Winter Olympics: Day 11 roundup

Day 11 was another eventful one at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games, beginning with a record-breaking performance in speedskating.

New world record for Canadian ice dancers

The action started with Canadian ice dancer Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir claiming their second Olympic gold medal with a brilliant free dance, breaking the world record on their way to the top of the podium.

Skating last to "Moulin Rouge," the pair embraced and grinned on the ice after their dynamic performance that had the audience roaring. They won with a total score of 206.07, eclipsing the world record that had been set just moments before by French pair Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, who finished on 205.28.

The Canadians had previously said this would be their last Olympics and hinted that retirement from competition - this time for good - might be on the cards soon.

More gold for Canada...

Not long after that, there was another gold medal for Canada, as Cassie Sharpe stormed to title in the women's ski halfpipe, despite falling on the final run after the result of the competition was already decided.

Sharpe, the favorite, produced some jaw-dropping aerobatics to post a winning score of 95.80 on her second run. celebrated by raising her hands behind her head to give a bunny-ear sign as she crossed the line backwards.

Frenchwoman Marie Martinod matched the silver she earned in Sochi four years ago with a best of 92.60, while Brita Sigourney claimed bronze.     

Frenchman Fourcade takes fifth career gold

Her fellow countryman, Marin Fourcade anchored France to a come-from-behind victory in the biathlon mixed relay. This was his third gold medal in Pyeongchang and the fifth of his career, meaning no other athlete in French history has won more Olympic gold medals than him.

South Korean short-track success

The home favorites, South Korea powered to gold in chaotic Olympic women’s short track speed skating 3,000-meters relay.

There were anxious moments at the conclusion of the typically wild and woolly relay as officials reviewed a race filled with crashes and near wipeouts before disqualifying Canada and China to elevate Italy to the silver medal.The Netherlands, who didn't even make the final, were awarded the bronze medal.

German Nordic-combined sweep

The good news for Germany came towards the end of day 11, as Johannes Rydzek led a German sweep taking gold in the men's Nordic combined. Teammate Fabian Riessle came in second for the silver, while normal hill champion Eric Frenzel captured the bronze.

And the good news didn't end there for the Germans, as the men's ice hockey team wrapped up the day with a 2-1 overtime win over southern neighbors Switzerland, to advance to the quarterfinals of an Olympic tournament for the first time since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. Germany face world champions and the Sochi silver medalists, Sweden, in Wednesday's quarterfinal.

New doping case

There was also more doping news to report, with Slovenian ice-hockey player Ziga Jeglic testing postive for a banned substance, while Russian curler Alexander Kushelnitzky's "B" sample also came back positive.

As it happened:

15:28 GERMANY THROUGH TO QUARTERFINALS

It's not a medal but Germany have produced a huge effort beating Switzerland 2-1 to progress to the men's ice hockey quarterfinals. Yannic Seidenberg scored the winner in overtime! This means Germany will battle Sweden on Tuesday for a berth in the semifinals.

Leon Pfördl had opened the scoring for Germany in the second minute of the first period, while Simon Moser had tied it up for the Swiss early in the second.

15:23 - We're heading to overtime! No separating Germany and Switzerland, locked at 1-1 at the fulltime buzzer. We now head to 10 minutes overtime.

In the other match, Finland cruised past South Korea 5-2.

15:01 - A quick roundup of the final curling matches from Day 11. The United States beat Switzerland 8-4, Japan saw off Denmark 6-4, and Italy defeated Norway 6-4.

That means only the ice hockey is left for Day 11 of the Winter Games. Tune in to Germany vs. Switzerland, it's a tight contest!

14:55 - Well after that dramatic victory for Germany on the slopes, can they perform the same trick on the ice? Switzerland equalized against the men's ice hockey team in the second period, we're now into the third still tied at 1-1.

In the other playoff qualification, Finland lead South Korea 3-2.

14:11 - HUGE! THREE MEDALS FOR GERMANY

What a finish for Germany in the Nordic Combined, they've taken first, second and third - it will be an all-black, red and gold podium!!

Johannes Rydzek takes the gold medal, Fabian Riessle comes second, and Eric Frenzel takes bronze.

14:00 - Two-thirds through the 10 kilometers and it couldn't be tighter! Watabe still in the lead but closely followed by Riiber and Germany's Fabian Riessle.

13:45 - The second part of the Nordic Combined is on its way - with the 10km individual cross country. Japan's Akito Watabe leads from the ski jumping round, with Jarl Magnus Riiber of Norway and Wilhelm Denifl of Austria following.

13:36 - Given that huge disappointment for Germany in the biathlon, let's move to some positive news! The country's men's ice hockey team are 1-0 up against Switzerland! It's early days yet, five minutes to go in the first period, but if they hold on to the win they will be in the quarter-finals.

In the other playoff qualification, Finland lead South Korea 1-0.

13:30 - GOLD FOR FRANCE

Incredible finish to the biathlon mixed relay. Germany had a considerable lead but Martin Fourcade blitzed past rival Arnd Peiffer to give France victory by more than 20 seconds. What a machine!

Germany dropped out of the medals altogether, too, with Norway jumping into silver and Italy taking bronze in an enthralling sprint finale.

13:05 - Germany are leading in the mixed relay biathlon, with Italy, France and Norway following more than 30 seconds behind. Arnd Peiffer is taking the final leg, this should be another gold for him and Germany.

12:51 -  GOLD FOR SOUTH KOREA

The hosts add to their medal tally with gold in the women's 3000m speed skating relay. After a very lengthy video review, China and Canada were eliminated after a crash, with South Korea grabbing the gold and Italy the silver. 

That means, bizarrely, that the Netherlands are awarded bronze, despite the fact they weren't even in the race! It seems appropriate, given the Dutch had broken the world record in the B Final, where no medals were on offer...

Elsewhere, the women's bobsleigh heats - there will be no medals today - is about to start. Africa's first women's bobsleigh team - Nigeria - are set to make their debut.

11:56 - In the ski jumping leg of the Nordic Combined, Norway's Jarl Magnus Riiber has launched himself the furthest so far with 139 meters, followed by Austria's Wilhelm Denifl.

11:40 - The women's 1000m short-track speed skating heats are over, with Kim Boutin of Canada crossing fastest ahead of Japan's Hitomi Saito and Great Britain's Charlotte Gilmartin.

The men's 500m speed skating is due to start in 10 minute or so.

11:15 - A number of ice hockey matches have wrapped up. The American men have advanced to the quarterfinals after beating Slovakia in their playoffs-qualification match 5-1. Also through are Norway, who needed overtime to beat Slovenia 2-1. 

On the women's side, Sweden beat Korea 6-1 to place seventh in the tournament, while Switzerland blanked Japan 1-0 to finish fifth. 

Still to come are men's playoffs-qualification matches between Finland and South Korea, as well as Gemany and Switzerland.

10:32 - The Nordic Combined has begun with the ski jumping trial round now done and dusted. In about 30 minutes the competition round will begin. Then we'll have the 10km cross country which will determine the medal winners. That doesn't start until just before 2pm (CET), however.

10:26 - Very little goal action from the hockey games, but Norway have equalized against Slovenia. Tommy Kristiansen with the goal, we have about 10 minutes left to play.

Still 1-0 in the women's match between Switzerland and Japan. Six minutes to play in that one.

9:05 - The men's ice hockey is underway. Slovenia are up 1-0 against Norway and Switzerland lead Japan by the same scoreline in the women's. 

8:44 - China were absolutely flawless in the last few ends, taking out their clash with Canada 7-5. Defending gold medalists Canada not having a good Winter Games.

Great Britain defeated Japan 8-6, while South Korea beat the US 9-6.

8:24 - Reports of another doping scandal are emerging. Slovenian men's ice hockey player Ziga Jeglic been suspended from the Winter Olympics after testing positive for banned substance fenoterol.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Jeglic had accepted the violation.

