Sport

Roeiseland romps to third gold, Odermatt bags giant slalom win

Published

4 years ago

February 13, 2022

Another near-perfect shooting performance gave Marte Olsbu Roieseland of Norway her third gold medal of the Beijing Olympics when she cruised to victory in the women’s 10 km pursuit race on Sunday.

Swedish prodigy Elvira Oeberg took her second Olympic silver medal in 48 hours with Roieseland’s team mate Tiril Eckhoff taking the bronze.

A thick layer of fresh snow covered much of the man-made course as the race got underway, making the going heavy and punishing those who missed shots and had to endure a penalty loop of 150 metres.

A miss by Oeberg allowed Dorothea Wierer to slide into second place early on but the Italian was unable to exploit a miss by the Norwegian leader at the third shoot, missing two of her own five shots to fall more than a minute-and-a-half behind during the fourth lap.

With her biggest rivals struggling, Roieseland flashed off her last five shots in perfect fashion before skiing away from the range, safe in the knowledge that only a broken pole or ski might keep her from gold.

Behind her the battle for silver gathered pace as the rest of the pack followed Wierer on to the range, with the 22-year-old Oeberg making a stunning comeback to retake second place ahead of the final lap.

Norway’s Ingrid Tandrevold was hot on her heels as the two exited the final shoot, but Oeberg quickly dropped her to secure the silver medal, her second at the Games after second place in Friday’s (February 11) sprint.

Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt won the gold medal in the men’s giant slalom, holding his nerve to fend off a superb effort from Zan Kranjec of Slovenia.

Odermatt finished with a combined time of 2:09:35, putting him 0.19 seconds ahead of runner-up Kranjec with France’s Mathieu Faivre taking bronze.

The first run had taken place in driving snow with poor visibility but the decision to delay the second run by 75 minutes paid off, with better conditions producing a thrilling battle.

Kranjec produced a magnificent second run – the fastest of the field – to put himself top of the podium and then stood and watched as several challengers slipped out of contention.

Odermatt had to keep his cool on the second run and he did just that with his smooth, classic technique delivering a time of 1:06:42, which was 0.59 slower than Kranjec’s second effort but just enough to secure him his first Olympic medal.

The team representing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) made the most of a big lead built up in the first half of the race to storm to victory in a punishing men’s 4×10 km relay.

The ROC team finished one minute 7.2 seconds ahead of the Norwegian team, with France picked up a superb bronze medal after a dogged display, 9.2 seconds after Norway.

Just as their victorious women’s team did on Saturday (February 12), the Russians made an early break as lead man Alexey Chervotkin accelerated in the middle of his second lap, building up a lead of more than 12 seconds to the chasing pack by the halfway point of his leg.

By the time he handed over to Alexander Bolshunov, who won gold in last week’s skiathlon and silver in the 15-km classic, the race was all but over and Bolshunov continued to set a searing pace as the ROC team eased to victory.

Kaillie Humphries of the United States led at the halfway mark of the Olympic’s first ever monobob event, with the two-time gold medallist opening up a yawning 1.04 second gap between her and Canada’s Christine de Bruin in second.

Monobob is one of seven new events at the Beijing Games and the only one exclusively for women, with drivers pushing a 130-kg (286 lb) sled as fast as they can before jumping in and barrelling down an icetrack at speeds up to 120 kph (75 mph).

As the reigning World Cup champion in both the monobob and two-woman bobsleigh events, she was favourite going into the race.

Germany’s Laura Nolte was 1.22 seconds behind the leader in third, still in with a chance of making it seven sliding golds out of seven for her country.

The Swiss women’s curling team improved to a 5-0 record in the round robin phase of the tournament following an 8-4 victory over Canada.

Switzerland sit top ahead of Japan, while Great Britain sit tied for third with three wins from five matches following their 7-2 win against Denmark.

In the men’s tournament, Sweden maintained their 100% record after five matches after claiming a tight 6-4 win over Norway, while Canada saw off North American rivals the United States 10-5.

Related Topics:Beijing Winter Games featured Winter Olympics

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Sport

Early medal leaders emerge as Winter Olympics continue in Italy

Published

1 day ago

February 9, 2026

Ariana News

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games continued to build momentum over the weekend as the early medal race took shape and athletes delivered standout performances across venues in northern Italy.

