BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- China made history in speed skating after earning a bronze in the men's team pursuit, while gold tally leader Norway added two more on Tuesday at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

China defeated the Netherlands in Final B of the men's team pursuit to earn bronze, the country's first-ever Olympic medal in the event. Liu Hanbin, Wu Yu and Li Wenhao edged their Dutch rivals by 0.09 seconds, finishing in three minutes 41.38 seconds. It marked China's best result since the event debuted at the Winter Games in 2006.

Italy captured gold as Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini and Michele Malfatti clocked 3:39.20 in Final A, with the United States taking silver.

France staged a dramatic comeback to win its first Olympic gold in the men's 4x7.5km biathlon relay. Norway used just six spares, but was outpaced on the skis and settled for silver, finishing 9.8 seconds behind. Sweden earned bronze.

Norway's Jens Luraas Oftebro claimed his second Nordic combined gold of the Games, dominating the large hill ski jumping and 10km cross-country race. The 25-year-old crossed the line in 24:45.0, ahead of Austria's Johannes Lamparter and Finland's Ilkka Herola.

Norway added another gold in the men's freeski big air, where Tormod Frostad edged American Mac Forehand with a clutch final jump.

Germany demonstrated its depth and dominance in the two-man bobsleigh event, sweeping the podium as Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer clinched the title with a combined time of 3:39.70.

David Kampf and Roman Cervenka scored 69 seconds apart in the second period as the Czech Republic defeated Denmark 3-2 in the men's ice hockey to advance to a quarterfinal matchup with Canada.

Japanese figure skater Ami Nakai led the women's short program standings at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Tuesday. Her compatriot Kaori Sakamoto, the Beijing 2022 bronze medalist, placed second with 77.23 points, while reigning world champion Alysa Liu of the United States sat third with 76.59.