Norway wins cross-country gold, Canada finishes a national-best fourth

Norway captured gold in the Olympic men’s cross-country team sprint in a time of 19:01.0 on Monday.

Canada was able to finish in fourth place, a Canadian Olympic cross-country best, in a time of 19:07.3.

Germany and Russia were involved in a photo finish for silver and bronze with the Germans coming out on top beating the Russian team by two-tenths of second, with a time of 19:02.3.

The race remained tight through four exchanges until Canada’s Devon Kershaw was able to sprint from seventh to second place to give anchor Alex Harvey a shot at the podium.

During the final lap, Harvey was unable to keep second place, conceding it to Norway’s Petter Northug and Russia’s Alexey Petukhov.

Near the finale, Axel Teichmann of Germany attempted to separate himself from the pack, but he quickly tired, allowing Northug and Petukhov to catch up.

While Teichmann was able to hold off the Russian skier, his skills were no match for Northug, one of the sport’s best finishers.

Canada’s men’s Olympic cross-country team’s fourth place finish falls on the heels of the excellent finish they had in the men’s 30 km pursuit, where three members were able to make the top 10, including Ivan Babikov’s fifth place finish.

This recent spur of success that the team has enjoyed puts them in good position to be a possible underdog medal contender in the men’s 4 x 10 km relay on Wednesday.

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By: Steve Loung
Posted: Feb 22 2010 5:08 pm
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Filed under: Winter Games
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