BEIJING (AP) — A roundup of gold medals from Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Beijing Games:
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CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING
MEN'S 30KM MASS START
Alexander Bolshunov sprinted to his third Olympic gold medal, winning a 30-kilometer mass start cross-country ski race that was rescheduled and shortened because of strong wind and frigid temperatures.
The Russian was part of a five-man breakaway in the final kilometer. He pushed ahead on the final climb into the stadium, taking the title in 1 hour, 11 minutes, 32.7 seconds.
Russian teammate Ivan Yakimushkin crossed the line 5.5 seconds behind for silver, and Simen Hegstad Krueger of Norway took bronze, 7 seconds behind.
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CURLING
MEN'S
Four years after losing in the Pyeongchang final to American upstart John Shuster, Niklas Edin led Sweden to the gold medal on Saturday, beating Britain 5-4 in the first extra-end men’s final in Olympic history.
With the medal podium already set up, and Canada standing by to collect the bronze it won Friday by ending the Americans’ repeat hopes, Edin took advantage of the last-rock advantage in the first tiebreaker end and put his penultimate stone into the center of the target area.
When British skip Bruce Mouat failed to knock it out on a ricochet, the Swedes had clinched it. They paused — it’s not polite to celebrate an opponent’s miss — and then let out a yell.
Their alternate and coaching staff hurried down to the ice to join the celebration.
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FREESTYLE SKIING
MEN'S HALFPIPE
Nico Porteous of New Zealand overcame the swirling wind to win the Olympic ski halfpipe final on a day when many skiers couldn’t land their best tricks due to the strong gusts.
Porteous scored a 93 in his opening run on a bitterly cold and breezy morning in the last event at the Genting Snow Park. His score held up in tough conditions where skiers struggled to link big air and spins.
Two-time Olympic champion David Wise took home the silver with his first-run score of 90.75. The 31-year-old Wise was the only winner the men’s event had ever known. Alex Ferreira of the United States threw down a strong first run, twirling his right ski pole at the bottom in elation, to end up with the bronze.
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SPEEDSKATING
MEN'S MASS START
Bart Swings of Belgium captured the gold medal in the final men’s speedskating event of the Beijing Olympics, the mass start.
Swings improved on the silver medal he won in the frenetic event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. South Korea grabbed the other medals, with Chung Jae Won taking the silver and defending Olympic champion Lee Seung Hoon settling for bronze this time.
Three-time world champion Joey Mantia of the United States just missed out on a medal. He posted the same time as Lee, but the replay showed the tip of the South Korean’s skate crossed the line just ahead of Mantia’s blade.
WOMEN'S MASS START
Irene Schouten of the Netherlands won her third gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, outsprinting Canada’s Ivanie Blondin to win the women’s mass start.
In the final speedskating event of the Winter Games, Schouten established herself as the biggest star at the Ice Ribbon with a furious push to line to beat Blondin by 0.06 seconds.
Schouten let out a scream as she crossed the line, adding to her gold medals in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters. In a nifty bookend, she won the first and last speedskating events in Beijing.
Blondin settled for the silver, while the bronze went to Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida.
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The Associated Press
