Highlights on day seven of Pyeongchang Games
Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu makes his Pyeongchang Olympic debut on Friday and American ski ace Mikaela Shiffrin goes for a second gold. Highlights of day seven at the Winter Olympic Games: - Figure skating - Yuzuru Hanyu, the men's figure skater worshipped by legions of fans, makes his debut in defence of his men's individual title. He is attempting to become the first skater since American Dick Button in 1952 to land back-to-back Olympic titles. But a question mark remains over his fitness. An ankle injury impeded his preparations and the Olympic event will be his first competition skate since last November. - Women's slalom - USA’s Mikaela Shiffrin attempts to retain the title she won four years ago in Sochi when she became the youngest ever Olympic slalom champion at 18. After her astonishing final run victory in the giant slalom on Thursday, nobody doubts her ability to do so. - Men's super giant slalom - Another skiing great, Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, is seeking to double his gold haul. Svindal won gold ahead of teammate Kjetil Jansrud in the downhill and is now going for the super-G title. Jansrud is the defending Olympic super-G champion and either one could land on top of the podium. - Skeleton - The training is over and now Ghana's Akwasi Frimpong, only the second athlete from his country to compete in a Winter Olympics, prepares for a headlong flash down the ice in the men's skeleton final. A former runner, Frimpong, 31, failed in two previous bids to make the Olympics as a sprinter and a bobsleigh rider. "It was scary, very scary," he told AFP after training on the Olympic track this week. - Men's cross country - Tonga's Pita Taufatofua makes his Winter Olympic debut in the men's 15k cross-country skiing. The Tongan flag bearer caused a sensation in sub-zero Pyeongchang when he marched oiled and bare chested in traditional Tongan attire at the opening ceremony. His goals for the final are modest. "First step, finish before they turn the lights off, that's number one. Don't ski into a tree, that's number two," he said with a smile.
