South Korea's Kim Yu-Na bids to become just the third woman to win back-to-back Olympic figure skating titles Thursday as the Sochi Games felt shockwaves from Ukraine's bloody civil unrest.
Kim, 23, opened up a narrow 0.28 point lead over Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova in Wednesday's short programme as she attempts to join fellow double winners, Norway's Sonja Henie and Germany's Katarina Witt, in the record books.
Fifteen-year-old Julia Lipnitskaia, carrying the burden of Russian hopes after the quarter-final exit of the country's vaunted ice hockey team, found the pressure too much and is down in fifth place after falling.
However, 17-year-old national champion Sotnikova lifted home hopes with a rousing skate to "Carmen", which brought the 17,000-capacity crowd at Iceberg Skating Palace to their feet.
Italy's Carolina Kostner is sitting third with 74.12 points, with less than a point separating the top three skaters.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian alpine skier and her coach pulled out of the Olympics on Thursday in protest at the authorities' deadly use of force against the protests in Kiev.
Armed protesters stormed police barricades in the capital on Thursday in renewed violence that killed at least 26 people.
Bogdana Matsotska and her coach Oleg Matsotskiy, who is also her father, said they were "outraged" by the refusal of President Viktor Yanukovych to favour dialogue.
"In a sign of protest... against the bandit-like actions against protesters, we are taking no further part in the Sochi Olympics in 2014," Oleg Matsotskiy wrote on his Facebook page in a statement in the name of himself and his daughter.
Russia's ice hockey flops were feeling the heat of an angry media after they crashed out of the quarter-finals on Wednesday for the second successive Games, losing 3-1 to Finland.
"Shameful for a world power," screamed a headline in Sovietsky Sport.
The Moskovskiy Komsomolets complained: "The Russian team were knocked out with an inglorious defeat."
- France's first podium sweep -
Six gold medals were up for grabs on Thursday with the women's ice hockey final again featuring Canada, who have won the past three gold medals, against the United States, the winners of four of the past five world titles.
In men's freestyle ski cross, Jean Frederic Chapuis led home a French clean sweep ahead of Arnaud Bovolenta and Jonathan Midol.
It was France's first winter podium sweep and also made the Sochi Games the country's most successful with 14 medals so far.
World champions Britain sealed bronze in women's curling with a 6-5 win over Switzerland. Eve Muirhead's team are the youngest ever medallists with an average age of 23 years 255 days.
"It was a slow start as the girls were trying too hard to curl, but they kept it as close as they could," said British team coach David Hay.
"The Swiss girls were playing to a gameplan. We just had to have the patience to wait and wait until we got our break."
Canada will face Sweden in the gold medal match.
The Swedes have the opportunity to win their third consecutive women's gold, while Canada can win a first gold since the late Sandra Schmirler skipped her world champion team to the Olympic title at Nagano in 1998.
Norway beat Germany by a fraction of a second in a thrilling final sprint to take gold in the men's nordic combined team relay for the first time since Nagano in 1998.
Maddie Bowman of the United States is among the favourites in women's freestyle halfpipe, a new event at Sochi.
South Korea’s Kim Yu-Na bids to become just the third woman to win back-to-back Olympic figure skating titles Thursday as the Sochi Games felt shockwaves from Ukraine’s bloody civil unrest.
Kim, 23, opened up a narrow 0.28 point lead over Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova in Wednesday’s short programme as she attempts to join fellow double winners, Norway’s Sonja Henie and Germany’s Katarina Witt, in the record books.
Fifteen-year-old Julia Lipnitskaia, carrying the burden of Russian hopes after the quarter-final exit of the country’s vaunted ice hockey team, found the pressure too much and is down in fifth place after falling.
However, 17-year-old national champion Sotnikova lifted home hopes with a rousing skate to “Carmen”, which brought the 17,000-capacity crowd at Iceberg Skating Palace to their feet.
Italy’s Carolina Kostner is sitting third with 74.12 points, with less than a point separating the top three skaters.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian alpine skier and her coach pulled out of the Olympics on Thursday in protest at the authorities’ deadly use of force against the protests in Kiev.
Armed protesters stormed police barricades in the capital on Thursday in renewed violence that killed at least 26 people.
Bogdana Matsotska and her coach Oleg Matsotskiy, who is also her father, said they were “outraged” by the refusal of President Viktor Yanukovych to favour dialogue.
“In a sign of protest… against the bandit-like actions against protesters, we are taking no further part in the Sochi Olympics in 2014,” Oleg Matsotskiy wrote on his Facebook page in a statement in the name of himself and his daughter.
Russia’s ice hockey flops were feeling the heat of an angry media after they crashed out of the quarter-finals on Wednesday for the second successive Games, losing 3-1 to Finland.
“Shameful for a world power,” screamed a headline in Sovietsky Sport.
The Moskovskiy Komsomolets complained: “The Russian team were knocked out with an inglorious defeat.”
– France’s first podium sweep –
Six gold medals were up for grabs on Thursday with the women’s ice hockey final again featuring Canada, who have won the past three gold medals, against the United States, the winners of four of the past five world titles.
In men’s freestyle ski cross, Jean Frederic Chapuis led home a French clean sweep ahead of Arnaud Bovolenta and Jonathan Midol.
It was France’s first winter podium sweep and also made the Sochi Games the country’s most successful with 14 medals so far.
World champions Britain sealed bronze in women’s curling with a 6-5 win over Switzerland. Eve Muirhead’s team are the youngest ever medallists with an average age of 23 years 255 days.
“It was a slow start as the girls were trying too hard to curl, but they kept it as close as they could,” said British team coach David Hay.
“The Swiss girls were playing to a gameplan. We just had to have the patience to wait and wait until we got our break.”
Canada will face Sweden in the gold medal match.
The Swedes have the opportunity to win their third consecutive women’s gold, while Canada can win a first gold since the late Sandra Schmirler skipped her world champion team to the Olympic title at Nagano in 1998.
Norway beat Germany by a fraction of a second in a thrilling final sprint to take gold in the men’s nordic combined team relay for the first time since Nagano in 1998.
Maddie Bowman of the United States is among the favourites in women’s freestyle halfpipe, a new event at Sochi.
