BEIJING 鈥� Friday at the Beijing Winter Olympics promises plenty of intrigue for Canadian fans. There are medal hopefuls to be on the watch for in two separate freestyle skiing events, speedskater Laurent Dubreuil will be racing for a podium spot, the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 curling tournaments enter crucial stages and the semifinals of the men鈥檚 hockey tournament will play out.
Here are five things to watch at the Beijing Olympics on Friday, Feb. 18.
Dubreuil looking for a better result this go-around
Dubreuil finished in fourth place in the 500-metre speedskating sprint earlier in the Games after he was charged with a false start. The Quebec City native will be hoping for a better result Friday in the 1,000. Dubreuil enters the competition as the reigning bronze medallist from last year鈥檚 world championships and will be hoping for a similar result or better in Beijing.
Men鈥檚 hockey tournament enters the semifinals
Both semifinal games of the men鈥檚 Olympic hockey tournament will be played on Friday. Both Canada and the United States were bounced in the quarterfinals but North American hockey fans will still recognize some familiar names on the ice. Finland has a number former NHLers on its roster including Valtteri Filppula, Markus Granlund, Leo Komarov, Mikko Lehtonen and Sami Vatanen. Artem Anisimov, Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Nesterov and Slava Voynov are all playing for the Russian Olympic Committee, while forwards Marcus Kruger and Joakim Nordstrom are representing Sweden. The surprising Slovakian team features a couple of top European prospects who are expected to go high in this year's NHL Draft in Simon Nemec and Juraj Slafkovsky.
Bronze medal being handed out in men鈥檚 curling, women鈥檚 tournament in semis
In the men鈥檚 curling tournament, two nations will go to battle in the bronze-medal game. There鈥檚 hope and even expectation that Brad Gushue鈥檚 Canadian rink will be competing for gold, but a shot at a bronze certainly wouldn鈥檛 be a bad consolation prize. On the women鈥檚 side, Canada鈥檚 Jennifer Jones will hopefully be competing in one of two semifinal matches on Friday's schedule.聽
A couple of Canadian medal threats in women鈥檚 freestyle ski halfpipe
Calgary鈥檚 Cassie Sharpe is expected to be going for her second Olympic gold medal in the women鈥檚 freestyle ski halfpipe event. A dominant force in halfpipe competitions over the last four years, Sharpe won gold at both the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and 2019 Winter X Games. She also collected X Games silver last year and a bronze in 2020. Another athlete to watch for is 24-year-old Rachel Karker of Guelph, Ont., who won halfpipe silver at the 2021 world championships and is a multi-medal winner at the X Games..
Leman looking to repeat as Olympic champion in men鈥檚 ski cross
Defending Olympic men鈥檚 ski cross champion Brady Leman will be on the hunt for another gold. At 35-years-old, Leman is competing in his fourth and potentially final Olympic Games. There鈥檚 little doubt, if these are his last Games, he鈥檒l be looking to end his career on a high note. The Calgary native鈥檚 best result most recently was a silver medal at the 2019 world championships.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2022.
The Canadian Press
