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Atletico Beats Real Madrid in Extra Time to Reach Copa Quarts a Week After Super Cup Loss 

Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann celebrates the victory after the Spanish Copa del Rey round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann celebrates the victory after the Spanish Copa del Rey round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
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Atletico Beats Real Madrid in Extra Time to Reach Copa Quarts a Week After Super Cup Loss 

Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann celebrates the victory after the Spanish Copa del Rey round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann celebrates the victory after the Spanish Copa del Rey round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain, 18 January 2024. (EPA)

Atletico Madrid got the better of Real Madrid this time, beating its crosstown rival 4-2 in extra time Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey.

Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo Riquelme scored after a 2-2 draw in regulation to send Atletico to the last eight less than a week after it lost to Madrid in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Atletico thrived again at home, where it also beat Madrid in the first Spanish league derby of the season in September in what had been its rival’s only loss this season. Atletico is unbeaten in 25 consecutive matches at its Metropolitano stadium in all competitions, with two draws since a 1-0 league defeat to Barcelona in January 2023.

Defending champion Madrid eliminated Atletico in the Copa quarterfinals last season, winning 3-1 in extra time at home. The city rivals will play again on Feb. 4 — the third meeting in less than a month — in the Spanish league at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Madrid won 5-3 in extra time in the Super Cup semifinals last Wednesday.

Griezmann secured Atletico's win this time with a beautiful goal after making a run through the right side of the area. The France international, Atletico's all-time top scorer with 175 goals, got past Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior before finding the top corner from a tight angle.

“It was an amazing goal, probably one of his best,” Madrid coach Diego Simeone said. “We played a very good match and the players gave everything they had against a top opponent. It was a great match.”

Riquelme sealed Atletico's win from inside the area on a breakaway in the 119th after an assist by Memphis Depay.

Atletico had opened the scoring with a goal from close range by Samuel Lino after Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger deflected the ball backward into the area in the 39th. Madrid equalized after a rare mistake by Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who punched the ball into his own net while trying to clear a cross.

Álvaro Morata put Atletico ahead again from close range in the 57th after Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin failed to fully clear a cross. The ball bounced off Rüdiger and went toward Morata in front of an open net.

Striker Joselu, who came on for Rodrygo in the 80th, equalized with a header in the 82nd after a cross by Jude Bellingham. Morata had missed a clear chance in a one-on-one situation with Lunin just moments earlier.

Brahim Díaz thought he had scored an equalizer late in extra time but the goal was disallowed because of an offside by Bellingham.

Bellingham hit the crossbar early in the first half, and Rodrygo struck the woodwork in the second.

Madrid went on to win the Spanish Super Cup 4-1 in the final against Barcelona on Sunday, but there was no guard of honor by Atletico before the match at the Metropolitano.

There was a report by The Athletic and some Spanish media that some Atletico fans called Vinícius a monkey before the game. The Brazil international had been racially abused by Atletico fans before other derbies, including by some who hanged an effigy of the player off a highway bridge last year.

Simeone exchanged a few heated words with Vinícius after the end of regulation. The coach appeared to be upset with Vinícius because of his celebration after Joselu’s goal. Vinícius apparently also got into a spat with one of the ball boys at the Metropolitano.

“It was a very competitive match, he was involved in many duels, and sometimes you are not able to keep your cool,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said about Vinícius. “I think it's understandable.”

Ancelotti’s Madrid had come into the game on an unbeaten run of 21 matches in all competitions, with 17 wins and four draws.

BARCELONA ADVANCES Barcelona picked up the pace in the second half to beat third-division club Unionistas 3-1 in its round-of-16 match.

It will be the second straight last-eight appearance for the Catalan club, which arrived under pressure after losing the Spanish Super Cup final to Madrid.

After being held 1-1 at halftime, Barcelona improved in the second half to secure the victory with goals by Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde.

The hosts had taken the lead with a beautiful one-timer by Álvaro Gómez in the 31st minute before Ferran Torres equalized for Barcelona on a breakaway in the 45th. Koundé scored with a long-range shot in the 69th and Balde sealed the victory with a strike from a tight angle in the 73rd.

“After a tough loss in the Super Cup we needed to rebound,” Koundé said. “It wasn't easy, they have a good team and were very motivated.”

Unionistas had a few chances to move closer toward the end, but Barcelona goalkeeper Iñaki Peña made some good saves to maintain the comfortable lead at the 5,000-capacity Reina Sofia Stadium.

Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí, 16, made his first-team debut by entering the match after halftime to replace Andreas Christensen.

Unionistas had eliminated Villarreal on penalties in the previous round.

