Milan Winter Olympics 2/6 - 2/22 2026

[ptmcmahon]

It may be an unpopular opinion, but also it's not factually accurate either - no other US skier would have been named to the team if Vonn had withdrawn, the crash was not a result of her recent knee injury, and Vonn was one of the leading women's downhill skiers this season.

Like usual it's just people on the internet deciding they need to voice their opinion about something they're not especially familiar with.

[texasniteowl]

So, I know we have a couple of ice skating fans on the forum. Were the ice dance results right? I mean, it was close...like a point and a half between gold and silver? But I only watch skating at the Olympics mostly and my knowledge is minimal. (I'm trying to keep it generic as some people may not have seen it yet.)

[ptmcmahon]

I also have very limited knowledge of it but watched the last five teams since there was a Canadian pair. I thought the Canadians did look better than the gold and silver medalists, but the CBC announcers seemed to think the French definitely won even with a minor "mistake" (Kurt Browning was doing the commentary.) They did seem surprised when the US team passed the Canadians though.

I probably would have put them Canada-US-France, while the Canadian announcers were leaning France-Canada-US. I'm trying to find some non "local" news about it but am mostly finding American news articles claiming the French win was controversial (which I definitely thought too.)

But I only watch skating at Olympics so take my opinion with many many grains of salt

[texasniteowl]

I enjoyed the Canadian team's dance the most too. I pretty much assumed by scores coming in that the last 2 teams would score higher though due to technical elements at least. So I wasn't surprised by those. But I'll probably watch the routines again tonight in the prime time coverage and what I think on 2nd watch. But yeah, my knowledge of the technical elements is really limited.

The British team's dance was fun too. Had an error and not the same level but was definitely fun.

[ptmcmahon]

Watching the women's halfpipe finals now (Chloe Kim's event)... it's snowing a bit there and it looks like it is making the course extremely slick... almost every boarder is falling.

[ptmcmahon]

And in something I don't remember seeing before ...in the womens 500 m short track speed skating quarterfinal heat 3 has had 3 restarts so far before someone has finally be dq'd.

[skatingfan]

So, I know we have a couple of ice skating fans on the forum. Were the ice dance results right? I mean, it was close...like a point and a half between gold and silver? But I only watch skating at the Olympics mostly and my knowledge is minimal. (I'm trying to keep it generic as some people may not have seen it yet.)

It could have gone either way, but the overall quality of the skating by the French couple outweighed the cleaner skate by the Americans.

[mmmm8]

Watching the women's halfpipe finals now (Chloe Kim's event)... it's snowing a bit there and it looks like it is making the course extremely slick... almost every boarder is falling.

I was watching Alpine Skiing (Women's Super-G) this morning and a bunch were also not able to complete the course, but I don't know if that's normal for the event.

[ptmcmahon]

7 of the first 13 in the halfpipe didn't finish their run. I sort of expect that more at the end than the beginning when people would more likely be trying to record a score and not knowing what they have to beat.

The most remarkable part was the eventual gold medalist, Gaon Choi, fell on her first two attempts. The first time she was down for 3-4 minutes and the camera even zoomed out away. I was surprised she kept competing. Her last run was good and she upset Chloe Kim for the gold.

There are complaints about course conditions:

https://www.newsweek.com/sports/olympic ... l-11515357

[texasniteowl]

and now...the men's skating...

way unexpected but congrats to the young man from Kazakhstan

[ptmcmahon]

The only skate I saw was the last one... that was quite the shocker. (I was glued to hockey and curling at the time.)

I didn't even get to watch the young Canadian who wound up in 5th and had the 2nd best long program score. Assume future bright for him.

[ti-amie]

There were allegations of cheating against Canada but the video I saw has been taken down.

[texasniteowl]

watching the repackage in the primetime show...during Shaidorov's routine, Tara: 'he's planting the seeds for the next olympic cycle'. Hah! and then some inanity about comparing GOE to basketball. like really?

