SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Home fans roared Russia to its first gold of the 2014 Sochi Olympics on Sunday when figure skating's ultimate showman Yevgeny Plushenko sealed the team title, while in the mountains Austria's Matthias Mayer conquered the perilous Rosa Khutor run to claim the men's downhill.
With Russian President Vladimir Putin among the near 12,000 capacity crowd at the Iceberg Skating Palace, one of several new arenas built for the Winter Games, the hosts built an unassailable lead some 90 minutes before the contest ended.