Japan's defending champion Yuzuru Hanyu produced a stunning short programme to lead the men's figure skating as Mikaela Shiffrin's bid to retain her slalom title started with her vomiting and ended in heartbreak at the Pyeongchang Olympics on Friday.
On a day of mixed fortunes for the biggest stars in Pyeongchang, fans looking for unlikely heroes found them in an array of colourful characters who came last but not least on a day that gave true meaning to the Olympic spirit. None of them had aspirations for multiple gold medals like ski ace Shiffrin. She won the giant slalom gold on Thursday but finished fourth in her strongest discipline Friday after vomiting at the start gate and initially complaining of virus-like symptoms.
After the race was won by Sweden's Frida Hansdotter, the 22-year-old Shiffrin said that she was pulling out of Saturday's super-G. The Olympics in South Korea has been victim of a health scare with more than 200 people falling victim to a debilitating norovirus, including two Swiss athletes.
Initially Shiffrin said the vomiting "almost felt like a virus kind of puking", but later she said that she was well and had been scratching around for an excuse for her below-par performance.
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