DOWNHILL SKIING: Lindsay Vonn said her bronze medal in the women’s downhill felt like gold as the American ace signed off from the event with a podium finish. Italy’s Sofia Goggia took the gold, with Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel taking the silver. But much of the attention was on Vonn as she said it was her last Olympic downhill race. “It’s been a fun ride,” Vonn said. “It’s sad. It’s my last downhill. I wish I could keep going. I’m not beaten — I won the bronze medal but I feel like I’ve won the gold medal,” added Vonn, 33, who also won a bronze medal in the super-G at the 2010 Winter Games and now becomes the third American Alpine skier to win three Olympic medals. “I’m so thankful to be here and to be on an Olympic podium with the next generation of my sport.”
ICE HOCKEY: Sarah Murray is proud to have coached the combined North and South Korean women’s ice hockey squad in Pyeongchang but is unsure whether the unified team will ever take the ice again. Murray had to reshape her squad just weeks before the Games after the two Koreas agreed to field a combined team, taking 12 players from the North and incorporating them into the South’s 23-player roster. “This situation that we were in was out of our control and we did a great job in the situation,” Murray said of the team that lost all five of its matches but won the hearts of many. “So it is hard to comment on the combined team, because in this situation it worked, but it was out of our control, so I can’t really comment on the future at this time.”
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING: Norway’s Marit Bjoergen became the most successful athlete in Winter Olympic history as she took bronze behind a stunning win for the US in cross-country skiing’s women’s team sprint free. Bjoergen’s bronze with Maiken Caspersen Falla put her on 14 Olympic medals, outstripping fellow Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, who has 13 in biathlon. “It’s hard to understand, actually,” Bjoergen said. “I think I’ll need to have time to myself and look behind me and look how I’ve been able to do this. It’s still hard to understand it when I’m standing here.” Bjoergen, 37, is also the second most successful woman at either the summer or winter Games, trailing only Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina with 18 medals. Kikkan Randall and Jessica Diggins edged Sweden by 0.19sec to win the first Olympic cross-country title for the US.
ICE HOCKEY: Patrick Reimer scored in overtime and Danny aus den Birken made 31 saves to put Germany into the Olympic semifinals with a stunning 4-3 upset of top-seeded Sweden in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night. Germany advanced to face Canada in the semifinals and have a chance to win their first Olympic medal since 1976 in Innsbruck — when it was West Germany. By pulling off the biggest surprise of the tournament, Germany improved to 2-14 all-time against Sweden at the Olympics and world championships. Aus den Birken was a star, facing 34 shots and keeping Germany in the game when the shots were lopsided in Sweden's favor. Christian Ehrhoff, Marcel Noebels and Dominik Kahun scored in regulation for Germany, who went up 2-0 and 3-1 before Sweden fought back.
Projected No. 1 NHL draft pick Rasmus Dahlin assisted on Anton Lander's goal and gave the puck away on the play that led to Kahun's score. Patrik Hersley and Mikael Wikstrand scored and Viktor Fasth allowed four goals on 25 shots for Sweden.