Lindsey Vonn provided another update on her health on Wednesday, this time with a picture. The U.S. alpine skier announced on Instagram that she had a third surgery on her fractured left leg and posted an image of herself from a hospital bed. She had a bulky brace on her leg and gave a thumbs-up with her right hand.
“I had my 3rd surgery today and it was successful,” Vonn wrote. “Success today has a completely different meaning than it did a few days ago. I’m making progress and while it is slow, I know I’ll be ok.”
(Instagram/lindseyvonn)
Vonn injured her leg in a crash 13 seconds into her run at the alpine downhill competition at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday. The injury required Vonn to be airlifted off the mountain and is expected to be career-ending for the 41-year-old.
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Vonn wrote in a previous update that she’d sustained a complex fracture of her tibia. Per Yale Medicine, a complex fracture is “when the bone breaks into bits and pieces, when the soft tissue surrounding the bone is severely damaged, or when the patient has other illnesses or injuries that complicate treatment and healing.”
The brace around her leg demonstrates just how significant the damage was. It’s not clear if her surgery Wednesday was her last to repair the injury. Vonn previously wrote that the injury “will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.” She also wrote that she has “no regrets” despite the devastating injury.
Vonn’s right arm got caught in a gate at the top of her run, sending her flying through the air at a high rate of speed and crashing into the ground.
She previously wrote that her ACL tear had nothing to do with her crash.
“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash,” Vonn wrote. “My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.”
In her update on Wednesday, Vonn thanked her supporters and medical staff and sent a note of congratulations to her alpine skiing teammate and all of the Team USA athletes competing at Milan Cortina.
“Thankful for all of the incredible medical staff, friends, family, who have been by my side and the beautiful outpouring of love and support from people around the world. Also, huge congrats to my teammates and all of the Team USA athletes who are out there inspiring me and giving me something to cheer for.”
Former NFL first-round pick Darron Lee was arrested and charged with first-degree murder last week after his girlfriend’s death. A judge on Wednesday opted to keep Lee in jail without bond, according to the Associated Press.
Lee is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on March 9.
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Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp reportedly said the case is eligible for capital punishment, though it’s still unclear if the state will seek the death penalty. Wamp also said Lee was on probation in both Florida and Ohio for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery and attempted batteries.
From the AP:
“Mr. Lee was in a home with a female that was, for lack of a better term, beaten to death,” Wamp said in court, arguing for the judge to withhold bond. “And the explanation that he gave doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”
First responders in Hamilton County, Tennessee, reportedly found the unnamed victim Feb. 3 and determined she was dead after attempting life-saving measures. Preliminary findings led to detectives ruling the death a result of homicide, with Lee taken into custody at the scene.
In addition to a murder charge, Lee, 31, faces a charge of tampering with evidence. Additional charges could be added pending the outcome of the investigation.
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Lee was a second-team All-American linebacker and won the 2015 College Football Playoff with Ohio State, earning defensive MVP honors in the Sugar Bowl semifinal win over No. 1 Alabama. He was selected 20th overall by the New York Jets in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Over the course of three seasons, Lee started 36 games for the Jets and appeared in 40 total, accruing 241 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, four sacks and three interceptions. However, he was suspended four games in 2018 due to a substance abuse violation and struggled enough that the Jets declined his fifth-year option.
The Jets eventually traded Lee to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. He appeared in 16 games but started only two and was inactive for Kansas City’s Super Bowl LIV victory. He was suspended for four games again the following offseason, and he never found significant playing time after that.
Lee’s last appearance in an NFL game was with the Buffalo Bills in the 2020 season. He joined the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, but was released in training camp.
Stewart received a harsher punishment because he left the bench to get involved and because of his history of infractions.
Multiple skirmishes happened during Monday’s game. The first involved Diabate and Duren, when the former fouled Duren. The two exchanged words before Duren shoved Diabate in his face. Diabate then charged at Duren, and things escalated from there before the scuffle was broken up.
Then, Bridges charged at Duren and threw a punch, and Stewart left the bench to join the scuffle. After referee review, the four players, plus Hornets coach Charles Lee, were ejected from the game.
