SOCHI, Russia (AP) ― Different American, same result for Maria Hoefl-Riesch ― another Olympic gold in the super-combined.

Just as she did four years ago at the Vancouver Games, Hoefl-Riesch found herself trailing an American after the downhill leg before using her slalom skills to vault into first place and successfully defend her Olympic title in the dual-run event.

The German finished less than a second ahead of both silver medalist Nicole Hosp of Austria and Julia Mancuso of the United States, who won the bronze. Mancuso won silver in the event in Vancouver.

Lindsey Vonn had the fastest downhill time in Vancouver, but when Vonn skied out on the slalom, Hoefl-Riesch roared back to claim gold. This time, Vonn is out with an injury, and Mancuso replaced her at the top the standings after the downhill.

Also on Day 4 of the Sochi Olympics, Charles Hamelin of Canada raced to the 1,500-meter short track speedskating gold, and Viktor Ahn earned the bronze to give Russia its first-ever short track medal; Michel Mulder of the Netherlands earned the 500-meter speedskating gold; Martin Fourcade won the 12.5-kilometer biathlon pursuit; and Alex Bilodeau won his second consecutive gold medal in men’s moguls.

Ovechkin lands in Sochi, practices

SOCHI, Russia (AP) ― A few hours after Alex Ovechkin awoke on the NHL’s chartered luxury jet Monday, he was among the first Russians on the Olympic ice for practice.

Ovechkin has been waiting several years for the chance to play for gold at his home Olympics, and Russia’s most fearsome goal-scorer couldn’t wait another minute to get started.

“Of course it’s a huge honor for me to represent my country,” said Ovechkin, who wore custom skates featuring the Russian flag at the Bolshoy Ice Dome. “I’m pretty sure every athlete wants to represent his country at the Olympic games.”

But almost no Winter Olympics athletes are as well-known as Ovechkin, whose tooth-deficient grin is plastered on advertisements throughout Sochi. The Washington Capitals superstar publicly stumped for Sochi’s Olympic bid in 2007, and he was the first Russian to carry the Olympic torch after it was lit in Greece last September.

He had long declared he would play in Sochi even if the NHL didn’t interrupt its schedule for the games ― but when he finally arrived in Sochi, Ovechkin proved even he isn’t immune to jetlag.

Canada makes stuttering start

SOCHI, Russia (AP) ― Maybe the men’s Olympic curling tournament won’t be such a procession for Canada, after all.

After becoming the first team in Canada’s storied curling history to go through Olympic trials unbeaten, Brad Jacobs’ rink was justifiably regarded as the overwhelming gold-medal favorite for the Sochi Games.

It’s not turning out that way.

On a sobering opening day of action at the Ice Cube Curling Center, the Canadians only scraped past unheralded Germany 11-8 and followed that with a surprise 5-4 loss to Switzerland in the evening session.

“We didn’t curl well at all and got what we deserved,” Canada player Ryan Harnden said. “We’re not sharp, not in a rhythm, not making our shots.”

The Canadians’ struggles have given renewed hope to their rivals ― not least Sweden, which tops the standings with a 2-for-2 record.