Olympics Live: French skier Noel wins gold in giant slalom

French skier Clement Noel put down a blistering second run to win the slalom at the Beijing Olympics by a large margin on Wednesday.

Noel moved up from sixth following the first leg to beat first-run leader Johannes Strolz of Austria by 0.61 seconds after posting the fastest second run.

World champion Sebastian Foss-Solevaag of Norway held his position and picked up the bronze, finishing 0.70 behind.

Noel finished fourth in the slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

Strolz also won the gold medal in the combined last week.

U.S. Men’s Hockey out of Olympics

The United States is out of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympics in stunning fashion after blowing a late lead.

Marek Hrivik scored with 43.7 seconds left in regulation, Peter Cehlarik had the winner and Slovakia beat the U.S. 3-2 in a shootout Wednesday to knock the top-seeded Americans out in the quarterfinals. The U.S. led for almost half the game before the tying goal when Slovakia pulled its goaltender for an extra attacker to play 6-on-5.

The U.S. had gotten accustomed to playing tight games in the tournament, beating Canada by two goals and Germany by one. But blown coverage in front allowed Hrivik to knock a loose puck past goalie Strauss Mann, who was impressive until that point.

Coming up empty on four power plays, including three in the third period, came back to bite the Americans. Matty Beniers hit the post on one of the best scoring chances the U.S. had in the third, but the team could not crack Patrik Rybar, who was playing a second consecutive day in net for Slovakia.

U.S. bobsledder may retire

U.S. bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor is thinking about retiring after 15 years in the sport.

She has raced on at least 15 different bobsled tracks in 11 countries. She’s had no fewer than 41 different teammates in her sleds.

She possesses more Olympic medals than any bobsledder in U.S. history, with a chance at one more this weekend. She has become an advocate, fighting for equality for women in sports. And she became a wife and mother along the way.

Meyers Taylor hasn’t said for sure what her plans are, but she is thinking about retirement and hinted that the women’s race at the Beijing Olympics — it starts Friday and ends Saturday — may represent her final official time in a sled.

“There’s a good chance that it’s my last one,” Meyers Taylor said.

Shiffrin in the lead

Mikaela Shiffrin was fastest in a downhill training session ahead of Thursday’s Alpine combined race at the Beijing Olympics.

The American skier finished 0.93 seconds ahead of Wendy Holdener of Switzerland and 0.94 ahead of Ester Ledecka, who is attempting to win a second event at a second straight Olympics after successfully defending her gold in snowboarding’s parallel giant slalom.

Shiffrin was second in the combined at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and won the event at the world championships last year.

Defending Olympic champion Michelle Gisin was a second slower than Shiffrin.

The 26-year-old Shiffrin is still seeking her first medal at the Beijing Games. The two-time Olympic champion didn’t finish the giant slalom or the slalom, was ninth in the super-G and 18th in Tuesday’s downhill.

Only 14 skiers trained on Wednesday, with 12 of those listed on the start list opting out.