Author: rb809rb

Day 8 of the 2026 Winter Olympics saw the United States return to the podium after a tough Day 7 in which the Americans did not add to their medal count. On Saturday, however, one of Team USA’s brightest stars increased his growing legend. And the U.S. lost out on another gold, demonstrating how thin the line between first and second place can be.

Here are the top five stories of the day:

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Jordan Stolz speeds to second gold in Milan Cortina

Speed skater Jordan Stolz came into the Milan Cortina Games with an opportunity to join Eric Heiden among the greatest in U.S. history. He’s halfway to fulfilling his ambition of winning four gold medals after sprinting to victory in the 500 meters.

Stolz set an Olympic record on his dash to gold, finishing with a time of 33.77. That overtook Gao Tingyu’s 34.32, set at the 2022 Beijing Games, for the fastest in Olympics history. Stolz needed that record time to win as the Netherlands’ Jenning de Boo was only 11 hundredths of a second behind him. Laurent Dubreuil of Canada earned bronze, finishing a half-second behind Stolz.

Men’s hockey beats Denmark

Denmark played the U.S. tough in the first period and closed the margin to one goal at the end of the second. But Team USA increased its offensive pressure in the Danish zone, resulting in five goals over the final two periods and an eventual 6-3 victory.

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Six players scored goals for the U.S.: Matt Boldy, Brady Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, Jake Guentzel and Jack Hughes. Team USA fired 47 shots on net, while Denmark managed 21.

Up next for the U.S. is Germany as pool play continues Sunday at 3:10 p.m. ET.

Slight mistake costs Jaelin Kauf gold in women’s dual moguls

Despite tripping over a mogul, U.S. freestyle skier Jaelin Kauf finished her semifinal race in women’s dual moguls against France’s Perrine Laffont. However, in the final, Kauf slightly bobbled when her left ski slipped out for just a second. That was enough for Australia’s Jakara Anthony to overtake her to win on the scorecard, 20-15, and earn the gold medal.

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Kauf’s silver medal is her second of the Milan Cortina Games and teammate. Elizabeth Lemley took bronze over Laffont, adding to the gold she won in women’s moguls on Wednesday.

Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen first South American to medal at Winter Games

History occurred during Saturday’s men’s giant slalom with Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen winning gold. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Pinheiro Braathen became the first-ever South American athlete to earn a medal at the Winter Olympics.

With a combined time of 2:25.00, Pinheiro Braathen beat out Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, who won gold in 2022 at Beijing. Before competing for Brazil, Pinheiro Braathen began his Alpine skiing career representing Norway, his father’s home country. After retiring for less than a year, he returned to competitive ski racing for Brazil. He was one of the country’s flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony.

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U.S. women’s curling continues ascent; American men rebound

After defeating Canada on Friday for the first time since women’s curling was introduced to the Olympics in 1998, the American women improved to 3-1 in round-robin competition on Saturday with a 7-4 win over Japan. At the moment, they are tied for second with Switzerland. Sweden is first and unbeaten.

The U.S. men’s team had dropped back-to-back games entering Saturday but returned to the win column with an 8-6 victory against a Germany squad that was 2-1 entering the weekend. Now the Americans and Germans are tied for sixth, meaning they’re both on the outside looking in at the four-team playoffs at the moment. Round-robin play is far from over, though. The U.S. still has five games left.

Team USA medal count is now up to 17

Highlight of the day

Stolz’s thrilling finish takes the cake. He barely held off de Boo and needed quite the final push to win his second gold. Four days earlier, Stolz overtook the Dutchman on the final lap of the men’s 1,000 meters.

One more thing

The Olympics are full of inspiring stories, including those of perseverance. Another of that kind was on display Saturday when Swedish cross-country skier Ebba Andersson raced on one ski for about half a minute during the women’s 4 x 7.5km relay. Sweden entered the event as gold medal favorites, and remarkably, still won silver. But amid the second leg of the event, Andersson fell — more than once, actually, and ultimately lost her right ski. She retrieved it, except it was broken. She kept going, trudging through the course until a Swedish technician, after falling himself, handed her another working ski. By the time Andersson reached the handover zone, Sweden had plummeted to eighth.

Frida Karlsson followed with a strong third leg. Jonna Sundling brought the relay home and Sweden all the way back to second. Andersson’s relentless effort, however, will be remembered as well. She now has three silvers in these Games.

The Miami Heat’s Keshad Johnson won this year’s NBA Dunk Contest, despite San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant nailing a between-the-legs dunk in the first leg of the final that saw him receive 50s across the board.

The competition appeared to be Bryant’s to lose, but he couldn’t land his final planned dunk — a reverse slam following his own pass off the backboard — instead opting for a 360 that he showcased to start the night. Bryant needed only a 47.5 to win, but his last-ditch repeat effort resulted in a mere 43.

Johnson’s final dunk saw him soar from inside the key for a high-flying yet somewhat underwhelming throwdown, especially since Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes attempted a similar dunk in the first round. But the running windmill was a nice touch, and it came in the wake of his between-the-legs dunk from underneath the basket that wowed.

Johnson went undrafted in 2024 and has played in just 21 games with the Heat this season. He’s averaged 3.1 points per outing in those appearances.

