Winter Olympics: An Ethiopian, a Russian and a Duff walk into an Olympics

A derailed snowboarder, a dreadlocked Ethiopian and a Siberian mother who faces a criminal inquiry into taking drugs were the unlikely limelight hoggers of the Winter Olympics yesterday.

They were joined later by record-breaking skeleton slider Duff Gibson of Canada, who, at the age of 39, became the oldest gold medallist in an individual event in the history of Winter Olympics. Gibson promptly retired.

Order was restored in the women's ice hockey when defending champions Canada beat Finland 6-0 to set up a final on Monday with Sweden, who stunned the US 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out.

American snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis will leave with a silver medal and cross-country skier Robel Teklemariam, who became the first Ethiopian to take part in a Winter Games, departs with a slice of history under his belt and pride intact.

For Russian biathlete Olga Pyleva, her sojourn at the Olympics was fast turning into a nightmare as further bad news was heaped on her shoulders 24 hours after she had been expelled from the Games following a positive drugs test.

First, the Italian judiciary said her case would be the subject of an inquiry.

Then the International Biathlon Association held a hearing and banned her from the sport for two years.

Pyleva, 30, who has a nine-year-old son and had won a silver on Monday in the women's 15k individual, said she was planning to retire anyway but news of possible legal proceedings was another matter altogether.

"What? There is a case against me?" a shocked Pyleva asked reporters.

She is a gold medallist from the last Games in Salt Lake City in 2002 and one of the sport's most respected competitors but medicine prescribed by her home doctor contained a banned stimulant which led to her mounting problems.

"I want to say that I have never intentionally used any banned substances. It is a huge and horrible mistake," she said.

In Pragelato, Teklemariam would have had some sympathy for Pyleva after a scare of his own at the Games but was busy shepherding questions from reporters after finishing 84th in the cross-country skiing classical event.

The 31-year-old Ethiopian was cleared to race having served a five-day suspension for an abnormally high red blood-cell count.

Andrus Veerpalu of Estonia retained his Olympic title in the race to give Estonia their third cross-country skiing gold medal of the Turin Games.

Switzerland's Tanja Frieden grabbed a victory in the first Olympics women's snowboard cross after race leader Jacobellis of the US fell on the final straight.

Jacobellis recovered to take silver and Canada's Dominique Maltais claimed bronze.

- REUTERS