Sports News Roundup: Murray to skip clay-court season to protect fitness; Freestyle skiing-China-born U.S. skier Owens wins over viewers and more

The Swede, who broke the world record at Salt Lake City two months ago, trailed Dutchman Patrick Roest by more than a second throughout the race but stormed to victory in an Olympic record time of six minutes 08.84 seconds. Olympics-Freestyle skiing-China-born U.S. skier Owens wins over viewers American freestyle skier Kai Owens may have been eliminated in the second round of the women's freestyle moguls final on Sunday, but the China-born teenager received plenty of support from Olympic viewers around the host nation.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Olympics-Speed skating-Three-times champion Kramer skates his final 5000m race

The Netherlands' Sven Kramer skated in his last Olympic 5000m race in Beijing on Sunday, signing off from an event he once dominated with three consecutive gold medals to establish a reputation as one of his country's top sportsmen. His last long-distance individual race saw him place ninth out of 20 skaters as his Olympic record was broken twice - first by fellow Dutchman Patrick Roest and then by Swede Nils van der Poel nL4N2UH06T, who won gold in six minutes 08.84 seconds.

Olympics-Curling-Pin-badge diplomacy warms Sino-U.S. relations on Beijing ice

The strained relations between the governments of China and the United States in the run-up to the Winter Olympics have not been reflected on the curling rink in Beijing where the camaraderie has been a lot warmer than the ice underfoot. After the U.S. beat China 7-5 in the mixed doubles round-robin on Saturday, Fan Suyuan and Ling Zhi presented their American rivals with a set of commemorative pin badges featuring Bing Dwen Dwen -- the panda mascot of the Games.

Olympics-Freestyle skiing-Jakara Anthony wins Australia's first Winter Games gold in over a decade

Jakara Anthony of Australia won gold in the women's freestyle skiing moguls event on Sunday, barreling down a steep course and landing backflips to earn her country its first gold medal at the Winter Games in over a decade. Seconds after completing her run, Anthony embraced her teammates and broke down in tears.

Olympics-Athlete hailed by Uyghur advocates for 'East Turkestan' flag

A ski jumper at the Winter Olympics was hailed by advocates for Uyghurs on Sunday after displaying what they said was the flag of the independence movement of East Turkestan, a group Beijing says threatens the stability of its Xinjiang region. Turkey's Fatih Arda Ipcioglu on Saturday competed in light blue-coloured skis with a white crescent and white star on them. His native Turkish flag is almost identical, but features a red background.

Olympics-Luge-Ludwig takes Germany back to gold in dominant men's singles display

Johannes Ludwig sped to gold in the luge men's singles, restoring Germany's Olympic primacy in the sport, after a blistering series of runs that twice broke the track record at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre. After setting the pace in the first two rounds on Saturday, Ludwig's third run on Sunday set a record of 57.043 seconds, giving him a time of 3:48.735 overall.

Olympics-Ski jumping-Kobayashi ends 50-year normal hill drought for Japan

Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi converted the form that has made him the dominant force in ski jumping this season into Olympic gold when he kept his nerve to deliver a solid last leap of the competition and win the normal hill title on Sunday. In a fast-moving competition made exciting and unpredictable by changing winds, Manuel Fettner of Austria took silver and Poland's Dawid Kubacki the bronze.

Tennis-Murray to skip clay-court season to protect fitness

Former world number one Andy Murray said on Sunday that he intends to skip the French Open and rest of the clay-court season in order to prevent injury and prolong his career following multiple hip surgeries. The 34-year-old Murray, who crashed out https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/murray-mauled-by-daniel-melbourne-second-round-2022-01-20 in the second round of the Australian Open, will be in action at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam starting Monday after accepting https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/medvedev-sinner-withdraw-rotterdam-murray-given-wildcard-2022-02-03 a wildcard to enter the main draw.

Olympics-China accused of ignoring hockey player's human rights as isolation complaints grow

The coach of the Finland men's ice hockey team accused China of not respecting a player's human rights on Sunday as complaints about COVID-19 isolation protocols piled up at the Winter Games. Finnish head coach Jukka Jalonen said https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/ice-hockey-china-ignoring-finnish-players-human-rights-says-coach-2022-02-06 Marko Anttila, a ninth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2004 NHL draft, was "not getting good food" and was under tremendous mental stress.

Olympics-Speed skating-Swede Van der Poel ends Dutch monopoly in men's 5,000m

Sweden's Nils van der Poel skated a blistering last lap to snatch the gold medal in the 5,000 metres speed skating at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday, ending Dutchman Sven Kramer's 12-year monopoly on the title. The Swede, who broke the world record at Salt Lake City two months ago, trailed Dutchman Patrick Roest by more than a second throughout the race but stormed to victory in an Olympic record time of six minutes 08.84 seconds.

Olympics-Freestyle skiing-China-born U.S. skier Owens wins over viewers

American freestyle skier Kai Owens may have been eliminated in the second round of the women's freestyle moguls final on Sunday, but the China-born teenager received plenty of support from Olympic viewers around the host nation. The 17-year old was born in a village in eastern Anhui province, around 1,200 kilometers from Beijing, and adopted by an American couple when she was 16 months old.

(With inputs from agencies.)