Winter Olympics round-up: Christie’s ‘curse’ and Russian doping scandal rumbles on

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Elize Christie said she was cursed after she was disqualified in her 1,000m short track heat. (REUTERS)
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South Korea powered to gold in the women’s short track speed skating 3,000 meters relay. (AP)
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Martin Fourcade earned a third gold medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Games and solidified his legacy as the most successful Olympic champion in French history. (AFP)
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Russian Olympic medalist Alexander Krushelnitsky, who won bronze in Pyeongchang with his wife in mixed doubles curling, is set to face a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing. (REUTERS)
Updated 20 February 2018
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Winter Olympics round-up: Christie’s ‘curse’ and Russian doping scandal rumbles on

SPEED SKATING: Elize Christie said she was cursed after she was disqualified in her 1,000m short track heat. The 27-year-old — who was in pain because of an ankle injury — was disqualified in her women’s 1,000 meters heat and had to be carried off the track on. It was a sad end to another disappointing Games for the Scot — a triple world champion. Christie, who was disqualified in all three of her events at Sochi 2014, fell in the 500m final and suffered the same fate in Saturday’s 1500m semifinal. And she said: “I guess you could say (I am cursed). It’s a bit weird that it seems to happen at Olympics and nowhere else. I’m not someone who commonly gets penalties and stuff, so it just seems mental. It’s just six races of my life that have gone completely wrong.”
Meanwhile, South Korea powered to gold in the women’s short track speed skating 3,000 meters relay, defending the title they won in Sochi. It was a typically wild race for the gold with several crashes and near wipeouts before South Korea grabbed control with two laps left. They muscled their way to the front, triggering a mighty roar from the near-capacity crowd, before holding on for victory to maintain their domination of the event. Canada won the first relay gold at the 1992 Albertville Olympics but South Korea have taken ownership since, topping the podium in six of the next seven Games with only China interrupting that run with victory in 2010. Italy took the silver while China and Canada were disqualified in the final to hand the bronze medal to the Netherlands who set a world record to win the B Final.

BIATHLON: Martin Fourcade earned a third gold medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Games and solidified his legacy as the most successful Olympic champion in French history by anchoring his team to victory in the biathlon mixed relay. The 29-year-old became the first athlete to win three gold medals in Pyeongchang, lifting his career tally to five Olympic golds. That is the most of any French athlete in Summer or Winter Olympics. Fourcade erased a 38-second deficit on the last leg of the relay by hitting all 10 shots to secure the French team to the come-from-behind win. Fourcade had enough of a lead to wave the French flag as he crossed the finish line for his team in one hour, eight minutes and 34.3 seconds, more than 20 seconds ahead of second place Norway.

CURLING: Russian Olympic medalist Alexander Krushelnitsky could not have taken a banned drug deliberately, Russia’s sports minister said after anti-doping authorities confirmed a violation that has rocked the Pyeongchang Games. Krushelnitsky, who won bronze in Pyeongchang with his wife in mixed doubles curling, and is set to face a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing in the near future after he tested positive for a banned substance, meldonium. “It’s obvious that in this particular case, the athlete could not have intentionally used a prohibited substance, it just does not make any sense,” Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov said. “Curling, in theory, in not the kind of sport in which dishonest athletes dope,” he added. The Russian Olympic delegation said on Tuesday it could not explain how meldonium, which can aid endurance, ended up in Krushelnitsky’s body and that it was launching an investigation.


Inaugural Kidzink Pearl Cup wraps up at Dubai Offshore Club

Updated 23 December 2025
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Inaugural Kidzink Pearl Cup wraps up at Dubai Offshore Club

  • Sailors aged 8-18 competed in the Optimist Coached, Optimist, ILCA 4, 29er and RS Feva classes

DUBAI: The inaugural Kidzink Pearl Cup wrapped up in Dubai after welcoming more than 100 youth sailors from 17 countries for one of the Middle East’s first international open youth sailing regattas.

Held from Dec. 15-21 at Dubai Offshore Sailing Club with the support of Dubai Sports Council, the Kidzink Pearl Cup brought together sailors aged 8-18 to compete in the Optimist Coached, Optimist, ILCA 4, 29er and RS Feva classes.

Backed by global educational design company Kidzink as title sponsor and strategic partner, the event combined four days of competitive racing with ideal windy conditions, with three days of Olympic-level coaching delivered by an international coaching team, giving young sailors the chance to train and race in competitive and challenging conditions alongside peers from different countries and sailing cultures.

The young sailors also took part in interactive onshore sessions developed with Kidzink’s research team, with the event putting the focus on leadership, inclusivity and clean-water awareness.

Charlotte Borghesi, founder and general manager of Kidzink, said: “The energy throughout the week was incredible. You could see learning happening in real time, friendships forming on the dock and young sailors growing in confidence every day.

The Kidzink Pearl Cup is about more than racing, it’s about creating an environment where young people feel inspired, supported and excited to learn.”

A two-time world champion sailor herself, Borghesi brings first-hand experience to the event, having made history in 2023 as the first female helmswoman to win the SB20 World Championship, followed by her team’s victory at the SB20 Women’s World Sailing Championship in Singapore in 2025.

Alongside the racing program, sailors took part in Kidzink’s interactive learning sessions. The UAE sessions built on work first piloted at the Kidzink-supported 29er Class European and World Championships earlier this year.

Local talent featured strongly throughout the week, with members of the DOSC racing squad lining up alongside international competitors. Among them were 14-year-old Chloe Montanet and 12-year-old Edward West.

In the Optimist Coached fleet, first place was claimed by Lev Ryashin (RUS), followed by Matteo Bertucci (ITA) in second and Gonzalo Montero (ESP) in third. 

In the Optimist class Jean-Luc Herve (UAE) topped the podium, followed by Xuan Ya Tong (KSA) in second, and Miquel Rossello-Collinge (ESP) rounding out the podium.

The ILCA 4 title went to Fynley Britton (GBR), with Indraneel Roy (IND), and Katyayani Kaushik (IND) completing the podium.

In the 29er fleet, Dominic West and Fynley Britton took top honours, followed by Lily Britton and Matteo Gardenghi in second place with Noah Fisk and Alex Simmonds third.

The RS Feva Coached podium consisted of Ameya Rahul Nair and Arya Khanna in first, Miles Wilson-Brown and Noah Kahlon second, and Finlay Henderson and Rayan Abdallah third.

“Our work in sailing reflects our broader mission to design and create educational environments and experiences where young people thrive,” Borghesi added. “The Kidzink Pearl Cup is just the beginning of much more to come.”