World sport-starved Moscow cheers Ovechkin NHL record / Photo: Alexander NEMENOV - AFP/File
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World sport-starved Moscow cheers Ovechkin NHL record
Russian engineer Leonid Alexeyev has been waiting for "many years" for his countryman Alexander Ovechkin to make ice hockey history, patiently keeping track of his goals -- until the towering Muscovite finally did it this weekend.
Ovechkin -- a 39-year-old hockey star and off-ice fan of Russian President Vladimir Putin -- scored his 895th goal on Sunday, overtaking a record long held by Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.
His feat at a New York arena drew jubilation in Moscow -- with Russians having had little opportunity to celebrate international sporting success over the past three years, kicked out of a host of competitions over the Kremlin's Ukraine offensive.
Putin praised the hockey player, with some fans even hoping that the record will speed up a warming of relations with the United States.
"The emotions are so strong. We waited for this for many years," Alexeyev told AFP on the streets of Moscow. "We were counting from around 250 goals and we waited for the record," he added.
The 43-year-old hoped that it could bring Russia and the United States closer -- with sporting success important to both hockey-playing Putin and golf-lover Trump.
"Such sporting events produce a chance for a potential improvement of relations between our countries," Alexeyev said.
"God willing, this will be one of the first steps."
After Trump and Putin spoke last month in a phone call focused on Ukraine, the Kremlin made a point of saying Trump had "supported" a proposal to stage hockey matches "in the United States and Russia between Russian and American players".
Moscow was decorated on Monday with billboards of Ovechkin.
"Sasha, we are with you," some of them read, using the affectionate version of his first name.
- 'Happy he is Russian' -
Despite his prowess on the ice, Ovechkin's politics and Russian connections have stoked controversy.
The hockey star has been a prominent supporter of Putin's 25-year rule.
He founded the "PutinTeam" campaign group to support the Russian president's re-election bid in 2018 and has come under criticism for continuing to support the Kremlin leader after 2022, when Moscow launched its military offensive in Ukraine.
In a political balancing act, Ovechkin has not denounced Moscow's Ukraine offensive, but he has also carefully veered away from supporting it -- despite knowing such a move would be welcomed by Putin.
When asked about the conflict in 2022, Ovechkin called for "no more war". But when asked about Putin his usual frankness was absent.
"Well, he is my president. But how I said, I am not in politics. I am an athlete and I hope everything is going to be done soon," Ovechkin said at the time. "I'm Russian. It's something I can't control. It's not in my hands. I hope it's going to end soon."
In a congratulatory message sent Monday after breaking the record, Putin said to Ovechkin: "This achievement has become not only your personal success, but also a real celebration for fans in Russia and abroad."
Many Russians were encouraged that despite relations between Moscow and Washington having plummeted, Ovechkin had success and celebrity-like status in the United States.
He has been affectionately dubbed "Ovi" by fans of his team -- the Washington Capitals.
"Americans like him," said 68-year-old pensioner Lyudmila on the streets of Moscow. "This shows that relations between Russians and Americans are actually not bad."
Ovechkin was born in Moscow and is from a family of athletes -- his mother was a prominent former basketball player in the Soviet Union, while his father played football for Dynamo Moscow.
He debuted professionally in hockey at the age of 16 and played for Dynamo Moscow, before moving to the US league in the early 2000s.
"In any case he is our hockey player, our Russian hockey player, he is great," said 63-year-old doctor Alexei Mikhailov.
The fact the record was broken by a Russian was "doubly pleasing", he added.
"I am happy that it is a Russian man who achieves this result."
A.MacCodrum--NG
