German skier Emma Aicher won silver in a dramatic Olympic downhill race in Italy’s Cortina d’Ampezzo on Sunday, securing Germany’s first medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

However, celebrations on the podium were somewhat overshadowed after US star Lindsey Vonn suffered a fall and was taken to the hospital.

How did Germany win its first medal of the games?

Aicher finished second in the downhill, earning a silver for Germany.

The 22-year-old was beaten by just 0.04 seconds by US world champion Breezy Johnson, who clinched gold. Italy’s Sofia Goggia took bronze in front of a home crowd.

The result marks Germany’s first individual Olympic skiing medal in 12 years.

Aicher told German broadcaster ZDF that the course had been aggressive over every jump, and that she had initially not been able to work out how good her performance had been.

“It just felt absolutely wild. Every jump kind of tore me apart,” she said. “To be honest, I didn’t think it would work out after the run.”

After learning about the medal, Aicher at first expressed frustration at narrowly missing gold before realizing the scale of her achievement.

“Emma is already a true star on the Olympic stage,” said German Olympic Sports Confederation President Thomas Weikert.

Aicher has long been regarded as a leading future prospect in German alpine skiing.

She first emerged on the global stage five years ago at the World Championships in Cortina, contributing to a team bronze.

How bad was Vonn’s fall?

Vonn’s big dream of a second Olympic gold after 16 years ended after just 13 seconds. The 41-year-old, who had torn a left knee ligament nine days earlier, was thrown off at the first tricky bump, somersaulted, and lay screaming in the snow with her legs twisted.

Rescue services evacuated her by helicopter using a winch.

“My heart goes out to her, I hope it is not as bad as it looks,” US teammate Johnson said.

Aicher also expressed her concern. “I immediately looked away; I hope it’s nothing serious,” she said.

Backdrop of protest 

The games began with an opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium on Friday, when US Vice President JD Vance was booed by the crowd on Friday. 

On Saturday, Italian police fired tear gas and a water cannon at protesters who threw firecrackers and tried to access a highway near a games venue. The protests were against the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at the games as part of the US security detail.

ICE has faced criticism for their treatment of immigrants in the US, as well as the killing of two US citizens by its agents on the streets of Minneapolis.

Edited by: Zac Crellin

President Donald Trump expressed support for Bill Belichick after the NFL legend was blocked from entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot earlier in the week.

Trump brushed off a “controversial” couple of years Belichick may have had, with his personal life spilling out into the spotlight. Still, Trump said during his interview with NBC News that the former New England Patriots head coach should have been a shoo-in.

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Bill Belichick watches the Miami Hurricanes play the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half of the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 19, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

“I thought it was terrible. He’s won so much,” he said. “He’s won so many Super Bowls. (He) became a little bit controversial, I guess, after that, his little period after that. During it, he was just a great coach. I thought it was very inappropriate.”

“He’s had a little bit of a controversial year-and-a-half, two years, maybe, but what difference does that make? He should be in there right at the top,” the president added.

Trump didn’t mention anything specific. But Belichick’s love life with Jordon Hudson was thrust into the national spotlight as he got to work as the North Carolina Tar Heels’ head coach. The tipping point came during Belichick’s interview with CBS and Hudson shutting down a question about how they met.

Hudson’s presence with the Tar Heels raised eyebrows before the season started. The Tar Heels were 4-8 in Belichick’s first year as head coach.

As rumors that Belichick was going to be left out first surfaced, the president weighed in with criticism against the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

JORDON HUDSON GOES SCORCHED EARTH AFTER BILL BELICHICK HALL OF FAME SNUB

President Donald Trump arrives to speak about the economy at a rally Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Clive, Iowa.  (Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)

“It is the same mindset that gave pro football the new and unwatchable ‘Sissy’ Kickoff Rule, that made it possible for Bill Belichick to not be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Both are ridiculous and should be overturned!” he wrote on Truth Social, touching on the league’s dynamic kickoff rules.

Belichick, who is currently the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, was 302-165 in his career as a head coach between the Patriots and the Cleveland Browns. He won six titles with Tom Brady as the head coach of the Patriots before he mutually parted ways with the franchise after the 2023 season.

He served as a defensive assistant under Bill Parcells with the New York Giants from 1979-1991. The team won two Super Bowls in that time.

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA football game against Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.  (Nell Redmond/AP)

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Belichick’s Patriots’ career wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows either. He was caught up in the Spygate and Deflategate scandals during his time, which may have been a reason why some voters didn’t elect him.

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Mia Brookes left it late to qualify for the Winter Olympics Big Air final but produced one of the best runs of the night to progress after a nervy start.

The 19-year-old recorded a total score of 167 on a freezing cold night at Livigno Snow Park, finishing third to ensure she can compete for gold on Monday.

Going ninth of 29 competitors, she left herself with it all to do after miscontrolling the landing on her first jump and hitting the deck, scoring a mere 29.75 and slotting into 24th place.

