Norway’s Marit Bjoergen takes third gold medal

WHISTLER – Marit Bjoergen skied the anchor leg of the women’s 4×5-kilometre relay to give Norway its seventh gold medal of the 2010 Winter Olympics and fourth in cross-country skiing today at Whistler Olympic Park.

In addition to a bronze medal, Bjoergen has now won three golds, making her the most productive individual athlete at the Vancouver-Whistler Games.

The Norwegian team of Bjoergen, Kristin Stoermer Steira, Therese Johaug and Vikebe Skofterud finished a comfortable 24.6 seconds ahead of second-place Germany with a winning time of 55 minutes, 19.5 seconds. Finland captured the bronze, 30.4 seconds behind Norway. It was the first cross-country ski medal of the 2010 Games for the Finns, one of the traditional superpowers in Nordic skiing.

Norway now has won four golds, one silver and two bronze medals in cross-country after struggling to just four medals, none of them gold, at the 2006 Olympics in Turin.

The Canadian team of Dasha Gaiazova of Banff, Alta., Perianne Jones of Almonte, Ont., Chandra Crawford of Canmore, Alta., and Madeleine Williams of Edmonton was 16th and last, almost five minutes behind the winning time.