Yagudin earns four perfect 6.0s in golden show

Alexei Yagudin earned four perfect 6.0s and the men's figure skating title on the sixth day of the Salt Lake City Olympics on Thursday.

The 21-year-old Russian, who becomes the first individual skater to record more than two perfect scores in Winter Games, punctuated his dramatic routine with two quadruple toe-loops and six triple jumps.

Thankfully in a week in which the sport has been under a huge cloud after Monday's contentious pairs final, there was no disputing Yagudin's supremacy.

World champion Yevgeny Plushenko, whose hopes disappeared when he crashed on his opening quadruple in Tuesday's short programme, rallied to take the silver at his first Winter Games.

Away from the snowfields and ice rinks International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials stepped up the pressure on the International Skating Union (ISU) to quickly resolve the controversy over the pairs' judging.

The ISU plan to debate the issue at a council meeting on Monday, February 18 but IOC president Jacques Rogge wants the matter settled as soon as possible.

"We are hopeful that the outcome will be before their earlier intention of the 18th," IOC executive board member Kevan Gosper told Reuters.

Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze were awarded the pairs gold medal ahead of Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, a decision most neutral observers thought should have been reversed.

LEMAY DOAN DELIVERS

There was consolation for Canada when speedskater Catriona LeMay Doan, an overwhelming favourite to retain the women's 500 metres title, duly delivered at what she later said was her last Games.

The 31-year-old, nicknamed 'The Cat', clocked 37.45 seconds on her second run for an overall time of 74.75, not quite good enough to beat her own world record.

Smiling widely, she took a Canadian flag and her husband's cowboy hat and set off on a lap of honour at the Utah Olympic Oval.

"Even this morning I was thinking 'I feel too old to handle these nerves'," she said after becoming only the second woman in history to defend the 500 metres crown. "I'll do one more season."

Janica Kostelic won Croatia's first Winter Games medal with victory in the women's combined in a triumph over adversity and injury.

The 20-year-old, who used to sleep in the family Lada car when money was tight on the ski circuit, has undergone extensive knee surgery in the past year.

"I will need a night's sleep to realise what has happened to me," said Kostelic. "This is great, especially after having survived so many injury worries."

In Soldier Hollow, German-born Spaniard Johann Muehlegg earned his adopted country's third Winter Olympics gold in the men's cross-country combined pursuit.

Having won the morning's 10 km classical section, the 31-year-old took a 13-second lead into the freestyle race. He fell over in the first kilometre but recovered to win in a combined time of 49 minutes 20.4 seconds.

Spain won three golds at the last Summer Games in Sydney but its only previous Winter gold was won by Francisco Fernandez Ochoa in the slalom in 1972.