Latin America Sports Daily for Thursday, February 12, 2026

Day 5 delivered eight gold medals across alpine skiing, biathlon, figure skating, freestyle skiing, luge, Nordic combined, and speed skating. The headline act was the American 1–2 in women’s moguls — 20-year-old Elizabeth Lemley won gold (82.30) in her Olympic debut after defending champion Jakara Anthony of Australia stumbled on her final run, while Jaelin Kauf took silver (80.77) for the second straight Olympics. France’s Perrine Laffont earned bronze. It was the first U.S. 1–2 finish in a women’s freestyle skiing event in Olympic history.

This is part of The Rio Times’ comprehensive coverage of sports news across Brazil and Latin America.

\n

Jordan Stolz confirmed his status as speedskating’s next superstar, blazing to gold in the men’s 1,000m in an Olympic-record 1:06.28 — the first non-Dutch winner in the event since Vancouver 2010. Italy swept the luge doubles: Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer won the inaugural women’s doubles, while Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner surged from third to first for men’s doubles gold. Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen won the men’s Super-G to claim his third gold of these Games — the first Swiss man to achieve the feat and only the third Alpine skier in history.

\n
\n

\n

\n

France’s Guillaume Cizeron became the first figure skater to win Olympic ice dance gold with two different partners, as he and Laurence Fournier Beaudry edged three-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States by just 1.43 points (225.82 to 224.39). Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier earned bronze at 217.82 in their farewell Olympics. In biathlon, France completed a dominant day as Julia Simon won the women’s 15km individual — her second gold of Milan-Cortina — finishing nearly a minute ahead of compatriot Lou Jeanmonnot for a French 1–2.

\n

Norway’s Jens Luraas Oftebro won Nordic combined gold (individual Gundersen NH/10km), edging Austria’s Johannes Lamparter by one second in a thrilling finish. And in the men’s Super-G, USA’s Ryan Cochran-Siegle earned silver for the second straight Olympics, finishing 0.13 seconds behind von Allmen, with Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt taking bronze.

\n
\n

\n

The men’s Olympic hockey tournament opened with a bang as NHL players returned to the Games for the first time since Sochi 2014. Slovakia delivered the day’s biggest surprise, routing Finland 4–1 behind Juraj Slafkovsky’s two goals and an assist and 39 saves from Samuel Hlavaj. The Montreal Canadiens forward, who was tournament MVP in Beijing 2022 as a teenager, now has nine goals in eight Olympic games. Sweden survived a scare from host Italy, needing a William Nylander tiebreaking goal late in the second period to pull away for a 5–2 victory. Sweden outshot Italy 60–22.

\n
\n

\n

Argentina’s Club DAOM produced the biggest upset of the Serie de las Américas, hammering defending champions Panamá 10–6 on the final day of round-robin play. The result snapped Panamá’s five-game winning streak and dropped the Águilas Metropolitanas into a first-place tie with Venezuela at 5–1. Argentina’s bats came alive at the Estadio Monumental Simón Bolívar, piling up runs against a Panamanian pitching staff that had been among the tournament’s best. The win gives Argentina a 2–4 record and a positive note to end their tournament on, though they were already eliminated from semifinal contention.

\n
\n

\n

Cuba edged Colombia 8–7 in a thriller at Estadio Fórum La Guaira that had direct semifinal implications. The result lifted Cuba to 3–3 and, crucially, gave them the head-to-head tiebreaker over Colombia (also 3–3) for the third semifinal seed. In the night game, Venezuela’s Navegantes del Magallanes dispatched Curaçao’s Willemstad Cannons 9–4 to finish the round-robin at 5–1 — tied with Panamá atop the standings but claiming the second seed due to their head-to-head loss to Panamá on opening day.

\n
\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

*Qualified for semifinals. Tiebreakers: Panamá 1st over Venezuela by head-to-head. Cuba 3rd over Colombia by head-to-head. Nicaragua 5th over Argentina by head-to-head.

\n
\n

The 2026 CONCACAF U-17 Qualifiers reached their conclusion on Wednesday with the final matchdays across the remaining groups. The tournament, played from February 3–12 across six venues in the region, used a round-robin format where each of the eight group winners earned direct qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar later this year. The USA had already clinched their Group E title on Monday, becoming the first team confirmed for a record 20th U-17 World Cup appearance.

\n

Wednesday’s decisive fixtures determined the remaining group winners across the outstanding groups — hosted in Guatemala City, Costa Rica, and San Pedro Sula, Honduras respectively. Top seeds Mexico, Canada, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Haiti were all expected to advance from their respective groups, with the final matchday results confirming CONCACAF‘s eight representatives.

\n
\n

\n

With the round-robin complete, the Serie de las Américas semifinal bracket is locked in. Top-seeded Panamá will face fourth-seeded Colombia at 1:30 PM ET on Thursday, followed by second-seeded Venezuela against third-seeded Cuba at 7:30 PM ET — both games at the Estadio Monumental Simón Bolívar in Caracas. Panamá enter the knockout stage looking to shake off their shock loss to Argentina, while Colombia will draw confidence from a squad that has hit well throughout the tournament, led by Tito Polo and Harold Ramírez. The Venezuela–Cuba clash pits the home-country favourites against a Cuban side riding the momentum of their 8–7 win over Colombia.

\n
\n

\n

Snowboarding icon Chloe Kim silenced any concerns about her fitness after a recent shoulder injury, posting the top qualifying score of 90.25 in women’s halfpipe. The two-time Olympic gold medalist’s run featured a smooth 1080 and showed no sign of rust. Teammate Maddie Mastro also advanced comfortably. Kim will chase history in Thursday’s final — a third consecutive Olympic gold would make her the first snowboarder, male or female, to achieve the feat. China’s Liu Jiayu, the 2018 silver medalist, suffered a frightening crash and was stretchered off the course.

\n
\n

\n

With the 2026 World Baseball Classic now 20 days away (March 4 start), the Serie de las Américas semifinal round gives fringe WBC roster hopefuls two more games to make their case. Cuba’s entire roster doubles as their WBC audition — players like Luis Mateo (4-for-4 Monday) and Randy Cueto have excelled. Colombia’s Tito Polo (two-homer game vs Argentina) and Andrés Angulo remain in the conversation for a loaded Colombian WBC squad. Venezuela’s Hernan Pérez, the former 10-year big leaguer, has been productive throughout.

\n
\n

\n