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Gibson makes Winter Games history
![]() Gibson raises his arm in celebration as he crosses the line to take gold CESANA, Italy -- Canada's Duff Gibson, 39, became the oldest individual gold medallist in Winter Olympics history when he won the men's skeleton title. Gibson beat the record set by Norway's Magnar Solberg, who was 35 when he won gold in the 20km biathlon in 1972 in Sapporo, Japan. Jeff Pain completed a Canadian one-two with the silver medal while Gregor Staehli of Switzerland settled for the bronze. The oldest Winter champion for any event is Jay O'Brien, who was 48 when he won four-man bobsleigh gold for the United States at the 1932 Games in Lake Placid. A fire fighter by profession, Gibson proved he could also tame ice by clocking the fastest time in both runs to post a combined time of one minute 55.88 seconds. "When I was 10 I was watching the (1976) Montreal Olympics on television and I realised it was something I wanted to be part of," said Gibson, who broke down in tears in the finish area. "I'd never heard of skeleton then. To come here and win, I'm on top of the world, and I'm retiring now." On a memorable day for Canada, world champion Pain, 35, was second best in both heats and ended 0.26 second back after surviving a scare by clipping the wall with the finish in sight in his second run. Staehli, also a man with experience at 37, gained two spots with a daring last run to finish third, 0.92 second off the pace. The Swiss slider had already won the bronze four years ago in Salt Lake City, where men's skeleton had returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1948. Britain had hoped for another medal after Shelley Rudman's surprise silver in the women's competition on Thursday. Rudman's partner, Kristan Bromley, was in third position after his first run with fellow Briton Adam Pengilly also still in contention for the podium in fourth place. But both struggled in the second run, Bromley finishing fifth and Pengilly ending up eighth. There was disappointment also for the United States, whose top prospect, Zach Lund, was kicked out of the Games following a positive test he blamed on a hair growth stimulant. The Americans, who had won gold four years ago courtesy of the now retired Jim Shea Jr., had to be content with Eric Bernotas' sixth place.
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