Slovakia has pulled off one of the all-time Winter Olympics ice hockey upsets by bundling out USA in a shootout.
The underdogs have progressed to the Games’ semi finals while USA will go without a medal despite going through the groups unbeaten, and beating giants Canada 4-2.
By comparison, Slovakia went 2-1 in the group stage.
It is the second-consecutive Winter Olympics that the US hasn’t made the semi finals, while the nation hasn’t won gold since the Miracle on Ice in 1980.
Now, Wednesday’s shock loss to Slovakia is being dubbed a second Miracle on Ice.
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The Americans had a one-goal lead heading into the final minute of regulation when Marek Hribik shocked the favourites with a late goal to force sudden-death.
After no score in extra time, the game went to the shootout.
Slovakia’s Peter Cehlarik was the only scorer in the shootout to secure the unlikely win and trigger wild scenes of celebration.
REASON BEHIND 15YO’S POSITIVE DRUGS TEST REVEALED IN YET ANOTHER BIZARRE TWIST
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva had three different substances used to treat heart conditions in the sample which triggered the doping storm at the Beijing Olympics, the New York Times reported on Wednesday (AEDT).
Valieva learned during the Games she had tested positive in December for trimetazidine, a drug used to treat angina which also boosts endurance.
On Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that she could carry on at the Olympics, but that does not mean she has been cleared of doping and she could still face punishment at a later date.
The Times reported that her sample also contained the heart medications hypoxen and L-Carnatine, which are not on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list.
The Times report said the disclosures concerning the different substances were contained in a document submitted at Sunday’s Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing that ended with the controversial decision to allow Valieva to compete.
Senior IOC member Denis Oswald told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday that Valieva told the CAS hearing she tested positive because of “contamination” from her grandfather’s medicine.
Russian media reported that Valieva allegedly drank from the same glass as her grandfather, who takes trimetazidine for a heart condition.
The Times report said that Valieva’s grandfather had provided a pre-recorded video message to a hearing with Russian anti-doping officials on February 9 in which he said he used trimetazidine to treat “attacks.”
The athlete’s grandfather showed a packet of the medication during the message.
Valieva’s mother told the same hearing her daughter took the substance hypoxen due to heart “variations”, the Times report said.
She added that Valieva’s grandfather also accompanied the teenager to practice on a daily basis.
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OLYMPIANS ERUPT AT ‘DIRTY CHEATERS’ OVER FIGURE SKATING CONTROVERSY
As Kamila Valieva prepared to begin her charge towards gold in the women’s singles figure skating competition, Olympians around the sport blasted her legitimacy in the games.
Just a day prior to the start of the free skate competition at the 2022 Olympics, Valieva was granted eligibility by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after her failed drug test was revealed a day after she helped lead the ROC to a gold medal in the team event.
“Dirty cheaters, and we are accommodating them,” said former American skater Adam Rippon, who coaches American – and Valieva’s opponent — Mariah Bell.
“I don’t know how the Olympics recovers from this.”
Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart medication that could help with endurance.
The test occurred six weeks ago at the Russian national championships, however, with the Russian Anti-Doping Agency claiming it was first notified of the positive test on February 7 – a day after Valieva helped the ROC win gold in the team event.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on an appeal made by the International Olympic Committee, World Anti-Doping Agency and International Skating Union in response to the ROC’s decision to lift Valieva’s ban.
Just 15 years old, the investigation primarily focuses on any wrongdoings committed by Valieva’s team around her, not the skater herself.
“What this says is that the team around her are child abusers,” Rippon said.
“The only thing they care about is performance, and not the health and well being of their athletes. They are a factory that pumps out children who can compete, up to a certain point. It doesn’t feel like the coaches involved in the ladies’ program are coaches at all, but dog trainers; they’re running a circus.
“They shouldn’t be here at the Olympic Games. They’re clowns.”
The ROC claimed that Valieva repeatedly passed doping tests prior to her positive tests and have vehemently denied any wrongdoing, telling reporters, “We are absolutely sure that Kamila is innocent and clean.”
Sarah Hirshland, the chief executive of the U.S. committee, argued that clean Olympians are being denied “the right to know they are competing on a level playing field.”
“We are disappointed by the messages this sends,” Hirshland said. “This appears to be another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia.”
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reposted with permission
AUSSIES IN ACTION (ALL TIMES AEDT)
1:15pm – Louis Muhlen-Schulte (Men’s slalom run one)
4:45pm – Louis Muhlen-Schulte (Men’s slalom run two)
6:15pm – Jess Yeaton and Casey Wright (Women’s cross-country team sprint semi-finals)
7:15pm – Seve De Campo and Phil Bellingham (Men’s cross-country team sprint semi-finals)
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