BC-Olympic Digest, ADVISORY

APTOPIX Beijing Olympics Freestyle Skiing (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Nihao from Beijing

Today is Day 4 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

Soaring took many forms from Nathan Chen shattering a world record in figure skating to Eileen Gu riding big air to a gold medal. Maybe the most soaring moment came when Ryan Cochran-Siegel earned a silver in the super-G nearly 50 years to the day after his, Barbara Ann Cochran, won a skiing gold at the 1972 Sapporo Games.

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TRENDING NEWS

OLY-ATHLETES IN ISOLATION — More than 30 athletes at the Beijing Olympics are in isolation facilities after testing positive for the coronavirus, organizers said Tuesday. The average stay in isolation is seven days. By Candice Choi. SENT: 391 words, photo.

OLY-PENG SHUAI-BIG AIR — Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai sat with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and watched American-born Chinese freeskier Eileen Gu win gold at the women’s big air event Tuesday. By Jake Seiner. SENT: 522 words, photos. With: OLY—PENG-SHUAI-SPEAKS — Journalist who spoke to Peng Shuai says doubts remain. SENT: 784 words, photos.

OLY—BEIJING-SOCIAL MEDIA — Two American-born athletes competing for China. Two radically different reactions from Chinese social media to their performances at the Winter Olympics. As Eileen Gu won her gold medal in Big Air, the Chinese internet was quite literally overwhelmed with praise, a stark contrast to the reception received by figure skater Zhu Yi. By Huizhong Wu. SENT: 536 words. photos.

OLY--FIG-MEXICO DEBUT — With a career-best performance, Mexican figure skater Donovan Carrillo is now advancing to the next round of competition at the Beijing Winter Games – a first for the Latin American country, which has not had an Olympic skater in 30 years. By Sally Ho. SENT: 469 words, photos.

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TOP STORIES

OLY--FIG-MEN’S SHORT — American figure skater Nathan Chen shattered the world record during his short program at the Beijing Olympics. He scored 113.97 points to beat the previous mark of rival Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan and put himself in position to win his long-sought gold medal. By Dave Skretta. SENT: 941 words, photos.

OLY-FRE-WOMEN'S BIG AIR — American-born Eileen Gu earned the first of what she and her many fans in Beijing hope could be three gold medals for China by cranking out the first 1620 of her career in the Olympic debut of women’s freestyle skiing big air. By Jake Seiner. SENT: 988 words, photos.

OLY—SKI-SHIFFRIN’S NEXT RACE — Maybe this “huge disappointment” — her words upon missing a gate early in the first Alpine race at the Beijing Olympics — will serve Mikaela Shiffrin well moving forward. Maybe Shiffrin will head into her next event, Wednesday’s slalom, with a fresh mind, renewed enthusiasm and a strong sense of what went wrong. By Howard Fendrich. SENT: 756 words, photos.

OLY-HKW-CANADA-US — Marie-Philip Poulin capped a three-goal run by scoring on a penalty shot with 2:35 left in the second period and Canada upended the defending Olympic champion United States 4-2 to claim the women’s hockey tournament’s top seed entering the playoff round. By John Warwow. SENT: 630 words, photos.

OLY-NBC-RATINGS — NBC is on track for the lowest-rated Winter Games in history through the first four nights of competition. Friday night’s coverage on NBC, USA Network and Peacock averaged 12.8 million viewers, significantly down from the 27.8 million average in Pyeongchang four years ago. By Joe Reedy. SENT: 888 words, photo.

OLY-DAY 3-PHOTO GALLERY — American Mikaela Shiffrin crashed out a few seconds into her opening race at the Beijing Olympics. She wasn’t alone on the third day of official competition. SENT: 191 words, photos.

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EXPLAINERS

OLY--CHINA-BEIJING AIR-EXPLAINER — The clear skies greeting Olympic athletes this month is a stark change from just a decade ago when the city’s notorious air pollution often made it difficult to make out nearby buildings. SENT: 600 words, photos, video.

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SNAPSHOTS AND GLIMPSESES

OLY-BEIJING-SNAPSHOT-MEDALS AND TOYS — When most champions get off the slopes or the ice at the Beijing Olympics, they are handed Bing Dwen Dwen, the chubby panda mascot of the Games. Where are the medals? They usually come later at a special ceremony — a system introduced in 1988 at the Calgary Games. SENT: 179 words, photos.

