Karppelin wins gold in 7.5km classic at Gangwon

Finnish cross-country skier Nelli-Lotta Karppelin claimed a gold medal in the women's 7.5km classic final at the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday after taking bronze in sprint freestyle on Monday, reported Xinhua.

European nations kept up their dominance in cross-country skiing events, with the women's singles figure skating gold awarded to Japan on Tuesday.

France's Agathe Margreither and Annette Coupat won silver and bronze, while the sprint freestyle gold medalist Elsa Taenglander of Sweden finished fourth in the final.

In the men's 7.5km classic cross-country skiing event, the sprint silver medalist Jakob Elias Moch of Germany stood on top of the podium, snatching his first gold and second medal at these Youth Winter Olympics.

Jonas Mueller of Germany clinched silver, and Quentin Lespine of France embraced bronze.

The figure skating competition continued with the medal events of the ice dance and the women's free skating.

Reigning world and Grand Prix Final champion Mao Shimada of Japan topped the women's singles podium with a free skate of 125.94 points for a total of 196.99 points.

Shin Jia of hosts South Korea, who was runner-up at both the world championships and the Grand Prix Final, trailed with a combined score of 191.83 points to win silver, while Yo Takagi of Japan took bronze with 183.20 points.

In the ice dance, French duo Ambre Perrier Gianesini and Samuel Blanc Klaperman held the rhythm dance lead with a free dance score of 92.96 points for an aggregate score of 155.35 points.

U.S. pair Olivia Ilin and Dylan Cain followed with 142.38 points to claim silver, and the bronze went to Ashlie Slatter and Atl Ongay-Perez of Britain.

Longstanding ice hockey rivals Canada and the United States met in the men's 6-team semifinals, where the Americans defeated the Canadians 6-5 in penalty shootout.

A neck-and-neck match unfolded as the two exchanged goals to level the score in the second and third periods.

The U.S. team will battle for gold on Wednesday with the Czech Republic that beat Finland 3-1 in the other semifinal.

In the women's 6-team semifinals, Sweden swept Germany 6-1 and advanced to the gold medal match with Japan that edged out Switzerland 2-1.

Chinese curlers overpowered Türkiye 13-4 in the mixed doubles round-robin, posting the fourth consecutive winning streak. Norway won a 14-4 victory over Slovenia, while Japan triumphed over New Zealand 11-2.

A total of 1,802 athletes aged 14 to 18 from 78 nations and regions are competing in four cities of Gangneung, PyeongChang, Jeongseon and Hoengseong until February 1.

The Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics features seven sports, 15 disciplines and 81 events.