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That said, he accounted for Miami’s fourth NBA Dunk Contest title, and its first since Derrick Jones Jr. won the event in 2020. Harold Miner placed first in the competition while with the Heat in 1993 and 1995.

Johnson’s biggest competition, Bryant, also played college basketball at Arizona, except they didn’t overlap there. The Spurs selected Bryant with the No. 14 overall pick in last year’s draft, and he’s posted 3.4 points per contest in his 43 appearances with the Spurs so far.

Bryant kicked things off in the first round with his first 360, complete with a left-leg kick out and a right-handed jam. He followed that up with a windmill slam that earned him 50s from Dwight Howard and Dominique Wilkins and an average score of 49.2, the highest of any dunk in the first round, clinching his spot in the final.

Johnson joined him after settling for a baseline reverse dunk that demonstrated every bit of the wingspan that accompanies the former Arizona and San Diego State forward’s 6-foot-7 frame. Johnson’s first dunk was more impressive. Not only did he leap over Bay Area rap legend E-40 in the paint, but he did so while positioning his left hand behind his head, as if he was relaxing on the beach. That earned him a score of 47.4, the second highest of the first round.

They both cleared the combined scores recorded by Hayes and Orlando Magic guard Jase Richardson in the first round.

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The judges table was made up of Howard, Wilkins and fellow former dunk contest champions Brent Barry and Julius Erving, as well as longtime Clippers standout Corey Maggette.

Saturday’s festivities began with the 3-point contest and the shooting stars event.

First up was the 3-point contest, which marked the first time Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard took the court in an official capacity this season as he continues to rehab an Achilles injury. He delivered, putting up 27 points in the first round, then 29 in the final round to take down Devin Booker.

It was Lillard’s third 3-point contest title after back-to-back wins in 2023 and 2024. He joins Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only three-time winners in NBA history.

Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel also advanced to the final round but scored just 17 points. Lillard went next and surpassed his first-round score. Booker missed what would have been the tying shot on his final attempt and finished with 27 points. He had 30 in the first round.

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In addition to Lillard, Booker and Knueppel, Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Bobby Portis Jr. (Milwaukee Bucks) and Norman Powell (Miami Heat) also participated.

Next up was the shooting stars contest, where four teams consisting of two current NBA players and one NBA legend competed in two rounds, scoring points while rotating through different shooting locations around the court. Team Knicks — Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns — was victorious, taking down Team Cameron, which featured Kneuppel and Jalen Johnson.

Here’s how the dunk and 3-point contests went down in real-time on All-Star Saturday:

Live coverage is over44 updates

• Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:47 PM PST

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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:51 PM PST

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  Carter Bryant came up short in the dunk contest after missing multiple dunks, scoring just a 43 on his last dunk.

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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:50 PM PST

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  Keshad Johnson scored 47.8 on his final dunk attempt. He followed it with a dance as he did after every dunk.

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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:46 PM PST

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  Carter Bryant followed up Keshad Johnson’s dunk with a perfect score on his between-the-legs dunk.

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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:43 PM PST

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  Keshad Johnson scored 49.6 on his first dunk in the finals on a between-the-legs reverse dunk.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:37 PM PST

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  Keshad Johnson’s 45.4 points on his second dunk were enough for him to advance to the finals to face Carter Bryant. Johnson was able to pick up his points on an impressive reverse dunk.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:34 PM PST

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  What a dunk from Carter Bryant on his second attempt. The judges gave him a round-high 49.2 after windmilling off a self-lob. Bryant and Keshad Johnson head to the finals.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:31 PM PST

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  Jase Richardson scores 43.4 points on his second dunk after multiple mistimed lobs on his dunk attempts. After taking a scary fall, Richardson decided to try another dunk, which he was able to finish.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:26 PM PST

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  That was better. After a missed attempt and a few mistimed self-lobs, Jaxson Hayes scored a 47.2 on his second dunk.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:23 PM PST

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  Jaxson Hayes’ first dunk would be acceptable in a regular game, not a dunk contest. After Hayes’ pedestrian one-handed dunk, even he winced. Hayes scored 44.6, with Dwight Howard giving his fellow big man a 47.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:18 PM PST

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  Miami Heat rookie Keshad Johnson takes the lead with a 47.4 score despite missing his first dunk attempt. Johnson jumped over rapper E-40 and dunked while having one hand behind his head. Johnson celebrated by doing the dougie.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:11 PM PST

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  Orlando Magic rookie Jase Richardson opened the dunk contest with a reverse dunk on a self-lob. He scored 45.4. Richardson is the son of Jason Richardson, who won back-to-back NBA dunk contests in 2002 and 2003.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:09 PM PST

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  San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant opens the dunk contest, scoring 45.6 on his first dunk.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:06 PM PST

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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 4:05 PM PST

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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 3:51 PM PST

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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 3:41 PM PST

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  Multiple 7-point shots from Jalen Brunson and Allan Houston helped the Knicks win the Kia Shooting Stars challenge. The Knicks now have a Kia Shooting Stars trophy to go along with their trophy from the Emirates NBA Cup.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 3:36 PM PST

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  Corey Maggette carried. Maggette scored three 7-point shots in a row to lead Team Cameron to 38 points in the second round.

