BREAKING THROUGH
Russians get 1st gold, Germany upsets Canada in hockey
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea – The Russians finally won a gold medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics. The Canadian men’s hockey team won’t even get the chance after losing to Germany.
Alina Zagitova edged training partner Evgenia Medvedeva on Friday in figure skating, giving the Russians a reason to celebrate a 1-2 finish.
“I haven’t fully realized yet that I’ve won,” the 15-year-old Zagitova said. “I think I need some time to understand that I won the Olympic Games.”
She and Medvedeva tied in the free skate with 156.65 points, but Zagitova had won the short program Wednesday – giving her the edge by only 1.31 points.
“I can’t believe I am the champion,” Zagitova said.
The Russians’ gold drought German players celebrate after their 4-3 semifinal win over Canada on Friday in Gangneung, South Korea. Germany will face the Russians for gold.
had been one of the ongoing story lines of the games, and they were running out of time to get one – although those concerns were eased a bit by Zagitova and Medvedeva coming into the day in prime position to win.
Now, the Russians should have a great shot at another gold medal with the men’s hockey team advancing to the final after a 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic. They’ll face the Germans, who shocked two-time defending champion Canada 4-3 to advance to Sunday’s title game.
Germany jumped out to leads of 3-0 and 4-1 before Canada rallied to get back in the game during the third period. They came close, but will do no better than bronze when they face the Czech Republic today.
“We deserve to be there and the best team will win,” Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk said. “We will be ready for the game, for sure.”
Switzerland topped Canada to win the bronze medal in men’s curling. The gold-medal game between the U.S. and Sweden was this morning.
Kelsey Serwa of Canada won the gold in women’s skicross, adding to the silver she won four years ago in Sochi.
Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands took the men’s 1,000 meters in speedskating, edging Havard Lorentzen of Norway by 0.04 seconds. Nuis also won the 1,500 last week.