Olympics Overnight: Isabelle Weidemann leads Canada to gold in wild team pursuit, Max Parrot adds bronze in big air

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/02/2022 (1350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rise and shine, Olympics fans. Here’s what you missed overnight and need to know about the 2022 Beijing Olympics this morning.

For all the Star-related Winter Games content, visit our Olympics page here.

With a bronze, a silver and now a gold, Canadian speedskater Isabelle Weidemann has an Olympic medal trinity.

Weidemann and the team pursuit speedskating team finished atop the podium with an Olympic record-breaking time to help Canada earn its elusive second gold medal of these Beijing Games. She previously won the bronze and silver in the 3,000-metre and 5,000-metre events, respectively.

But they weren’t the only Canadians to have a medal wrapped around their neck Tuesday. Earlier in the day, snowboarder Max Parrot, who previously won a gold in the slopestyle, added to his collection with another bronze in the men’s big air.

Elsewhere, the men’s hockey and curling teams will play in the late Tuesday events (later this morning our time), with both aiming to keep their medal hopes alive with a win. Plus, Canadian figure skater Madeline Schizas participates in the ladies’ singles event, which has been at the forefront of Olympic controversy the last few day over the clearing of Russian skater Kamila Valieva.

So, morning! As always, grab that coffee, shake off the sleepiness and get caught up on what you missed overnight at the Beijing Olympics.

Triple threat

Japan had a slight lead over Canada heading into the final turn of the team pursuit, but a crash changed everything.

Japanese skater Nana Takagi fell and slid into the arena padding in the final stretch, then Canadians Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin and Valerie Maltais turned on the jets and skated to an Olympic record time of two minutes and 53.44 seconds to nab the gold.

With her third medal of the Winter Games, Weidemann joins some elite Canadian speedskating company. She is just the second Canadian speedskater to win more than two medals at a single Games after Cindy Klassen won five in Turin in 2006.

Respect on the podium

Canadian snowboard Max Parrot won his second medal of the Games with a bronze in the men’s big air, but the words from Chinese gold medallist Su Yiming might’ve meant a bit more.

After the podium ceremony, the two embraced and Su, 17, told Parrot, 27, how he has been a snowboarding inspiration to him over the years.

“Su said because of me he’s been pushing really hard. I told him ‘Well, now you’re going to make me push really hard,’” Parrot said with a laugh, according to the Canadian Press.

Parrot previously won the gold in the men’s slopestyle, which was embroiled in its own little controversy when teammate and Canadian bronze medallist Mark McMorris questioned the judging that gave Parrot the first-place finish. McMorris, who finished 10th in the big air, later apologized to Parrot for his comments.

Darcy Sharpe also finished 12th, while on the women’s side Canadians Jasmine Baird and Laurie Blouin were seventh and eighth, respectively.

Drama now moves to the ice

It’s been dominating Olympic headlines for days, but Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will finally get her chance to skate in the ladies’ singles short program on Tuesday after the IOC cleared her despite failing a pre-Games drug test. Canadian Madeline Schizas, 19, who was part of the fourth-place team in the mixed team figure skating event, will also participate.

The decision to allow Valieva to skate — though there will be no medal ceremonies if she reaches the podium — has sparked a lot of discussion online, including this take by American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson who was controversially banned from the 2020 Tokyo Games last summer:

Earlier Tuesday, lawyers for the Russian skater claimed that she had failed a doping test because of contamination from medication her grandfather was taking.

Other Canadian results:

• In men’s curling, Brad Gushue’s tap back against two in the 10th end gave Canada (5-2) a 10-8 win over Japan.

• In women’s freeski slopestyle, 17-year-old Olivia Asselin completed her first run with a minimal number of tricks before withdrawing from the competition due to injury.

• In men’s freeski slopestyle, Max Moffatt will go for a medal on Wednesday after qualifying for the final.

• In the men’s 4×7.5-kilometre biathlon relay, Canada finished sixth for its best-ever result in the event. Scott Gow, Christian Gow and Adam Runnalls, all from Calgary, and Jules Burnotte finished one minute 56.3 seconds behind gold medallist Norway.

• In the women’s downhill, Marie-Michèle Gagnon placed eighth and Roni Remme was 24th.

Medal report:

Canada now has 17 total medals (two gold, four silver, 11 bronze).

The Star in Beijing:

Bruce Arthur: Russia’s Kamila Valieva will skate on, but the doping debacle remains a mess

Rosie DiManno: Kamila Valieva is just the latest in a long line of teenage Russian figure skating sensations

Dave Feschuk: Unlike the past, this Canadian women’s hockey team is having fun on road to Olympic gold-medal final

‘So, what’s it like bobsledding?’

That was the question posed by the Olympics social media team to the Jamaican bobsledding team, who responded with this rather shakey re-enactment:

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Sign of the times

A New York Times reporter in Beijing captured this COVID-19 testing volunteer writing out Happy Valentine’s Day in Chinese with the vials:

PHOTO OF THE DAY

With files from the Canadian Press and Associated Press

Justin Smirlies is a Star digital producer based in Toronto. Reach him via email: jsmirlies@thestar.ca