Winter Olympics in Italy are entering the finals, with the expected ice hockey derbies, Norwegian dominance in some sports, primarily in various disciplines of Nordic running, but also disappointments for some, as well as numerous interesting facts, scandals and bizarre things.
So far we have seen love An emotional confession from a Norwegian in front of television cameras after winning an Olympic medal, Ukrainian skeleton competitor disqualified due to controversial helmet, as well as a ski jumper because he wore shoes four millimeters larger than prescribed.
We also saw a figure skating coach training about 15 different athletes and changing national team jackets in the middle of a competition.
An unrecorded event occurred in the men's slalom race - yes Dozens of skiers fall or give up in the first of two races.
We also saw the frustration of the leader in the slalom who had a medal in his pocket, but made a mistake and... threw his skis off the trail and walked to find some peace under a tree.
The start of the Winter Olympic Games was marked by the fall of skiing icon, American Lindsey Vonn, who, despite a serious injury, decided to compete in downhill.
She fell, sustained another serious injury and She has been operated on three times so far., and will probably have to do it a few more times.
Despite everything, he says that she doesn't regret anything and would do the same again.
"I haven't been on my feet for over a week," she wrote online Iksu.
"I'm in a hospital bed, immobile from the race. And even though I can't stand yet, being back on home soil is an incredible feeling."
"A big thank you to everyone in Italy for taking such good care of me."
There were also controversies and scandals.
They are in the spotlight oba karling tima Kanade - in both the men's and women's competitions - accused of cheating.
Social networks, especially from users in America, are full of comments about two athletes of the same origin - American-Chinese.
While one, American-born Eileen Gu, has been competing in freestyle skiing for China, her mother's country, for years, the other, figure skater Alyssa Liu, competed under the US flag.
Both won medals, but while some Americans call Gu a 'traitor' for choosing a country that, they say, is a 'champion in human rights violations', they praise the other and describe her as a 'true champion' and a 'patriot'.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been the target of criticism on several grounds.
First of all, because of the quality, or rather the poor quality, of the medals - many athletes complained that their medals had torn off the ribbons while they were celebrating their success.
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Carling: 'Don't embarrass us'
In a sport that shouldn't raise tensions, we've seen perhaps the most of them.
First, the Canadian men's team was accused of cheating twice, first in a match against Sweden and then against Switzerland.
There were curses from the Canadian side when the Swedes complained to the referees about a rule violation.
Few would expect Canadians, who are considered calm and reserved, to be the center of attention for something negative.
Over the weekend, Canadian curling player Mark Kennedy uttered many curse words in a fit of anger after being accused by the Swedes of 'double-tapping' a stone, which is prohibited.
Kennedy then stated that the Canadian team was the target of a "premeditated" attack by their rivals.
The next day, Canadian women's national team captain Rachel Holman was also charged with the same thing - double-tapping the rock.
Both Canadian men and women have denied the allegations, but the Canadian curling teams, which have traditionally dominated the sport, are now facing questions about their tactics.
While Canadian athletes defend themselves, they are not viewed favorably in their own country.
"A sad day for Canadian sports," Tim Gray from Alberta told the BBC.
"Integrity in sports is important, even when you have to show it by your own example," he added.
In the text of the Canadian edition of the newspaper Globe and Mail The criticism was: "Canadian curling teams are not fun bad guys."
"They seem like competitors who need victory so much that they will do anything - even things that are pointless - to achieve the goal."
"There's an easy way out of this - stop struggling."
"Stop acting as if our curling reputation is more important than our national one."
“Be a bigger man and woman, even if you don’t think you’ve done anything wrong,” reads the message in a Canadian newspaper column to their representatives at the Winter Olympics.
Disqualifications from competition
Ukrainian skeleton competitor Vladislav Geraskevich expelled from the Games because despite the ban, he continued to wear a helmet with pictures of people killed in Ukraine.
This is "the price of our dignity," the Ukrainian athlete said upon learning of the ban.
The IOC said they offered a compromise - that he wear a black armband, which he refused and despite the ban, he went out on the ice with the same helmet.
While Geraskevych has received recognition from other Ukrainian Olympians, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and even the Latvian skeleton and luge teams, there are those who note that Geraskevych would certainly not have been competitive for a medal and that all of this was planned.
Watch the video about the Ukrainian woman and the controversial helmet
Unlike the Ukrainian, Austrian ski jumper Daniel Chofenig not only calmly accepted his elimination from the competition on the large ski jump, but also rebuked himself.
Chofenig (23) easily qualified for the final, but his hopes of a medal were dashed because he was wearing inappropriate equipment.
The winner of the 2025 World Cup was found to have worn his shoes four millimeters longer than the rules allowed.
"I used new shoes in training that I wasn't really happy with, but I kept them," said Chofenig.
"Unfortunately, I was naive and didn't measure them. Extremely stupid of me, there was so much stress."
"But rules are rules."
Chofenig qualified for the diving final with 137,7 points, but was disqualified, so Slovak Hektor Kapustik stepped in instead.
Slovenian Domen Prevc won the large ski jump., for whom it was the second gold medal at these Winter Olympics.
He previously won on the small hill in the mixed team competition, along with his sister Nika and two other jumpers.
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Skating: Disappointments and Ignorance
Uh, there was everything.
Mostly Russians competing for other countries.
Ilya Maljinin, the 'prominent' winner of the individual Olympic competition, buckled under pressure and lost his medal.
A Russian, who plays for America, He delighted many, including the world's best tennis player of all time, Novak Djokovic., in the team portion of the competition and helped the USA win gold.
In the individual competition, he did not perform anything besides the repertoire for which he was nicknamed the 'God of Quadruple Turns'.
He only finished in eighth place, and the gold went to... well, another Russian competing for Kazakhstan, Mikhail Shaidorov.
