Mixed team parallel finals postponed due to high winds, event rescheduled for Sunday at Winter Olympics
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ByEurosport
Updated 19/02/2022 at 05:14 GMT
Mikaela Shiffrin has one final chance to salvage something from her 2022 Beijing Olympics, but only if the weather allows. High winds have postponed the team parallel finals for the day, and the event has been re-arranged for Sunday - weather permitting. The Olympic Games will return with Paris 2024, live on Eurosport and discovery+.
Gates bend due to strong winds before the mixed team parallel round of 16 event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing on February 19, 2022
Image credit: Getty Images
Winter sports are often subjected to difficult conditions, and the mixed team parallel finals is battling the elements at Beijing 2022.
The event, the last chance for Mikaela Shiffrin to rescue her Olympics, was scheduled to get underway at 02:00 GMT, but has now been rescheduled for Sunday.
High winds prompted officials to first delay the start by at least one hour; a second inspection forced a further delay - for another hour - and a third and final inspection ended with a postponement of the event.
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games (BOCOG), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS), and the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) have now agreed to re-arrange the event for Sunday, weather permitting.
Earlier, with the wind whipping on the mountain, officials took novel measures to try to get the event on, but ultimately failed in that aim.
The racers have to navigate their way through gates, but with the wind so high officials took the decision to cut the fabric holding the gates together to limit the wind resistance.
“I have never seen the gates cut like this before,” said Nick Fellows on Eurosport commentary. "There are some serious wind speeds. It is becoming nigh-on impossible.
“Every now and again it looks okay, then from nowhere there is a gust of wind and big drifts of snow. It is coming from every direction and is so unpredictable, which is the big problem.
“The forecast is for it to get worse not better.”
It was a strange sight to see the holes being cut in the Olympic rings, but with time tight - as many of the racers are eager to head back to Europe for the resumption of the World Cup - every effort was made to try and get the event on - but to no avail.
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The Olympic Games will return with Paris 2024, live on Eurosport and discovery+.
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