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Detroit currently holds the top spot in the Eastern Conference at 39-13 and has the second-best record in the NBA. Duren has become a key part of what’s been built in Detroit as the team’s starting center. He’s averaging 17.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and has been a consistent double-double performer. Duren will reportedly still be permitted to play in this weekend’s All-Star Game.
As the backup center, Stewart is the player who does the dirty work in Detroit. That includes getting into scuffles and even full-blown fights, which is why he’ll miss the next seven games. While Stewart isn’t one of the team’s stars, his role is important, and the Pistons will miss his contributions of 10 points and five rebounds per game while he’s out.
For Charlotte, these suspensions come as the Hornets battle for the final play-in spot in the East. At 25-29, with a one-game lead over 11th-place Chicago, Charlotte cannot afford to miss any key contributors right now, especially Bridges, who averages 18.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Diabate is the team’s leading rebounder, grabbing 8.6 per game.
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Each player was also fined by the NBA alongside the suspensions.
Early in the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves’ 138-116 win over the Hawks, Reid and Gueye started getting into it after Gueye was called for a foul for shoving Reid near the wing. Things escalated very quickly, and it took several assistants and other players to actually separate the two after they latched on to each other’s jerseys.
Both Reid and Gueye were ejected from that contest at the Target Center. Gueye had 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench when he was thrown out. Reid had seven points and six rebounds for the Timberwolves.
The fight in this game was largely overshadowed by the massive brawl that took place in the matchup between the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. That incident resulted in four players getting ejected and a number of suspensions being handed down from the league on Wednesday. Isaiah Stewart received the harshest punishment and will be suspended for seven games.
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The Timberwolves hold a 33-22 record entering Wednesday night’s matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Hawks, who have now lost back-to-back games, sit at 26-29. They’ll take on the Hornets on Wednesday night.
No division spent more money on free-agent contracts this winter than the AL East, which, as a quintet, committed more than $900 million. That’s an impressive figure, considering Tampa Bay’s frugality and Boston’s bevy of trade acquisitions. It’s the rich getting richer, as this division has represented the American League in the World Series the past two years.
But which teams spent well, and which teams spent weirdly? And what exactly were the Rays up to, finagling their way into all those three-way deals? Let’s run through the richest division in baseball and grade their offseasons.
The club’s complete disinterest in retaining the franchise icon, whose Game 7 homer was two outs away from immortality, was fascinating. Perhaps the singular focus on Tucker played a factor. Perhaps both parties were ready to move on. Either way, the Jays will enter 2026 with a worse lineup and an improved infield defense, with Okamoto at third, Ernie Clement at second and Andrés Giménez at short.
Had they landed Tucker, this would be an easy A, but Toronto failed to land a top-tier offensive partner for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Can the Yankees and Blue Jays repeat as the American League’s top two teams? Can the Red Sox and Orioles bounce back into the mix?
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)
New York Yankees
Significant outgoing free agents: RP Devin Williams, RP Luke Weaver, OF Austin Slater
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Major moves:
Re-signed OF Cody Bellinger on a 5-year deal
Retained OF Trent Grisham via qualifying offer
Acquired SP Ryan Weathers from the Marlins for four prospects
Re-signed INF Amed Rosario on a 1-year deal
Re-signed 1B Paul Goldschmidt on a 1-year deal
Re-signed RP Paul Blackburn on a 1-year deal
Re-signed SP/RP Ryan Yarbrough on a 1-year deal
Offseason grade: B
The epitome of running it back, New York’s offseason was the transactional equivalent of reheating leftovers. That’s not an egregious strategy, considering how good the 2025 Yankees were, but the sheer scale of the continuity here is striking. In all, the Yankees retained six (!!) free agents from last year’s club and made just one significant external addition.
Keeping Bellinger in pinstripes was downright massive. He’s a perfect fit for the current roster, with his stellar outfield defense a real asset in Yankee Stadium’s spacious left field. Bellinger’s bat isn’t what it once was, but he finished second in WAR among Yankees last year, behind only Aaron Judge, for a reason. He’s a valuable player, one who helps give the 2026 Yankees one of the best lineups in baseball.
