BC-Olympic Digest, ADVISORY

Nihao from Beijing

Today is Day 2 of the Beijing Olympics. Here are AP’s coverage plans. All times are Eastern. For questions, please email Amanda Barrett at abarrett@ap.org. Find the latest Olympics coverage plans on Coverage Plan. For expanded content, visit AP’s Olympics hub on AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 877-836-9477. For questions about the digital news experience or medals tables, please email Barry Bedlan at bbedlan@ap.org.

HAPPENING IN BEIJING

Athletes overcame COVID issues both inside and outside their sports. The Australian mixed doubles curling team of Dean Hewitt and Tahli Gill pulled off a dramatic first win in their first Olympics when they beat Switzerland hours after it appeared they would be headed home because Gill returned a series of positive COVID-19 tests. And officials vowed to improve living conditions after complaints about isolation hotels.

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TRENDING NEWS

OLY-SKI-MEN'S DOWNHILL — The men’s downhill at the Beijing Olympics was postponed a day because of wind that gusted at up to 40 mph at the top of the course when the race was supposed to start Sunday, delaying the opening event of the Alpine schedule. By Andrew Dampf and Daniella Matar. SENT: 762 words, photos.

OLY-ATHLETES-IN-ISOLATION — Olympic organizers say they’re addressing complaints about isolation conditions for athletes who test positive for the coronavirus. They say they are working to ensure they have clean rooms, better food and access to training equipment and the internet. SENT: 295 words, photo.

OLY-SRF-AGELESS-SLATER — On Day 3 of the Winter Olympics, America’s biggest victory might very well have come not on a frozen halfpipe in China but in the warm waves of the Banzai Pipeline, thousands of miles away in Hawaii. The win belonged to Kelly Slater, the surfing great who turns 50 this week. By Pat Graham and Eddie Pells. SENT: 682 words, photos.

HKO—VIRUS OUTBREAK-KHL — The Kontinental Hockey League is calling off the rest of the regular season because of coronavirus concerns surrounding players at the Olympics. The Russia-based league will go straight to playoffs after a weeklong break. By Stephen Whyno. SENT: 578 words, photo.

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TOP STORIES

OLY-CHINA-IN-THE-BUBBLE — The Olympics are usually an opportunity for the host country to showcase its culture. That’s a challenge when the athletes, coaches and others traveling to this year’s Winter Games are entirely sequestered in a bubble so complete it even has its own intercity trains. Still, here and there there are glimmers of China that seep in. By Sarah Dilorenzo. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

OLY-FIG-TEAM COMPETITION — World champion Kamila Valieva cemented her status as the gold medal-favorite at the Beijing Games by putting forward a winning short program to help the Russians take the lead in the team event. Mark Kondratiuk took second in the men’s free skate to send the Russians into the final day of competition with a two-point lead over the U.S. By Dave Skretta. SENT: 822 words, photos.

OLY-CUR-CURLING-IN-COVID — Curling is a sport built around closeness. It starts with the pre-game handshakes between opponents and goes to the traditional post-game drinking sessions where the winners typically buy the losers a round. That tradition all but vanished after the coronavirus emerged and curlers at the socially distanced Beijing Olympics are unlikely to be sharing beers. The necessity of distance imposed by COVID-19 has caused particular angst throughout the curling community. By Kristin Gelineau. SENT: 959 words, photos.

OLY-BEIJING-PENG-SHUAI — The whereabouts of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai remain a pressing question at the Beijing Olympics. Peng’s accusations of sexual assault three months ago against former vice premier Zhang Gaoli were scrubbed almost immediately from the internet in China. But the question is coming up in daily briefings in Beijing. By Stephen Wade. SENT: 362 words, photo.

OLY-HKW-US-CANADA-RIVALRY — Hate is not too strong of a word for former United States Olympian Cammi Granato to describe the tensions which have developed between the American and Canadian women’s hockey teams. One of the world’s fiercest rivalries are set to resume with the defending Olympic champion U.S. to play Canada in a Group A preliminary round game at the Beijing Games on Tuesday. By Hockey Writer John Wawrow. SENT: 986 words, photos. WITH: OLY-OLYMPIC RIVALRIES — With the U.S. preparing to face Canada in women’s hockey for the first time in these Olympics, here’s a look at some of the other big rivalries that will be contested at the 2022 Games. By Noah Trister. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos by 9 a.m.

OLY--SKI-THE WAITING GAME — Bryce Bennett was supposed to be the first racer in the men’s downhill at the Beijing Olympics. Like everyone else, he was stuck hanging around until the race was postponed for a day because of wind. He killed time by checking in with friends at a “Beer Olympics” watch party back home in California. Alpine skiers find different ways of dealing with delays at an Olympics. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 6 a.m.