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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 3:30 PM PST

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  The Knicks take the lead with 31 points after multiple shots from deep. The Knicks were led by Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony Towns and Allan Houston.
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  Sat, February 14, 2026 at 3:28 PM PST

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  The Harpers are in second place after an 18-point performance from Ron Harper Sr., Ron Harper Jr. and Dylan Harper.

The 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest came and went on Saturday, with Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson — who is averaging 7.6 minutes per game this season — winning the event with four dunks ranging from acceptable dunk to good dunk.

Like in many years previous, the dunk contest field was an array of relatively anonymous players: Johnson, San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes and Orlando Magic rookie Jase Richardson.

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A notable absence from the field (in addition to every All-Star of the past five years) was Mac McClung, the G League veteran who has won the last three contests and could have made history with an unprecedented fourth. He announced last month he was sitting this one out for “a bunch of reasons.”

However, McClung did decide to show off the four dunks he would have brought to the contest had he participated. Here they are:

By comparison, here are all the dunks Johnson landed in the actual competition.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the McClung dunks are both more interesting and more impressive, though we should also note we are only watching the video McClung’s camp decided to record. Half the difficulty of the dunk contest is being able to pull off acrobatic moves on command, with a panel of NBA veterans to somberly shake their heads at you if you fail.

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That said, McClung certainly has the benefit of the doubt given that he has landed 12 such dunks in the actual competition.

What does this all mean for the dunk contest? It’s certainly not the best look that its three-time champion responded to the actual competition with a superior group of dunks, but it’s hardly the contest’s biggest problem.

The contest has alternated from dying to watchable for the last decade and a half or so. When there’s a McClung, an Aaron Gordon or Zach LaVine, the audience has something to grab onto. When there isn’t, you certainly start to wonder why all this pageantry is put into what is essentially four lesser-known players trying to cosplay as stars. It’s been a long time since LaVine and Gordon faced off in 2016, and even longer since Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins were doing it.

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Maybe that’s harsh, but we saw how full that arena was on Saturday.

The Winter Games have begun in Italy. From the rink to the slopes, a new generation of stars has emerged to chase gold. We’ll keep you connected to all of the thrilling moments and top stories as we track the medal race each day of the Games.

The United States is up to 17 total medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics and another 27 will be up for grabs Sunday in Day 9 in Italy.

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Here are the top five things to watch on Sunday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics:

1. Can Mikaela Shiffrin shake her Olympic demons? (7:30 a.m. ET)

Mikaela Shiffrin has a case to be the best skier in the history of the world, and it’s a testament to her success that an Olympic career with two gold medals and a silver could be considered a disappointment. But it’s a subject that’s hard to avoid at this point.

After a highly disappointing finish in the women’s team combined earlier this week, Shiffrin will go for individual gold in the giant slalom, where she won gold in 2018 at PyeongChang.

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2. U.S men’s curling faces defending champion Sweden (3:05 a.m. ET)

The U.S. men’s curling team enters Sunday’s round robin matchup with Sweden, fresh off an 8-6 victory over Germany. The U.S team got off to a blazing 4-0 start in the first end and led 6-2 in the fourth end. The German team cut the Americans’ lead down to one before skip Danny Casper closed the game out to prevent the Germans from tying the game.

The U.S. will head into Sunday at 2-2.

3. Team USA faces Germany in men’s hockey (3:10 p.m. ET)

The U.S. is off to a good start in the Olympic men’s hockey tournament, beating Denmark 6-3 and Latvia 5-1. Their final challenge of group play will come against Germany.

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While they won both of the previous games by three-plus goals, it also took the Americans a while to get going, so a quick start would be nice as the event heads toward the knockout rounds. Co-gold medal favorite Canada will also be playing earlier Sunday against Switzerland.

4. Erin Jackson defends her 500m speedskating title (11 a.m. ET)

Erin Jackson’s gold medal in the 500-meter speedskate was a breakthrough moment for Team USA, which hadn’t medaled in the event since 1994. Jackson is back for this Olympics, having already finished sixth in the 1000-meter speedskate on Monday.

5. Nick Baumgartner helps defend mixed team snowboard cross gold (7:45 a.m. ET)

With the veteran pair Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner, the U.S. won the inaugural mixed team snowboard cross in Beijing. Jacobellis will be in the broadcast booth for this one, but the 44-year-old Baumgartner is back alongside partner Faye Thelan.

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They will be one of two American teams in the event Sunday, with Nathan Pare and Stacy Gaskill teaming up in another quarterfinal.

Olympics schedule for Sunday, Feb. 15 (Day 9)

Alpine Skiing

Giant slalom

4 a.m.: Women’s run 1 (USA Network)

7:20 a.m.: Women’s run 2 (NBC coverage begins at 7:30 a.m.)🏅

Biathlon

12.5 kilometer pursuit

• 5:15 a.m.: Men’s final (airs on NBC at 11:45 a.m.)🏅

10 kilometer pursuit

• 8:45 a.m.: Women’s final (NBC)🏅

Bobsled

Monobob

• 4 a.m.: Women’s runs 1 and 2 (airs on NBC at 7:30 a.m.)