8:07 - Just the women's curling going on at the moment. China lead Canada 5-4, hosts South Korea are in front against the USA 7-4 and Great Britain hold a 6-5 advantage over Japan. We're into the eighth end, so it's business time.

Canada vs. China probably the one to watch, it's looking pretty tight!

7:32 - The men's ski halfpipe qualifying is over, with three United States riders leading the way - Aaron Blunck, Alex Ferreira and Torin Yater-Wallace. Two New Zealand riders follow, Byron Wells, Beau-James Wells. The final runs come on Thursday.

07:21 - The men's ski halfpipe qualification is going on at the moment and we just had a run from Ireland's Brendan 'Bubba' Newby. Quite the character, full of positive vibes, and he gets some huge air... but crashes. Pity. But he gets his skis back on and finishes the run. Blunck still in the lead.

06:54 - Weather has been a problem so far in the Games, and this time organizers are trying to get ahead of the storm. The women's snowboard Big Air final has been moved forward to Thursday from Friday so as to hopefully avoid forecasted snowfall and bad visibility. Fingers crossed it works out!

06:48 - Aaron Blunck has delivered a monster score of 94.40 in the second qualification run of the Men's Ski Halfpipe. He leads ahead of countryman Alex Ferreira and the aforementioned Yater-Wallace. Looks like defending champion David Wise has also snuck in, having just posted a score of 79.60. Looks like it'll be between a handful of Americans and a couple of Kiwis this one...

06:25 - Sweden handed the wooden spoon in the women's ice hockey to the United Korea team after handing them a 6-1 win. In the men's bracket, the US advanced with little discomfort, dispatching of Slovakia 5-1. The winners of Germany vs. Switzerland and Finland vs. Korea later on today will decide who will join the US, OAR, Canada, Czech Republic and Sweden in the final eight.

06:10 - The women's round robin curling has begun. Big day for Great Britain's ladies, who could do with a win against second-placed Japan. Close battles throughout the day really with sixth-placed Canada taking on seventh-placed China, and top of the rounds Korea against a US team in fourth. All to play for!

05:34 - The US men's ice hockey team have one skate in the quarterfinals. They lead Slovakia 3-1 at the end of the second period. In the women's tournament, Sweden are 3-1 up against the United Korea team.

Also the first run of the Men's Ski Halfpipe qualification is underway. Two runs today to decide who makes the final (on Day 13). So far, it's America's Torin Yater-Wallace (what a name) who leads the scoreboard. Defending champion David Wise hasn't managed a big score yet.

05:19 - GOLD for Canada! Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win gold with the smallest of margins. Scoring 122.40 in the free dance was less than the French, but combined with yesterday's score that leaves them with 206.07 - a touch ahead of Papadakis and Cizeron's score of 205.28. In the process, Virtue and Moir set a new world record in ice dancing total points and have gold to their final performance. The pair came out of retirement to win gold and after winning gold in the team event, they take gold in the ice dancing.

The Shibutani siblings take bronze for the US. What a finish, and what a competition! Even if the day isn't very old, it really has been Canada's so far.

05:15 - The American pair of Hubbell and Donohue can't better the Shibutani's score, but the French blow it out of the water with a stunning 123.35 in the free dance (the free dance top score at the last Olympics was 116.63), leaving them on 205.28 and with one finger on the gold. But now it's Virtue and Moir's turn. Will these be even better?

04:55 - What an amazing competition we have happening here. After the Italian's delivered a very strong 108.34, the Shibutani siblings deliver an impressive performance. That just leaves the big three...

04:43- The moment all the ice fans have been waiting for! The final group are onto the ice, and this off the back of a stunning performance from OAR's Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev (111.45 in the free dance, 186.92 total).

04:19 - Ice hockey has also started on Day 11. In the men's tournament, the US are battling Slovakia for a spot in the quarterfinal against the Czech Republic. It's 0-0 six minutes into the first. Elsewhere, Sweden are leading the United Korean team 1-0 in the battle to decide the wooden spoon. 

