TESERO, Italy, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A nail-biting sprint to the finish decided the men's Nordic combined team sprint on Thursday as Norway's Jens Luraas Oftebro and Andreas Skoglund claimed gold at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The Norwegian duo finished in 41 minutes 18 seconds, narrowly beating Finland's Eero Hirvonen and Ilkka Herola, who took silver just half a second behind, while Austria's Stefan Rettenegger and Johannes Lamparter earned bronze in 41:40.3.
The event, which began with ski jumping earlier in the day, turned the cross-country portion into a dramatic contest of tactics, mini battles, counterattacks, and several frustrating falls amid swirling snowflakes.
The race, now featuring two-athlete teams in the new format, saw Germany and Norway duel at the front in the early laps. By the third lap, Japan, Austria, and Finland had closed in, creating a five-nation medal pack. After the fourth lap, just 1.6 seconds separated Germany, Norway, Austria, and Finland.
Crashes in snowy conditions proved decisive, as German, Japanese and Austrian skiers fell during the race, leaving Norway and Finland to battle it out for the gold.
This victory marks Oftebro's third Olympic gold at the Games, while it is the first Olympic medal for Skoglund.
"It was more than I expected to get three golds. It was hard out there today, but both of us were strong even though it was tricky to stay on the skis and not crash," said Oftebro.
"It was a challenging one, but I'm really happy to have this end to the competition with a team gold. It is always a big goal to win a gold with the team because it is not just us, it is for everybody - the waxers, all the staff and other athletes - so it is a perfect ending," he added. ■