Cross-Country Skiing

4×7.5 kilometer relay

• 6 a.m.: Men’s final (USA; airs at 7 a.m. on NBC)🏅

Curling

Men’s round-robin

• 3:05 a.m.: USA-Sweden (airs on CNBC at 11 a.m.), Germany-Great Britain, Norway-Italy

• 1:05 p.m.: China-Canada, Norway-USA, Italy-Czechia, Great Britain-Switzerland

Women’s round-robin

• 8:05 a.m.: USA-China (airs on CNBC at 8:30 a.m.), Denmark-Italy (airs on CNBC at 3:30 p.m.), Japan-South Korea, Great Britain-Sweden

Figure Skating

Pairs

• 1:45 p.m.: Short program (USA Network; NBC coverage begins at 12 p.m.)

Freestyle Skiing

Dual moguls

• 4:30 a.m.: Men’s final (USA Network coverage begins at 4:40 a.m.)🏅

Big air

• 1:30 p.m.: Men’s qualifying (NBC coverage begins at 1:40 p.m.)

Hockey

Men’s pool play

• 6 a.m.: Switzerland vs. Czechia (CNBC)

• 10:40 a.m.: Canada vs. France (USA Network)

• 1 p.m.: Denmark vs. Latvia (CNBC)

• 3:10 p.m.: USA vs. Germany (USA Network)

Skeleton

12 p.m.: Mixed team final (NBC coverage begins at 1:15 p.m.)🏅

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Ski Jumping

Large hill

• 12:45 p.m.: Women’s final (airs at 8 p.m. on USA Network)🏅

Snowboarding

Snowboard cross

• 7:45 a.m.: Mixed team final (USA Network; airs on NBC at 8:30 a.m.)🏅

Speed Skating

Team pursuit

• 10 a.m.: Men’s qualifying (NBC)

500 meters

• 11 a.m.: Women’s final (NBC)🏅

Put aside, just for a moment, the LIV Golf-PGA Tour’s subtext of perpetual scuffling. Try not to think about the posturing and skepticism that accompanies virtually every LIV story. Focus, just for a second, on the simple facts:

Anthony Kim won a golf tournament. Against Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. In 2026.

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Kim, one of sports’ true prodigal sons, claimed LIV’s Adelaide event in Australia on Sunday, riding a final-round, nine-birdie 63, turning a five-shot deficit into a three-shot victory. If nothing else — if Kim’s story goes no further than this right here — it’s a pretty incredible comeback for a guy who briefly ruled the golf world, then literally disappeared for more than a decade.

Every so often, golf produces one of these back-to-the-mountaintop stories, when a name from the past has a late-career week of their lives. Think Jack Nicklaus at the Masters in 1986, Tom Watson (almost) at the Open Championship in 2009, Tiger Woods at the Masters in 2019, Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship in 2021. Everything comes together for one weekend, past meeting present, and it’s remarkable to see.

Obviously, Kim’s victory doesn’t have anywhere near that historical resonance; about the only thing Adelaide and Augusta National have in common is a starting letter. But Kim’s first professional win in nearly 16 years is an impressive story of facing down the demons of addiction and injury.

It’s tough to remember now, but for a brief moment, Kim’s popularity in golf was second only to Woods — and Woods’ personal scandals erupted right as Kim was playing his best golf. Before Scottie Scheffler, before Brooks Koepka, before Jordan Spieth, before Rahm and DeChambeau, before Rory McIlroy had won a single tournament, there was Kim. He went toe-to-toe with Tiger, he hung with Michael Jordan, he was a SportsCenter darling back when SportsCenter was, well, the center of the sports universe.

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Scanning leaderboards from Kim’s prime 2009-10 era feels like looking at faded family pictures in a scrapbook. There’s only one player from Kim’s most recent win, the 2010 Shell Houston Open, still in the top 20: ageless wonder Justin Rose. The tee sheet at Kim’s most recent Masters, 2011, included Ernie Els, Mark O’Meara, Craig Stadler and Watson.

But after suffering an Achilles injury in 2012, Kim stepped away from the game. And not in the “showing-up-on-NBA-sidelines-and-ESPN-red-carpets” kind of way. No, he flat-out vanished for more than a decade. Rumors of Kim surfaced here and there — he was playing golf with buddies in Oklahoma, he was keeping in shape in California, he hadn’t touched a club in five years — but no one managed to get even a picture of Kim, much less his story.

“I was around some bad people,” Kim said in 2024. “People that took advantage of me. Scam artists. When you’re 24, 25, even 30 years old, you don’t realize the snakes that are living under your roof.”

That’s why Greg Norman’s dramatic 2024 reveal of Kim as a new LIV addition caused such a ripple in certain segments of golf fandom. Kim was once the coolest dude possible, the heir to Woods, the herald of a new era of golf. What would he have left after so many years away from the game?

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Not much, to start. He failed to earn even a single point in his first two seasons on the tour, and was relegated. That could have been the end of his story, but he managed to place third in LIV’s Promotions Event, posted a T22 in the first tournament of the season … and now this. A win is a win, especially when two of the world’s best are in your final grouping.

It’ll be interesting to see how the golf establishment views this victory. LIV players, as expected, have rallied around Kim. European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald was one of the first non-LIV players to praise Kim’s achievement, unsurprising given that it occurred in the middle of the night for America:

For LIV, this is undoubtedly the most significant victory in the tour’s history. This story will break wide in a way that, say, Rippers GC’s latest team victory at Adelaide won’t. The presence of Rahm and DeChambeau legitimizes the win, and LIV’s challenge now is transforming this burst of fans’ attention into longer-term connections.

