Sports News Roundup: Lewis named U.S. captain for 2023 Solheim Cup in Spain; Curling-Reigning champions U.S. off to winning start in men's event and more

Graabak and Germany's Vinzenz Geiger burst out of the pack on the final lap and engaged in a battle royal over the last kilometre, and the tension was so great as the race reached its climax that Ida Bekken thought the arrival of their son might be imminent. Olympics-Figure skating-Russian gold on hold amid reports of positive drug test The Russian figure skaters who won the team event at the Beijing Olympics on Monday have still not received their gold medals with media reports on Wednesday saying one had returned a positive drug test.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Exclusive-Belarusian skier flees country after ban for political views

A Belarusian cross-country skier has fled the country with her family because of fears of reprisals by authorities after she was barred from competition over the family's political views, she and her father said. Darya Dolidovich and her family are now in Poland, where she hopes to continue training, Sergei Dolidovich, a seven-time Olympian cross-country skier who also coaches Darya, told Reuters in an interview by video call with his daughter on Tuesday.

Olympics-Alpine skiing-Iran's Saveh-Shemshaki suspended after positive dope test

Iranian Alpine skier Hossein Saveh-Shemshaki has been provisionally suspended after a sample collected returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF), the International Testing Agency said on Wednesday. The ITA said the sample, collected during an out-of-competition anti-doping control on Monday in Beijing, tested positive for an anabolic androgenic steroid on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of prohibited substances.

Olympics-Curling-Reigning champions U.S. off to winning start in men's event

Reigning champions United States survived a war of attrition on the ice against the ROC, while Canada skip Brad Gushue marked his Olympic return with a win as the men's curling competition got underway at the National Aquatics Centre on Wednesday. U.S. skip John Shuster's rink, who upset heavyweights Sweden four years ago in Pyeongchang, edged the Sergey Glukhov-led Russian Olympic Committee in a cagey affair, ultimately triumphing 6-5 in a thrilling extra end.

Olympics-Nordic Combined-Japan's Yamamoto soars into early lead with huge jump

Ryota Yamamoto of Japan landed a monster leap of 108 metres to soar into the lead in Wednesday's Nordic Combined normal hill/10 km competition at the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday as some of the favourites came up short in the ski jumping. With the points for Nordic Combined calculated using the complex Gundersen system, Yamamoto's 133 points from the competition round translate into a lead of 38 seconds that he will take into the evening's 10 km of cross-country skiing.

Olympics-Nordic combined-Pregnant partner feared labour during Graabak's silver thriller

The thrilling sprint finish to the ski race in Wednesday's Nordic combined competition almost brought Norway's Joergen Graabak more than a silver medal when his pregnant partner back home thought she might go into labour due to the excitement. Graabak and Germany's Vinzenz Geiger burst out of the pack on the final lap and engaged in a battle royal over the last kilometre, and the tension was so great as the race reached its climax that Ida Bekken thought the arrival of their son might be imminent.

Olympics-Figure skating-Russian gold on hold amid reports of positive drug test

The Russian figure skaters who won the team event at the Beijing Olympics on Monday have still not received their gold medals with media reports on Wednesday saying one had returned a positive drug test. The International Olympic Committee, International Skating Union, Russian Olympic Committee and international agency in charge of drugs testing during the Games declined to comment on the reports in USA Today and The Guardian.

Olympics-Speed skating-Canadian ice maker denies pressure from Dutch

The Canadian ice maker for the National Speed Skating Oval at the Beijing Olympics denied on Wednesday a media report suggesting the Dutch team was leaning on him to make conditions favourable for their skaters. A website in the Netherlands quoted Dutch team scientist Sander van Ginkel last weekend as saying he shared tests and measurements with ice maker Mark Messer.

Olympics-Jacobellis redemption gives U.S. first gold after Shiffrin nightmare

Lindsey Jacobellis, a 36-year-old snowboarder who in 2006 gave away an overwhelming lead when she slipped and skidded on a showboating last jump, finally clinched Olympic gold on Wednesday. One of the most decorated female athletes in her sport, Jacobellis had failed to win Olympic gold in three Games since that fateful day in Turin.

Olympics-Alpine skiing-Shiffrin washout recalls Biles and Osaka's Tokyo experience

Mikaela Shiffrin was expected to cement her position at the top of her sport in the Beijing Games but after not finishing a race so far her story echoes the disappointments of fellow elite athletes Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka at the Tokyo Olympics. After crashing out of the giant slalom on Monday, the 26-year-old Shiffrin, one of the world's most successful Alpine skiers, exited at an early stage in Wednesday's slalom race.

Golf-Lewis named U.S. captain for 2023 Solheim Cup in Spain

Former world number one Stacy Lewis has been named U.S. captain for the 2023 Solheim Cup in Spain, the LPGA said on Wednesday, an appointment the twice major champion called one of the proudest moments of her career. A 13-times winner on the LPGA Tour, Lewis is no stranger to the biennial women's team event versus Europe having logged four consecutive appearances as a player from 2011 and serving as assistant captain under Pat Hurst in 2021.