Sports
Japan claims gold, silver in men's snowboard big air; US' Ollie Martin 4th
Kira Kimura of Japan in action during his third run of snowboard big air at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Feb. 7, 2026 LIVIGNO, Italy — Japanese snowboarders Kira Kimura and Ryoma Kimata won the gold and silver medals in the men’s Big Air snowboarding event at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday, dethroning champion Su Yiming of China with their soaring jumps in the Italian Alps.
Su ended the cold night in the mountain town of Livigno with the bronze as he could not overcome the powerhouses from Japan.
Ollie Martin, a 17-year-old who was the lone American that qualified for the final, finished fourth, one spot away from winning the first U.S. medal of these Games.
Kimura fell on the landing of his second of three runs but impressed the judges with a difficult switch backside 1900 in his final bid to secure his first Olympic gold.
The 21-year-old smiled broadly and clapped his hands on the podium at the medal ceremony.
He scored a total of 179.50, ahead of 171.50 for Kimata, to top the podium at the Livigno Snow Park after posting 90.50 in his third and final run.
After Su’s daring technical spin on his first run, the 21-year-old Chinese competitor fell on his hands in the second round, which hurt his chances of retaining the title.
Competitors were ranked by a combined score of their two best jumps. Su’s total was 168.50.
The Big Air event features riders launching off a jump and performing an aerial trick involving flips, spins and twists. The medal contest was held at night under floodlights.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Felix Auger-Aliassime, Adrian Mannarino reach Montpellier final
Jan 19, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in action against Nuno Borges of Portugal in the first round of the men’s singles at the Australian Open at John Cain Arena in Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime delivered 20 aces while posting a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory over French qualifier Titouan Droguet on Saturday to return to the finale of the Open Occitanie in Montpellier, France.
The top-seeded Auger-Aliassime of Canada had 47 winners against 29 unforced errors and saved all three break points while knocking off Droguet, who made a nice run into his first tour-level semifinal. Droguet had 14 aces among 30 winners and committed 37 unforced errors.
Auger-Aliassime will be searching for his ninth career title when he faces France’s Adrian Mannarino, who rallied for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over American qualifier Martin Damm. Mannarino, 37, had 11 aces to become the oldest finalist in the event’s history. He has won five ATP titles.
Damm had 23 aces and the big hitter delivered 41 winners against 35 unforced errors. By comparison, Mannarino had 19 winners and 14 unforced errors.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fletcher Loyer lifts No. 12 Purdue over Oregon
Feb 7, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter talks with guard Fletcher Loyer (2) during the first half against the Oregon Ducks at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images Fletcher Loyer scored 18 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 51 seconds left, as No. 12 Purdue edged visiting Oregon 68-64 on Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind.
Trey Kaufman-Renn contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for the Boilermakers (19-4, 9-3 Big Ten) in a game that saw the teams combine for 27 turnovers while shooting a collected 10-for-43 from long range. Braden Smith added 13 points.
Oregon center Nate Bittle shined in his return to the lineup to help keep the skidding Ducks afloat. Out for the past five games with an ankle injury, Bittle led all scorers with 23 points.
Takai Simpkins followed with 14 points but the Ducks (8-15, 1-11) struggled to build scoring depth behind the duo. Oregon lost its ninth straight game.
Bittle swished two free throws to give Oregon a 57-56 lead with 5:33 left to set up a tight finish. Kwame Evans Jr. grabbed seven rebounds for the Ducks, who went without a field goal over the last 4:38.
The Boilermakers missed their first five shots coming out of the break and shot just 35% from the floor in the second half.
Loyer went 3-for-4 from the line over the final 19 seconds to seal the result.
Purdue capitalized on an early edge in turnovers and points in the paint to seemingly seize control down the stretch of the first half.
Oscar Cluff hit a hook shot with 7:06 left before the break to give the Boilermakers a 27-18 advantage, but the Ducks regrouped to hold Purdue to just three more field goals ahead of halftime, including zero over the last 2:05.
While the Boilermakers took a 36-34 lead into the locker room, the Ducks had momentum behind a 6-0 run to end the half.
Bittle led all scorers with 14 first-half points. Smith followed with 11.
Kaufman-Renn and Smith both dished four assists. Smith reached the 200-assist mark for the season.
The Boilermakers have claimed both meetings since the Ducks joined the Big Ten for the 2024-25 season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Falcons, Yandex advance to quarterfinals at BLAST Slam VI
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Team Falcons and Team Yandex each recorded a sweep on Saturday to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals of the BLAST Slam VI event.
Falcons posted a 2-0 win over Xtreme Gaming in their play-in game, courtesy of a 39-minute victory on red and 54-minute triumph on green. Team Falcons will compete again on Friday against the winner of Sunday’s clash between Team Liquid and GamerLegion.
Team Yandex notched a 2-0 win over Team Spirit in their play-in game on Saturday, courtesy of 38- and 52-minute victories on red. Yandex will be back in action on Friday against the winner of Sunday’s encounter between Tundra Esports and HEROIC.
BLAST Slam VI is a 12-team Dota 2 event that pays $300,000 to the winner and $1 million overall. The event opened with three days of group play — a round-robin, best-of-1 format in which each team played each other team once. The top two teams in the standings, Natus Vincere and OG, moved on to the semifinals of the playoffs.
The teams finishing third through eighth in the standings advanced to the play-in round — four best-of-3 matches in which the winners advance to the playoffs and the losers are eliminated. The teams finishing ninth through 12th in group play competed in the last-chance playoff, another best-of-3 format where the winners advanced to the play-in round and the losers went home.
The play-in matches will be contested Saturday and Sunday. The four winning teams will play in the quarterfinals on Feb. 13. The semifinals will be on Feb. 14 and the grand final on Feb. 15.
BLAST Slam VI prize pool
1. $300,000 (plus $100,000 in team earnings)
2. $150,000 (plus $50,000)
3-4. $60,000 (plus $29,000)
5-6. $35,000 (plus $15,000)
7-10. $22,500 (plus $6.250) — Team Spirit, Xtreme Gaming, TBD, TBD
11-12. $10,000 (plus $2,500) — REKONIX, MOUZ
–Field Level Media
Felix Auger-Aliassime, Adrian Mannarino reach Montpellier final
Fletcher Loyer lifts No. 12 Purdue over Oregon
