Christie wins historic title

Elise Christie became the first British woman to win a World Short Track Speed Skating Championships title after claiming victory in the 1500m on Saturday in Rotterdam. The 26-year-old Sky Academy Sports Scholar, who has previously won eight other world championship medals, defeated Canada’s Marianne St Gelais and South Korea’s Suk Hee Shim with a time of 2.54.367 minutes.

On Olympic course debut, Vonn 1st in downhill training

United States’ Lindsey Vonn smiles in front of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games’ official mascots, white tiger Soohorang, left, for the Olympics, and black bear Bandabi for Paralympics, during a press conference following her first training session for the women’s World Cup downhill at the Jeongseon Alpine Center in Jeongseon, South Korea, Thursday, March 2, 2017. United States’ Lindsey Vonn competes during the first training session for a women’s World Cup downhill at the Jeongseon Alpine Center in Jeongseon, South Korea, Thursday, March 2, 2017.

Big fish disappearing from NHL rental market; helpful pieces still available

Kevin Shattenkirk is gone, dealt to Washington on Monday night; Martin Hanzal went from hopelessness in the desert to hockey country in Minnesota; Ben Bishop joined fellow American goaltender Jonathan Quick in Los Angeles; and hulking six-foot-six centre Brian Boyle is off the market too, dealt to Toronto as the Lightning reload. “If there was one guy we were going to pursue that could make our team better it was him,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said of Shattenkirk.

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Elise Christie has won her battle with her demons and now she says nothing less than gold will do as she looks to become a world champion for the first time. The National Ice Centre-based short track speed skating star’s life was left in tatters after being disqualified three times at the last Winter Olympics.

Today in History: February 27

The Reichstag, built in 1894 as the German parliament in Berlin, is shown following a fire that destroyed the building on Feb. 27, 1933. On Feb. 27, 1942, the Battle of the Java Sea began during World War II; Imperial Japanese naval forces scored a decisive victory over the Allies.

North Korea wins first medal at Asian Winter Games

North Korea won its first medal at the Asian Winter Games on Saturday as Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik won the bronze medal in the figure skating pairs event. The North Korean pair, third after the short program, received 112.18 points in Saturday’s free skating for a total of 177.40 points.

American ski team pulls out of combined race after crashes

Lindsey Vonn of the United States, who refused the start, talks to reporters in the finish area during the women’s alpine combined Super-G race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Friday. The U.S. ski team, including overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, pulled out of the Alpine combined race Friday because of dangerous conditions on the course.

Calgary Olympic bid exploration committee seeks public input online

The committee tasked with exploring whether Calgary should bid for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is now looking for public input on the matter. An online questionnaire at the website ShouldCalgaryBid.com is asking people living in the city and the Bow Valley corridor for perspectives on the economic, cultural and environmental impacts of hosting the games.

U.S. ski team leans on superstars in Olympics

Dressed as comic book superheroes, American skiers were often merely mortal at the last world championships before the 2018 Olympics. A tally of three medals – one of each color, all won by female superstars – surely did not rise above expectations from an 11-event program that ended Sunday in the sun-soaked Swiss Alps.

South Korea wins 2 golds in short track speed skating

Park Se-yeong, left, of South Korea celebrates his victory during the men’s 1500 meters final of short track speed skating competition at the Asian Winter Games at Makomanai Indoor Skating Rink in Sapporo, northern Japan, Mon… . Park Se-yeong, right, of South Korea celebrates his victory during the men’s 1500 meters final of short track speed skating competition at the Asian Winter Games at Makomanai Indoor Skating Rink in Sapporo, northern Japan, Mo… .

Your daily briefing on China

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks during a meeting with his South African counterpart Maite Nkoana-Mashabane Sunday in Beijing. China’s central bank made a net cash injection via open market operations for the third consecutive day Monday in an effort to ease a cash strain.

Dahlmeier edges Dunklee to win record 5th biathlon gold

Laura Dahlmeier won the world title in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start on Sunday, becoming the first biathlete to win five gold medals at a single world championship. The overall World Cup leader from Germany overtook Susan Dunklee, who led most of the race, on the final kilometer and finished in 33 minutes, 13.8 seconds to beat the American by 4.6 seconds.

Chen holds on to lead to win 4 Continents figure skating

Nathan Chen held off a challenge by Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu to win the Four Continents, a figure skating test event for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The American champion, 17, was first after the short program and second in Sunday’s free skate at the Gangneung Ice Arena for a total of 307.46 points.

