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WINTER OLYMPICS

Russia beat Germany 4-3 to win Olympic men’s hockey gold

Russia ended a 26-year men's hockey title drought on Sunday, defeating Germany 4-3 in over-time in a dramatic championship game for the only gold medal by Russian men at the Pyeongchang Games.

Russia beat Germany 4-3 to win Olympic men's hockey gold
Photo: DPA

Kirill Kaprizov scored the “golden goal” that will be forever remembered in Russian hockey history 9:40 into the sudden-death extra period to produce the first Olympic gold for the Russians since the 1992 Unified Team.

Germany finish second overall in the medals table after the final events were concluded in Pyeongchang.

Winter Olympics legend Marit Bjørgen lifted Norway top of the final Pyeongchang medals table on Sunday by winning her second gold and fifth medal at the games in the women's 30km cross country mass start, extending her record Winter Olympics career tally to 15.

Bjørgen's victory handed Norway their 14th gold to overtake Germany in the final medal count, after the German team won the four-man bobsleigh earlier on Sunday.

Germany also finished on 14 golds, but Norway take top spot in the overall medals table with their record 39 medals to Germany's 31. Canada are third with 11 golds, while hosts South Korea are seventh.

The Russian players were heard singing the Russian national anthem on the ice after their dramatic final win — apparently contravening rules governing their participation as neutrals, following a major doping scandal.

However, the International Olympic Committee had already voted to maintain Russia's ban pending the results of final dope tests from Pyeongchang, meaning the Russians cannot wave their national flag at Sunday's closing ceremony.

READ ALSO: 'Don't gloat': Germans get Canada travel advice after Olympic hockey shock

WINTER OLYMPICS

Italy vs Sweden: Who will host the 2026 Winter Olympics?

International Olympic Committee members will decide on Monday between bids by Stockholm-Are and Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo in the race to host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

Italy vs Sweden: Who will host the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Cortina d'Ampezzo, which hosted the Winter Games in 1956. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

The vote to choose a winner from the Swedish and Italian rivals is expected to be closer than the 2015 vote when Beijing beat the Kazakh city Almaty to land the 2022 Winter Games.

READ ALSO: Polls show Italians more enthusiastic about Winter Games bid than Swedes

On the road to the 2026 decision, bids from Calgary, Graz in Austria, Japan's Sapporo and Sion in Switzerland have fallen by the wayside, mainly because of concerns over the cost or a lack of popular support. A bid by the Turkish ski resort of Erzurum was ruled out by the IOC in October 2018.

The bid by Stockholm and the Are ski area — which hosted the World Ski Championships in February — appeared to be running out of steam a few months ago due to a lack of funding commitments, but the government has now swung behind it.

On the eve of the vote, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said after meeting IOC president Thomas Bach: “Sweden is ready to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2026 and the Swedish government is very supportive.”


Sweden presents its bid. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

“While organising a great Games, we can end the age of extremely costly Olympics that threaten welfare spending and leave a trail of underused structures and public resentment,” the Swedish prime minister said. “You wanted change; we will deliver this change.” 

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte followed the Swedes with his pitch for Milan on Monday.

“Our bid is worthy of the highest consideration,” Conte told delegates. “If Italy is chosen, then work will start from this evening so that our Games leave a mark on history.

“This is the dream of an entire country, and not only the government but also the regions.”

Italy's champion skier Sofia Goggia was in Lausanne to back the Italian bid. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

Italian Olympic 500m short track speed skating champion Arianna Fontana highlighted the climate advantages of the bid. “Milan-Cortina will be the sunny part of the Winter Olympics, with an average ten hours of sunlight every day,” she said.

Michela Moioli, Olympic snowboard champion in 2018, added: “The whole country believes in us; it's your turn to believe in us.” 

A total of 82 IOC members are reportedly likely to cast votes in the ballot to decide the host city, meaning a simple majority of 42 will be required to win.

Italy has twice hosted the Winter Olympics — in 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo and 2006 in Turin. Sweden has only hosted the Summer Olympics, in 1912 in Stockholm. 

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