A Norwegian skier melts down in the Italian cold as the Canadian women's curling team hits back at cheating accusations.
Here are the quick hits from day 10 of the Milano Cortina Winter Games.
1. Norwegian's dramatic meltdown
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath saw his gold-medal hopes slip away in the Olympic slalom and decided to send his ski poles sailing along with them.
He tossed each pole over the netting, then climbed the fencing on the side of the Stelvio course to begin his long walk toward the forest. It was part of an Olympic meltdown that turned the men's slalom into high-tragic theatre.
As the first-run leader, McGrath was the last to go among the top 30 racers. He had a medal within his sights — until he straddled a gate and was out.
He lost a medal and then control of his emotions in a race won by Loïc Meillard of Switzerland.
Once McGrath reached the forest, he sat down in the snow and then fell back, breathing heavily. A medical person came over to check on him.
Several minutes later he ?was escorted back down to the finish ?area in a police Ski-Doo, storming off without talking to media.
He had been racing with a heavy heart, with his grandfather dying the day of the opening ceremony.
"Atle would've deserved it as well," Meillard said.
"He was the best skier this season. But that's part of slalom, ?that's part of sport."
2. Quad God hints at 'inevitable crash'
American figure skating star Ilia Malinin, otherwise known as Quad God, has had a mixed time of things in Italy.
The 21-year-old picked up a maiden Olympic gold in the team event but was far from his best in the singles, finishing eighth with a podium appearance seemingly nailed on.
He fell on the ice two times, unable to find any real momentum, devastated as his journey came to an end in the free dance.
On Monday morning Italian time, after days of silence, Malinin took to social media, posting a video that showed glimpses of both the highs and lows of his career.
The caption hints at an "inevitable crash", while suggesting a "version of the story" will come out on February 21.
“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” wrote Malinin.
“Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure.
"It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash."
3. It's all in a name
You've heard of Charlie's Angels.
Now, meet the Blade Angels.
The US figure skating trio of Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito have embraced the nickname at the Milano Cortina Games ahead of the women's single program beginning on Wednesday morning AEDT.
Liu has taken much of the credit for the homage to Charlie's Angels, saying other potential monikers — such as Powerpuff Girls and Babes of Glory — were rejected.
"Isabeau was really set on Powerpuff Girls," Liu said earlier in the Games.
"Amber had some ideas but I don't remember what they were.
"I came up with Blade Angels, but I had a ton of horrible ideas, too. It was a group decision."
4. Canadians clap back over cheating claim
Canada's women's curling team fear they are collateral damage amid the cheating controversy involving their male counterparts.
Following a game last week the Swedish men's team accused Canada of cheating by double touching their stones.
Over the weekend the Canadian women's had a stone removed from play in their 8-7 loss to Switzerland, a decision described by their skip Rachel Homan as "insane".
"I think the word cheating came out of nowhere. It ?has nothing to do with cheating. There's no chance that Canadians ?would ever intentionally cheat," Homan said on Monday.
"We don't do that. ?We're playing out there. We're fierce. You know, things happen.
"People burn rocks. People go over the hog line — that's just part of the sport."
Homan added: "We don't take ?lightly to feeling like someone thinks we're cheating out there."
5. Gu claims silver after a blizzard
We were made to wait and then wait some more for the most anticipated event of day ten.
Wild weather in Livigno meant the final of the women's freeski big air was pushed back over an hour, with scores of travelling fans braving frankly horrendous conditions in the Italian alps.
The blizzard eventually eased, but the snow never quite stopped completely, with Swiss duo Anouk Andraska and Mathilde Gremaud forced to pull out of the event after succumbing to injuries in the warm-up.
The event's main drawcard was defending champion and global superstar Eileen Gu.
The only woman to be competing in the slopestyle, big air and halfpipe, Gu yesterday hit out at Games organisers for not providing her with adequate preparation time.
But the American-born Chinese skier was at least close to her best on day ten, recovering from a disappointing second run to claim silver behind Canada's Megan Oldham.
The medal was Gu's second of the Games, with the halfpipe still to come.
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