Chen holds on to lead to win 4 Continents figure skating

Nathan Chen held off a challenge by Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu to win the Four Continents, a figure skating test event for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The American champion, 17, was first after the short program and second in Sunday’s free skate at the Gangneung Ice Arena for a total of 307.46 points.

Daleman takes silver at Four Continents; Canada wins silver, bronze in pairs

Gold medallists Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China, center, and silver medalists Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada and bronze medalists Liubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch, right, of Canada during the medal award ceremony for the Pairs in the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Gangneung, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. PYEONGCHANG, Korea, Republic Of – Canadian Gabrielle Daleman won silver at the Four Continents figure skating event Saturday with a career-best international result while two Canadian duos reached the podium in the pairs competition.

2-time champion Shiffrin leads 1st run of ski worlds slalom-Image3

Wendy Holdener of Switzerland reacts during the first run of the women’s slalom at the 2017 Alpine Skiing World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. Mikaela Shiffrin, of the U.S.A., arrives in the finish area, after the second run of the women’s slalom at the 2017 Alpine Skiing World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017.

Friedrich leads Kripps at halfway stage of bobsled worlds

Germany’s Francesco Friedrich was fastest in both runs to lead Canada’s Justin Kripps at the halfway stage of the two-man bobsled world championships on Saturday. Defending champion Friedrich and his brakeman Thorsten Margis clocked 49.15 seconds in the first heat and then 49.45 for a combined time of 1 minute, 38.60 seconds – 0.52 ahead of Kripps, from Summerland, B.C., and Jesse Lumsden of Burlington, Ont.

Air + Style brings pro snowboarders, top bands to LAa s Exposition Park

While extreme snowboarders fly through the air off a giant ramp, bands, DJs and other performers will be jamming live from two stages as the third annual Air + Style festival returns to Expo Park. Organized by two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White , the two-day festival returns on Feb. 18-19 with a roster of elite snowboarders competing on a massive 16-story, 450-foot-long ramp while 20 bands perform throughout the weekend.

Visitors celebrate park’s hockey heritage

Westman’s big kickoff to Canada’s year-long 150th anniversary celebrations found hundreds of people soak in hockey action at Riding Mountain National Park on Saturday. The day’s centrepiece was park staff’s friendly rematch of a 1933 exhibition hockey game, when the Riding Mountain Relief Camp All Stars played against an intermediate hockey team from Dauphin.

Federer enjoys his 1st day at the races as Vonn, Feuz excel

Lindsey Vonn of the United States, left, Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player, right, and his wife Mirka, center, look on during the men’s downhill race at the 2017 FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. Lindsey Vonn of the United States, right, Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player, left, and his wife Mirka, center, look on during the men downhill race at the 2017 FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, February 12, 2017.

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Beat Feuz of Switzerland reacts in the finish area during the men’s downhill race at the 2017 FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. Beat Feuz of Switzerland reacts in the finish area during the men’s downhill race at the 2017 FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017.

Weekend Planner: Ice has never been so hot

The Macon County village of Argenta is offering a fun event today – and a first for the town of 950 a about 35 miles southwest of Champaign: The Argenta IceFest, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Prairie Park. “We hope to draw a really good crowd for this; it’s an unusual event for this area,” Mayor CINDY LUEDKE said.

Smeekens, Kodaira win 500-metre speedskating titles; Canada fourth in pursuit

Nao Kodaira of Japan waves after winning the women’s 500-meter race of the ISU world single distances speed skating championships at Gangneung Oval in Gangneung, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 10, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Ahn Young-joon PYEONGCHANG, Korea, Republic Of – The Canadian men’s pursuit team just missed the podium at the world single distance speedskating championships on Friday, finishing less than one-10th of a second behind third-place Norway.

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An analytics company predicts a big Winter Olympics for Norway and says Canada will finish fourth in total medals won next year in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The U.S.-based sports and entertainment data company Gracenote has Norway topping its virtual medal table with a whopping 40 medals, including 15 gold, which would both be Winter Games records.

Police raid Kazakh biathlon team lodgings ahead of worlds

The Austrian federal criminal agency said Thursday it raided the lodgings of the Kazakh national biathlon team on the eve of the world championships on suspicion of doping. Police said they seized medical equipment, drugs and mobile phones late Wednesday, adding that criminal authorities were investigating whether Austrian anti-doping laws have been breached.