The 2022 Winter Olympics plowed full steam ahead on Wednesday.
After slow starts on Day 0 and Day 1, the United States began to make some moves on Day 2 and Day 3 with three medals, and continued to add to the medal count on Day 4 to bring their total to five.
On Day 5, one of the biggest happenings for the U.S. was the fall of Mikaela Shiffrin, who was eliminated from the slalom after missing a gate. That came just two days after she got a DNF in the giant slalom. It was a shocking turn of events for an athlete many consider the greatest slalom skier in the world, and as FOX Sports columnist Martin Rogers wrote, an example of how the Olympics magnify the unpredictable nature of sports.
But it wasn’t all bad news for the U.S., as Chloe Kim dominated in the halfpipe, advancing to the final in the top spot, and Lindsey Jacobellis secured the country’s first gold medal in the snowboardcross.
As of Wednesday afternoon ET, the Russian Olympic Committee led the way with 11 total medals, followed by Austria and Norway with 10 medals.
The United States currently has seven medals to its name, including one gold.
Here are some of the top moments and highlights from Day 5:
Lindsey Jacobellis, snowboardcross
After a failed showboating attempt cost her a gold medal in the 2006 games, Jacobellis has ascended to the mountaintop, securing the U.S’s first gold medal as the winner of the snowboardcross event.
At 36, she became the oldest snowboarder to medal at the Olympics and the oldest American snowboarding medalist. It’s her second Olympic medal after her silver in Torino.
“This feels incredible because this level that all the women are riding at is a lot higher than it was 16 years ago,” Jacobellis stated post-race. “So I felt like a winner just that I made it into finals because that’s been a challenge every time. All these ladies had the potential to win, and today it just worked out for me that my starts were good, my gliding was great and everything worked for me today.”
Shaun White, men’s halfpipe
White faced an abrupt end to his snowboarding career after stumbling in his first qualifying run.
But like the true champion he is, White came up huge in a critical spot, putting together a colossal performance in his second go, which was highlighted by a double 180 and a 540.
“It would have been nice to just cruise in and have a great, easy first run. But I had to fight for it,” White said after the run. “I had to work for it. That’s been this entire season, me just grinding it out, working for it.”
White is joined in the final by American teammates Taylor Gold and Chase Josey, who finished seventh and 12th, respectively.
Mikaela Shiffrin, women’s slalom
After winning gold in the slalom in the 2018 Olympics, Shiffrin entered the 2022 games as one of the gold medal favorites.
But there will be a fresh new champion this year after Shiffrin missed a gate and was eliminated. This came just two days after she did the same thing and was eliminated from the giant slalom.
Upon being eliminated, Shiffrin sat on the track despondent for several minutes before finally making her way down the mountain.
“I feel really bad,” she later said. “There is a lot more going on than just my little situation, but I feel really bad … for doing that.”
Chloe Kim, women’s halfpipe
Kim entered the 2022 Winter Olympics as the top dog in the women’s halfpipe after taking home the gold in 2018, and she did not disappoint in her first qualifying run.
Kim was far and away the most dominant snowboarder in the field on Wednesday, scoring an 87.75 in her first run, in which she admits she had some nerves come over her.
“I was really nervous my first run because we’re at the Olympics, but I was really happy I put one down,” Kim said. “I just wanted to really mess around on my second round and try something I’ve never really done before.”
Kim’s chase to become the first woman to win multiple gold medals in the halfpipe is still alive.
Team Shuster, Men’s curling
It took an extra period for the 2018 gold medalists to escape the first round, but John Shuster & Co. came up with a well-placed final shot inside the red forefoot circle to parry away the ROC 6-5 in the first round of the men’s competition.
Still to come:
Hockey — Men’s, Women’s Prelims
Luge — Doubles runs 1 & 2
Nordic Combined — Men’s Individual Normal Hill, Men’s 10km (NH)
Short Track — Men’s 1500m, women’s 1000m heats, women’s 3000m relay semifinals