Yuzuru Hanyu strikes a pose in the men's single skating short program of the figure skating event. | AFP-JIJI

Olympics / Winter Olympics

Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics Day 8: The return of the Ice Prince

Figure skating took center stage Thursday during the men’s short program. Yuzuru Hanyu, who won the gold medal at the Sochi Games in 2014, gave a mesmerizing performance that sent social media into a tizzy. Japan’s Shoma Uno also lit up the ice with his routine and currently sits at third place. Now Japan waits to see if Hanyu can indeed win back-to-back gold medals. If so, he would become the first male skater to do so in over half a century.

Yuzuru Hanyu takes lead after short program at Pyeongchang Games

Yuzuru Hanyu’s score of 111.68 points, an Olympic record for the short program, has him in first place heading into Saturday’s free skate and halfway to skating immortality.

Yuzuru Hanyu on his way to the top of the men’s single skating short program of the figure skating event on Friday. | AFP-JIJI

Ryoyu Kobayashi finishes seventh in large hill qualifying; Noriaki Kasai places 22nd

Ryoyu Kobayashi placed third in the qualifying round of the men’s large hill jump at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre on Friday night to clinch a spot in Saturday night’s finals. The legendary Noriaki Kasai was 22nd with a leap of 122.5 and a tally of 104.2.

Noriaki Kasai competes in the men’s large hill ski jumping competition on Friday in Pyeongchang, South Korea. | KYODO

Austria’s Matthias Mayer breaks Norway’s super-G stranglehold

Austria’s Matthias Mayer made up for the disappointment of his injury-hampered downhill title defense at the Pyeongchang Olympics by skiing an error-free run to win the men’s super-G on Friday, ending 16 years of Norwegian dominance of the event.

South Korea’s Yun Sung-bin demolishes competition to win skeleton gold

Yun Sung-bin won in commanding fashion at the Pyeongchang Games on Friday, his four-run time of 3 minutes, 20.55 seconds coming in 1.63 seconds ahead of silver medalist Nikita Tregubov of Russia.

Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics: The day in pictures

Dario Cologna of Switzerland celebrates after winning his third straight Olympic gold medal in the men’s 15km individual on Friday. | REUTERS

Norway’s Christoffer Svae brushes in front of the stone during the curling men’s round robin session between Norway and South Korea. | AFP-JIJI

Javier Fernandez of Spain performs in the men’s single skating short program competition at Gangneung Ice Arena. | REUTERS

North Korean cheerleaders hold unification flags as they attend the pair skating free skating of the figure skating event on Friday. | AFP-JIJI

Australia’s Laura Peel competes in the women’s at the Phoenix Park in Pyeongchang. | AFP-JIJI

Fans of the USA cheer in the team relay competition luge final at the Olympic Sliding Centre. | AFP-JIJI

North Korea’s Pak Il Chol competes during the men’s 15km cross country freestyle on Friday. | REUTERS

Shoma Uno bathes in the applause following his performance in the men’s short program of the figure skating event. | REUTERS

The women who hand out the awards for the winners ceremony watch the sliders during the men’s skeleton final. | AP

Nathan Chen of the U.S. performs in the men’s single skating short program competition at Gangneung Ice Arena. | REUTERS

A spectator wears a Green Bay Packers cheese hat during the men’s curling matches. | AP

Olympic staff gather Pooh bears thrown by fans following the short program performance of Yuzuru Hanyu. | REUTERS

Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics: Links we like

LATEST OLYMPICS STORIES

Salt Lake City gets backing for Olympic bid: Salt Lake City got the green light to bid for the Winter Olympics — most likely for 2030 — in an attempt to bring the games back to the city that hosted in 2002. The U.S. Oly...

Tokyo 2020 organizing committee member Tomoko Hagiwara (second from left) attends a news conference on Tuesday where the finalists for Olympic volunteers' official nickname were unveiled.

Tokyo 2020 organizers unveil volunteer nickname shortlist: Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games on Tuesday announced the four finalists for the official nickname to be given to volunteers working at competition venues and the athlet...

Latest proposal has Tokyo 2020 marathon start set for 6 a.m.: Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have decided to move up the start time of the men's and women's marathons from 7 a.m. to 6 a.m. over concerns of extreme heat, a source said Monday.

TOKYO (4 a.m.)

Sports