medals of his own. He couldn’t get in Norway’s team for these Games, but is in the stadium to celebrate Belarus’s success. Their daughter, Xenia, was born in October 2016; 16 months later her mum has won two Olympic medals.
Gold for Belarus in the women's 4x6km biathlon relay!
Nobody can get anywhere near Domracheva! She picks up a Belarus flag in the final straight, holds it aloft, and it flies off its pole to leave her waving a big, blank stick. That’s as close as she gets to disappointment, though. Sweden seal silver, and France take bronze!
Darya Domracheva, but not the Belarus flag, crosses the finish line. Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
Domracheva reaches the top of the course’s one big climb still in the lead, but behind her Sweden’s Hanna Oeberg has moved into second, just ahead of France’s Anais Bescond.
Not really – she misses three of her first five attempts, but collects herself and is still first away. It’s so close, though, with France six seconds behind and Sweden four seconds behind that. Surely one of those will win this – can anyone catch Domracheva?
In the men’s curling semi-finals, Sweden have stormed into a 6-1 lead over Switzerland after getting a four in the fourth end. The other match is still too close to call, Canada leading 2-1.
@Simon_Burnton In the live blog you wrote about Arianna Fontana: "No woman has ever won more speed skating medals." That may be true for short track, but in long track speed skating there are several women with more medals, topped by Ireen Wüst who yesterday won her 11th medal.
And Domracheva nails her first visit to the range, and Belarus take the lead! This is exciting stuff – rush to your nearest on-demand Olympic footage outlet for the final stages.
Back, then, to the biathlon. The final leg has started, and there are still two shoots which could shake everything up again, but as it stands Poland lead, ahead of France and Belarus, who have Darya Domracheva, three times a gold medalist in 2014 but with only a bronze from these games, on the last leg.
Finally we get to see Elise Christie celebrating at the Gangneung Ice Arena! She’s bouncing around on the sidelines as her boyfriend, Shaolin Sandor Liu, wins gold for Hungary.
Team GB’s Elise Christie gives here boyfriend Sandor Liu Shaolin a congratulatory hug as they celebrate his team’s gold medal. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
The snow has stopped falling on the biathletes, but the wind continues to howl across the shooting range. Italy’s Nicole Gontier comes into it first, hits her first three targets and then loses her cool, misses the remainder and ends up with a penalty loop to do. Belarus are the new leaders!
In the biathlon, Germany’s third leg isn’t going great either – after the first visit to the range, Franziska Hildebrand is off for a penalty loop and they are now nearly two minutes off the lead. Italy are in that position, by a wafer.
I’ve been criminally ignoring the men’s curling semi-finals, which still have a way to go. It’s currently Canada 1-1 USA after three ends, and Sweden 2-1 Switzerland at a similar stage.
Sweden skip Niklas Edin places a stone during their men’s curling semi-final against Switzerland. Photograph: Javier Etxezarreta/EPA
The third of four legs of biathlon relay has just begun, with Finland currently in the lead, 14.2sec ahead of Italy, with Slovakia and the USA close behind. Germany are more than one and a half minutes off the pace.
Incredible scenes! Wierer comes back to the range, where because of the wind everyone is taking their time, reels off five perfect shots and emerges in the lead again!
Dorothea Wierer of Italy shoots during the women’s 4x6km biathlon relay. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images
Slovakia take the lead in the biathlon, but then Anasasiya Kuzmina misses with her first three shots on the range, she has a penalty loop to do, and they too will drop down.
Schulting is in bits, utterly astonished at this unexpected glory. Meanwhile Arianna Fontana has added another medal to her collection – she had already won silver in the 3,000m relay, to go with a haul of a silver and two bronzes from Sochi, and a bronze each from 2010 and 2006. No woman has ever won more short track speed skating medals.
Gold for Holland's Suzanne Schulting in the women's 1,000m speed skating!
Schulting leads from the front and can’t be beaten. Shim Sukhee and Choi Monjeong move wide to make their move in the final stages but collide and slide out, leaving Canada’s Kim Boutin and Italy’s Arianna Fontana to take silver and bronze!
Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands celebrates as she wins the women’s 1000 meters short track speedskating final Photograph: Bernat Armangue/AP
Meanwhile the women’s 1,000m B final has been cancelled, because with two athletes penalised and one advanced only Kim Alang of Korea was going to skate in it. So it’s on with the A final, in which Canada’s Kim Boutin takes the inside track, with Arianna Fontana of Italy, Suzane Schulting of Holland, Korea’s Shim Sukhee and Choi Minjeong, also from Korea, to her right, in order.
The result has been confirmed: Wu Dajing takes gold – China’s first of these Games – Hwang Daeheon and Lim Hyojun sweep up the remaining medals for Korea, and Canada’s Samuel Girard comes fourth.