She was up quickly but with each snowboarder’s two best out of three runs counting towards qualification, and only the best 12 athletes progressing, she needed to be perfect on her second and third runs in order to make the final.

And she nailed her second attempt at the trick, a backside 1260 melon grab, scoring 89.00 – the second highest score of the night – to move up to 22nd.

The teenager from Cheshire ran over to hug parents Nigel and Vicky at the barrier after successfully completing the jump and beamed after keeping her hopes of qualifying alive.

And while she could not improve on that score with her third trick, a slightly safer cab 1060 stalefish, her score of 78.00 was enough to bump her up the rankings and into the top 12. She celebrated by racing over to her parents once again – although she went the wrong way and had to jump the fence to get there.

“That was insane, honestly,” she said afterwards. “I loved it. Every minute was awesome, but definitely quite scary. After that first run, I was so nervous. You just have to take your time at the top, not rush into anything.”

Asked about the heightened pressure to deliver a brilliant second run, she said: “I think it really came out of me in an athlete way, just keeping cool under the pressure, not really making any rash decisions or rushing anything, so it was nice to see that coming from inside myself.

“That third one was special to land that one. You’re definitely in the air, like, thinking about it in the back of your mind, spinning, like, oh, my God, I’ve got to land this. So it was really special.

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“I think, honestly, as much as I hate it in the moment, it’s moments like that that I just love. When you land, it’s the best feeling on the planet. That’s what I love.”

The youngster is known for her unusual approach to competing, listening to heavy metal music – she named Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, and Judas Priest among her favourites – to “block out the noise” and get in the zone.

Fellow Briton Maisie Hill did not qualify however, after only scoring 20 for falling on her first run and failing to improve on her second, with a score of 57.25 on her third run not enough to send her through.

Brookes is one of Britain’s biggest hopes of a medal in Milano-Cortina and has the chance to go for gold in two events, Big Air and slopestyle.

She is the reigning X Games champion in slopestyle having won the title for a second time last month, and picked up an additional bronze medal in Big Air to underline her status as one of the favourites at Livigno Snow Park this week.

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She won the only Big Air World Cup event she has entered this year, in Beijing in December, and won back-to-back World Cup crystal globes in the discipline in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Hopes are high for a ‘Magic Monday’ for Team GB, in particular in snowsport, with both Brookes and freestyle skier Kirsty Muir in action.

21-year-old Scot Muir is a medal contender in the freeski slopestyle having qualified in third. Brookes added: “I’ve grown up with Kirsty. We’ve known each other since we were younger, so to go into an Olympic final on the same day as her for Great Britain is really special.”

Curlers Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat also have the chance to guarantee a medal in the mixed doubles with a win in their semi-final against Sweden in Cortina, where they are the top seeds having lost just one of nine round-robin matches.

Rashid Shaheed has braved several odds to arrive at the threshold of history, one game away from Super Bowl glory. While his path to this milestone has been anything but smooth, it is important to note that Shaheed is from a family of celebrated athletes.

His parents, Haneef and Cassondra, are undoubtedly the earliest athletic influences on Shaheed. But who are Rashid Shaheed’s parents? And how did they influence his interest and journey as an athlete?

Who are Rashid Shaheed’s parents?

Rashid Shaheed’s parents, Haneef and Cassondra, are track and field athletes. Haneef attended Arizona State University, where he was a sprinter, while Cossandra ran the 400-meter hurdles at the University of San Diego.

After Shaheed, Haneef and Cossandra had two girls, Aysha and Amirah, who were also track runners. The wide receiver also started out as a track runner before convincing his parents to allow him to play football.

In a 2023 interview with ESPN, Haneef recalled how he and Cossandra noticed Shaheed’s athletic trait as a kid. He said:

“We thought it was interesting that he immediately wanted to run everywhere. And as two track athletes, we thought, ‘OK, well, you know, the genetics are there for sure.’”

Despite his talent and early involvement in track events, Shaheed’s interest in football has always been apparent. Haneef put it thus in an interview with Mile Split:

“He ran track, but it was always to get better in football.”

Haneef’s involvement in his kids’ athletic development saw him coaching Aysha at Madison High School. He has also coached the youth track team Havoc despite working remotely for Anthem Insurance. While admitting that it’s challenging working with the kids, he hasn’t lost sight of the bright side. He said:

“It’s a blessing and a curse, but on the plus side I’m just glad to be able to help. I’m here for the kids.”

Both of Shaheed’s sisters are now college track athletes, with Amirah running sprints at Oregon State while Aysha runs at Texas A&M. With a home full of athletes, there is bound to be some form of competitiveness. Haneef admits this, saying:

“It is very, very competitive with them. They bring it up all the time — who has more championships and who has more patches on their jacket.”

However, when the Seahawks take the field against the Patriots on Sunday evening, Shaheed’s family will be united behind him and his teammates.