(Adds Shiffrin quote in fourth paragraph. See OLY <GO> for Olympic coverage. Click here for medals standings.)
Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- American Mikaela Shiffrin won the women’s slalom by more than half a second at the Sochi Winter Olympics as Ukraine won its first gold of the games, upsetting two-time champion Russian in a biathlon relay.
The 18-year-old Shiffrin, who nearly fell in her second run, finished 0.53 seconds ahead of Austria’s Marlies Schild. Fellow Austrian Kathrin Zettel was third. Germany’s Maria Hoefl- Riesch, the event’s defending champion, was fourth.
Shiffrin, a native of Vail, Colorado, is making her first Olympic appearance, and finished sixth in the women’s giant slalom three days ago. She’s the world champion in the slalom.
“This has been a dream of mine for a very long time,” Shiffrin told reporters after the race. Her near crash “was a crazy moment. I was going very fast and I thought I was not going to make it, it scared me.”
Earlier today, the German and Italian Olympic committees said athletes failed a drug test at the Games, which are entering their final weekend.
Ukraine’s gold medal -- only its second in a Winter Games - - in the women’s biathlon relay came at the expense of Russia, which had won at the 2006 and 2010 Games. Norway finished third in the 4x6-kilometer event.
Ukrainian Records
The Ukrainians, who finished sixth in the event in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, won by 26.4 seconds over the Russians, the two-time defending champions. Russia’s Olga Zaitseva was attempting to be the first woman to win three gold medals in a single event in biathlon.
Vita Semernko -- who took bronze in the biathlon 7.5- kilometer sprint event -- became the first Ukrainian athlete to win multiple medals at the winter Games. Ice skater Oksana Bayul won a gold in figure skating at the 1994 Games for the nation.
In the doping cases, the German athlete Evi Sachenbacher- Stehle, a 33-year-old who finished fourth in the women’s biathlon 12.5-kilometer race, was identified in a statement on the website of the country’s Olympic committee. Italian bobsled athlete William was replaced on the team, the country’s national Olympic committee said on its website.
The U.S. is atop the standings with 25 medals after winning the women’s ski halfpipe yesterday and getting silver in hockey. Russia, with a gold in women’s figure skating, is second with 24, and Canada has 23, one more than the Netherlands and Norway, which has the most gold medals with 10.
Hockey Semifinals
Today, there will be seven gold medals awarded, including three short-track speedskating events.
The U.S. and Canadian men’s hockey teams are playing in the semifinals. Sweden advanced to the men’s hockey final with a 2-1 win over Finland, and will face the winner of that match for the gold medal.
Erik Karlsson and Loui Eriksson scored second-period goals for Sweden, the 2006 Olympic champion. Olli Jokinen had Finland’s goal earlier in the second period.
Finland was missing its top goaltender, Tuukka Rask, who was scratched with what team officials said was the flu. He was replaced by Karl Lehtonen.
Canadian Medals
In today’s first medal race, Canada’s Marielle Thompson and Kelsey Serwa swept the top two places in the women’s ski cross finals, with Sweden’s Anna Holmlund taking third.
Thompson, 21, and Serwa, 24, led for most of the race as France’s Ophelie David hovered behind before crashing on an attempted landing in the middle of the race, allowing Holmlund to take third.
“I’m really excited,” Thompson said. “I’m so glad I get to share this moment with Kelsey. I’m so glad that I could bring it home for Canada.”
Canada also won its third-straight gold medal in men’s curling, defeating Britain 9-3. Sweden won the bronze, overcoming China 6-4. Canada’s victory means it swept the golds in the event, the country’s women winning yesterday.
To contact the reporters on this story: Christopher Elser in Sochi at celser@bloomberg.net; Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net
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