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Beyond that, it was a generally underwhelming winter in the Bronx. GM Brian Cashman is clearly comfortable banking on another strong year from his offense to go with a returning-from-injury Gerrit Cole and a full season of young flamethrower Cam Schlittler. But it’s hard to give a team with only one new face anything higher than a B. Besides, this bullpen still feels … under-addressed, with Williams and Weaver leaving via free agency.
Boston Red Sox
Significant outgoing free agents: 3B Alex Bregman, SP Lucas Giolito, RP Steven Matz, RP Justin Wilson, OF Rob Refsnyder, SP Dustin May, RP Liam Hendriks
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Major moves:
Signed SP Ranger Suárez to a 5-year deal
Acquired SP Sonny Gray from the Cardinals for SP Richard Fitts and a pitching prospect
Acquired 1B Willson Contreras from the Cardinals for SP Hunter Dobbins and two pitching prospects
Acquired INF Caleb Durbin, INF Andruw Monasterio, INF Anthony Seigler and a 2026 Competitive Balance Round B pick from the Brewers for SP Kyle Harrison, INF David Hamilton and SP Shane Drohan
Acquired SP Johan Oviedo, a pitching prospect and a catching prospect from the Pirates for OF Jhostynxon Garcia and a pitching prospect
Traded RP Jordan Hicks and a pitching prospect to the White Sox for a pitching prospect and salary relief
Signed INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa to a 1-year deal
Nontendered 1B Nathaniel Lowe
Offseason grade: B
The rotation is better, the lineup is worse, and we are tired. Boston’s winter was exhausting to follow. I can only imagine how chief baseball officer Craig Breslow feels.
Opting to let Alex Bregman walk after spending all of 2025 lauding his leadership qualities and offensive reliability was a questionable choice. The immediate pivot to Ranger Suárez was odd but should push this rotation from good to excellent. The same is true for the additions of Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo.
But the Red Sox didn’t exit October prematurely last season because they couldn’t prevent runs. No, they fell to the Yankees in the wild-card round because the offense lacked a difference-maker. Roman Anthony, who was hurt for the playoffs, might end up blossoming into that character, but that’s quite a lot to put on the shoulders of a 21-year-old. Willson Contreras is a proven commodity, but he’s closer to good than great. This corner outfield kitchen still has too many cooks between Anthony, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu. Acquiring Caleb Durbin was a cheeky way to upgrade the infield, but he’s unlikely to compete for MVP votes.
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This winter also served to put a bow on last year’s Rafael Devers blockbuster, as two more pieces from that move, Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison, were traded away. Jose Bello, a 20-year-old with seven appearances in Low-A, is the only player left in Boston’s organization who was acquired in the Devers deal. It’s yet another reminder that the decision to trade the star was effectively a salary dump and little more. Some of the money saved will go into the pockets of Contreras, Gray, Suárez and others, but it’s difficult to look at this roster and not wonder how much better it would be with Devers in it.
Tampa Bay Rays
Significant outgoing free agents: SP Adrian Houser
Major moves:
Signed OF Cedric Mullins to a 1-year deal
Signed SP Nick Martinez to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Steven Matz to a 2-year deal
Signed OF Jake Fraley to a 1-year deal
Acquired five prospects from the Orioles for SP Shane Baz
Acquired UTL Gavin Lux in from the Cincinnati Reds as part of a three-team trade in which they sent Josh Lowe to the Angels
Acquired 3B Ben Williamson from the Mariners as part of a three-team trade in which they sent a prospect and a draft pick to the Cardinals
Acquired OF Jacob Melton and a pitching prospect from the Astros as part of a three-team trade in which they sent 2B Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum and RP Mason Montgomery to the Pirates
Acquired RP Steven Wilson from the White Sox for OF Everson Pereira and a prospect
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Offseason grade: B-
Tampa Bay’s carousel to nowhere continues. This franchise, renowned for both its penny-pinching ways and its ability to uncover hidden value, appears to be taking a small step back entering 2026. Thankfully, the Rays went about it in a fun way, inserting themselves into three different three-way deals.
