Canada crushed arch-rivals Russia 7-3 in a heavyweight Olympic hockey quarter-final as a fired-up host nation won more gold on the bobsleigh track as well as praise from Jacques Rogge.
But there was misery for American ski starlet Lindsey Vonn on Wednesday who failed to break her alpine jinx in the giant slalom, crashing out in a race marred by heavy snow and fog.
The Vancouver Games also witnessed a rare world record when China ended South Korea\'s winning streak in the women\'s short-track 3,000-metre relay, posting a best-ever time of 4min 06.61sec.
All the attention was on the hockey rink where fierce rivals Canada and Russia, the top two teams in the world, clashed in a match that brought the host nation to a virtual standstill.
Corey Perry scored twice in the second period and linemate Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists as Canada ran riot to book a semi-final against Slovakia who stunned defending champion Sweden 4-3.
Defenceman Dan Boyle also had a goal and two assists while Shea Weber, Rick Nash, and Brenden Morrow got on the scorecard for Canada who avenged two consecutive losses to the top-seeded Russians.
"We always feel under pressure to play in Canada, that is the way it is," star forward Sidney Crosby said. "Today we used it to energize us.
"It is just a quarter-final and as good as it is we have to turn the page quickly."
The United States also made the semis, with a 2-0 victory over Switzerland, and they will face Finland, who saw off Czech Republic 2-0, on Friday for a place in Sunday\'s gold medal match.
Canada had plenty to cheer about with Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse winning the women\'s bobsleigh gold in a race marked by yet more spectacular spills on the Whistler track.
Fellow Canadians Helen Upperton and Shelly-Ann Brown took the silver with bronze going to Erin Pac and Elana Meyers of the United States.
It propelled the hosts to the top of the medal table with seven golds alongside the United States and Germany.
While Humphries and Moyse grabbed each other joyously, Germany\'s Cathleen Martini and Romy Logsch were hugging after surviving a high-speed crash.
The German tandem had been on the brink of the podium after the third run but wobbled through curve 11 then came too fast out of curve 12.
Their sled overturned with Logsch flying out and sliding down the track as her bob careered towards the line. They were not badly hurt.
After a rocky start to the Games, remembered for the death of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and constant weather delays, International Olympic Committee president Rogge called them "very, very good" on Wednesday.
"The Olympics are very, very good and this will be stressed in my closing speech. The athletes are happy, the public are excited, the infrastructure is good and the transport is functioning," said Rogge.
Vonn, meanwhile, is nursing a broken finger after crashing while leading the field on the first run of the giant slalom, misjudging a gate and losing her balance.
Austrian Elisabeth Goergl topped the times ahead of France\'s Taina Barioz and Austria\'s Kathrin Zettel before the second run was put back till Thursday after heavy snow and fog prevented any further action.
"I\'m disappointed with myself," said downhill gold medallist Vonn, who is yet to win a giant slalom on the international circuit.
Elsewhere, Sweden came home ahead of Norway and the Czech Republic to win a record fifth men\'s cross country 4x10km relay gold while Czech Republic speedskater Martina Sablikova added the 5,000m title to her 3,000m gold and 1,500m bronze.
Australia\'s Lydia Lassila upset the Chinese favourite on Cypress mountain to win the women\'s aerials, with her total of 214.74 enough to push Li Nina and Guo Xinxin in silver and bronze respectively.
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