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For Kim, the takeaway is much more simple. Yes, he’ll rise up to around 200th in the world rankings, but that’s not the real story here. Kim picked himself up from life’s floor, got his life back together, and returned to the top of the leaderboard. Right now, that’s more than enough.

In August 2021, Rakan Alireza quit his corporate job to pursue a goal so audacious that no one else from his desert nation had ever attempted it.

The 24-year-old began training to represent Saudi Arabia on a global stage as a cross-country skier.

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Alireza was among the first athletes selected by the Saudi government after it proclaimed that the country’s lack of ski slopes and snowy peaks shouldn’t inhibit its winter sports ambitions. The Saudis conducted a nationwide search for athletes with any shred of skiing or snowboarding experience. They sought to unearth a handful of promising novices and invest heavily in grooming them for international competition.

While Alireza had only skied recreationally during boarding school or while traveling abroad with his family, the Saudi Winter Sports Federation believed in his potential as a cross-country skier. Alireza participated in the CrossFit Games and achieved one of Saudi Arabia’s highest rankings. The fitness fanatic’s strength and endurance would serve him well traversing rugged terrain on skis, Saudi officials projected.

Alireza vividly recalls the skeptical response when he told his parents that he aimed to qualify for the Winter Olympics.

“You’re actually going to leave a career to do this?” Alireza’s father asked incredulously. “You’re going to be competing against people born with skis on their feet!”

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Alireza’s mother was initially more supportive … until she learned he was stepping down from his consulting job with Price Waterhouse Coopers in Riyadh.

“She told me it didn’t make sense,” Alireza said. “She thought it was a hopeless case.”

Nearly five years later, even Alireza’s parents might admit he was correct to ignore their advice. The pioneering Alireza has opened doors for future generations of Saudis and helped redefine what’s possible for a winter sports athlete from a desert nation with virtually no snow.

Alireza made history Friday when he became the second Saudi athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics and the first to represent the Kingdom in cross-country skiing. The only other Saudi to reach the Winter Olympics is Alpine skier Fayik Abdi, who qualified for Beijing in 2022 and for this year’s Games.

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Whereas making it to the starting line at the Olympics is the culmination of years of dogged effort and sacrifice for Alireza, the achievement is merely a starting point for his country. Saudi Arabia envisions itself becoming a future winter sports giant, the type that doesn’t just send athletes to participate in the Olympics but to return home with medals around their necks.

“I think the whole world is going to know about us soon,” said Leon Svetlin, the former Bosnian skier who since October 2022 has served as the Saudi Winter Sports Federation’s head coach and Alpine sports director. “There is a vision for the future and strong institutional support from the country. When you have that, you can get results in a shorter period of time.”

‘Bambi on ice’

The biggest reason Saudi Arabia cannot be taken lightly as a potential winter sports power is its financial might. Since the oil-rich country is still at least a couple years away from providing access to ski slopes within its borders, the Saudi government has spared no expense housing winter sports athletes in Europe for months at a time.

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Alireza’s transformation from cross-country skiing novice to future Olympian began in August 2021 when the Saudi government sent him to Sweden to train inside a famous underground ski tunnel with hilly terrain and year-round snow. It was there that he began working with the top-tier European coaches hired by the Saudis to teach him the proper technique.

Only minutes into Alireza’s first training session, the young Saudi realized he’d underestimated the challenge he faced. It took him five minutes to even step into his cross-country ski bindings. Then once he did, he resembled Bambi on ice.

“I kept falling down, Alireza said. “There were all these young kids whizzing past me. Seeing where they were compared to where I was, it was kind of terrifying.”

Eagerness to learn and willingness to suffer has helped Alireza improve. He trains up to five hours per day, alternating between skiing and high-intensity endurance work. When in Europe, he takes advantage of the opportunity to ski on snow. When back home in the desert city of Jeddah, he rollerskis, sometimes with a tire strapped to his back to mimic the resistance of snow conditions.

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Those efforts were enough to help Alireza secure his place at these Olympics, but the gap remains wide between the 29-year-old Saudi and European or North American competitors who grew up on skis. Alireza arrived in Italy ranked outside the top 2000 globally in both the men’s sprint and distance cross-country disciplines. He estimates that he still has been on skis fewer than 200 times in his life.

“I still consider myself a beginner,” Alireza said. “You can see it in my fundamentals. Mid-race I’ll see someone doing something and I’ll try to copy it. If it works, good. If not, I learn.”

It’s no mystery to the Saudis that they’re unlikely to challenge for podium positions on a global stage unless their winter sports athletes hit the slopes earlier in life. They have to find ways to introduce Saudi boys and girls to skiing and snowboarding during childhood and create developmental pathways for those who display promise.

“That’s one of the biggest challenges for us,” Svetlin admitted. “Normally to reach your peak as a skier, you need 10-15 years of continuous training. In Saudi Arabia, we still don’t have a ski slope and it’s not realistic to ask kids to travel all the way to Europe to start training from a very young age.”

A desert ski resort?

