Sweden skiathlete Charlotte wins first gold

Pyeongchang (South Korea), Feb. 10: Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla claimed the first gold of the 2018 Winter Olympics but the spotlight on Saturday was expected to fall on the unified Korean hockey team.

Kalla won the women’s skiathlon cross country race ahead of Norway’s Marit Bjoergen, preventing her from collecting an unprecedented third straight gold medal in the event.

The first gold medal of the 2018 Olympics was expected to go to Bjoergen, world champion in the event, who claimed gold in Vancouver in 2010 and again in Sochi four years later.

But the 37-year-old lost out by 7.8sec to Kalla, who won in 40min 44.9sec. However, Bjoergen still became the most decorated woman in Winter Olympics history as she claimed her 11th medal. Third came Finland’s Krista Parmakoski.

Meanwhile, the first combined Korean team in Olympic history suffered a resounding 0-8 defeat to Switzerland in women’s ice hockey.

Watched by a high-level North Korean delegation and South Korean President Moon Jae-in — and a North Korean cheerleading squad — the team was no match for the Swiss. 34th overall at the halfway mark of competitions at the Olympic Sliding Center.

Two rounds of heats will be held on Sunday to decide the winners.

The 36-year-old Indian was placed 36th at the end of first round of heats, clocking a modest 50.578 seconds to cover the 1,344 metre track and then clocked 48.690 seconds in the second heat to end 31st out of 40 competitors.

— Agencies