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Sports

Milano Cortina Finds Fix for Medal Defects, Repairs Offered

Silver medalist Eric Perrot, of France, from left, gold medalist Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, and bronze medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, pose after the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Silver medalist Eric Perrot, of France, from left, gold medalist Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, and bronze medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, pose after the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
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Milano Cortina Finds Fix for Medal Defects, Repairs Offered

Silver medalist Eric Perrot, of France, from left, gold medalist Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, and bronze medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, pose after the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Silver medalist Eric Perrot, of France, from left, gold medalist Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, and bronze medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, pose after the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)

A fix has been found to stop Milano Cortina Olympic medals from coming apart, and athletes will be able to return any damaged ones for repair, local organizers said on Tuesday.

The problems with the cherished medals have been one of the talking points of the opening days of competition at a Games that have otherwise run smoothly.

Local organizers investigated the medals mishaps with the Italian State Mint, which is responsible for producing them.

"A solution was identified and a targeted ‌intervention was ‌implemented," Milano Cortina 2026 Communications Director Luca Casassa ‌said, ⁠adding that ‌only a limited number of medals had suffered defects.

Athletes whose medals were affected could return them "so that they can be promptly repaired," he added.

"Milano Cortina 2026 confirms its commitment to ensuring that the medals, which symbolize the highest achievement in every athlete's career, meet the highest standards of quality and attention to detail."

PROBLEM WITH THE CLASP

Organizers did not specify what the problem was. ⁠However, a source close to the situation had suggested on Monday that the issue may stem ‌from the medal's clasp and ribbon, which is ‍fitted with a breakaway mechanism ‍required by law to avoid the risk of strangulation or other ‍injury.

That tallied with the experience of US Alpine skier Jacqueline Wiles, who won a bronze in the women's team combined on Tuesday and became the latest competitor to suffer a medal mishap.

Wiles said some boisterous celebrations were to blame.

"Some arms were swinging and I was jumping. And it got out of hand a little quickly. But that's OK. They ⁠fixed it already," she said.

A spokesperson for her team said the problem was with the clasp on her medal and she had been given a replacement.

Local organizers were very pleased with operations at the Games, spread over a wide area of northern Italy from Milan to a series of venues in the Alps.

"What we have found in these first four days is really encouraging, the stadiums and the competitions are often sold out, fan zones are full of people who are in a party mood and want to enjoy the Games' atmosphere," Casassa said.

"The feedback that we are getting ‌from the real protagonists, the athletes, at the moment is extremely positive," he added.

Sports

Soccer Returns to Gaza Pitch Scarred by War and Loss

Palestinians play soccer on a pitch, near buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensive, in Gaza City. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians play soccer on a pitch, near buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensive, in Gaza City. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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Soccer Returns to Gaza Pitch Scarred by War and Loss

Palestinians play soccer on a pitch, near buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensive, in Gaza City. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians play soccer on a pitch, near buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensive, in Gaza City. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

On a worn-out five-a-side pitch in a wasteland of ruined buildings and rubble, Jabalia Youth took on Al-Sadaqa in the Gaza Strip's first organized soccer tournament in more than two years.

The match ended in a draw, as did a second fixture featuring Beit Hanoun vs Al-Shujaiya. But the spectators were hardly disappointed, cheering and shaking the chain-link fence next to the Palestine Pitch in the ruins of Gaza City's Tal al-Hawa district.

Boys climbed a broken concrete wall or peered through holes in the ruins to get a look. Someone was banging on a drum, Reuters reported.

Youssef Jendiya, 21, one of the Jabalia Youth players from a part of Gaza largely depopulated and bulldozed by Israeli forces, described his feeling at being back on the pitch: "Confused. Happy, sad, joyful, happy."

"People search for water in the morning: food, bread. Life is a little difficult. But there is a little left of the day, when you can come and play soccer and express some of the joy inside you," he said.

"You come to the stadium missing many of your teammates... killed, injured, or those who travelled for treatment. So the joy is incomplete."

Four months since a ceasefire ended major fighting in Gaza, there has been almost no reconstruction. Israeli forces have ordered all residents out of nearly two-thirds of the strip, jamming more than 2 million people into a sliver of ruins along the coast, most in makeshift tents or damaged buildings.

The former site of Gaza City's 9,000-seat Yarmouk Stadium, which Israeli forces levelled during the war and used as a detention centre, now houses displaced families in white tents, crowded in the brown dirt of what was once the pitch.

For this week's tournament the Football Association managed to clear the rubble from a collapsed wall off a half-sized pitch, put up a fence and sweep the debris off the old artificial turf.

By coming out, the teams were "delivering a message", said Amjad Abu Awda, 31, a player for Beit Hanoun. "That no matter what happened in terms of destruction and genocidal war, we continue with playing, and with life. Life must continue."

