American Snowboarder Wins in 'Ugly' Conditions

Monday's women's slopestyle snowboarding competition in Pyeongchang is going to be remembered more for the treacherous conditions than the sporting accomplishments—especially since only nine of the 50 riders were able to complete their runs properly. Hazardous cross-winds caused what the AP describes as "ugly" conditions and a "black eye for snowboarding." American Jamie Anderson took the gold, though she admitted she wasn't especially proud of her run. The decision to allow the event to go ahead while others were postponed was called into question, with some riders saying it was lucky nobody was seriously injured. In other Pyeongchang news:

• Offended hosts. NBC says commentator Joshua Cooper Ramo will no longer be part of its Pyeongchang coverage, Reuters reports. Ramo offended many people in the host country during the opening ceremony when he said Japan, which colonized the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945, had been an example for Korea's "transformation."

• Overruns or cancellations? Organizers say the rough weather conditions could cause more ski events to be postponed, though International Olympic Committee communications director Mark Adams says the Games will not overrun the scheduled end date, the Guardian reports. He says it's too early to comment on whether some events might have to be canceled.
• "Sports House." The New York Times takes a look inside "Sports House," the social headquarters for a Russian presence that includes 169 Russian athletes, even though the country is officially banned from the Olympics. They're not allowed to call it "Russia House," though there are plenty of other displays of Russian nationalism, and the country's ambassador to South Korea gave a speech there Friday urging athletes to bring "glory to our great motherland."
• A Canadian goodbye. Canada won its first gold of the Games in the team figure skating competition Monday, an event that made its debut in Sochi, ESPN reports. Five of the seven skaters on the team are retiring after Pyeongchang, making the Games a long farewell to a generation of skaters.
• Up to the Koreas now. IOC President Thomas Bach says that it's now "up to the political side to use this momentum" after the Games brought North and South Korea together. "Sport cannot create peace. We cannot lead their political negotiation," he tells the AP. "We have sent this message that negotiations can lead to a positive result."

(More 2018 Olympics stories.)