PYEONGCHANG, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Snow sports power Norway grabbed two gold medals on Sunday to top the medals table of the PyeongChang Winter Games.
Norway, the cross-country-crazed country, first saw its 16-year gold medal drought in the men's 4x10-kilometer relay come to an end, and then claimed another gold through Oystein Braaten in freestyle skiing men's slopestyle.
The team of Didrik Toenseth, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Simen Hegstad Krueger and Klaebo won the race in 1 hour, 33 minutes and 4.9 seconds.
"It has been a long time since Norway took gold in the relay," team member Simen Hegstad Krueger said. "It was one of the most important races for us at the Olympics."
"It's going well," said Norwegian coach Tor Arne Hetland. "It's the national sport in Norway, so of course it is an important sport for us."
"In the individual races you are skiing for yourself. In the relay you are skiing for the team, for the older skiers and the whole country," Hetland added.
In freestyle skiing men's slopestyle, Braaten set his leading position with 95.00 points in the first run, an intact score throughout the competition.
The Norwegians now top the medals table with nine golds, nine silvers and eight bronzes, with Germany next (9-5-4) and the Netherlands third (6-5-2).
In Alpine skiing, Austrian star Marcel Hirscher won his second gold medal as he claimed the men's giant slalom.
"Now it pays off," said Hirscher. "The first Olympics, they were not so successful. I mean, finishing fourth and fifth, it was OK. The next Olympics, in Sochi, second and fourth place. So a lot of fourth place. And now, I think it pays off."
Hirscher, who won the combined event on Tuesday, maintained his top place after the first run and posted the winning total of 2 minutes and 18.04 seconds.
He became the 10th men's Alpine skier to win multiple gold medals at a single Winter Games, and the first since 2006.
In speed skating, Nao Kodaira of Japan broke the Olympic record on her way of winning the women's 500 meters title. Having claimed victory in each of her last 15 World Cup appearances in the women's 500m from 2016 to 2018, reigning world champion Kodaira recorded a winning time of 36.94 seconds, shattering the old Olympic record of 37.28 seconds set by South Korean Lee Sang-Hwa at the Sochi Games four years ago.
Kodaira, also the silver medalist in Wednesday's 1,000m race, became the second Japanese speed skater to win an Olympic gold behind Hiroyasu Shimizu, who reaped the title of the men's 500m in Nagano in 1998.
Ukraine's Oleksandr Abramenko made history by becoming the first man to win an individual Winter Olympic medal for Ukraine when he edged China's Jia Zongyang in a tight freestyle skiing men's aerials final.
"I still can't believe that I actually earned a gold medal," Abramenko said. "I was hoping for any medal really."
Jia claimed China's fifth silver. Jia said: "For our team, I felt a little bit disappointed, especially for the hard work we have done during the past four years. For me, I did my best. I have to be satisfied with the result. The other competitors were also very strong."
China, the next host of the Winter Olympics, is placed at 19th with five siver and one bronze medals.
