Winter Olympics 2026 LIVE: Scotty James and Valentino Guseli go for halfpipe gold

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Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych’s appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport has been denied, after he sought to overturn a ban that prohibited him from competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Heraskevych was banned from competition on Thursday, after he vowed to ignore a ban that prohibited him from competing in a helmet that depicts more than 20 Ukrainian athletes who have been killed during the war with Russia.

Disqualified Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych.Credit: AP

The Ukrainian took his appeal to CAS – the highest independent court for sport –, however, after a hearing on Friday (local time), CAS announced that the ban would not be overturned.

“The CAS Ad hoc Division has denied an application by Skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych (Ukraine) against the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) and the International
Olympic Committee (IOC),” the ruling read.

“The Sole Arbitrator, whilst fully sympathetic to Mr Heraskevych’s commemoration, is bound by rules in the IOC Athlete Expression Guidelines. The Sole Arbitrator considers these Guidelines provide a reasonable balance between athletes’ interests to express their views, and athletes’ interests to receive undivided attention for their sporting performance on the field of play.”

You can read the full ruling here. 

Livigno: To the untrained eye, Olympic halfpipe snowboarding looks like a bunch of scraggly-haired teenagers – plus a few adults who refused to grow up and get a real job – taking turns throwing themselves into a frozen concrete ditch.

Look closer, and you might see a fascinating game of high-stakes poker.

Valentino Guseli in qualifying.Credit: AP

There’s a lot going on; layers upon layers of scheming, risk and sleight of hand that determine who wins the jackpot, and who goes home with turned-out pockets.

“Strategy is massive,” according to Valentino Guseli, who is an outside chance of a medal tonight.

“It’s definitely like gambling. But we’re gambling with quite a lot. We’re gambling with our bodies … even trying a new trick can be a gamble. There can be wishful thinking, where you want to try this new trick, but you might not be ready for it. You try it, you get broken off, and it’s over.”

A busted flush, in other words.

Read more about the risks Guseli has to take to win a medal tonight.

Some more news from overnight, with teenage skier Daisy Thomas officially ruled out of the Olympics.

Thomas was stretchered from the slopestyle course during a practice session a week ago following a crash that re-injured the same knee that she had ruptured her ACL in three months ago.

Australian skier Daisy Thomas.Credit: Getty Images

The 18-year-old Australian was forced to withdraw from the freeski slopestyle, but was determined to compete in the big air event on Saturday (local time).

However, the combination of the knee injury and a shoulder injury sustained from a crash in training on Wednesday has forced Thomas to withdraw from the event and postpone her Olympic debut.

Thomas’ withdrawal comes three days after snowboarder Cam Bolton was helicoptered to a hospital in Milan after fracturing his neck at a practice session.

Australian snowboarder Cam Bolton will be transferred to Melbourne for medical treatment.Credit: Australian Olympic Team

The 35-year-old has since had further scans, and after consultation between the Australian Olympic team’s medical staff, along with spine surgeons in Australia, a decision has been made for Bolton to return to Melbourne to receive treatment.

Bolton will be transferred to Melbourne by an international medical transfer company, with the medical team to arrive in Milan on Sunday (local time) to make an assessment.

Read the full injury update here.

Quickly, in case you missed it, Australian Josie Baff won gold today in the women’s snowboard cross.

It was amazing, a true come-from-behind victory after she went from a slide-out in the first round to Olympic champion in the final.

Olympic snowboard cross champion Josie Baff.Credit: Getty Images

But Baff’s victory also means something else for Australia.

Australia has never won more than two gold medals at a Winter Olympics.

With Baff’s win today, and Cooper Woods’ win yesterday, we’ve already hit that number.

In case you didn’t know, Scotty James is the favourite to win gold tonight. If he managed to pull it off, not only would he complete his Olympic medal set (bronze in Pyeongchang and silver in Beijing), it would be the most gold medals Australia has won at a Winter Games.

I’ll leave that with you.

Good morning to our Australian readers, good evening if you’re lucky enough to join us from Italy.

Tonight is a huge night in Livigno, where the men’s halfpipe final gets under at 5.30am AEDT.

History is on the line tonight. Not just for Scotty James, but also for Australia. More on that soon.

Scotty James during his first run in the men’s qualifying on Wednesday night.Credit: AP

Billie Eder here to take you through the final, where James and countryman Valentino Guseli are sure to put on a show as they attempt to become Olympic medallists.

There are three runs tonight to determine Olympic champion, with the highest score taking home the gold medal.

Australian Valentino Guseli soars above the halfpipe in qualifying.Credit: AP

Guseli is 7th out, while James is last to drop as the highest-scoring athlete in qualifying.

We have news to bring you until then. Enjoy.