The potential solution to Saudi Arabia’s snow problem is a project that is both wildly ambitious and lavishly expensive. In 2022, as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to boost tourism, attract major events and diversify the country’s oil-dependent economy, Saudi Arabia unveiled plans to build a sprawling, futuristic outdoor ski resort known as Trojena.

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While the mountains where the ski resort will be situated do occasionally get a dusting of snow during the winter, it’s nowhere near enough to create a winter sports destination. As a result, Saudi Arabia intends to rely on state-of-the-art snowmaking technologies to manufacture more than 30 kilometers of ski slopes.

Will the project be complete in time for Saudi Arabia to fulfill its duties as the designated host for the 2029 Asian Winter Games? That’s not yet clear. Satellite imagery taken last year shows that construction of the ski resort is underway, but delays have reportedly led the Olympic Council of Asia to begin making contingency plans elsewhere in the region.

Whenever the ski resort opens, it has the potential to be a game changer for the development of winter sports athletes from Saudi Arabia, Svetlin says. So do planned indoor ski resorts in the Saudi capital of Riyadh and elsewhere.

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“Hopefully in the next couple years we’ll get a chance to train there and compete there,” Svetlin said. “I think that will make it possible for us to find even younger athletes and create an even better platform for the future.”

Svetlin is also intrigued with the idea that rollerskiing could become a training option for Saudi kids who are interested in cross-country skiing but don’t have access to snow. He believes that could help Saudi Arabia produce high-level results in cross-country skiing faster than other skiing and snowboarding disciplines.

It will also help having a trailblazer like Alireza who has kicked open doors that were once shut. When Alireza and his fellow Saudi skiers first began training, he remembers coaches from other national teams openly laughing at their ineptitude.

“Now those same coaches have become our fans,” Alireza said. “They would cheer for us and support us when they saw the improvement.”

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Alireza takes immense pride in making the Olympics, but he’s hopeful this is just the beginning for his desert country in winter sports.

There’s already another younger Saudi cross-country skier pushing Alireza. His goal is to be better than Alireza and Alireza is rooting for him. He often says to the newcomer, “I want you to retire me, but I’m never going to make it easy on you.

“I tell him going to the Olympics is no longer special if I did it,” Alireza said. “You’re going to be the second one to do it? No one really cares. Go do something better.”

Norway cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo set a Winter Olympics record on Sunday by winning his ninth career gold medal — most in Winter Olympic history.

The gold was his fourth of the 2026 Winter Olympics, joining his victories in the 10 km freestyle, 20 km skiathlon and the men’s individual sprint.

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Klæbo, 29, earned his record as part of the men’s 4 X 7.5 km relay team, which beat out France and home country Italy in the competition. He was the final leg of the relay, following Emil Iversen, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget and Einar Hedegart.

Norway finished with a time of 1:04:24.5, 22 seconds ahead of France (1:04:46.7) and 47.9 seconds better than Italy (1:05:12.4). It’s possible the team could have posted an even faster time, but Klæbo slowed down a bit toward the finish to wave to spectators.

The United States placed sixth (1:06:11.8) in the event, finishing behind Finland and Canada.

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Nicknamed “Rocket Man” by Norwegian media, Klæbo previously won three gold medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, finishing first in the individual sprint, 4 x 10 km relay and team sprint events. In 2022, he earned gold in the individual and team sprint events at Beijing.

With his ninth gold medal, Klæbo surpassed fellow Norwegian cross-country skiers Bjørn Dæhlie and Marit Bjørgen, along with countrymen and biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen.

Klæbo is still set to compete in two more events at the Milan Cortina Games, the men’s team sprint and 50 km mass start. A fifth gold medal at the 2026 Games would tie him with U.S. speed skater Eric Heiden for the most won during a single Winter Olympics.

The 68th Daytona 500 will officially kick off the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season on Sunday. The iconic race at the 2.5-mile oval in Daytona Beach, Florida, begins at 1:30 p.m. ET (moved up an hour due to weather in the forecast) and will be televised on Fox.

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Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the race, as NASCAR has made significant changes to its championship format ahead of the season.

Can William Byron win 3 in a row?

William Byron is attempting to be the first driver to win three consecutive Daytona 500s.

Just six drivers have won at least three Daytona 500s and none of them ever won them in back-to-back-to-back seasons. And of those six, only three — Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Denny Hamlin — won Daytona 500s in back-to-back seasons.

Byron is one of seven drivers with two Daytona 500 wins and he’s scored those victories by avoiding late crashes and being in the right place at the right time on late restarts.

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In 2024, Byron was able to escape a 23-car crash at the front of the field with less than 10 laps to go. That crash set up a restart with four laps to go as Byron led all four of the remaining circuits on his way to the win. Those were the only four laps Byron led all race.

A season ago, a crash with five laps to go on the backstretch set up a green-white-checkered restart. Byron was in seventh as the field exited Turn 2 on the final but was somehow able to get past the race leaders as they crashed down the backstretch to steal the win.

Can Byron somehow continue his luck for an unprecedented three wins in a row?

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Daytona 500 winner no longer a virtual lock for playoffs

NASCAR’s cumulative 10-race playoff format has returned.

