Russian anthem back as favourites triumph

THE Olympic anthem was merely background noise, the doping scandal the farthest thing from their minds.

As the white flag with the five Olympic rings rose towards the rafters yesterday after the gold medal game in men’s hockey, the champion Russians in their nondescript red-and-white uniforms joined their fans cloaked in red, white and blue and belted out the State Anthem of the Russian

Federation, drowning out the recorded song required as part of IOC sanctions.

This Olympic title meant so much more to the Russians, no matter that the tournament was missing NHL players and the “Olympic Athletes from Russia” were all here only after months of scandal.

Joyous players tossed coach Oleg Znarok in the air at centre ice as fans let out the same “ROSS-I-YA” chants that filled the arena in Sochi four years ago. The Russians triumphed in the tournament they were favored to win, capturing gold with a 4-3 overtime victory over Germany after Kirill Kaprizov’s power-play goal capped a classic final and gave the nation a jubilant moment following weeks of disappointment.

“We understood the whole thing from the start so we were calm about it,” coach Oleg Znarok said. “Russia is in our hearts.”

The win came only a few hours after the IOC decided against allowing the Russians to march under their flag in the closing ceremony last night after a curler and a bobsledder had positive drug tests.

“The medal is the same with or without the NHL,” said defenseman Slava Voynov, who scored the opening goal in the first period. “Maybe the tournament was a little different, but the emotions and happiness are the same.”