SOCHI: Four Ukrainian women gave their violence-wracked nation some good news at the Sochi Games on Friday, and Canada delivered more bad news to the United States — yet another Olympic hockey defeat.

There will be few more popular winners at Russia’s first Winter Games than the women’s biathlon relay team from Ukraine, who edged out the hosts at the end of a week when anti-government protests had left at least 77 people dead.

A Ukrainian skier had already pulled out of Sochi in protest at President Viktor Yanukovich’s handling of the crisis, and other athletes from the team said they struggled to focus as their country went up in flames.

“When I was on the podium I couldn’t stop crying. I tried to calm down and was trying to hide it behind my skis. They were tears of happiness, not only mine, but of the whole country, our team,” team member Valj Semerenko told reporters.

“We are so happy that the people of Ukraine are happy back home and that something good happened for our country,” added Olga Pidhrushna.

The president of Ukraine’s Olympic Committee, former pole vault great Sergey Bubka, said the gold medal — the nation’s first gold medal in two decades — could help unite his country and bring peace after days of clashes between security forces and protesters as lawmakers back home paused to mark the occasion.

Ukraine’s only other Winter Olympic gold medal was won by figure skater Oksana Baiul in the women’s individual event at the Lillehammer Games in 1994.

“We are proud of them. We supported from the stands with our ribbons of grief and our flags on which were written, ‘For Peace! For Ukraine!’” said Bubka. “Great proof of how sport can unite the nation.”

There were no celebrations for the US hockey team, with Canada winning 1-0 in their semi-final at the futuristic Bolshoy Ice Dome and dashing the American hopes for men’s gold for the third time since 2002.

And it happened just one night after the Canadian women had ousted their American counterparts for the third straight Olympics.

Jamie Benn scored early in the second period and Carey Price stopped 31 shots for Canada, who are trying to win their first gold medal outside North America since 1952 in Oslo.In the other semi-final, Sweden beat Finland 2-1, and they meet the Canadians in the final event of the Games on Sunday evening played just hours before the closing ceremony.

Under the floodlights on the mountains at Rosa Khutor, American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin showed nerves of steel to add Olympic slalom gold to her world title.

“This has been a dream of mine for a very long time,” said Shiffrin, who at the age of 18 years and 345 days became the youngest Olympic slalom champion. “I’m so happy to be in this position.”

Marielle Thompson edged team-mate Kelsey Serwa for the gold in women’s skicross and gave Canada their third 1-2 finish in freestyle skiing events in Sochi. The others came in men’s and women’s moguls.

In the short track speed skating, Russia’s Viktor Ahn added two more golds to his impressive tally in the men’s 5,000 metres relay and the individual 500 metres events.

It takes his Olympic gold medal haul to six, three for South Korea and three for his adopted country Russia. His feat propelled Russia to second in the overall medals table with nine golds, one behind Norway.

South Korea’s Park Seung-Hi took the women’s 1,000m title while Canada routed Britain 9-3 to win their third straight gold medal in men’s curling.

The first doping cases also hit the Winter Games on Friday. Italian bobsledder William Frullani and German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle were kicked out of the games after positive doping tests.—Agencies