After the first days of competition, Italy, Japan and Norway sit among the early leaders on the medal table, each with three medals apiece, including one gold, one silver and one bronze. Sweden follows with two medals, while Switzerland, Slovenia, Canada and China have each secured one medal so far.

Host nation Italy provided one of the Games’ early highlights with its first gold medal, sparking celebrations among home supporters and boosting confidence as competition intensifies.

Elsewhere, traditional winter sports powerhouses have begun asserting themselves in disciplines including speed skating, alpine skiing and cross-country skiing, while team sports such as curling and ice hockey are settling into early round-robin play.

Attention now turns to Monday’s schedule, which features another full day of competition and several medal events. Athletes are set to compete across alpine skiing, speed skating, luge, cross-country skiing and figure skating, while preliminary and group-stage action continues in curling and ice hockey.

With qualification battles tightening, results on Monday are expected to further reshape the standings.

As the Winter Games move deeper into their opening week, storylines are rapidly emerging around defending champions, rising stars and nations looking to build early momentum in the medal race.

Ariana Television holds the exclusive rights to broadcast Winter Olympic events across Afghanistan, providing live coverage to viewers nationwide throughout the Games.

Fans are encouraged to follow Ariana News and Ariana Television’s social media pages for updated schedules, programming information, highlights and results as the competition continues in Milan and Cortina.

Sport

Champions League Elite action continues as qualification race tightens

Published

1 day ago

February 9, 2026

Ariana News

The AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 returns with an action-packed slate of matches today as top Asian clubs continue their battle for qualification in the league stage of the continent’s premier club competition.

With the margin for error narrowing, teams across the region are expected to approach today’s fixtures with urgency as the race toward the knockout rounds intensifies.

Monday’s scheduled matches include:

Al-Wahda vs Al AhliNasaf Qarshi vs Al-ShortaAl Duhail vs SharjahShabab Al-Ahli vs Al Hilal

The fixtures bring together established continental contenders and ambitious challengers, promising a day of tactical contests, attacking football and high-stakes drama as clubs look to strengthen their positions in the standings.

All Champions League Elite matches scheduled for today, February 9, will be broadcast live and exclusively on Ariana Television, giving fans across Afghanistan and the region full access to Asia’s top club football action.

Fans are encouraged to follow Ariana News and Ariana Television’s social media pages for updated match schedules, kickoff times and programming information, as well as highlights and post-match coverage.

As the road to continental glory continues, today’s Champions League Elite fixtures are expected to deliver another compelling chapter in the 2025/26 season.

Sport

New Zealand cruise past Afghanistan by five wickets in T20 World Cup

Despite the strong batting display, Afghanistan struggled to contain New Zealand’s deep and aggressive batting lineup.

Published

2 days ago

February 8, 2026

Ariana News

New Zealand produced a confident all-round performance to defeat Afghanistan by five wickets, chasing down a target of 183 with 13 balls to spare in their first match of the T20 World Cup in India’s Chennai on Sunday.

Afghanistan, batting first, posted a competitive 182 for 6 from their 20 overs, built around a powerful knock from Gulbadin Naib, who top-scored with 63 off 35 balls. Naib’s innings, laced with clean hitting and smart placement, gave Afghanistan much-needed momentum after a mixed start. Contributions from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (27) and Sediqullah Atal (29) helped steady the innings, while late runs pushed the total beyond the 180 mark.

Despite the strong batting display, Afghanistan struggled to contain New Zealand’s deep and aggressive batting lineup.

New Zealand’s chase was anchored by Tim Seifert, who set the tone at the top with a fluent 65 off 42 balls, attacking both pace and spin with ease. Although early wickets fell, Glenn Phillips swung the match decisively with a blistering 42 off 25 deliveries, keeping the required run rate firmly in check.

The middle order ensured there were no late jitters, with Daryl Mitchell (25 not out) and captain Mitchell Santner (17 not out) calmly guiding the team home in 17.5 overs, finishing at 183 for 5.

Afghanistan’s bowlers found moments of success, particularly Mujeeb Ur Rahman, but were unable to apply sustained pressure as New Zealand consistently found boundaries during key phases of the chase.

Afghanistan will face South Africa in their next match on Wednesday.