Quite a bit of talent left town among Baz, Montgomery and both Lowes, with mostly prospects arriving in return. Mullins, Martinez and Matz are all worthwhile additions — a sign that even though the Rays are doubtful to contend, the door is still open just in case.
In the main, this franchise is in something of a holding pattern until its stadium situation is resolved. That has been the case for some time now, though the new ownership group should help push the process forward. Until then, it’ll be more nibbling at the margins and hoping the farm system produces another star to pair with Junior Caminero.
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Baltimore Orioles
Significant outgoing free agents: SP Tomoyuki Sugano, C Gary Sánchez
Major moves:
Signed 1B Pete Alonso to a 5-year deal
Acquired SP Shane Baz from the Rays for four prospects and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick
Acquired OF Taylor Ward from the Angels for SP Grayson Rodriguez
Signed RP Ryan Helsley to a 2-year deal
Re-signed SP Zach Eflin on a 1-year deal
Acquired INF/OF Blaze Alexander from the Diamondbacks for RP Kade Strowd and two prospects
Signed OF Leody Taveras to a 1-year deal
Signed SP Chris Bassitt to a 1-year deal
Offseason grade: A-
After years of frugality, the Orioles finally broke out the checkbook for a top-tier free agent, inking Alonso to a paradigm-shifting, five-year deal. He’ll provide the type of dependable offensive production Baltimore desperately lacked throughout its immensely disappointing 2025. More importantly, his signing was a signal of a new day in Charm City; new owner David Rubenstein is willing to spend at levels the previous leadership group was not.
The two biggest trades of Baltimore’s winter were also significant departures in strategy for president of baseball operations Mike Elias, who has helmed the club since the 2018-19 offseason. Dealing Rodriguez and his four years of control for an impending free agent in Ward was an uncharacteristically aggressive maneuver for the typically calculating Elias. The same is true of the Baz trade, in which Baltimore parted with a cornucopia of prospects to land a potential frontline arm.
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This was not a perfect offseason for the O’s — the bullpen could have used another boost, the rotation didn’t get a true ace — but it was a massive step forward. There’s an argument that no team in baseball improved as much as the one in Baltimore.
In October, French biathlete Julia Simon was found guilty of theft and credit card fraud. On Wednesday, she earned her first individual Olympic gold medal.
Simon won the women’s individual biathlon Wednesday in Italy with a time of 41:15.6, adding to a trophy case that already included a gold from the mixed relay earlier this week. Fellow Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonnot took silver, with Bulgaria’s Lora Hristova receiving bronze.
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French president Emmanuel Macron sent a congratulatory message to both Simon and Jeanmonnot.
Simon entered the final shooting with the second-best time in a close race, but left it with a commanding lead because the leader, Germany’s Franziska Preuss missed two shots and incurred a two-minute penalty, while the third-place Lisa Hauser of Austria missed three times. Simon missed only once the entire race.
Of course, Simon’s biggest break might have been being allowed to participate in the race at all.
Via The Associated Press, Simon avoided jail time in French court four months ago with a three-month suspended prison sentence. She had admitted to repeatedly using the bank card of her teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and a French team staff member, making online purchases of more than 2,000 euros.
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Simon apologized to the victims, and implied she wasn’t in her right mind during the crimes:
“I can’t explain it. I don’t remember doing it. I can’t make sense of it,” Simon said during her trial.
Braisaz-Bouchet finished 80th in the same race Wednesday.
While Simon didn’t go to prison, she still faced discipline from the French ski federation. The organization’s disciplinary committee opted to give her a six-month ban, but with five of the months suspended, opening the door for her to compete in the Milan Cortina Games. She was also fined 30,000 euros, but with half of that suspended.
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Speaking on Wednesday, Simon said she was focused on preparing for the race when asked about her recent troubles, via the AP:
“I have a lot of pleasure, when I train, when I race, when I compete, so it’s the most important thing for me,” she said. “I know I had a goal. I put all my energy in this goal, in myself. It was difficult months but I’m really proud of myself and today was a perfect race for me.”
