Vancouver 2010 Brings Worst Ever Results for Team Russia

Team Russia showed in Vancouver the worst result in the history of Soviet and Russian athletic performance at Winter Olympic Games. Russia came 11^th with three golds, five silvers and seven bronzes.

Photo: Vancouver 2010 Brings Worst Ever Results for Team Russia

Vancouver 2010 Brings Worst Ever Results for Team Russia

For the first time ever, Russian athletes won only three golden medals. Russians have never had less than five golds before (Grenoble-1968 and Salt Lake City 2002). Team Russia did not make it in the top three of the winners only at three recent Olympics, but was fifth in Salt Lake City 2002 and fourth in Turin 2006.

The total number of medals - 15 – became the third worst result, which Russia showed in the history of Winter Olympics after Grenoble-1968 and Salt Lake City 2002, when the total of 13 medals were won (for each games). There were only 35 events during the Grenoble Games, whereas Soviet athletes won 12 percent of all medals. In 2002, there were 78 events with Russians taking 13 medals, or 5.5 percent. In 2010, Russians won 15 medals in 86 events – 5.8 percent. Therefore, Russians have shown their second worst Olympic result after 2002, All Sport news agency said.

Russian biathletes performed better in the team: they won two golds, one silver and one bronze. In biathlon, Russia came third (2-1-1) after Norway (3-2-0) and Germany (2-1-2).

As for cross country skiing, Russia won one gold, one silver and two bronze medals and earned the fourth place in for team Russia in this event after Norway (5-2-2), Sweden (3-2-2) and Germany (1-4-0).

In figure skating, Russia has only one silver won by Evgeny Plushenko in single skating and one bronze earned by Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin in pair skating. The last time, when Russia was left without gold medals in figure staking, took place in 1960. Russia shared the fifth and the sixth places with Japan (0-1-1). The top three in this event is: China (1-1-0), the USA (1-1-0) and Canada (1-0-1).

In speed skating, Russia’s Ivan Skobrev won a first medal for Russia in Vancouver: at a 5,000-meter race. He won a silver in 10,000-meter race placing Russia at the eighth position in this sports.

Russia ’s Ekaterina Ilyukhina surprisingly won the nation’s first-ever medal in snowboarding. She took a silver in PGS.

Alexander Tretyakov won a bronze medal in skeleton. In bobsleigh, Alexander Zubkov and Aleksey Voevoda won a bronze.

Russia won no medals in hockey, curling, luge, Nordic combined, ski jumping, freestyle skiing, short track, alpine skiing – eight of 15 sports. Team Russia won medals in seven events, but only two of the medals – biathlon and cross-country race – were gold.

All Sport

Russia Today: Vancouver Games over, Sochi's next!