Snowboard Cross – Top-four finish sets stage for mixed team event

Abbey Wilson charged her way through the women’s group heats and semi-finals for a shot at the medals in the Big Final en route to finishing fourth overall.

The Jindabyne local won three of the five group heats to start her day, then placed second in her semi-final to be one of our women left standing. The Big Final went the way of Switzerland’s Noemie Wiedmer (gold), Iafrate Danielsson (FRA - silver) and Lea Casta (FRA - bronze).

In speaking about the Welli Hilli track, Abbey enjoyed the challenge.

"There are quite a few features that you wouldn't experience in a general course. There are a lot of drops,” she said. “It's one of those courses where you're always kind of doing something, and I really liked that.

"It's a long course so it's a bit of a leg burner, but it's one where I can always be moving and always be watching for places to pass and make speed. Those are my favourite kinds of courses.

"I've only just started competing overseas, so I've made a lot of new friends and it’s nice to experience this with them.”

Lara Walsh from Tasmania collected 12 heat points and finished 18th overall.

Then on the men’s side William Martin amassed 14 heat points to nearly progress to the semi-finals, but fell two points short of the cut-off with a DNF in the third heat a factor. He placed 11th overall and Melbourne’s Cameron Turner came 15th.

The Aussies will back up tomorrow with the mixed team event.

Ice Hockey – Debut win for Australia’s first 3x3 Youth Olympic ice hockey team

The first all-Australian 3x3 women’s ice hockey team to rep the green and gold at the Youth Olympics started their campaign with a 6-1 win over the Netherlands.

Their opponents started the game scoring the first goal for a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period, which Australia followed up with a four-goal second term to take a lead they would not relinquish.

The team will play two matches tomorrow, starting with the host nation South Korea and then a late-night matchup against Italy.

Short Track Skating – Aditya smashes personal best in the 1500m

Aditya Nghiem has begun his three-day Olympic campaign with a personal best performance in the men’s 1500m at the Gangneung Ice Arena.

Set in the quarter-finals, Aditya shaved 10 seconds off his personal best time when he crossed the line in 2:41.252 to place fifth in his quarter-final and 28th overall.

“It was exciting. The Olympics is obviously a big event with lots of spectators, that was pretty nerve-racking [to face]. But once I was on the ice, I was calm at the start and got to lead for a while which was good,” Aditya said.

“Ended up getting a 10-second personal best so I’m pretty stoked about that.”

Aditya’s next competition is the men’s 1000m tomorrow, followed by the men’s 500m on Monday.

Biathlon – Family affair fuels Aussie performances

In the women’s 10km Individual Ava McCann had the unique opportunity to compete in front of her Korean family members, placing 53rd (44:43.0).

“It wasn’t my best race,” Ava said. “I could have skied a bit faster and shot a bit better but it was really nice to compete in front of my family, especially my Korean family who live here and came to watch me – so that was super cool.”

Joining her in the event was Bridget Harvey and Alessandra Sydun-West who placed 62nd (46:06.2) and 81st (49:17.7) overall respectively.

“It felt really special to have so many Aussie people cheering and screaming us up the hills, Bridget said. “I would have liked to hit some more targets than I did.”

Phoenix Sparke was the best placed Australian biathlete of the day, finishing the men’s 12.5km individual event 39th (48:13.5). Wagga Wagga’s Edward Woodhouse-Bedak (88th – 55:54.2) and Matthew Wilby (95th – 58:46.2) rounded out the day.

Australia’s biathletes will be back on the Alpensia Biathlon Centre course tomorrow for the single mixed relay.

Team Australia Opening Ceremony Recap

The Gangwon 2024 Opening Ceremony, featuring an array of K-pop stars and cultural performers, got the Games underway in style on Friday night as ski cross athlete Duncan Cowan and women’s ice hockey team captain Tara Baker lead the Aussies as Flag Bearers.

The event was hosted simultaneously at the sold-out Gangneung Oval with 4,500 people, where Team Australia and 77 other nations were hosted, plus at a fully booked PyeongChang Dome with 4,300 spectators. The Ceremony included a parade of the 78 competing National Olympic Committees’ flags, the playing of the Olympic Anthem and oaths taken by athletes, coaches and officials.

The cultural performances from the host nation revolved around the theme of “The Universe” and evoked the Gangwon 2024 slogan, “Grow Together, Shine Forever”, with inspiring performances telling the story of a young heroine, Wuri, who dreamed of experiencing winter sports on an ice planet before becoming the brightest star of her own universe.

Day 2 Schedule