Hanyu wins skating gold, Ledecka stuns in super-G

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA » Yuzuru Hanyu made Olympic figure skating history with a strong — and expected — performance in the men’s free skate.

Meanwhile, Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic stunned everyone, including herself, by winning the gold in the women’s super-G.

On a busy Saturday at the Pyeongchang Olympics, Switzerland’s Sarah Hoefflin won the women’s slopestyle skiing event, Norway was victorious in the women’s cross-country relay, and Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kuzmina won the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon.

In short-track speedskating, South Korea’s Choi Min-jeong got the victory in the women’s 1,500 meters, while Canada’s Samuel Girard won the men’s 1,000 meters.

In Gangneung, Hanyu became the first man to repeat as Olympic champion since Dick Button in 1952 after also winning in Sochi in 2014. He also won the 1,000th gold medal in Winter Games history.

“This is the best day of my skating life,” Hanyu said. “My tears were from my heart. I can find one word and that is ‘happy.’”

He held off Japanese teammate Shoma Uno and Spain’s Javier Fernandez for the victory.

A gracious Hanyu told Fernandez that he wished they both could have won.

“I told him, ‘Yes, Yuzu, but only one can be champion. Only one can have the gold medal,’” Fernandez said.

In Jeongseon, Ledecka simply couldn’t believe she was No. 1 on the videoboard standings moments after crossing the finish line.

Her time of 1 minute, 21.11 seconds was just 0.01 seconds faster than Austria’s Anna Veith, the defending Olympic champion. While Veith was one of the favorites, the 22-year-old Ledecka was a low-ranked competitor who was considered a better contender for a medal in snowboarding.

She’s now an Olympic champion.

“Is this a kind of mistake?” Ledecka said when asked what immediately went through her mind. “OK, they’re going to change the time. I’m going to wait for a little bit, and you’re going to switch and (add) some more seconds.” Nope, not quite. American star Lindsey Vonn, who tied for sixth in her first event in Pyeongchang, echoed the sentiments of Ledecka — and just about everyone else.

“Definitely shocking,” Vonn said.

In men’s hockey, the United States had a rough night in a 4-0 loss to the “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”

It was a convincing win for the Russians, who outplayed, outhit and outclassed the United States in a game that wrapped up pool play for each team.

Because of the loss, the U.S. must play in Tuesday’s qualification round.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored two goals for the Russians. U.S. goaltender Ryan Zapolski allowed four goals on 26 shots, including Kovalchuk’s goals.