World champion Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland got Olympic gold at last when she won the 30-kilometres cross-country ski race in a dramatic sprint to the line against Norway's Marit Bjoergen on Saturday, dpa reported.
Kowalczyk, 27, was the only skier to follow when Bjoergen attacked at the 22km mark and then claimed the gold after sprint silver and pursuit bronze in 1 hour 30 minutes 33.7 seconds.
Bjoergen missed what would have been a unique fourth gold at one Games in the sport by a mere three tenths of a second, adding silver to sprint, pursuit and relay gold, and a 10km bronze.
Aino Kaisa Saarinen of Finland took the bronze, 1:05.0 minutes behind Kowalczyk.
The competition at Whistler Olympic Park was held in steady rain and athletes were allowed to change skis up the three times during the race.
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