Beijing Olympics, snowboard cross: Moioli and Visintin silver in the mixed teams

Two blue couples in the final in the first time of the event at the Games: Omar and Michela close behind the United States, Sommariva and Carpano in fourth place after a fall

The Italian couples with the boards on their feet fly under the snowfall of Zhangjiakou. A medal was expected from the snowboardcross mixed team test and so it was: Michela Moioli and Omar Visintin’s silver shines, while Lorenzo Sommariva and Caterina Carpano finish in fourth place. The debut of this new format in the five-circle program is therefore also tinged with the Italian flag, with Moioli good at redeeming herself after the disappointing individual test and Visintin excellent in adding team silver to the individual bronze of two days ago.

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The race

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In final A, the two Italian couples – Italy 1 in red, Italy 2 in yellow – challenge the Canadians Grondin-Odine and the Americans Baumgartner-Jacobellis. In the men’s heat, Visintin starts slowly as usual, then recovers curve after curve, leaving only 4 cents on the snow for the American, but giving the Canadian 17 behind. Fourth Sommariva at 88 cents from Baumgartner. It’s up to the girls, with Moioli immediately acting as the hare, chased by Jacobellis. Halfway through the journey Carpano and Odine end up on the ground, so for the gold it is a challenge to two. In the final parabolic the Jacobellis exploits a hole to pass inside the blue that is no longer able to recover. Gold to the United States, silver to Italy (20 cents away) and bronze to Canada, with Odine rising and preceding Carpano.

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The format

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An exciting day for the Azzurri, in a competition divided into three parts, in just over an hour. The first round offers no surprises. In the initial battery of the quarter-finals Moioli and Sommariva pass easily from first, with him limiting the gap from the German Noerl and her clearly detaching Fischer. Green light also for Sommariva and Carpano engaged in the fourth series: they finish second behind the British. Moments of tension due to the fall of the Australian Belle Brockhoff in the second series. The 29-year-old from Melbourne, who ended up in the spotlight in 2014 for supporting the campaign against Russian anti-gay laws (she had come out the previous year), she stands motionless in the snow and is taken away in a toboggan. The semifinals therefore start late, but the Italy 1 duo continues their march. Visintin closes the men’s heat in the lead ahead of Nick Baumgartner, while Moioli puts the tip of the board in front of Lindsey Jacobellis, winner of the individual test. Italy 2 also passes without problems: Sommariva is second behind Eliot Grondin, silver in the individual, a position that Carpano improves, overtaking Meryeta Odine, already bronze three days ago. Time to get on the snowmobile and return to the start to compete in the two heats for history.

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Italy rises to 11 medals, already doing better than Pyeongchang 2018 in numerical terms.

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