[ti-amie]

sprint final*

Race Director concedes they were allowed to cheat - oops! I don't see any English language coverage of this, so here is a translation of the Finnish article.

Finland’s team furious at Norway and USA’s actions in the sprint – “Lauri Vuorinen is the moral Olympic champion”

Norway and the USA, who took all the medals in the men’s event, are suspected of breaking ski service rules during the sprint competition. Finland considered filing a protest, but the time limit had expired.

The atmosphere in Finland’s cross-country skiing team became electric on Thursday at the Olympic venue when Italy’s head coach Markus Cramer revealed information about what had happened during Tuesday’s sprint competitions.

In the men’s sprint, Norway and the USA — who won all the medals — are suspected of violating regulations that determine how skis may be handled between heats in a classical-style sprint.

When matters began to become clear to the Finnish team through Cramer, waxing chief Heikki Tonteri admitted that emotions were running high.

– Lauri Vuorinen is the moral Olympic champion, declared Tonteri, who also serves as Vuorinen’s personal ski technician.

Prohibited material
Vuorinen placed fourth in the final, which was won by Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. USA’s Ben Ogden was second and Norway’s Oskar Opstad Vike third.

Cramer and the Finns’ anger stemmed from suspicions that the Norwegian and American teams brought materials into the sprint service area that are not permitted there under the rules.

Norway brought a so-called wax pot — an electrically powered waxing machine — into the area.

According to suspicions, the U.S. service team brought a liquid bottle to the site, which is strictly forbidden. The bottle is believed to have contained liquid glide wax. Cramer said he had seen photographic evidence of both cases.

Between heats in a classical sprint, only the grip zones of the skis may be treated, explains Heikki Tonteri:

– The glide zones must not be touched, only the grip areas. The list of materials and tools allowed in the area is very short: grip waxes, scrapers, a battery-powered blower, and dry waxing paper. That list does not include a wax pot, and under no circumstances any kind of liquids. It makes absolutely no difference whether the bottle contained water or liquid glide wax. Liquids are categorically prohibited.

According to the rules, treating skis in a way that violates regulations — for example using fluorinated waxes — leads to disqualification.

The U.S. team told NRK that the liquid was a cleaning agent intended for washing hands.

Time for appeal expired
Led by sprint coach Ville Oksanen, the Finnish team met on Thursday with Michal Lamplot, race director for cross-country skiing at FIS (the International Ski Federation). He informed the Finnish delegation that the 48-hour deadline for such appeals had already passed.

According to Tonteri, when asked, the Norwegian team said they had received permission from Lamplot to bring the wax pot into the service area.

– If Norway truly had such permission, then FIS should of course have informed all teams at the team captains’ meeting that it was allowed. It is not on the list of permitted items, Tonteri said.

After publication of this news, FIS announced that the race director had indeed granted Norway permission to use the wax pot. FIS admitted it made a mistake by not informing the other national teams. In its statement, FIS apologized for the error.

Heated meeting
Italian head coach Cramer told Yle Sports on Thursday evening that he would not let the matter rest.

– A wax pot gives a very large competitive advantage if it is only available to one team. It is fast and produces a very high-quality result, Cramer said.

– Thursday’s team captains’ meeting will be very interesting. Someone was blind on sprint day, or the matter was otherwise not properly supervised, he continued.

A wax pot is a device into which hard wax is placed, melted with electricity, and then applied to the ski. It is usually used for glide waxing, but according to Tonteri it can also be used for grip waxing.

– This must be discussed publicly, because rules lose their meaning if they are not enforced or if they apply only to some teams, the waxing chief stated.

Edit 12 Feb 2026, 19:32: Added information about the International Ski Federation’s statement confirming that Norway received permission to use the wax pot.

Edit 12 Feb 2026, 22:23: Added information that, according to the U.S. team, the liquid brought into the area was a cleaning agent.