From the Sports Desk: And the medals go to…

4 hours ago 24

Hello from Milan and Cortina, where the Games are kicking into high gear. American figure skater Ilia Malinin began competition today with a strong (but not perfect) start, speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida won Team Italy’s first gold, and Lindsey Vonn made final preparations for the medal run of the women’s downhill tomorrow.

More from a busy weekend at the Games below, and at NBC News. Catch it all streaming on Peacock.

Live from Milan Cortina

About 12 hours after the dual Olympic cauldrons in Milan and Cortina were lit, Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland claimed the first gold medal of the Games when he won the men’s downhill over compatriot and favorite Marco Odermatt, who finished fourth.

After 20 kilometers of cross-country skiing, Sweden’s Frida Karlsson became the first female gold medalist. American Jessie Diggins finished eighth.

Lindsey Vonn went through a second training run, testing her ruptured ACL. It seemed to hold up OK. Out of 21 skiers, she finished with the third-fastest time before conditions halted the training. All eyes will be on her medal run tomorrow in the women’s downhill.

In figure skating team event qualifiers, U.S. superstar Ilia Malinin went through his routine in exhilarating fashion, even landing a rare backflip. But Malinin finished second in the men’s short program to his chief rival, Yuma Kagiyama of Japan, building even more anticipation for their eventual showdown in the men’s individual competition.

The U.S. women’s hockey team routed Finland, 5-0, improving its record to 2-0. Finland, remember, had recently dealt with a norovirus outbreak.

In big air snowboarding, teenager Ollie Martin of the U.S. finished just off the medal stand in fourth place.

Athlete Interview

Italian speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida had quite the day here today. She won gold in the 3,000-meter speedskating competition (the first gold for Team Italy) and set an Olympic record — all on her 35th birthday. Her young son Tommaso was here, too, watching her make history.

Lollobrigida had previously taken time away from the sport to start a family. She has said this will be her final Olympics.

“It was not that easy to combine being a mom and a skater,” she told reporters after the race. “So seriously, this one is for myself and the people who believed in me and also the people who were like, ‘Maybe she cannot do it,’ because they gave me the power to prove myself.”

Behind the Scenes

At today’s Team USA women’s hockey game, Vice President JD Vance arrived during the first intermission. At a previous game, he sat with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Today, he spent much of the second and third periods chatting with Jake Paul, the boxer and internet personality, who donned a camouflage hat and pants. (Paul’s fiancée is Jutta Leerdam, a speedskater for the Netherlands, and her events are in an arena next door.)

The women’s hockey team ended up cruising to an easy win thanks in part to … GoGo squeeZ? One of our correspondents spotted what appeared to be pouches of the children’s fruit snack on the bench.

At the Milano Ice Skating Arena, the crowd oohed and ahhed as it watched Malinin. Even Olympic volunteers stopped to record him on their phones.

Photo of the day

When to watch

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday! But first, the Olympics. Maybe you’ve heard, but Vonn is set to race tomorrow morning. Here’s when you can see her, along with the rest of the day’s lineup.

All times are in Eastern, and asterisks mean it’s a medal event:

Sunday, Feb. 8

3 a.m.: snowboard, women’s parallel giant slalom
3:30 a.m.: snowboard, men’s parallel giant slalom
4:05 a.m.: curling, mixed doubles round-robin (Norway vs. Czechia, Norway vs. Estonia)
5:30 a.m.: Alpine skiing, women’s downhill*
6:30 a.m.: cross-country skiing, men’s 10 kilometers + 10-kilometer skiathlon*
7 a.m.: snowboard, women’s parallel giant slalom ⅛ finals
7:24 a.m.: snowboard, men’s parallel giant slalom ⅛ finals
7:48 a.m.: snowboard, women’s parallel giant slalom quarterfinals
8 a.m.: snowboard, men’s parallel giant slalom quarterfinals
8:05 a.m.: biathlon, mixed relay 4 x 6 km*
8:12 a.m.: snowboard, women’s parallel giant slalom semifinals
8:19 a.m.: snowboard, men’s parallel giant slalom semifinals
8:26 a.m.: snowboard, women’s parallel giant slalom finals*
8:35 a.m.: curling, mixed doubles round-robin (Canada vs. Sweden, Great Britain vs. Switzerland, United States vs. Estonia, Italy vs. Estonia)
8:36 a.m.: snowboard, men’s parallel giant slalom finals*
10 a.m.: speed skating, men’s 5,000 meters*
10:40 a.m.: women’s hockey, France vs. Sweden
11 a.m.: luge, men’s singles run 3
12:34 p.m.: luge, men’s singles run 4*
1:05 p.m.: curling, mixed doubles round-robin (Italy vs. Great Britain, Sweden vs. United States, Switzerland vs. Norway, Canada vs. Korea)
1:30 p.m.: figure skating, team event, pair skating
1:30 p.m.: snowboard, women’s big air qualification
2:45 p.m.: figure skating, team event, women’s single skating
3:10 p.m.: women’s hockey, Finland vs. Czechia
3:55 p.m.: figure skating, team event, men’s single skating*