(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Snowboarder Vic Wild and the men's biathlon team won gold medals to propel hosts Russia to the first place in the standings after 15 days of competition at the Sochi Winter Olympics here. Their women's speed skating team won bronze medal. Russia lead with 29 medals (11 gold, 10 silver and 8 bronze medals) matching its record set in 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway, Itar-Tass news agency said. The gold medal in men's team relay biathlon is the first in the history of Russian biathlon and the first since 1988 Olympics in Calgary, where Russian biathletes competed for the Soviet Union. Russian women speed skaters in team pursuit won bronze on Saturday. Having lost in the semi-final race to Poland, Russia's Yekaterina Lobysheva, Olga Graf, Yekaterina Shikhova and Yulia Skokova were faster than Japan's speed skaters in the race for the bronze. The Dutch speed skaters outraced Poland in the final to win the gold. Netherlands won a total of eight Sochi gold medals in speed skating. Norwegian cross country skiers swept the podium on Saturday in women's 15 km mass start. As one third of the distance was covered, Marit Bjoergen, Therese Johaug and Kristin Stoermer Steira left other contenders far behind. Bjoergen eventually outraced her teammates winning her overall sixth Olympic gold and her third in Sochi. She earlier won team sprint and skiathlon. Austria's 34-year-old alpine skier Mario Matt won Sochi gold on Saturday in men's slalom having left behind his teammate Marcel Hirscher with silver medal and Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen with the bronze. Finnish ice hockey squad won the bronze for the second time in a row. Finland have won a total of five Olympic medals over the past 20 years. In the bronze medal game on Saturday, the Finnish team thrashed US, 5-0. The Americans earlier lost to Canada in the semi-final. The day concluded with two heats in bobsleigh four-man. Russian crew led by Alexander Zubkov returned with best results. The Latvian crew captained by Oskars Melbardis took the second place after the Russians with only 0.04 seconds behind.
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