SOCHI, Russia (AP) ― Teemu Selanne led his team around the ice, with a bronze medal draped around his neck, after he finished off his sixth Olympics with a sweet victory.
If the Finnish Flash is retiring and hanging up his skates after the NHL season, he picked a pretty good way to go out on the world’s stage.
Selanne scored two goals and Tuukka Rask had a 27-save shutout, helping Finland rout the United States 5-0 Saturday to win hockey bronze at the Sochi Games.
The 43-year-old, smooth-skating forward with a lightning-quick shot and Jussi Jokinen scored 11 seconds apart early in pivotal second period.
Selanne and his teammates were not finished, scoring three goals in the third against a team that looked like it would rather be at home.
“It was just something special,” Selanne said. “I’m so proud.”
The Americans, meanwhile, were humiliated.
“I’m kind of embarrassed where we’re at now,” U.S. defenseman Ryan Suter said.
Austrian skier out of games for EPO
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) ― Austrian cross-country skier Johannes Duerr was kicked out of the Sochi Games on Sunday after testing positive for EPO. It is the fifth doping case ― and most serious so far ― at the Olympics.
“It is a black day for us,” Austrian Olympic Committee president Karl Stoss said at a news conference on the final day of the games.
Duerr finished eighth in the men’s skiathlon on Feb. 9 and was tested seven days later in Austria, where he had flown back for training. He returned to Sochi and had been due to compete in the 50-kilometer mass start Sunday, the final cross-country event.
“We are shocked by this announcement and took the appropriate measures right away,” Stoss said in a statement. “We’ve told the athlete and informed him about his rights, his accreditation has been pulled and he has been excluded from the Olympic team with immediate effect. Duerr is already on his way home.”
EPO is used to boost red blood cells that carry oxygen to the muscles, increasing stamina and endurance. The four other cases involved minor stimulants that can be found in food supplements.
Bjoergen leads Norway sweep
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) ― Marit Bjoergen became the most decorated female Winter Olympian in history Saturday by leading a Norwegian sweep in the women’s 30-kilometer cross-country ski race at the Sochi Games.
Bjoergen won her sixth Olympic gold, to go with three silvers and a bronze. Her career total of 10 puts her ahead of Russian cross-country skier Lyubov Egorova, who had six golds and three silvers. Two other women ― Stafania Belmondo of Italy and Soviet skier Raisa Smetanina ― also have 10 medals in cross-country, but fewer golds.
The Norwegian women finally displayed their dominance of the sport on Sunday, as Bjoergen pulled away from teammate Therese Johaug heading into the stadium and sprinted alone to win her third gold of the Sochi Olympics. She also won three gold medals in Vancouver. Johaug took silver and Kristin Stoermer Steira was third. The three Norwegians pulled away after the 10-kilometer mark and then built a lead of more than a minute on the rest of the field. “It’s incredible. We’re all Norwegian and we’re all on the podium,” Bjoergen said. “This has been a goal for me for a long time.”
Mario Matt wins historic gold
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) ― One racer called the course “borderline unsportsmanlike.” Another said it was “brutal.” Five of the top eight skiers in the opening leg failed to even finish the second.
Leave it to 34-year-old Mario Matt to handle the tough gates and soft snow better than anyone.
The Austrian veteran added a safe second run to his fantastic first run, and won the Olympic slalom Saturday night to become the oldest Alpine gold medalist in Winter Games history.
“We are used to tricky course-setting,” Matt said, “but today, I have to say, it was a lot.”
In the last Alpine event, Matt’s combined time of 1 minute, 41.84 seconds allowed him to edge the runner-up, Austrian teammate Marcel Hirscher, by 0.28 seconds. They raised their ski-loving country’s total to an Alpine-leading nine medals in Sochi, quite a turnaround after only four ― zero for the men ― at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
