Milan Cortina Olympics: Day 1 Highlights
The Milan Cortina Olympics will officially commence with its first medal event, the men’s downhill in Alpine skiing, scheduled for Saturday, marking Day 1 of the Games. Prominent athletes, including U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin and decorated cross-country skier Jessie Diggins, are expected to compete.
The first medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics will be awarded in the men's downhill Alpine skiing event on Saturday.
Men's Downhill Event
The men's downhill race will take place at the Stelvio Ski Center in Bormio. Favorites for the event include Swiss teammates Marco Odermatt and world champion Franjo von Allmen. Italian athlete Dominik Paris, competing in his fifth Games, seeks his first Olympic medal.
Dominik Paris has previously won six World Cup downhills in Bormio and is looking for his first Olympic medal on home snow.
U.S. skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle, a silver medalist in super-G at the Beijing Games, was the fastest in a recent training session, making him a strong contender.
The event is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. local time (1030 GMT, 5:30 a.m. ET), pending weather conditions.
Figure Skating Team Event
Two-time reigning world champion Ilia Malinin is scheduled to perform his short program as part of the figure skating team event. The U.S. team leads Japan and Italy going into Day 2 of the competition. The U.S. team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates, three-time defending world champions, are expected to compete in the free dance.
The event is set to begin at 7:45 p.m. local time (1845 GMT, 1:45 p.m. ET) in Milan.
Jessie Diggins in Cross-Country Skiing
Jessie Diggins, a 34-year-old U.S. cross-country skier, will compete in her fourth Olympics. She aims to add to her impressive collection of Olympic medals (one gold, one silver, one bronze). Diggins will participate in the 20-kilometer skiathlon.
The event starts at 1 p.m. local time (1200 GMT and 7 a.m. ET) in Val di Fiemme.
Other Medal Events
Additional medal events on Saturday include:
- Women's normal hill individual in ski jumping
- Men's snowboard big air
- Women's 3000 meters in speedskating
Women's Hockey Preliminary Rounds
Preliminary rounds for women's hockey have commenced. The U.S. team secured a dominant 5-1 victory over Czechia. Their next match is against Finland, scheduled for 4:40 p.m. local time (1540 GMT, 10:40 a.m. ET) in Milan.
Finland's initial game was postponed due to a norovirus outbreak, but they are set to compete against the U.S.
Other scheduled games for Saturday include Switzerland-Canada, Sweden-Italy, and Germany-Japan.