Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 09, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B3 SPORTS B3 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2014 MOSCOW - A Russian animal rights activist has been detained in central Moscow after he and two others protested the country's policy of killing stray dogs in Sochi. Three activists unfurled a banner near Red Square on Saturday that read " Bloody Olympics" and depicted a puppy covered in blood. A policeman approached and pulled the banner out of the activists' hands, and one man was detained while the other two fled. A year before the Sochi Olympics, municipal authorities announced a contract to " catch and dispose" of strays - a move animal rights activists have vehemently protested. While authorities pledged to give up the practice, companies have been hired to continue killing the dogs throughout the Games. OLYMPICS Canadian biathlete Jean- Philippe le Guellec finished fifth in 10- km sprint SOCHI, Russia - Still cursing the suspension that ruled her out of the Vancouver Games four years ago, German veteran Claudia Pechstein is back at the Olympics with a realistic shot at a recordbreaking win in Sunday's speedskating 3,000 metres. In a race featuring the last three Olympic gold medallists over the distance, 2006 winner Ireen Wust of the Netherlands and defending champion Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic will try to spoil Pechstein's party. The anger over being shut out of the 2010 Vancouver Games is still raw. The contested doping suspension was imposed because of suspicious blood levels but without a clear positive test. - The Associated Press 1 1 1 CANADA'S MEDAL COUNT GOLD SILVER BRONZE ( After five medal events) Nation G S B Tot Norway 2 1 1 4 Canada 1 1 1 3 Netherlands 1 1 1 3 United States 1 0 1 2 Austria 0 1 0 1 Sweden 0 1 0 1 Czech Republic 0 0 1 1 K RASNAYA POLYANA, Russia - Holding hands with her older sister, Chloe, Montreal teenager Justine Dufour- Lapointe waited to step on the top step of the Olympic podium. With Chloe winning silver, Justine called it a crazy and beautiful moment. For Canada, it was memorable. Moguls gold and silver for the effervescent freestyle skiers on the first day of competition at the Sochi Games. Older sister Maxime placed 12th on Saturday. As her younger sisters worked their way through the maze of media at the bottom of the hill under the lights at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, Maxime celebrated her 25th birthday nearby as midnight struck. Justine, 19, and Chloe, 22, dethroned reigning Olympic and world champion Hannah Kearney of the United States, relegating the queen of the moguls to bronze while leaving her in tears. The two sisters had near- flawless runs once the field was cut to six. Kearney made an error on a turn just after the first jump, then struggled to pull her run back. Justine skied third from last and posted a score of 22.44. Chloe went next, recording a 21.66. Then came Kearney, who could not produce the magic she has so often in the past. Her score was 21.49. " It's crazy. I love so much my sisters," said Justine, who becomes the youngest freestyle ski champion in Olympic history at 19 years 321 days. " We will always share that moment together forever. It's beautiful, just really beautiful." Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was 10th. Justine and Chloe are the third sisters to finish one- two in an event at the Winter Games. France's Christine and Marielle Goitschel won gold- silver in the ladies slalom in 1964 and then reversed the order in the giant slalom at the same Games. Austria's Doris Neuner edged sister Angelika to win gold in the luge in 1992. Canada won gold in women's moguls in 2006 ( Jenn Heil) and silver in 2002 ( Veronica Brenner). The gold and silver produced wild celebrations among family and friends watching. Yves Lapointe, their father, ran down part of the mixed zone with a Canadian flag flapping behind him. Maxime was serenaded with a chorus of Happy Birthday . On the podium, after the flower ceremony - the actual medals will be awarded today - Justine wiggled her hips as rock music blared over the loudspeakers. Later, as the media questioning continued, a Canadian team official with a cellphone hovered nearby. Prime Minister Stephen Harper wanted a word with the sisters. As the crowd thinned, smiling Canadians remained in front of the stands, still drinking in the moment. Kearney, the reigning world champion, was bidding to become the first freestyle skier to defend an Olympic title. Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau also has a chance to repeat in the men's moguls Monday. Bilodeau prevented Dale Begg- Smith from winning back- to- back gold in 2010, relegating the Canadian- born Australian to second. Kearney dethroned Heil in Vancouver, with the Canadian taking second. Justine's win means all 25 events in the history of Olympic freestyle skiing have been won by different athletes. Skeleton is the only other Olympic sport whose previous gold medals have been won by different athletes. Kearney, 27, was seen as the woman to beat here. In addition to her Olympic gold from Vancouver, she has won two world championships, three overall World Cup crowns and four World Cup moguls titles. The American has more than 50 World Cup podium finishes, including 37 wins. She captured 16 straight events over 2011- 2012, erasing Swedish alpine legend Ingemar Stenmark's record for the longest FIS World Cup win streak in all disciplines. But on Saturday, there was only tears despite becoming just the second American woman ( after Shannon Bahrke) to win two medals in Olympic moguls. " I made a huge mistake and you don't win a gold medal at the Olympic Games when you make a mistake," said Kearney, who apologized for her raw emotions saying, " I'm a girl." " It's tough to know your Olympic career is over and it didn't go as well as you wanted it to," she added. Kearney leads the current World Cup moguls standings with the sisters second ( Justine), third ( Chloe) and fifth ( Maxime). But she had a tough night, finishing seventh in Saturday's first run, which cut the field from 20 to 12, with a stumble at the same spot as the one that cost her in the final. She earned the best score in the middle run but was derailed in the final trip down the course. Asked if she would put the mistake behind her or replay it in her mind, Kearney said: " Right now, I would very much like to ski again." - The Canadian Press JAE C. HONG / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Canada's Justine Dufour- Lapointe ( right) is congratulated by sister Chloe after taking the first place in the women's moguls final Saturday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. A gold- silver sister act Canadian moguls duo all over the podium in dethroning American Kearney By Neil Davidson SERGEI GRITS / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Canada's Justine Dufour- Lapointe roars down the course during her gold- medal run. Pechstein seeks redemption Activist detained for protesting dog cull B_ 03_ Feb- 09- 14_ FP_ 01. indd B3 2/ 8/ 14 9: 22: 06 PM ;