Felix Loch of Germany jumps onto the podium after he won the gold medal during the men's singles luge final at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Feb. 9, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
Two athletes defended their Olympic titles Sunday as eight countries won gold medals at the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia captured the women's biathlon 7.5-kilometer sprint after winning four years ago at the Vancouver Games. German Felix Loch won his second straight men's luge title.
Host Russia won its first gold medal, with Evgeni Plushenko and Julia Lipnitskaia leading it to the new team figure skating title. Their countrymen, including President Vladimir Putin, cheered at the Iceberg arena.
Sochi Olympics 2014
1/14Evgeni Plushenko of Russia, center, reacts after competing in the men's team figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace, Sochi, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
2/14Shaun White of the United States trains in the half pipe at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
3/14Jamie Anderson of the United States, center, celebrates with silver medalist Enni Rukajarvi of Finland, left, and bronze medalist Jenny Jones of Britain, after Anderson won gold in the women's snowboard slopestyle, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
4/14Women's mogul medalists from left, Hannah Kearney of the United States, bronze, Canada's Justine Dufour-Lapointe, gold, and her sister silver medalist Chloe Dufour-Lapointe pose during their medal ceremony at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Sochi, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
5/14Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev watches the skiing competition during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Sochi, Russia, Feb. 9. 2014.
6/14Natalja Khoreva of Russia takes a turn as a volunteer looks at her cell phone during the women's singles luge training, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia Feb. 9, 2014.
7/14Switzerland's Dario Cologna cries on the podium after winning the gold medal in the men's cross-country 30k skiathlon, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
8/14The Russian women's ice hockey team huddles around the net before their game against Germany, Sochi, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
9/14Ireen Wust of the Netherlands slides towards a team member as she celebrates winning gold in the women's 3,000-meter speedskating race at the Adler Arena Skating Center, Sochi, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
10/14A vendor jokes in front of his merchandising booth, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
11/14Russia's Olga Graf celebrates winning the bronze in the women's 3,000-meter speedskating race at the Adler Arena Skating Center, Sochi, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
12/14Volunteers check the condition of the half pipe at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
13/14Canada's Zina Kocher, left, and France's Anais Bescond lies on the snow after completing the women's biathlon 7.5k sprint, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
14/14Fans limbo dance under a U.S. flag to celebrate Jamie Anderson's gold medal in the women's snowboard slopestyle final, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 9, 2014.
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Athletes from Poland, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and the United States also won gold medals.
Poland's Kamil Stoch won the men's normal hill ski jump, while Dutch speedskater Ireen Wust won the women's 3,000-meter race.
Austrian Matthias Mayer took the top prize in the Alpine skiing downhill men's event.
Switzerland's Dario Cologna won the men's 30-kilometer cross country skiathlon.
And Jamie Anderson of the United States captured the inaugural women's snowboarding slopestyle competition ahead of athletes from Finland and Britain.
Norway leads the medal count with seven, and is tied with the U.S. and the Netherlands for the most gold medals with two.
There are 98 medal events at the Sochi Games, 12 more than in Vancouver.
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