Norway moved top of the Winter Games medal table in record-equalling fashion on Sunday in Pyeongchang, while a Russian medallist is suspected of returning an adverse analytical finding in a doping test.
Golds in both freestyle skiing, through Oystein Braaten, and in men’s cross-country skiing relay helped move Norway ahead of Germany in the medal table and mean the Nordic powerhouse now has 26 medals in all events in Pyeongchang – matching its record set in the Lillehammer home Games of 1994.
Braaten delivered a first-ever freestyle skiing gold for Norway with his slopestyle victory but, in the cross-country-crazed country, the men’s 4×10-kilometre relay triumph will be even sweeter.
“It has been a long time since Norway took gold in the relay,” team member Simen Hegstad Krueger said. “It was one of the most important races for us at the Olympics.”
Norway’s women won their relay Saturday, giving the Scandinavian nation wins in both relays for the first time in 50 years.
The Norwegians now top the medal table with nine golds, nine silvers and eight bronzes, with Germany next (9-5-4) and the Netherlands third (6-5-2).
While the Norwegians are moving up the medal standings, the Russians could move down as curling mixed doubles bronze winner Alexandr Krushelnitckii returned an adverse finding for meldonium, according to Russian media.
“It is extremely disappointing when prohibited substances might have been used, but on the other hand it shows the effectiveness of the anti-doping system at the Games, which protects the rights of all the clean athletes,” the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement.
Earlier the IOC executive director for the Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi, expressed satisfaction as the halfway mark was reached.
“The organizers are doing a very good job,” Dubi said. “The first days were very tense but they coped very well. They proved they were ready despite very adverse weather.”
Organizers also said the number of norovirus cases has risen by 14 to 275 in Pyeongchang Olympics areas.
On the slopes, Austrian great Marcel Hirscher cruised to his second gold of the Games after securing victory in the alpine skiing men’s giant slalom.
“I’m very thankful to now finally have two gold medals,” the multiple world champion said. “It’s good to now be really in the first position.”
Japan’s Nao Kodaira ended the Dutch hegemony of speed skating in the women’s 500m and Oleksandr Abramenko earned Ukraine a first medal by winning the men’s freestyle skiing aerials.
And in one of the closest decisions of the Games, Martin Fourcade won the men’s mass start biathlon by 18 thousandths of a second from German Simon Schempp, to become joint-best French Olympian with four golds, along with fencers Christian d’Oriola and Lucien Gaudin.