Russian Filippov wins first medal at Milan-Cortina Games for individual neutral athletes
Russian Nikita Filippov won the first medal at the Milan-Cortina Games for individual neutral athletes when he claimed silver in the men's ski mountaineering sprint in Bormio on Thursday.
Filippov finished 1.52sec off Spain's gold medallist Oriol Cardona Coll, who won in 2min 34.03sec. Thibault Anselmet of France took bronze (+2.31) in the event's debut at the Winter Games.
The Swiss pair of Arno Liethaa and Jon Kistler had led up the initial gruelling 65-metre climb.
But Cardona Coll showed all his experience to fight back and surge into the lead in an astonishing display of stamina and technical nous on the transition.
Filippov moved into second as the Swiss faded and tracked Cardona Coll down through the finish line.
It was a first medal for the 20-strong team of Russian and Belarusian athletes listed as 'AIN', meaning they are competing under a neutral flag.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus have faced bans from international competition since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Filippov and his AIN teammates have been allowed to compete at these Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics under a neutral banner having met strict conditions.
Those included competing under a neutral flag, taking part only in individual events and undergoing checks to prove that they did not actively support the war in Ukraine or have any links with the army.
The same conditions applied to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics at which 15 Russians and 17 Belarusians competed, winning a combined five medals.
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Olympic athletes elect Korean bobsled pilot and Estonian biathlete to represent them at IOC
MILAN (AP) — Athletes at the Milan Cortina Winter Games elected a South Korean bobsled pilot and an Estonian biathlete on Thursday to represent them at the International Olympic Committee.
The eight-year terms for Yunjong Won and Johanna Talihärm will include voting with IOC members to pick a host for the 2036 Summer Games.
Won topped an 11-candidate ballot with 1,176 votes and Talihärm took the second IOC place with 983 votes. The IOC said 2,393 votes were cast, or 83.4% of the eligible athletes at the Winter Games.
The candidates who failed to win election included former Olympic champions Chinese figure skater Cong Han, Canadian ski cross racer Marielle Thompson and Ukrainian aerials skier Oleksandr Abramenko.
The 40-year-old Won piloted a four-man bobsled crew to take silver at their home 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. He also competed at Sochi in 2014 and Beijing in 2022.
The 32-year-old Talihärm also competed at each of the past three Winter Games editions.
On the current list of 107-strong IOC membership, they will replace Finland ice hockey player Emma Terho and Norwegian cross-country skier Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen whose eight-year terms expire Sunday. Athletes have a quota of 15 elected member places at the IOC.
Terho has represented athletes on the IOC Executive Board since 2021. Her predecessor on the board was Kirsty Coventry, who is now IOC president.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Iowa women's basketball coach up for national award
As a result of the profound success of Iowa women's basketball this season, Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen was honored as a candidate for the 2026 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Award by the Atlanta Tipoff Club via the club's announcement on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
As implied by the title of the award, it is presented annually to the most outstanding women’s basketball coach who achieves tremendous on-court success.
So far this season, Jensen has led the Hawkeyes to a 20-5 overall record and an 11-3 mark in Big Ten play, following a 20-plus-win campaign and an NCAA Tournament appearance in her first year at the helm of the program.
That's our head coach 🤩 @goiowa has been named to the Naismith Coach of the Year Watch List! pic.twitter.com/N22Fv4TT3q
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 18, 2026
Regarding her mark on the Hawkeyes program record book, Jensen became the first coach in program history to win at least 20 games in her first two seasons via the Hawkeyes' 80-67 victory at Nebraska on Feb. 16. Additionally, she is only the second coach in school history to win at least 20 games in their second season with Iowa.
With three more victories this season, Jensen would pass Angie Lee’s 45-win mark for the most victories by a head coach at Iowa in their first two seasons.
Throughout the 2025-26 season, the native of Kimballton, Iowa, has guided the Hawkeyes to six AP Top 25 wins (including a program-first three consecutive AP Top 25 wins) and has Iowa tied for sixth nationally in Quad 1 victories.
Jensen and the 12th-ranked Hawkeyes (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten) next matchup will be against Purdue (12-13, 4-10 Big Ten) from West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday, Feb. 19. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT start and will stream exclusively on B1G+.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women's basketball coach up for Naismith award