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GLIMPSES AND SNAPSHOTS

OLY-GLIMPSES-COLD-VOLUNTEERS — Foreign visitors at these Olympics are strictly segregated from the public under China’s zero-tolerance virus containment strategy. The thousands of mostly young volunteers working in and around the venues are some of the only Chinese people they’ll meet here, often in fleeting exchanges where masked smiles and hand gestures help overcome the language barriers. SENT: 250 words, photo.

OLY--BEIJING SNAPSHOT-STREET WATCHING — On a chilly Saturday night, a small crowd of passers-by gathered in front of a big screen in a Beijing shopping district to watch a short-track speedskating final with high hopes it would produce host country China’s first gold medal at the Winter Olympics. It was a nail-biter but they were not disappointed. SENT: 243 words, photos.

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THE ATHLETES

OLY--BIA-STINA'S SWITCH — Swedish cross country skier Stina Nilsson shocked the Nordic community when she announced in 2020 that she was leaving one of the strongest cross country teams in the world to try her hand at biathlon. By Martha Bellisle. SENT: 647 words, photos.

OLY-LUG-US-SWEENEY'S-COMEBACK — It has come up in conversations for four years. The Crash. USA Luge’s Emily Sweeney has had hundreds of them in her sliding career but there’s only one that people want to talk about. Such is what happens after somebody breaks their neck and their back at the Olympics. Now Sweeney is back on her sport’s biggest stage. By Tim Reynolds. SENT: 1,009 words, photos.

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THE GAMES WE PLAY

OLY-SBD-WOMEN'S SLOPESTYLE — Zoi Sadowski Synnott captured New Zealand’s first gold medal in Winter Olympic history, stomping down a pressure-packed run on her last trip down the mountain to win the title in women’s slopestyle. By AP National Writer Eddie Pells. SENT: 804 words, photos.

OLY--HKO-GERMANY'S CHALLENGE — Four years after an improbable trip to the final that ended with a silver medal, Germany is back at the Olympics without NHL players looking to make another run. Usually a heavy underdog, Germany must now balance that approach with the confidence gained from 2018 in Pyeongchang. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. SENT: 869 words, photos.

OLY-XXC—CROSS COUNTRY SKIING-MEN’S SKIATHLON — Russian athlete Alexander Bolshunov pulled away from the pack early and won the first men’s cross-country skiing gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in the 30-kilometer skiathlon. By Martha Bellisle. SENT: 530 words, photos.

OLY—HKW-ROUNDUP — The United States women’s hockey team plays Switzerland in an A Pool preliminary round game at the Beijing Winter Games on Sunday. Host China faces Japan in a B Pool game. By Hockey Writer John Wawrow. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos. U.S.-Switzerland game begins at 8:10 a.m.

OLY--JUM-SKI-JUMPING-NORMAL-HILL — Two-time ski jumping gold medalist Andreas Wellinger is missing the Beijing Games because he tested positive last week, clearing the way in China for a new champion. By Larry Lage. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos. Competition starts 6 a.m.

OLY—SPD-SPEEDSKATING — Three-time defending Olympic 5,000 meters champion Sven Kramer goes for one more speedskating gold before retirement, but he’s not likely to defend his unprecedented streak against Sweden’s Nils van der Poel, who is undefeated on the World Cup circuit this season. By Paul Newberry. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos. Begins 3:30 a.m.

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UP TO THE MINUTE

— OLYMPICS ROUNDUP — Highlights of the day from the 2022 Winter Games.

— BEIJING OLYMPICS-THE LATEST — Real-time updates and photos from every venue around the Winter Games.

— BEIJING OLYMPICS-WHAT TO WATCH — A guide to key storylines each day. Moves after 1 a.m.

— MEDAL BRIEFS — A roundup of the day’s gold medals.

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FEATURED IMAGES

OLYKS215 — Canada’s Mark McMorris competes during the men’s slopestyle qualifying.

OLYJL136 — Austria’s Lara Wolf trains for the women’s freestyle skiing big air competition.

OLYTH112 — Ski racers wait in the athletes lounge near the top of the course during a delay in the start of the men’s downhill due to high winds.

OLYDA106 — Anastasiia Shabotova, of Ukraine, competes in the women’s short program team figure skating competition.

OLYTH114 — A course worker removes a flag from a gate on the men’s downhill course after race was postponed due to high winds.

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GRAPHICS

Beijing Winter Games Schedule: The full discipline schedule of competition events, including medal and ceremony days for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Print graphic. Now available.