The sanctioning body announced in January that it was returning to a version of its original playoff format that it launched in 2004. After the first 26 races of the season, the top 16 drivers in the points standings will qualify for the playoffs and will be seeded based on their position in the standings. The driver who has the most points in the final 10 races of the season will be crowned the champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR had a cumulative 10-race playoff from 2004 through 2013 before it launched a multi-round version of the playoffs in 2014. In that playoff format, a driver who won a race in the regular season could virtually guarantee himself a spot in the playoffs.

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For the past 12 seasons, the 10-race playoffs included four rounds and three drivers were eliminated in each of the first three rounds before four drivers raced straight-up for the championship in the season finale. In 2025, Hamlin dominated the final race of the season at Phoenix, but a late caution for Byron’s tire failure shook up the field on pit strategy, and Kyle Larson exited pit road ahead of Hamlin and beat him to the finish line for his second Cup Series title.

Can Denny Hamlin win a fourth Daytona 500?

Hamlin, 45, would tie Cale Yarborough for the second-most Daytona 500 wins if he gets a fourth victory. Hamlin is one of four drivers who have three Daytona 500 wins and, along with Byron, is one of just two active full-time drivers who have scored multiple Daytona 500 wins.

It’s been a tumultuous last four months for Hamlin. After losing the championship in heartbreaking fashion in November, Hamlin and his 23XI Racing team that he co-owns with Michael Jordan went to trial against NASCAR over the Cup Series’ franchising agreement. The trial ended with a settlement that granted permanent charters to teams — a main sticking point in the lawsuit that 23XI and Front Row Motorsports filed against NASCAR.

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Later in December, Hamlin’s father, Dennis, was killed and his mother, Mary Lou, was significantly injured in a fire that destroyed their home in North Carolina. Just two weeks ago, Hamlin revealed that he re-injured his right shoulder while climbing through the rubble at the site of the fire and will wait to have surgery until after the 2026 Cup Series season.

Hamlin has won 60 career Cup Series races across 721 starts and is the most successful driver to have never won a Cup Series title. Can 2026 finally be the year after he came so close in 2025?

Big names still looking for their first Daytona 500 win

Along with Byron and Hamlin, there are only five other full-time drivers who have Daytona 500 wins to their name; Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Michael McDowell, Austijn Cindric and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

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You’ll notice that a lot of star power is absent from that list. Drivers like Larson, 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott, and 2015 and 2019 Cup Series champ Kyle Busch are still searching for their first wins in the Daytona 500.

Busch has the longest drought of anyone in that group. The 2026 Daytona 500 will be Busch’s 21st start and his luck in February at Daytona just simply hasn’t been good. Busch has just one win over 41 total starts at Daytona and only five of his 13 top-10 finishes in those races have come in the Daytona 500.

If he wins for Richard Childress Racing on Sunday, he’ll break a streak that was longer than Dale Earnhardt’s. The seven-time Cup Series champ finally won his first Daytona 500 in his 20th start in 1998.

Busch is also starting the race from the pole. He won his first Daytona 500 pole position on Wednesday night and would be the first driver since Dale Jarrett in 2000 to win after starting first.

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Connor Zilisch is the only Cup Series rookie

The 19-year-old doesn’t have to do much to win Rookie of the Year in 2026 as he’s the only driver running for the award. Zilisch is moving up full-time to the Cup Series this season for Trackhouse Racing after 36 starts in what’s now the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

After winning once over four starts in 2024, Zilisch was dominant in 2025 with 10 victories and 23 top-10 finishes across 32 races for JR Motorsports in 2025. However, he didn’t win the series championship after he finished third behind champion Jesse Love in the final race of the season.

Zilisch is already an accomplished road racer and could quickly be the main foil for his Trackhouse teammate Shane van Gisbergen on road courses. Van Gisbergen won five of six Cup Series road course races in 2025.

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Jimmie Johnson returns

The seven-time Cup Series champion is continuing his part-time run in NASCAR with another Daytona 500. After taking the 2021 and 2022 seasons off from the Cup Series and trying his hand in IndyCar, Johnson has raced in the last three Daytona 500s for Legacy Motor Club and even finished third a season ago.

This season, Johnson doesn’t have to worry about qualifying for the race, either. Under a rule NASCAR implemented in 2025 that granted Helio Castroneves a guaranteed spot in the race, Johnson is locked into the field via the Open Exemption Provisional granted at NASCAR’s discretion to accomplished drivers running a part-time schedule.

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Johnson’s inclusion into the field means 41 cars will start the Daytona 500 instead of 40. With 45 cars attempting to make the race, four drivers will fail to qualify for the race.

Who made it into the Daytona 500?

Casey Mears and BJ McLeod raced their way into the Daytona 500 during Thursday night’s Duel qualifying races. And they accomplished their feats quite differently.

Mears spun entering pit road midway through the first Duel and was at the back of the main pack on the final lap. But Corey LaJoie — one of two drivers he was racing for a transfer spot into the 500 — was involved in a crash while running at the front of the field. Mears floored it as the crash occurred, and even ran into Daniel Suarez as Suarez hit the wall. But he crossed the finish line ahead of Chandler Smith as LaJoie’s car was damaged in the infield grass.

