Opinion

Winter Olympics: Alexander Bolshunov stars ahead of Manic Monday feat. Mikaela Shiffrin – Best of Beijing

Updated 29/03/2022 at 12:49 GMT

In today’s Best of Beijing we salute ROC heroes Alexander Bolshunov and Kamila Valieva and Sweden’s speed skating sensation Nils van de Poel. But we’re already turning our attention to Monday, where we get Mikaela Shiffrin v Petra Vlhova: Round I. Oh, and Team GB have an ENORMOUS mixed doubles curling semi-final at lunchtime tomorrow that you will not want to miss.

'I've never, ever seen it' - Bolshunov shocks commentators by celebrating mid-race

BEST MOMENTS OF DAY 3

Bolshunov's redemption

Prior to today, Alexander Bolshunov was best known for whacking a rival with his ski pole in frustration during a sprint finish. And while he’s still best known for that, he’s at least added an Olympic gold medal to his collection after a dominant win in the men’s 30km skiathlon.

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The Russian even found time to take a celebratory swig of water and gleefully shake his fist as he cruised through the final stages of the race, delighting our man Patrick Winterton in the commentary box.

“I have never, ever seen him celebrate prior to crossing the line! This is the one that he has wanted for so long,” beamed Winterton.

Bolshunov rolled down the finish straight with the historic and famous flag of the Russian Olympic Committee held aloft. Fortunately none of his rivals could muster a late move as we all know what would have happened.

'Absolutely disgraceful' – Skier HITS rival with pole, then crashes into him on purpose

She's just 15

They’ll be dancing on the streets of Russian Olympic Committee tonight for sure, with Bolshunov’s heroics coming on the back of Kamila Valieva’s flawless routine in the women’s singles that propelled ROC to the top of the figure skating team standings.

The 15-year-old – a phrase that makes us think we may not have fulfilled our own potential – became just the fourth woman in history to land a triple axel as she underlined why she is the overwhelming favourite for women’s singles gold later in the Games.

We’re also a big fan of her mind games. When asked if she was unbeatable prior to the Games, Valieva just shrugged. Impeccable self-belief.

“All the best qualities of a figure skater come together in this fragile girl,” ice dancer Nikita Katsalapov summarised about his compatriot. It's hard to disagree.

‘Wasn’t it beautiful!’ – 15-year-old Valieva makes history at Winter Olympics

Sweden's gold run continues

Spare a thought for the poor Brits having to work alongside a Swede as their gold medals roll in (i.e. us). While Team GB were scraping into the mixed doubles semi-finals despite a morale-denting defeat, Sweden were basking in their second title of the Games.

Nils van de Poel casually dropped an Olympic record to take victory in the men’s 5000m speed skating final – a feat made extra impressive given he went into the final lap a second adrift.

Dutchman Sven Kramer had won the title at the last three Games, a run dating back to 2010, but his final outing over 5000m ended with a comparatively terrible ninth-placed finish.

'He's won our hearts!' - Van der Poel storms to Olympic record and 5000m gold

IN OTHER NEWS

What is with Gen Z kids and smartphones? You might think that an Olympic debut would require your full concentration, but 20-year-old Takeru Otsuka was spotted happily scrolling through his phone just seconds before his crucial slopestyle run.

If ever there was evidence that we’re becoming a species of technology addicts, this is it.

Snowboarder checks phone just before crucial Olympic slopestyle run

THREE TO WATCH ON MONDAY

We’re going to cheat and make it four given there are two headline Alpine events on the agenda.

Figure skating: Team event conclusion – 1:15 GMT

Is there a more soothing sight in sport than figure skaters prancing to a nice gentle melody? With an array of seemingly impossible jumps and flawless precision, it’s no wonder it’s been a staple in the Olympic Games for a century.

The team event reaches its conclusion on Day 3 with the pairs free skate, ice dance free dance and women’s free skating.

Alpine skiing: Women’s giant slalom – 1:30 GMT & 6:30 GMT
Alpine skiing: Men’s downhill – 03:00 GMT

Apologies to those who stayed up last night.

After the first Alpine event of Beijing 2022 was cancelled due to high winds, we’re back to hype the men’s downhill again AND the women’s giant slalom, which will give us our first Mikaela Shiffrin v Petra Vlhova showdown.

The giant slalom is the precursor to the one we’re really, really excited for – the women’s slalom – but read this piece from winter sports royalty Pete Sharland and tell us you’re not excited about their upcoming duel.

*we should also add our apologies to Sweden’s Sara Hector and France’s Tessa Worley, who are actually ahead of our hyped duo in the FIS giant slalom rankings this season. But don’t spoil our narrative, ladies.

Short track speed skating: Women’s 500m final – 12:46 GMT

We may have lost Team GB’s best hope Kathryn Thomson and poor Polish athlete Natalia Maliszewska after her bizarre Covid Hokey Cokey, but the biggest name in short track is still in the frame for 500m glory on Day 3: Suzanne Schulting.

Schulting, who won EVERY SINGLE EVENT at the 2021 World Championships, must navigate a packed programme which features the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on the same night.

BRIT WATCH

It’s all about the mixed doubles curling semi-finals. Team GB arrived as the world champions and favourites for gold but have endured a mixed Games so far. However, the important news is that Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds are into the last four – regardless of what happens in their final round-robin match against USA (01:05 GMT).

We won’t find out their opponents until the opening phase is completed but they will definitely play their semi-final at 12:05 GMT on Monday. Don’t miss it.

Elsewhere, teenage sensation Kirsty Muir and Katie Summerhayes go in women’s big air freestyle skiing qualification (01:30 GMT) and James Woods completes in the men’s equivalent (05:30 GMT). Plus Alex Tilley will be looking to spoil the Shiffrin-Vlhova party in the women’s giant slalom (01:30 and 06:30 GMT).

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