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THE ATHLETES

OLY--SPD-SHORT TRACK-FONTANA'S FEUD — Arianna Fontana became the most decorated short track speedskater in Olympic history in Beijing. She won the 500 meters to collect her 10th medal after earning silver in the new mixed team relay. By Beth Harris. SENT: 471 words, photos.

OLY-FIG-KEEGAN'S JOURNEY — Keegan Messing went from being stuck in a room with COVID-19 to traveling around the world. One skate at the Olympics made it all worthwhile. By James Ellingworth. SENT: 485 words, photo.

OLY--NOR--FLETCHER’S LAST CHANCE — American Taylor Fletcher says his fourth Olympics will be his last and he’s hoping to fare well enough in ski jumping to give him a chance to finish among the top three in a cross-country race in Nordic Combined. By Larry Lage. SENT: 691 words, photos.

OLY--HKO-CHINA-NATURALIZED ATHLETES — China is fielding naturalized athletes at the Beijing Games in an effort to popularize winter sports and be represented across the Olympic program. Athletes in sports including hockey were born and raised in North America. By James Ellingworth. SENT: 819 words, photos.

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THE GAMES WE PLAY

OLY--SKI-MEN’S SUPER G — Matthias Mayer became the first man to win gold medals in Alpine skiing at three straight Olympics after finishing first in the super-G at the Beijing Games. By Daniella Matar. SENT: 942 words, photos.

OLY-SKI-MOTHER-SON MEDALS — Ryan Cochran-Siegel collected the first Olympic Alpine medal for a U.S. man since 2014 by earning the silver behind Austria’s Matthias Mayer in the super-G on Wednesday. The triumph comes nearly 50 years to the day after Cochran-Siegel’s mother, Barbara Ann Cochran, won a skiing gold at the 1972 Sapporo Games – and nearly a year to the day after he had surgery for a broken neck. By AP National Writer Howard Fendrich. UPCOMING: 700 words by 6 a.m., photos.

OLY--SBD-PARALLEL GIANT SLALOM — Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic defended her Olympic snowboard parallel giant slalom title. She will now switch over to ski racing to try and defend her super-G crown. By Pat Graham. SENT: 600 words, photos.

OLY-HKO-ICE-NHL-STYLE — NHL players are not at the Olympics. NHL ice is, and that should make for better hockey. The Olympic tournament is taking place on 200-by-85-foot surfaces for the first time since the 2010 Vancouver Games, when Canada beat the United States for gold. By Stephen Whyno. SENT: 911 words, photos.

OLY—CURLING-MEDAL ROUND — Sweden won the bronze medal in mixed doubles curling on Tuesday, bouncing back from a semifinal blowout to dominate Britain 9-3 in six ends in the third-place game. By Jimmy Golen. SENT: 174 words, photo. Will be updated to 700 words, photos. Gold medal match at 7:05 a.m.

OLY--SPD-SPEEDSKATING — Speedskating medals are awarded in the men’s 1,500 meters at the Beijing Olympics. By Beth Harris. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Competition begins at 5:30 a.m.

OLY-BIA--MEN’S INDIVIDUAL — Quentin Fillon Maillet of France won decisively in the 20-kilometer individual biathlon Tuesday, adding a gold medal to the silver he won in the mixed relay over the weekend.bBy Martha Bellisle. SENT: 240 words, photos. Will be updated to 500 words by 8 a.m., photos.

OLY-XXC—CROSS COUNTRY — Norway’s young cross country star Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo returns to defend his Olympic title in the sprint race. The 2018 women’s sprint gold medalist, Sweden’s Stina Nilsson, has switched to biathlon, so Norway, Sweden, even the U.S. will battle for the title on the women’s side. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 7 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

OLYAG191 — Gold medalist Eileen Gu, of China, reacts after her final run in the women’s freestyle skiing big air finals.

OLYAG234 — China’s Peng Shuai watches the women’s freestyle skiing big air finals.

OLYKS139 — Louis Philip Vito III trains on the halfpipe course.

OLYJH101 — Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot of the Beijing 2022, turns sideways to exit through the doors after visiting the Xinhua news agency’s office.

OLYMH145 — Japan players, including Shiori Yamashita (28) and goalkeeper Nana Fujimoto (1), walk to the ice for a preliminary round women’s hockey game against Czech Republic.

XPAG101 — Anna Fernstaedt of Czech Republic starts during the women’s skeleton training run.

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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.