After widespread criticism of Malinina's arrogance, which cost him his medal, he spoke about the mental problems he faces.
His colleague from the US national team, Russian Maxim Naumov, whose parents, famous Russian skaters, died in a collision between a passenger plane and a military helicopter over Washington last year, came to his defense.
"I really just want him to know that we love him and care about him," Naumov told the American television network NBC.
"He's not defined by his performance and what he did on the ice that day in the free program. In those moments, it's how you react that matters, and knowing him, I know he'll be fine," Naumov said.
There is also talk of another Russian skater, 23-year-old Petr Gumennik.
He is one of 13 Russian athletes allowed to compete at the Winter Olympics under a neutral flag.
When the Russian figure skater took to the ice in the Milan arena, his fans in the audience held posters and wore sweatshirts with his image and the words "Team Gumennik".
It was a way to support him while completely avoiding mentioning his country of origin.
“This is my first Olympics, so I have nothing to compare it to,” the 23-year-old said when a CBC reporter asked him what the experience was like competing as a neutral athlete.
But Gumenjik, neither guilty nor guilty, is also talked about for something else.
Ukrainian skater Kirill Marsak, after a disappointing performance - he fell several times - was waiting for the judges' scores, and Gumennik was sitting just three meters away from him.
For Marsak, it was an unpleasant scene considering that their countries were at war, which would soon enter its fifth year.
It was the same day that Ukrainian skeleton athlete Geraskevich was disqualified from the competition due to a controversial helmet.
"I think there has been too much negative news over the last few days, especially regarding the disqualification of Geraskevich," Marsak said.
"It seems like the IOC is completely against us Ukrainians. They want to nullify everything Ukrainian," he said the only representative of Ukraine in the men's figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
"I think this is manipulation and an attempt to put pressure on us," he added.
In figure skating, it has always been the case that the competitor or competitors who finish the performance sit and wait for the scores.
But new for the Milan Games is the 'hot seat', where the current leader sits and watches all the other rivals until someone surpasses him and takes over the leadership position.
Gumenyuk sat quietly as he watched the judges' scores for the Ukrainian, and at one point even applauded him.
While waiting for the grades, Marsak never once looked at Gumenjik, who was sitting on his right.
When the judging was over, the Ukrainian skater walked past the Russian without a word or a look.
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Figure skating star - coach
The male and female skaters are the stars of the competition, but one coach is equally popular.
Frenchman Benoit Richot became a social media star when many shared a video of him running from one part of the hall to another and changing jackets of the participating countries' national teams.
The 38-year-old is both a coach and choreographer and is working with 16 male and female skaters at the 2026 Winter Olympics from 13 countries.
Among others, he coaches Maxim Naumov from the USA, Canadian Steven Gogolyev, Frenchman Adam Siao Him and Georgian Niki Egadze.
He was filmed next to the rink, first wearing a jacket from the Georgian national team in support of Egadze, and then taking and putting on a jacket from the Canadian team in support of Gogolyev.
"It's an organization. It has to be fast," Richot told the BBC.
"People laugh because I always wear black. And now everyone asks, how is it possible that we see Benoit in different colors?"
"It's actually very emotionally demanding because, you know, depending on how everyone is doing.
"Let's imagine that everything is fine and dandy and that everyone is skating well, very easily."
"If one skates badly, then the other skates well, you have this peak of emotion that is very difficult to express...
"If they don't skate well one after the other... then it's very, very difficult."
Norwegians: Records and an emotional confession
Norway is, as expected, the leader in terms of the number of gold medals won, but also in terms of the total number of medals.
Nordic specialists easily leave their rivals behind.
Among the mass of successful Norwegians, 29-year-old Johannes Hosflot Klaebo, who is also called the 'king of cross-country skiing', stands out.
At the Games in Italy, he became by far the most successful athlete with a record ninth gold medal in his career so far.
Klaebo led Norway to the top of the podium in the men's 4x7,5 kilometer relay - along with Emil Iversen, Martin Levström Ninget and Einar Hedegart.
It was his fourth gold at the Games in Italy.
He also won three gold medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and two in Beijing 2022.
He is also a 15-time world champion.
His medal streak could grow even further, with two more chances for gold in the men's team sprint and the 50-kilometer race.
The key to success, he says, is relaxation and enjoyment, especially at these Games.
"I got into the right shape when I needed to."
"It was a little easier to prepare for these Olympic Games than for the previous ones and for the World Championships last year."
"Fun is important and I think it shows in the results," said Klaebo.
Another Norwegian is in the spotlight at these Olympics.
Moments after winning the bronze medal in biathlon, Norwegian Sturla Holm Legreid admitted live on television that he cheated on his girlfriend and that he now sincerely regrets it and would do anything just to get it back.
The 28-year-old, who won his first Olympic medal in the individual biathlon 20km race, said he found the love of his life six months ago, but cheated on her three months later.
"It was my biggest mistake," he added.
Legreid said that since he confessed to the cheating on his girlfriend, it had been "the worst week of his life."
The deceived girl soon spoke up, saying that it would be difficult for her to forgive him.
Since the day he won his first medal at these Games and bared his soul to the whole world, Legreid has managed to win two more medals - another bronze in the 10-kilometer sprint, and then silver in the 12,5-kilometer biathlon.
Through the goal can also be backwards
Several interesting and dramatic finishes were seen in speed skating and skiing disciplines.
Several competitors collided in the men's 500-meter speed skating event at an indoor event in Milan.
Furkan Akar from Turkey and Latvian Reinis Berzins collided, and Italian Pietro Siegel somehow remained on his skates, turning around and reaching the finish line backwards.
A similar thing happened in one race in free skiing.
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Bonus video:
