Swiss win inaugural team gold, Norway set medals record

PYEONGCHANG: Wendy Holdener led a strong Switzerland team to alpine team skiing gold yesterday, as Norway took bronze to set a new record of 38 medals at a Winter Olympics. Switzerland won the final 3-1 against an Austrian quartet missing double gold medalist Marcel Hirscher for the inaugural title as the event made its debut. Holdener, who had already won slalom silver and combined bronze, Denise Feierabend, Daniel Yule and men’s slalom runner-up Ramon Zenhaeusern held their nerve after the two Austrian men failed to finish the mixed-sex final.

“I enjoyed it a lot. We had a cool team, the spirit was here but everybody was really focused,” said Holdener. “It’s really nice to get a gold medal after a silver and bronze.” Holdener and Zenhaeusern were both undefeated in racing at the Yongpyong Alpine Centre as the Swiss overcame Hungary, Germany and France on their run to the final. Austria, boasting individual slalom bronze medallists Michael Matt and Katharina Gallhuber, Katharina Liensberger and Manuel Feller overcame South Korea, Sweden and Norway before the match-up with the Swiss.

Sweden had been fancied for a podium spot given they fielded individual slalom gold medallists Frida Hansdotter and Andre Myhrer, but they went down 4-0 to the Austrians in the quarter-finals. Norway won bronze, Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen beating France’s Clement Noel in the fourth and final run to win by a tie-breaking 0.12sec after two victories to each team. It was a record 38th Winter Olympics medal for Norway, beating the record set by the United States in 2010. Norway and Germany top the medals table on 13 golds, although the Norwegians have more medals overall. —AFP