Winter Games 2022: The fourth night of the Olympics at a glance

At the start of the fourth day of competition at the Olympic Winter Games, the German team still had no medals. The speed riders make up for the moderate downhill performance in the Super-G on Tuesday. The hosts can cheer at the Big Air. The case of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai continues to spark debate.

Alpine descent for speed riders

After the poor performance in the alpine descent, the German speed riders have rehabilitated themselves a bit in the Super G. In the battle for the medals, however, they were once again unable to intervene. Romed Baumann was seventh as the best of the German Ski Association (DSV) team, Andreas Sander came in eighth. Simon Jocher finished 13th. Austrian Matthias Mayer became the Olympic champion in Yanqing. For him it is the third Olympic gold after the downhill in Sochi 2014 and the Super-G in Pyeongchang 2018.

snowboarding

Snowboarder Stefan Baumeister’s hopes for a medal were dashed surprisingly early. The 28-year-old missed the leap into the finals of the top 16 in the parallel giant slalom. Baumeister, who has already clinched two first and two second places in the World Cup this winter, was considered one of the favorites for gold. His teammate Elias Huber also failed. Yannik Angenend was the only starter of the German men’s trio to make it to the round of 16. In the women’s race, Ramona Hofmeister reached the finals as second best behind Olympic champion Ester Ledecka from the Czech Republic. Carolin Langenhorst also qualified sixth.

Ski freestyle

China’s hopeful Eileen Gu has secured the host country’s third Olympic victory at the Beijing Winter Games in the big-air competition in ski freestyle. The 18-year-old even temporarily catapulted China to the top of the medal table. Gu is the daughter of an American and a Chinese who immigrated to the USA and has been competing for China since 2019. She has long been a star there and is celebrated in the media as the “snow princess”.

tobogganing

The four-time Olympic luge champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt set the best time in the last round of the final training session for the doubles on Tuesday. After finishing second behind the Austrians Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller, the Bavarian duo from Berchtesgaden and Koenigssee set the best time in the last run before the competition on Wednesday.

Disqualification of Katharina Althaus

Ski jumper Katharina Althaus is having a hard time with her disqualification in the mixed competition. “160 World Cup starts, five World Championships, three Olympic Games: And now I’ve been disqualified for the first time. My heart is broken,” wrote the 25-year-old on Instagram. Her jump in Zhangjiakou on Monday was not counted because the suit was too big. Mixed world champion Germany was therefore eliminated after one round. Althaus can at least console himself with the silver medal in the individual.

Frenzel still corona positive

Combined Olympic champion Eric Frenzel still has no negative corona tests and has to be patient in his quarantine hotel at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. There is no new status in this regard, said the 33-year-old on Tuesday in a media round of the German Ski Association (DSV). Frenzel and his teammate Terence Weber had tested positive for the virus after arriving in China. Both will miss the first single on Wednesday.

Concern for Peng Shuai

The women’s tennis organization WTA is still concerned about the 36-year-old after a monitored interview by Peng Shuai during the Olympics. The Chinese tennis player met IOC President Thomas Bach at the Winter Games in Beijing and in the interview with “L’Équipe” again denied a sexual assault by a top Chinese politician. “It’s always good to see Peng Shuai, whether it’s in an interview or attending the Olympics. However, her recent interview doesn’t alleviate any of our concerns about her original post on November 2,” WTA Chief Executive Steve Simon said in an Message.

Athletes’ federations have sharply criticized the International Olympic Committee in the Peng Shuai case. “The IOC has become an accomplice – in several ways,” wrote Maximilian Klein, the representative for international sports policy at the Athletes Germany Initiative, on Twitter. He asked how the IOC intends to credibly stand up for issues such as safe sport and others that affect the rights of athletes in the future. The athletes’ alliance Global Athlete wrote on social networks that the athletes had been instructed “to be silent about China because you don’t know what could happen to you”.