Sports

Malinin Made History with His Olympic Backflip, but Some Say the Glory Was Owed to a Black Skater

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Figure Skating - Team Event - Men Single Skating - Free Skating - Milano Ice Skating Arena, Milan, Italy - February 08, 2026. Ilia Malinin of United States performs during the men's single free skating. (Reuters)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Figure Skating - Team Event - Men Single Skating - Free Skating - Milano Ice Skating Arena, Milan, Italy - February 08, 2026. Ilia Malinin of United States performs during the men's single free skating. (Reuters)
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Malinin Made History with His Olympic Backflip, but Some Say the Glory Was Owed to a Black Skater

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Figure Skating - Team Event - Men Single Skating - Free Skating - Milano Ice Skating Arena, Milan, Italy - February 08, 2026. Ilia Malinin of United States performs during the men's single free skating. (Reuters)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Figure Skating - Team Event - Men Single Skating - Free Skating - Milano Ice Skating Arena, Milan, Italy - February 08, 2026. Ilia Malinin of United States performs during the men's single free skating. (Reuters)

Ilia Malinin, the US figure skater, became the first person to legally land a backflip on one skate in the Olympics although one trailblazing woman pulled it off when the move was still forbidden.

The 21-year-old from Virginia delivered a crucial free skate on Sunday night for the winning American team, filled with his trademark quadruple jumps, and punctuated the gold medal-clinching performance with his dramatic backflip.

It’s a move known today as “the Bonaly flip” — named for France’s Surya Bonaly.

Nevertheless, it is Malinin getting showered with praise, prompting many on social media to lament the way his achievement has eclipsed that of Bonaly, who is Black, and wondering if that is due to the color of her skin.

Ari Lu, 49, was among those on TikTok saying the figure skating world owed Bonaly an apology. Where Malinin is praised for his athleticism, Bonaly was judged, she told The Associated Press in a text message on Monday.

“Something a Black person used to be derided for is now celebrated when done by a white person,” said Lu, who is Black herself. She added that critiques of Bonaly at the time appeared related to her appearance rather than her skills.

A ban, and a backflip to end a career

The first person to pull off a backflip at the Olympics was former US champion Terry Kubicka, in 1976, and he landed on two skates. The International Skating Union swiftly banned the backflip, considering it too dangerous.

Over 20 years later, at the 1998 Nagano Games, France’s Surya Bonaly flouted the rules and executed a backflip, this time landing on a single blade — an exclamation point to mark her final performance as a professional figure skater. The crowd cheered, and one television commentator exclaimed, “I think she's done that because she wants to, because it's not allowed. So good on her.”

Bonaly knew the move meant judges would dock her points, but she did it anyway. The moment would cement her legacy as a Black athlete in a sport that historically has lacked diversity.

New rules allow for the backflip's return

For decades, Bonaly’s thrilling move could only be witnessed at exhibitions. That changed two years ago, when the ISU lifted its ban in a bid to make the sport more exciting and popular among younger fans.

Malinin, who is known for his high-flying jumps, soon put the backflip into his choreographed sequences for competitions. And on Sunday it was a part of a gold medal-winning free skate.

Bonaly, for her part, ended her professional career with a 10th place finish. Some argue the punishment of Bonaly back then and praise of Malinin today underscores a double standard that still exists in the figure skating world.

In a telephone interview from Minnesota, Bonaly told the AP on Monday that it was great to see someone do the backflip on Olympic ice, because skating needs to be taken to an upper level.

Regarding the criticism she received during her career, Bonaly said she was “born too early,” arriving on the Olympic scene at a time when people weren't used to seeing something different or didn’t have open minds.

“I broke ice for other skaters,” Bonaly said. “Now everything is different. People welcome anyone as long as they are good and that is what life is about.”

Bonaly's legacy

Before Bonaly there was Mabel Fairbanks, whose Olympic dreams were dashed by racist exclusion from US Figure Skating in the 1930s, and also Debi Thomas, the first African American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. They and others have paved the road for more representation in the sport.

But there are still few professional Black figure skaters, and none competing for the US this year; popular skater Starr Andrews failed to make the team, finishing seventh at nationals. The team does include five Asian American skaters.

Malinin’s teammate, Amber Glenn, said that while she thinks backflips are fun and is interested in learning how to do one after she’s done competing, the three-time and reigning US champion does not plan to do them any time soon.

“I want to learn one once I’m done competing,” the 26-year-old Glenn said. “But the thought of practicing it on a warmup or in training, it just scares me.”

Both the ISU and the International Olympic Committee have apparently begun to embrace Bonaly's backflip, sometimes posting it to social media in conjunction with Bonaly's own account.

“Backflips on ice? No problem for figure skating icon Surya Bonaly!” says one from last May.

Another from November 2024 says: “Surya Bonaly’s backflip has been a topic of discussion, awe, and admiration for over two decades and continues to inspire young skaters to never give up on their dreams.”