The 29-year-old Simon has won 10 golds in the biathlon world championships between individual and team events and won silver in the mixed relay at the Beijing Games in 2022.
MILAN — After every Olympic performance, from qualification to medal-winning, Olympic athletes must pass through what’s known as the “mixed zone” — a media labyrinth of cameras, recorders, lights and phones, all pointed directly at them.
In a moment of triumph, it must feel like a glorious parade. But when your dream has just shattered in front of you, reliving the loss over and over again seems like a special kind of hell.
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates won silver on Wednesday night in Olympic ice dance, but in the mixed zone, it felt like they lost gold. They proceeded through their media obligations, station to station, silver medals around their necks, eyes rimmed with tears, managing — just barely — to keep their grief in check.
“Definitely it’s a little bittersweet,” Chock said, and then her voice broke. “Sometimes that’s just how it shakes out.”
They’d worked so very hard for this moment. They’d worked for 15 years as partners, and now two years as husband and wife. They’d spent countless early mornings and late evenings at rinks all over the world, they’d competed in four Olympics together. They had very nearly reached the top of their mountain … only to watch someone else get there just as they were about to plant the flag.
USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in the figure skating ice dance-free dance final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 11, 2026. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP via Getty Images)
(JULIEN DE ROSA via Getty Images)
Chock and Bates skated 19th of 20 teams on Wednesday night. Their toreador-inspired skate to Ramin Djawadi’s cover of “Paint It, Black” thrilled the substantial number of American fans in attendance at Assago Ice Skating Arena. Chock’s brilliant red matador’s cape/dress was one of the night’s highlights, and when the duo finished their routine, they embraced, bowed to the crowd in every direction, and waved again and again as they left the ice.
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When the scores flashed across the arena’s screens, Chock and Bates received a final combined score of 224.39. It was a magnificent performance — “our gold medal performance,” Bates said afterward — but it reigned for only a few minutes before France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron topped it with a score of 225.82. Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier took bronze with a score of 217.74.
There’s often something bittersweet about a silver medal, coming so very close to gold and yet falling short. As they worked their way through the mixed zone, the pair seemed to be trying to reconcile the reality of what had just happened to them, how decades of training and years’ worth of titles ended up just short of the top of the podium.
“Sometimes you can feel like you do everything right and it doesn’t go your way,” Bates said. “And that’s life and that’s sport … We felt like we were very close.”
The contrasts with their fellow medalists were striking. Gilles and Poirier were ecstatic, reveling in the joy of an unexpectedly high finish. Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron, both the focus of separate significant off-ice controversies, remained impassive and cool, allowing themselves smiles but little exuberance.
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While Chock and Bates have been a known Olympic quantity for well over a decade, they’ve only ascended to the top of the ice dance mountain since Beijing. They’re the reigning and three-time World and Grand Prix Final champions, the reigning and seven-time U.S. champions. They’ve won gold medals twice as members of the U.S. team, most recently this past Sunday. Until Wednesday night, they’d never claimed their own individual medals.
“We did everything we set out to accomplish,” Chock said. “There’s nothing more we could have done, nothing we would change.”
A bit further down the standings, four Americans making their Olympic debuts notched respectable finishes.
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, skating to selections from “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer,” finished with a combined score of 197.62 to end the Olympics ranked 11th. Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, skating to Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Op. 64, had a combined score of 206.72 and finished a surprising fifth.
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“I mean, this is crazy. We’re top five at the Olympics. This is absolutely insane. If you told me one year ago today that I’d be top five at the Olympics, I would have said, ‘No, it’s a lie. It’s a straight-up lie.’ So I’m really happy to be here and to have the result that we did.”
Zingas and Kolesnik are widely seen as the heirs to Chock and Bates’ throne … if, that is, the longtime duo does vacate it.
Asked if this heartbreaking result made them want to return for one more Games, Chock and Bates didn’t even look at one another.
“Not at the moment,” Bates said.
“Not at the moment,” Chock quietly echoed, and then they were gone.
