Winter Olympics briefing: united by 2022 fiasco, Maier and Smith rise to the top

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They say if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. On day 14 of Milano Cortina, the slopes of Livigno proved that theory in spectacular fashion.

Four years ago at Beijing 2022, Daniela Maier of Germany and Fanny Smith of Switzerland were the unwilling protagonists of a convoluted medal dispute. Smith had crossed the finish line in third ahead of Maier in fourth. But the race jury flipped the result after ruling Smith had interfered with Maier, despite both skiers disagreeing. Smith appealed against the jury’s decision to the court of arbitration for sport (Cas), which overruled the officials’ decision and deemed that bronze medals should be awarded to both skiers. Smith got her bronze a year later in Switzerland.

On Friday they did not need a courtroom to decide their fate. In a high-octane final featuring the top four women in the World Cup standings, Maier seized an early lead and never looked back. She protected her line with veteran precision, crossing the finish to claim her first Olympic gold. Right behind her was Smith, claiming silver and an Olympic-record third ski cross medal.

What makes this duo special is not just their speed, but their solidarity. Reflecting on the 2022 legal battle, Maier noted that the ordeal actually transformed them from rivals into training partners and close friends.

Fanny Smith of Switzerland and Daniela Maier of Germany pose with their medals after the women’s ski cross at the 2026 Winter Olympics

“It’s so nice because this story made us a good team,” Maier said. “We [came] together and [became] good friends. We like to train with each other. That we are both at the podium again is just a good story.”

For Smith, the silver was a moment of personal catharsis, after saying before the Games she had lost “trust” in the freeski officials. “It’s a story which is behind me,” Smith said. “Today it’s just something special that we could show an amazing and nice final.”

The Games are as much about love as they are about gold; if Maier and Smith provide the friendship, Wang Xindi and Xu Mengtao are one of many couples to provide the romance at Milano Cortina.

In the men’s aerials final that came down to the wire, Wang delivered a gravity-defying performance to secure gold for China. Competing in a “super final” that pitted four Chinese athletes against two Swiss contenders, the pressure was suffocating.

Wang saved his best for last, soaring to a score of 132.60. He then had to endure a gut-wrenching wait as the reigning world champion, Switzerland’s Noé Roth, took to the air. Wang could not watch as Roth twisted and turned before a clean landing. The crowd held its breath as the judges took their time calculating the scores. When it flashed on the screen – 131.58 – Wang could barely contain himself, sprinting to the middle of the course before dropping to his knees. He had won by a razor-thin margin of 1.02 points.

Wang Xindi fist pumps during the medal ceremony after the freestyle skiing men’s aerials at the 2026 Winter Olympics

The victory completes a family set: Wang’s wife, Xu, successfully defended her own aerials title earlier this week. Now, both halves of the household own 2026 gold.

Heated Rivalries: Coventry v Infantino and the meaning of the Olympic charter

The IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, said on Friday that she was unaware of the Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s presence at the first Board of Peace meeting alongside the US president, Donald Trump, and said she would look into the matter.

Infantino, who is an IOC member, took part in the meeting established under Trump with a focus on Gaza’s reconstruction fund and aimed at rebuilding the territory. The Fifa chief appeared with several politicians and sported a red baseball hat with “USA” on the front and the numbers “45-47”, representing the two non-consecutive Trump presidencies.

“I wasn’t aware of that, that we had an IOC member front and centre,” Coventry said. “Now that you [journalists have] made us aware of it we will go back and have a look at it,” she said. “The IOC charter is very clear what it expects of its members. We will go and research into the alleged signing of documents.”

Fifa president Gianni Infantino holds up a red hat branded ‘USA’ at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting

The Olympic charter states that members must always act independently of commercial and political interests. They also cannot accept “from governments, organisations, or other parties, any mandate or instructions liable to interfere with the freedom of their action and vote”.

Coventry said: “From the IOC’s point of view, we will continue to be politically neutral. That’s the only way for us as an organisation to ensure that we allow for there to be fairness on the field of play. That’s what we will continue to do as we walk into the future.”

Coventry, elected last year, has not yet met Trump, with the 2028 Summer Olympics to be held in Los Angeles.

As it stands

Norway won their 17th gold medal at Milano Cortina, breaking the record for the most gold medals won by a nation at a single Winter Olympics – a record they set at Beijing 2022.

1 🇳🇴 Norway 🥇 17 🥈 10 🥉 10 – Total: 37
2 🇺🇸 United States 🥇 10 🥈 12 🥉 7 – Total: 29
3 🇮🇹 Italy 🥇 9 🥈 5 🥉 13 – Total: 27
4 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🥇 8 🥈 7 🥉 3 – Total: 18
5 🇩🇪 Germany 🥇 6 🥈 8 🥉 8 – Total: 21
– – –
11 🇨🇦 Canada 🥇 4 🥈 5 🥉 8 – Total: 17
14 🇦🇺 Australia 🥇 3 🥈 2 🥉 1 – Total: 6
15 🇬🇧 Great Britain 🥇 3 🥈 0 🥉 0 – Total: 3

Medal table

Picture of the day

Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway competes during the men’s 15km biathlon mass start at the 2026 Winter Olympics

What to look out for today

Times are all in local time in Milan and Cortina. For Sydney it is +10 hours, for London it is -1 hour, for New York it is -6 hours and San Francisco it is -9 hours.

Freestyle skiing – 10.45am🥇, 1.10pm🥇, 7.30pm🥇: plenty of action to look forward to with the mixed team aerials, men’s ski cross and women’s freeski half-pipe.
Cross-country skiing – 11am🥇: will Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway win his trillionth Olympic gold in the gruelling men’s 50km mass start?
Ski mountaineering – 1.30pm🥇: mixed relay will consist of two ascents plus a section on foot with skis attached to the backpack for each ascent and two descents.
Curling – 2.05pm🥉, 7.05pm🥇: the women’s bronze medal takes place before the men’s gold medal between Great Britain and Canada.
Biathlon – 2.15pm🥇: Another battle between France and Norway awaits in the women’s 12.5km mass start.
Speed skating – 4.40pm🥇, 5.15pm🥇: back-to-back action takes place in the men’s and women’s mass start finals.
Ice hockey – 6.40pm🥉: Finland v Slovakia fight for bronze in the men’s tournament.
Bobsleigh – 9.05pm🥇: Germany’s Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi aim for gold in the two-woman event.

The last word

Quentin Fillon Maillet of France poses with the four medals he has won at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina

I am so proud of myself because it’s my ninth medal. I’ve become the best athlete in the French team, winter or summer. I had never thought I could beat this record. I may have become a little bit old, but I have the experience and I know my body pretty well – Quentin Fillon Maillet after winning bronze in the men’s biathlon 15km mass start to become France’s most decorated Olympian. The 33-year-old’s nine medals eclipse the eight won by the French fencers Philippe Cattiau and Roger Ducret at Summer Games during the 1920s and 1930s.

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