IOC Sends Member Home 'in Disgrace'

Friday was a rough day for Americans in Pyeongchang
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 16, 2018 7:33 AM CST
IOC Sends Member Home 'in Disgrace'
Skating girls collect Winnie The Pooh dolls thrown on the ice following Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan's performance in the men's short program figure skating in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018.   (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

The International Olympic Committee has sent one of its own members home from Pyeongchang after a clash with a hotel security guard. The Telegraph reports that British IOC member Adam Pengilly is leaving South Korea "in disgrace" after the incident. Pengilly—a skeleton slider for Britain in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics—has apologized for the incident. He says he ran past the guard after the man blocked his path and demanded to see his accreditation, but denies that he fought or even touched him. In other Winter Olympics news:

  • Tough day for Shiffrin. The AP reports that Friday wasn't a great day for one of the most high-profile American athletes in Pyeongchang. Mikaela Shiffrin, who had been hoping for back-to-back golds after Thursday's win in the giant slalom, came fourth in the women's Olympic slalom. The US men's hockey team however, scored an important 2-1 win over Slovakia in the preliminary round, bringing them to the top of Group B.

  • Norovirus outbreak. Two Swiss athletes have been the first competitors to be hit by a norovirus outbreak that has sickened more than 200 people in Pyeongchang, the BBC reports. Swiss authorities say the rest of the team is safe, and there is still a chance the two sick skiers could recover enough to compete.
  • Jamaican bobsledding. The Guardian reports that the Jamaican women's bobsled team will be taking part in their first Winter Olympics—30 years after the Cool Runnings men's team made history. It looked like they might miss the event after their coach quit and said she was taking the sled, but the Red Stripe beer company offered to pay for a new one.
  • Hanyu shines. The New York Times reports that Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu "skated a performance of great technical skill, languid beauty and strategic cleverness," winning the men's short program in figure skating. In the free skate Saturday, he will aim to be the first repeat champion since American Dick Button in 1948 and 1952. American skater Nathan Chen, however, missed all his jumps and finished 17th. He fell on his opening quad lutz on Friday, failing to repeat the historic feat of teammate Vincent Zhou.
  • The UN of ski races. The AP reports on what it calls the "United Nations of cross-country skiing races"—the men's 15km freestyle, which included more than 50 nationalities among its 116 racers, many of whom know each other well from qualifying events around the world. "I would rather finish toward the end of the pack with all of my friends than somewhere in the middle by myself," says Tongan skier Pita Taufatofua, who took up the sport after competing in taekwondo in Rio in 2016. He finished 114th on Friday. Switzerland's "Super" Dario Cologna won his third consecutive gold in the event.
(More 2018 Olympics stories.)

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