Yarnold ‘honoured’ to be flagbearer for Team GB
Skeleton gold medallist Lizzy Yarnold will lead Team GB into tomorrow’s opening ceremony at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. The 29-year-old, who was chosen as flagbearer for the closing ceremony at Sochi 2014, will look to defend her title when the women’s event gets under way on 16 February.
Mike Hay, Team GB chef de mission for PyeongChang 2018, said: “As a defending champion and model athlete, Lizzy is the ideal choice to lead Team GB into the Olympic Stadium. She has achieved so much in skeleton over the last four years and I’m sure this will be another proud moment for one of our finest winter athletes.”
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Fans had better wrap up warm...
Windchill temperatures at PyeongChang 2018 are predicted to be as low as -25C. This has forced the BBC to ask the question: will it be too cold for a Winter Olympics?
Of course the winter games should be cold, but this year’s event looks set to break all records, the Beeb says. Katie Falkingham writes: “Concerned athletes are already shivering on social media, so what will seriously sub-zero temperatures mean for events, for the equipment, and for the competitors and fans getting ready for 17 days of action?”
The BBC says temperatures will be between -2C and -5C for tomorrow’s opening ceremony, but at last weekend’s dress rehearsal the windchill dropped the temperature to -23C. The Korean Meteorological Administration has told spectators to “brace themselves”.
Injured Ormerod ruled out of the games
Team GB snowboard athlete Katie Ormerod has been ruled out of the Winter Olympics following a severe fracture to her right heel bone.
The 20-year-old was due to compete in snowboard slopestyle and snowboard big air and will undergo emergency surgery in the morning.
Mike Hay, Team GB chef de mission, said: “We are deeply sorry for Katie and her fellow snowboarders who have lost a valued member of their close-knit team. She is a world-class competitor across both disciplines and we are desperately disappointed for her.”
What is the hottest ticket in town?
The most popular attraction in PyeongChang is not a sporting event, but a series of concerts by North Korea’s orchestra.
CNBC reports that two concerts by the Samjiyon orchestra are “more oversubscribed than many of the sporting events themselves”.
More than 150,000 South Koreans applied for tickets, but only 1,060 spots are on offer for the concerts in Gangneung today and in Seoul on Sunday. Audiences are being selected through a raffle.
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