Alpine Skiers Make Olympic History with Tie for Gold
Women's downhill gold medal winners Switzerland's Dominique Gisin, left, and Slovenia's Tina Maze stand together on the podium during a flower ceremony at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014.
Two women became the first Alpine skiers in Olympic history to tie for a gold medal during the fifth day of competition at the Sochi Games.
Slovenia's Tina Maze and Switzerland's Dominique Gisin finished the women's downhill in 1 minute, 41.57 seconds. Switzerland's Lara Gut, just one-tenth of a second behind, captured the bronze.
In the Nordic Combined individual normal hill, Germany's Eric Frenzel won the gold medal. He led comfortably after ski jumping and finished strong on the 10-kilometer cross-country course. Japan's Akito Watabe took the silver, and Norway's Magnus Krog earned bronze.
Later, American speed skater Shani Davis will vye for his third-straight gold medal in the men's 1,000 meters. Medals will also be awarded in men's doubles luge and women's halfpipe.
Russian duo Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov will try to become the first figure skaters to win two golds at the same Olympics when they compete in the pairs free program.
Also on the ice, the 12-team men's hockey tournament gets underway with Sweden facing the Czech Republic and Latvia versus Switzerland. The consensus favorites to win the women's gold medal, the United States and Canada, clash in their last preliminary-round game.
Meanwhile, Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov spoke to the media Wednesday, a day after pulling off one of the biggest shockers in Sochi.
In the men's halfpipe, Podladtchikov upset heavy favorite Shaun White, an American, to win the gold medal. White placed fourth in the event.
Podladtchikov, whose nickname is "I-POD," sounded incredulous about his victory, saying he has yet to grasp the moment.
"I have not really realized it yet that far," Podladtchikov said. "I can not really answer this question yet. 'It is like?' I have been this kind of person all my life: I have to see it in order to believe it. I have not even seen my run yet. I have to see the medal, see what happened, see it again and again and then maybe I will be able to answer this question properly."
Norway leads in the overall medal count with 12, followed by Canada with nine and the Netherlands with eight. The U.S. and Russia have seven each. Canada and Norway are tied for the most gold medals with four.
1/9Shaun White of the U.S. performs a jump near a picture of himself during the men's snowboard halfpipe qualification round at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 11, 2014.
2/9Canada's Yuki Tsubota lies in the snow after crashing during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle final at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 11, 2014.
3/9John Fairbairn of Canada starts a run during the men's skeleton training, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 11, 2014.
4/9An inter-mingling of snow and brown patches are seen near the alpine course, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 11, 2014,
5/9Julia Krass of the United States takes a jump during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifying at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 11, 2014.
6/9Kikkan Randall of the U.S. reacts after failing to get through to the next stage of competition, during the women's cross-country sprint free quarterfinal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Feb. 11, 2014.
7/9A waxing technician brushes a ski during the cross-country sprint competitions, Krasnaya Polyana, Feb. 11, 2014.
8/9Team Sweden celebrates their 4-0 victory over Germany during the 2014 Winter Olympics women's ice hockey game at Shayba Arena, Sochi, Russia, Feb. 11, 2014.
9/9Soft tufts of snow protrude the surface in the finish area of the alpine ski course at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Warm temperatures in the mountains made the snow too soft and caused the cancellation of women's downhill training, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 11, 2014.
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