Gold at last as Austria’s Hirscher claims combined title
PYEONGCHANG: American teenager Chloe Kim and Austrian ski ace Marcel Hirscher triumphantly lit up the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics yesterday as the Games were hit by their first doping scandal.
Seventeen-year-old Kim snatched a stunning gold medal in the women’s halfpipe snowboarding, while Hirscher’s long hunt for an Olympic title finally ended.
In the first doping case of the 2018 Games, 21-year-old short-track speed skater Kei Saito became the only Japanese ever to test positive at a Winter Olympics.
Austrian star Hirscher bagged an emotional Olympic gold at the age of 28 when he produced a brilliant slalom run to storm to a victory in the men’s alpine combined.
Hirscher has been the outstanding skier in his specialty for years with 55 career World Cup wins.
But one prize had always eluded him — an Olympic gold medal. His previous best was a slalom silver from Sochi four years ago.
After playing down his chances ahead of the race at blustery freezing Pyeongchang, this time he nailed it.
Making the best of a downhill run shortened because of blustery winds, he laid the foundations for victory.
Then he turned round and ran away with victory thanks to a stunning performance in his own specialty, the slalom.
After the race Hirscher said his career was complete.
“All the people expected me to win a gold medal, especially in Austria, my home country, where skiing is big,” he said.
“Everyone is saying, ‘Nice career, but an Olympic gold medal is still missing’. This is perfect, unbelievable.”
For Kim, her debut Olympics turned golden as she romped to snowboarding halfpipe victory. Born in the United States to Korean parents, Kim burst into tears as the enormity of her achievement sunk in.
The teenager, who has melted the hearts of home fans in Pyeongchang thanks to her ever-ready smile and Korean heritage, justified her status as the hot favourite with an eye-popping top score of 98.25.
Pumping her fists after finishing with
back-to-back 1080 spins, Kim was serenaded by a pumped-up crowd chanting: “Chloe Kim, Chloe Kim!”
“I’m a little overwhelmed,” she said, after composing herself.
Kim also revealed that her No.1 fan — her Seoul-based grandmother — had been in the crowd cheering her on.
“I actually only found out my grandma was at the bottom before my second run,” she said. “So I thought ‘this one’s for Grams!’” Sweden’s Stina Nilsson claimed her first Olympic title when she won the women’s sprint classic cross-country race yesterday.
Nilsson, a cross-country bronze medallist from Sochi 2014, completed the course in 3min 3.84sec, 3.03sec ahead of Maiken Falla of Norward.
Yulia Belorukova grabbed bronze for the neutral Olympic Athletes of Russia. Russia has been suspended from the Olympics because of a doping scandal.
In the men’s event, Johannes Klaebo of Norway won gold on his Olympic debut when he timed 3:05.75 to win by 1.34sec ahead of Italy’s Federico Pellegrino.
Pellegrino took silver on a photo finish from Alexander Bolshunov of the Olympic Athletes of Russia, who have now won five medals in Pyeongchang.
Germany celebrated a rare one-two in the women’s luge with Natalie Geisenberger pipping Dajana Eitberger to retain her Olympic title. Alex Gough of Canada grabbed bronze.
Canada’s Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris hammered Switzerland 10-3 to take the inaugural mixed doubles curling title.
Meanwhile Japan’s Kei Saito checked out of the athletes’ village and vowed to clear his name after testing positive for acetazolamide, an unauthorised diuretic which can be used to mask performanceenhancing drugs.
“I want to fight to prove my innocence because I don’t remember [taking the drug] and it’s incomprehensible,” Saito said in a statement.
Saito arrived at the athletes village on Feb 4. He was woken up at 2am the following morning by doping testers who took two samples. Both samples tested positive.
Saito was summoned before a CAS tribunal on Monday and suspended from the Games pending a full investigation.
MARK FINISHES 57
Thailand’s Mark Chanloung finished 57th with a time of 3:26.12 (+17.58) in the men’s sprint classic qualification in the crosscountry skiing at Alpensia Cross-Country Centre yesterday.
Mark, who is half Italian, failed to make it through as only the top 30 progressed to the quarter-final stage.
Swiss-Thai Alexia Arisarah Schenkel will compete in the women’s slalom at Yongpyong Alpine Centre today.
She is in Run 1 section, which starts at 8.15am, Thai time.