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Olympics Feb 22: Figure skating concludes, US men's curling in semifinals

Here's what's in store for Thursday at the 2018 Winter Games.
Alina Zagitova of Olympic Athlete from Russia competes during the Ladies Single Skating Short Program on day twelve of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on February 21, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea.

Thursday brings more exciting Olympic events after a great day for Team USA.

Figure skating wraps up with women's free skate, and the USA men's curling team competes for a spot in the finals.

Here's what you need to know for Thursday:

Figure skating concludes with women’s free skate

8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT | Watch on NBC

The figure skating competition will conclude tonight with the women’s free skate. Leading the way is Russian 15-year-old Alina Zagitova, with OAR rival Yevgenia Medvedeva not too far behind her.

Team USA is out of medal contention after triple Axel Olympic star Mirai Nagasu and national champ Bradie Tennell both fell during their short program routines. Although the gold and silver medals are pretty much reserved for the OAR skaters, the bronze medal is still up in the air and could go to anyone at this point.

USA's Mirai Nagasu competes in the women's single skating short program of the figure skating event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung on February 21, 2018. (ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Men's & Women's short track speed skating

8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT | Watch on NBC

Today's short track speed skating events include the finals for the women's 1,000m and the men's 500m and 5,000m relay.

Listen to the crowd as the South Korean women compete in the 1,000m. Choi Min-jeong has a chance to win a second gold medal after already winning the gold in the 1,500m. Her teammate, Shim Suk-hee, holds the record in the 1,000m.

J.R. Celski leads the American men in the 5,000m relay in his third Olympics. The 27-year-old has been called the "grandfather of an ultra-young U.S. men’s short-track speed skating team" by USA Today. Also included on the USA men's short track team are 22-year-old John-Henry Krueger (who won silver in the 1,000m), Ryan Pivirotto, 22, Aaron Tran, 21, and Thomas Hong, 20.

The events actually wrapped up Thursday morning U.S. time, so you'll be able to watch a replay during NBC primetime or on NBCSN at 10:45am ET and 3:00pm ET (12:00pm PT).

American brothers compete in the team 4x5km nordic combined race

3:00 pm ET / 12:00pm PT | Watch on NBC

The Nordic combined brings together ski jumping and cross-country skiing — two sports that seem to only share the fact that they are done on skis. It requires incredible fitness and, well, guts.

In the team competition, four men jump first and then ski 5 kilometers with staggered starts based on their jump score. When one man finishes the ski portion, he passes onto the next member of his team.

The American team includes brothers Bryan Fletcher and Taylor Fletcher. Bryan, 26, leads the team in ski jumping. Taylor, 22, the team's fastest skier, excels in the cross-country part of the competition. The team also includes Ben Berend and Ben Loomis.

Ben Berend of the United States and Taylor Fletcher of the United States compete during the Nordic Combined Team Gundersen LH/4x5km, Cross-Country on day thirteen of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 22, 2018.

USA men’s curling team faces Canada in the semifinal

9:00 am ET / 6:00 am PT | Watch on NBCSN

The U.S. men’s curling team are in the Olympic semifinals for the first time since 2006.

Minnesota native John Shuster and his teammates are the No. 3 seed taking on No. 2 Canada for the second time, after a 9-7 victory in the first game.

The team likes to call themselves the rejects because they were never actually picked by the High Performance Program (HPP) for curling created in 2014 to train harder against teams like Canada and Sweden.

The game will also broadcast on NBC at 3:00 pm ET (12:00 pm PT).

John Shuster, Tyler George and Matt Hamilton of the United States compete in the Curling Men's Round Robin Session 5 held at Gangneung Curling Centre on February 16, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea.

Contributing: USA Today, Associated Press

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