Medals have been awarded in the men’s super-G skiing competition, with Team USA’s Ryan Cochrane-Siegle taking home the silver, and now it’s the women’s turn. The women’s super-G final will take place at the Tofane Ski Centre in Cortina this Thursday morning with coverage starting at 5:30 a.m. ET, and you can catch the live feed on Peacock and USA. You’ll also be able to catch some coverage of the event on NBC’s Primetime in Milan coverage at 8 p.m. Thursday.
Here’s a complete schedule of all Team USA Alpine Skiing events at this year’s games, along with a rundown of who is competing. (To see specific air times for all events, check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule, and toggle your search to “TV Only.”).
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If you want to learn even more about every event at this year’s Winter Games, here’s a guide to everything you need to know about the Milan Cortina Games.
How to watch the women’s super-G skiing final at the 2026 Winter Olympics
For $17/month, you can upgrade to an ad-free Premium Plus subscription, which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Where to watch the women’s super-G skiing final on TV:
The women’s super-G skiing final will be broadcast live on USA at 5:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 12. Portions of the competition will also be broadcast as part of NBC’s Primetime in MIlan coverage at 8 p.m. ET. (To see specific air times, check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule, and toggle your search to “TV Only.”). You can stream these channels on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more.
How to watch Olympic Skiing for free without cable:
Who is on the Team USA Alpine ski team?
These are the athletes on Team USA’s Alpine ski team:
Wednesday was a busy day for U.S athletes at the Milan Cortina Olympics as Team USA doubled its gold-medal tally.
Meanwhile, injured snowboarder Chloe Kim laid to rest any notion that she’s anything but the gold-medal favorite. Madison Chock and Evan Bates likely finished their careers on the podium. And the jilted lover of the unfaithful Norwegian biathlete has responded.
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Here are five of the top stories from Day 5 of the Milan Cortina Olympics
The 21-year-old U.S. speedskater who’s the best in the sport made his Olympics debut in dramatic fashion. Stolz trailed Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands in the final lap of their 1,000-meter race and appeared at risk of an upset loss.
But he chased de Boo down on the back stretch, then sprinted past him on the final turn as if propelled out of a slingshot to overtake the Dutch skater with the fastest time of the day at 106.28, a new Olympic record. Stolz made up nearly a full second over de Boo on the final lap to secure the win.
Stolz’s time survived the final race of the competition, and the world-record holder in the 1,000 meters is now the Olympic record holder and a gold medalist. De Boo took silver, and China’s Ning Zhongyan won bronze.
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Stolz is just getting started at Milan Cortina. He has a realistic shot at leaving the Games with four gold medals. He’s also slated to compete at 500 meters (Saturday), 1,500 meters (Feb. 19) and in the mass start event slated to close speedskating competition on Feb. 21.
The veteran U.S. ice dancers skated second to last in Wednesday’s free dance and executed a performance worthy of gold-medal contention.
But France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron entered Wednesday with a slim lead of 0.46 points after edging the U.S. couple in Monday’s rhythm dance.
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And they delivered a brilliant performance of their own to edge Chock and Bates with a total score of 225.82 to secure the gold medal.
Chock and Bates won silver with a combined score of 224.39, 1.43 points behind the gold-medal winners. Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won bronze with a score of 217.74.
The individual Olympic medal was the final item on the résumé for Chock and Bates, who have been partners on the ice for 15 years and married since 2024. They’ve won two Olympic gold medals in team competition, including from Sunday night. And they entered the Milan Cortina Games with three consecutive world championships.
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Wednesday’s performance was expected to be their last in competition. If so, they’ll conclude their decorated careers with two more Olympic medals from Milan Cortina.
Chloe Kim looks just fine
Chloe Kim declared on Jan. 13 that she was “good to go” for the Olympics despite sustaining a torn left labrum in training just days earlier.
It turns out that she was right. The two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist in the halfpipe made her Milan Cortina debut in qualifying on Wednesday. As stated, she’s good to go.
Kim laid down a monster score of 90.25 on her first of two runs.
That score stood at the end of the day as the best by nearly three points. Japan’s Sara Shimizu finished second with an 87.5, and Kim’s U.S. teammate Maddie Mastro finished third with an 86.
