Norway’s Therese Johaug wins inaugural gold of Beijing Olympics in cross-country skiathlon – National | Globalnews.ca

Norway’s Therese Johaug won the first gold medal of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games in the women’s 13-kilometre skiathlon cross-country skiing event Saturday.

Natalia Nepryaeva of the Russian Olympic Committee and Austria’s Teresa Stadlober nabbed the silver and bronze.

The gold was the fourth Olympic medal overall for Johaug, who is one of the most successful female cross-country skiers of all time.

She won gold in the relay race at the 2010 Games in Vancouver and silver and bronze medals at Sochi 2014. She missed the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang due to a positive steroid test in 2016.

Saturday’s event saw skiers race two 7.5-kilometre stints over a gruelling course at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre, transitioning skis and poles halfway through.

Johaug led the 65-skier pack through most of the race, crossing the finish line a full 30 seconds after both Nepryaeva and Stadlober, who finished within a second of each other.

Cendrine Browne was the top-ranking Canadian in the race, finishing 20th. Katherine Stewart-Jones, Dahria Beatty and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt finished 23rd, 28th and 44th, respectively.