When Team USA’s short track mixed team relay was awarded a penalty in its Olympic semifinal at the Captial Indoor Stadium on Saturday, it ended the Americans’ chance at bringing home the first gold medal in the event.
From left, Ryan Pivirotto, Kristen Santos, and Andrew Heo celebrate believing they had advanced the short track mixed team relay at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. Instead, a penalty was awarded ending their chance at medal in the event.
While he was circling the infield to gain speed in anticipation of taking over the next leg of the relay from Kristen Santos, Ryan Pivorotto crossed slightly onto the track in front of a Chinese skater. Though he did not touch the other skater, the International Skating Union officials, after a lengthy review, deemed the close call to be a blocking penalty. The penalty negated the USA’s second-place finish in the heat and any chance at a medal.
“It’s not fun for us, but, you know, it is what it is,” said Maame Biney, who skated the opening leg of the quarterfinals. “And I have full confidence that we raced super well and we did the best that we could. And yeah, I don’t think that we should be disappointed in ourselves, just the results, basically.”
In their quarterfinal, the Americans placed third behind Hungary and Russia but reached the semifinals on time. Adjustments made in the interim, including subbing Corrine Stoddard for Biney as the starter, proved beneficial. The USA led for most of the semifinal before Andrew Heo was passed in the final two laps of his closing leg.“We weren’t even paying attention to that at all because we literally did not notice that anything happened,” Stoddard said.
The mixed team relay, which was making its Olympic debut, was the first short track medal event of the Beijing Games. Kristen Santos, Pivorotto and Heo all skated the first two rounds of that event. Coincidentally, all three also advanced out of their qualifiers Saturday to compete in Monday’s medal rounds of the women’s 500 meters and men’s 1,000, respectively.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Canada Mixed Doubles Curling Team Earns Victory Against Team USACanada earns a victory over Team USA after finishing seven ends with a score of 7-2 during round-robin session 9 of curling mixed doubles.
Read more »
Team USA DQ'd From Mixed Short Track RelayChina took home the gold as disappointment struck the Americans
Read more »
Nathan Chen Delivers Strong Performance For Team USA In Men's Short ProgramTeam USA's Nathan Chen delivered a strong performance in the men's short program, while also scoring a personal best and the highest score of the night.
Read more »
Team USA Without Medal After Day 1 of Olympic Competition in BeijingSix medal events were held Saturday morning and the United States could not find its way onto the podium in Beijing. Check out the latest from the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Read more »
Every Medal Team USA Has Won at the Beijing OlympicsCheck out every medal Team USA has won at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
Read more »
Team USA wins Olympic women's hockey opener in odd ending after Brianna Decker stretchered off iceThe U.S. women's national hockey team dominated in its first match of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, but will be without assistant captain Brianna Decker as the tournament continues.
Read more »