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The scores don’t carry over to Thursday’s final, where each rider will have three runs to lay down the best score of the day. But Kim erased any doubt that her injury has made her anything but the favorite to secure her third consecutive Olympic gold medal and the sixth in seven Games in the event for the U.S.
Liz Lemley finished with gold thanks to a dominant performance that secured a score of 83.20, well clear of any of the skiers before her.
Her teammate Jaelin Kauf competed after her and posted an 80.77 as the only other competitor to crack 80 points.
Neither of their positions were secure until reigning Australian Olympic gold medalist Jakara Anthony competed. But Anthony fell on her final run and finished in eighth place, ensuring that Lemley and Kauf would claim gold and silver.
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France’s Perrine Laffont won bronze with a score of 78. Japan’s Hinako Tomitaka matched Laffont’s 78, but finished excruciatingly off the podium in fourth place due to a tiebreaker.
Lindsey Vonn posts painful injury update: ‘I’ll be OK’
It was clear from reports that Lindsey Vonn’s broken leg was no simple fracture.
Vonn provided some insight on Wednesday hammering that point home. In her second update since her devastating injury crash in Sunday’s alpine downhill competition, Vonn posted on Instagram that she’d undergone a third surgery to repair her fractured left tibia. She also shared a picture from her hospital bed demonstrating just how serious her injury is.
Instagram/lindseyvonn
(Instagram/lindseyvonn)
Vonn’s left leg is placed in what appears to be an external fixator, a brace that uses pins, wires and bars to stabilize severely fractured bones. She previously announced that she’d sustained a complex fracture, which Yale medicine defines as “when the bone breaks into bits and pieces, when the soft tissue surrounding the bone is severely damaged, or when the patient has other illnesses or injuries that complicate treatment and healing.”
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It’s not clear if Vonn will require more procedures to rebuild her broken leg. But she clearly has a difficult road to recovery.
Vonn expressed optimism in her recovery while giving a thumbs up alongside a note of gratitude to her medical team and supporters and well wishes for Team USA at the Olympics.
“I had my 3rd surgery today and it was successful,” Vonn wrote. “Success today has a completely different meaning than it did a few days ago. I’m making progress and while it is slow, I know I’ll be ok.”
Highlight of the day
NBC’s drone pilots are doing outstanding work getting third-person shots of athletes barreling down the halfpipe, racing on the downhill course and sledding through the twists and turns of the luge track. They also appear to be having a good time.
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On Wednesday, they offered up this gem simulating a first-person view of what it might look like to take on the Milan Cortina moguls course.
In case you missed it, Sturla Holm Lægreid won bronze in the 20km biathlon on Tuesday, then made the questionable decision to admit in his post-race interview — in tears — that he cheated on his girlfriend. And that he’d hoped to win her back.
The girlfriend has now weighed in. Make that the ex-girlfriend. She understandably does not sound interested in Lægreid’s post-infidelity overtures.
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The girlfriend — who chose to remain anonymous — provided this response to Norwegian tabloid VG:
“It’s hard to forgive,” she wrote. “Even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world. … I did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it. We have had contact, and he is aware of my opinions on this.”
Here’s the initial interview that sparked one of the strangest story of these Games:
“There’s someone I wanted to share it with who might not be watching,” he said, via BBC translation, fighting back tears.”Six months ago I met the love of my life — the most beautiful and kindest person in the world. Three months ago I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her.
“I had the gold medal in life, and I am sure there are many people who will see things differently, but I only have eyes for her.”
It’s a diverse group of recent NBA and WNBA stars, top coaches, older names and other contributors. The headliners include Blake Griffin, Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Mike D’Antoni and Kelvin Sampson, all of whom are first-time nominees.
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Doc Rivers and Amar’e Stoudemire are among the bigger names getting a second look for induction. The lone referee nominated is the long-controversial Joey Crawford, while the team in the running is the 1996 U.S. women’s national team, whose Olympic dominance helped launch the WNBA the following year.
One of those 1996 players, Jennifer Azzi, is also up for individual induction.
The finalists will have their fate decided by the Hall’s 24-member Honors Committee. The new class will be announced on April 4 during Final Four weekend.
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 finalists