04:07 - The men's curling is done for the day. GB got a big win over Norway (10-3), while there were also wins for Canada, South Korea and Sweden. The women's round robin starts in a couple of hours.

04:04 - One medal down, another fast approaching. Guignard and Fabbri's score stood top for a while, but the competition is hotting up and Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier just delivered 107.31 to take top spot after dancing their routine to a smart James Bond Medley. This crowd was certainly shaken and stirred by that performance.

03:54 - GOLD for Canada! There was no stopping Cassie Sharpe in the Ladies' halfpipe. In her first Olympics, the 25-year-old has taken the gold medal ahead of France's Marie Martinod, who also took silver in Sochi. America's Brita Sigourney took bronze for the US. Germany's Sabrina Cakmakli finished in 8th, with a best run score of 74.20.

Sharpe's gold is Canada's seventh of the Games and their second in freestyle skiing events.

03:47 - Today is also the final day of training in the Ladies' Downhill. Austria's Ramona Siebenhofer has the fastest time, with Lindsey Vonn in fourth, one place ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin. Austria's Lara Gut finished in 7th. They go for gold tomorrow.

03:42 - Well, no one likes to see this. Defending champion Maddie Bowman crashes on her final run and is in tears by the time she reaches the bottom of the course. Hopefully she's not hurt, but it has been a tough day for her nonetheless. The crowd applauds her off.

03:32 The final run is underway in the halfpipe and the only question is, can Sharpe go even better?

03:23 - Smells like gold to me! After Martinod delivers a 92.60 to challenge Sharpe, the Canadian comes down and posts 95.80! Surely no stopping her now...

03:15 - Into the second run in the halfpipe. Some of the tricks out there are just remarkable, and the risk shouldn't be forgotten either...

03:01 - I don't know what wow is in Italian but the Italian pair of Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri just delivered it in the figure skating, taking top spot (for now) with a score of 105.31 - that would have seen them finish in 4th in the last Olympics. Just to let you know, really top scores will be around the 114+ mark. The bronze medal though, seems very much up for grabs...

02:50 - Early doors in the halfpipe, but the defending champion Maddie Bowman (US) has the lowest recorded score so far. France's Marie Martinod, silver medalist in Sochi, just delivered a huge run with a score of 92.20 but even that isn't good for top spot because Canada's Cassie Sharpe just posted 94.40. What a start in the first run!

02:31 - The Ladies' Ski Halfpipe final has also started. There are three runs to decide the winner there. A long time before the medal will be decided, but that means plenty of amazing tricks to enjoy.

02:24 - With the best yet to come, the early performances are impressive but perhaps painful for the pairings that will look back on yesterday's scoring in the short dance with a little regret. Germany's Kavita Lorenz and Joti and Polizoakis post the best score so far and lead with a total score of 150.49. Quite a popular theme too it seems...

02:07 - The second part of the ice dance is about to start - and by the end, we'll know who the new Olympic Champion is. The second part is a free dance to follow on from yesterday's short dance routine. In yesterday's action, Canadian pair Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir impressively broke their own world record and look in pole position to take gold. They'll be tested by French pair of Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, who might have even finished first were it not for a costume malfunction. After new records and nudity, what has the ice dance got in store for us today?

01:46 - The curling action has started in Pyeongchang with the 10th session of the men's round robin. Currently approaching the fourth end, Sweden (who have already qualified) lead Italy 4-0, while third-placed Great Britain are beating Norway 4-0. Defending Olympic champions Canada re surprisingly 2-1 down to Japan. 

01:30 - Good morning! Welcome to Day 11 of the Winter Olympics. Can you believe the drama in the 2-man bobsleigh yesterday? Just incredible.What the Olympics are all about.As for the action today, we have two early morning medals to look forward to, with the second part of the ice dance and the Ladies' Ski Halfpipe. There's also curling and ice hockey as the Games approaches a grand finale. Stay up and in touch with us on Day 11!

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