German men strike hockey gold

Jan Philipp Rabente scored twice for the German men's hockey team to win a second successive Olympic gold for his country.

The first half had been an even affair, with some strong defending. Although the Germans did give away a penalty corner in the 28th minute, the Dutch failed to capitalize.

The deadlock was finally broken when Rabente scored in the 35th minute, dribbling into the shooting area and pushing the ball into the back of the net.

Dutchman Mink van der Weerden scored in the 53rd minute after a penalty corner, meaning he scored in every game of the Olympic competition.

With just five minutes of the game remaining, Rabente separated the sides again when he found himself unmarked on the right post to flick in from close range.

The Netherlands had been hoping to become the first country to win gold in both the men’s and women’s event. Their women triumphed the day before.

"The feeling cannot be described. It’s almost impossible to believe it," said Rabente. "I would never have imagined scoring two goals in my wildest dreams."

Earlier in the day, Australia beat Great Britain in the third place playoff.

In other events, 40-year-old German mountain biker Sabine Spitz on Saturday won a silver medal in the women's mountain bike event. The gold went to France's Julie Bresset. Spitz won gold in Beijing in 2008 and bronze in Athens in 2004.

The oldest of the 30 starters, Spitz was 62 seconds behind Bresset before a minor crash that ended any chance of her winning gold.

"When I crashed I lost my rhythm and it took me half a lap or a lap to get it back," said Spitz, who added that she was unlikely to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

rc / jlw