Support The Moscow Times!

Russia's Adopted Snowboard Golden Boy Wild Wins Second Gold

Snowboarder Vic Wild posing with the Russian flag after his second Olympic victory on Saturday. Mikhail Makrushin

Vic Wild won his second gold medal at the Sochi Olympics on Saturday, beating Slovenia's Zan Kosir to win the parallel slalom title in snowboarding.

Wild, the surprise winner of the giant slalom on Wednesday, was 0.11 seconds quicker than giant slalom bronze medalist Koser over the course of two runs at a sun-drenched Extreme Park.

Wild, a native American, called the win "beyond believable."

"When I came to the Olympics and showed up I had already won. To win the other day was the greatest feeling of my life. I can't believe it," Wild said.

Wild appeared to have lost his chance of gold when he slipped in the semifinal against Austria's Benjamin Karl, but an impressive second run saw the Washington state native make up the 1,12-second deficit to sneak into the final.

Karl took the bronze when his opponent, Aaron March of Italy, quit his run early after a slip.

Slovenia's world champion Rok Marguc tore through a gate early in his quarterfinal and was eliminated.

Nevin Galmarini, the Swiss silver medalist in the giant slalom, took too tight a line through one gate and was unable to make the next, losing his quarterfinal heat to Kosir.

Wild's surprise first victory in the parallel giant slalom event on Wednesday came minutes after his wife Alena Zavarzina won bronze in the women's event.

Read more