In the second Duel, McLeod exited his car certain that he didn’t make the 500. McLeod finished ahead of JJ Yeley but behind Anthony Alfredo in that race’s transfer spot. However, Alfredo’s car failed post-race inspection, and his disqualification put McLeod into the race.

Betting the Daytona 500 is far from straightforward.

NASCAR’s biggest race has evolved into what can kindly be called a crapshoot over the last five seasons. As William Byron goes for his third straight Daytona 500 win, he’s hardly been at the front in any of his previous two victories.

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In 2024, Byron took the lead for the first time on a late restart and led the final four laps. Those were the only laps he led all day.

A season ago, Byron led 10 laps. But he wasn’t anywhere near the lead halfway through the final lap. Byron went from seventh to first on the last lap thanks to a crash at the front of the field that he somehow escaped.

Since Denny Hamlin led 79 laps on the way to his third Daytona 500 win in 2020 — a race he won from third just football fields from the finish line as leader Ryan Newman went head-on into the wall — none of the past five race winners have led more than 21 laps. And outside of the 21 laps that Austin Cindric led in 2022, no winner has led more than 10 laps in any of the last four Daytona 500s.

It’s imperative to be in the right place at the right time. And there’s no consensus on where the right place actually is given the nature of Cup Series racing at Daytona and Talladega. You can lead 190 laps and get sent into the wall while leading just as easily as you can get caught up in a crash ahead of you while running 35th.

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You need far more luck than skill and a dominant car these days.

That’s why we recommend spreading out your bets if you’re looking to cash in on the Feb. 15 race. Instead of a large bet on one or two drivers, smaller bets on a handful of drivers — including a couple of long shots — is a much smarter play. Here’s a look at the field ahead of the first Cup Series race of the season. All odds are from BetMGM.

The favorites

Ryan Blaney (+1200)
Blaney is still looking for his first Daytona 500 win, but may currently be the best driver at Daytona and Talladega. He’s won two summer races at Daytona and has nine top-10 finishes in 21 starts at the track. He also has nine DNFs. That’s why it’s so hard to predict Daytona races.

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Joey Logano (+1200)
Logano is going to be at the front of the field at some point. Book it. He’s led a lap in each of the last 14 Daytona races. However, he hasn’t won since he took the checkered flag in the 2015 Daytona 500.

William Byron (+1400)
Can Byron continue to be in the right place at the right time? Since he led 24 laps on the way to a win in the 2020 summer race, Byron has led 35 laps over the last 10 Daytona races yet has two victories in that span.

Denny Hamlin (+1400)
Hamlin’s odds are so long despite being a three-time Daytona 500 champion because his recent stats stink. Hamlin hasn’t finished higher than 17th over the last eight Daytona races. But we think that’s far more likely to be Daytona noise than a skill regression.

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Great mid-tier value

Austin Cindric (+1600)
Yes, oddsmakers like Team Penske. Its three drivers are among the favorites and Cindric has the best Daytona average finish of the trio at 18.4. He has a top five and another top 10 in addition to his 2022 win.

Brad Keselowski (+1800)
Bet Keselowski with caution. He’s still recovering from a broken leg suffered in a fall during the offseason. He didn’t race in Wednesday’s Clash, but plans to be medically cleared for the Daytona 500. He has one win and eight top-10 finishes in 33 Daytona starts.

Bubba Wallace (+2200)
Wallace has the best average finish of any active driver at Daytona at 14.4 despite crashing out in three of the last six Daytona races. He has five top-five finishes at Daytona and two second-place finishes in the Daytona 500.

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Long shots to look at

Josh Berry (+4000)
Berry drives for Wood Brothers Racing, a team that has a technical alliance with Team Penske. If you’re bullish on the Penske favorites, you need to also take a flier on the other driver in Penske equipment. Berry has one top-10 finish in five Daytona starts.

Erik Jones (+4000)
Jones has finished in the top 20 in each of the past five Daytona races and won way back in 2018 when he was driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.

The University of North Carolina picked up former Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens out of the transfer portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Dickens spent three seasons at Western Carolina, where he threw for 3,508 yards, 38 touchdowns and 2 interceptions last season, with a 74.2% completion percentage. He also had 321 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Dickens threw for a total of 5,063 yards, 51 touchdowns, 5 interceptions and a 74% completion percentage in his three seasons at WVU.

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Dickens is the third quarterback that the Tar Heels have added, following the signings of Billy Edwards Jr. from Wisconsin and Miles O’Neill from Texas A&M.

Edwards played 34 snaps in two games at the University of Wisconsin after injuring his knee in the season opener. He spent his first three years at the University of Maryland, where he threw for 2,881 yards, 15 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in 2024. Edwards signed with Wake Forest and redshirted out of high school.

O’Neill saw limited action during his first two years behind Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed. The Tar Heels also signed freshman quarterback Travis Burgess.

In Bill Belichick’s first year in Chapel Hill, the team went 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the ACC. North Carolina ranked second-to-last in the ACC in passing and receiving yards and ranked last in total yards and first downs converted.

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Gio Lopez started most of the year at quarterback. Lopez threw for 1,747 yards, 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. After the season, Lopez transferred to Wake Forest. Former North Carolina quarterbacks Max Johnson (Georgia Southern) and Bryce Baker (Virginia Tech) also transferred to other schools.