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The Czech Republic's Katerina Nash, a three-time Olympic mountain biker and two-time Olympic cross-country skier, had a positive doping test exonerated and a four-year sanction overturned after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency determined that the banned substance found in her system was a dog medication that came into contact with her skin while she attempted to give her furry friend, a Viszla named Rubi, drops of the liquid orally.
"It's devastating to think that, like, not washing my hands could ruin my entire career, being an athlete for 30 years," she told Eddie Pells of the Associated Press. "But there's no regrets. I would not have cared for my dog in any different way. But in the end, I was touching this medicine every day for about three straight weeks."
USADA's scientists first identified the substance that caused the positive test as Entyce, which is given to sick dogs as an appetite booster, then applied small amounts to their own skin to see if they registered positive tests. When they did, Nash's positive test was overturned and her punishment was retracted.
"The challenge with anti-doping is that the sensitivity has gotten so good that now we've got this overlap between what's doping and what's exposure in the environment that you may be subjected to as an athlete," USADA's lead scientist, Dr. Matt Fedoruk, told Pells.
So athletes who may come into contact with medications for their pets should maybe wear gloves. The testing protocols have become incredibly sophisticated and sensitive.
Norway's Marit Bjorgen won the final gold of the 2018 Winter Olympics on Sunday in the women's 30-kilometre cross-country skiing, blitzing the rest of the field in the process.
In doing so, Bjorgen became an eight-time Olympic champion and a 15-time Olympic medalist. The 37-year-old came home in a time of one hour, 22 minutes and 17.6 seconds to finish a long way clear of Finland's Krista Parmakoski and Sweden's Stina Nilsson.
Here are the top three finishers from the final event at the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea, as Bjorgen produced yet another masterclass.
1. Marit Bjorgen (NOR)—1:22:17.6
2. Krista Parmakoski (FIN)—(+1:49.5)
3. Stina Nilsson (SWE)—(+1:58.9)
For the result in full, visit the Pyeongchang website.
Bjorgen Finishes Games in Style
Having already made history at these Games by becoming the most decorated athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics, Pyeongchang was always going to be memorable for Bjorgen.
But in this event, she had a tremendous opportunity to add another layer to her greatness, and from the off, it was evident just how intent she was on doing so.
Meanwhile, at the end of a long Olympics, it perhaps wasn't a huge surprise to see some athletes making some rudimentary errors in the 30-kilometres, per the Associated Press' Steve Reed:
The field simply couldn't live with the veteran here, as she was happy to go alone at the front of the pack and the pack were happy to let her go. Such was the blistering pace being set by Bjorgen, this race quickly became about the battle for silver and bronze.
It meant Bjorgen was able to savour the moment late on, as she picked up a Norwegian flag and took in the applause of the fans in attendance. As noted by Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports, this felt like the gloss on an iconic career:
Indeed, the confidence and quality she showcased in moving to the front so early was indicative of a competitor that has been at the top of the pile for so long in cross-country skiing.
Arguably, the performances from her in Pyeongchang have been the best from her distinguished career, with four medals—a gold, a silver and two bronzes—already earned at these Games. As noted by Gracenote Olympic, this win means no competitor has won more titles than her either:
BBC Sport's Eilidh Barbour was full of praise for Bjorgen after this win, suggesting she's the greatest to ever grace the Winter Olympics:
Further back in the field, Parmakoski proved to be the best of the rest, as she was comfortable in silver. Meanwhile, Sweden's Nilsson eventually outlasted Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg to grab a bronze.
The gold for Bjorgen also sees Norway move to the summit of the medal table in the final event, as they move level on 14 golds with Germany but have more silver and bronze prizes to show from the Games.
Norway clinched yet another gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games as they scooped top spot in the men's team sprint in the cross-country skiing.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo crossed the finish line in first place to clinch his third Olympic gold medal, per BBC Sport:
Klaebo and team-mate Martin Johnsrud Sundby won the race by 1.71 seconds, with the Olympic Athletes from Russia scooping silver, while France took bronze. The United States finished out of the medals, down in sixth place.
Here are the final results:
1. Norway (Klaebo and Sundby)—15:56.26
2. Olympic Athletes from Russia (Denis Spitsov and Alexander Bolshunov)—15:57.97
3. France (Richard Jouve and Maurice Manificat)—15:58.28
Full results are available from the official Olympic website.
The latest medal table is available below:
Sweden took an early lead in the event and led at the halfway stage of the six-lap race from Norway and the Russian team. However, they were left trailing in Klaebo's wake as he made his move on a difficult uphill section of the course to surge clear with just two laps to go.
Sundby managed to increase Norway's lead, with the other teams unable to respond to Norway's power and pace. Klaebo then took over for the final lap and could even afford to cruise over the finish line with a huge smile.
Meanwhile, the Russian athletes comfortably claimed silver and a strong sprint finish by France saw them snatch bronze from Sweden.
However, the day belonged to Klaebo, who had already won the individual sprint, and helped Norway to gold in the team relay. Gracenote Live Olympic showed how Klaebo ranks among young medal winners:
BBC Sport's Ollie Williams likened the young star to Jamaican sprinter and Olympic champion Usain Bolt: "He is so good, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. I think he is the equivalent of Usain Bolt on snow. He is already being talked about in terms of multi-million pound advertising deals in Norway. This is their national sport, and he is the national icon."
Gracenote Live showed how dominant Norway have been in the cross-country skiing in South Korea:
It's been a successful Winter Olympics for Norway, and especially for Klaebo, who has been one of the real stars of the show and looks set to remain that way for a long time to come.
The USA won gold in the cross-country women's team sprint at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Wednesday, their first-ever medal in the discipline.
Kikkan Randall and Jessica Diggins set a time of 15 minutes, 56.47 seconds in Pyeongchang, South Korea, with the latter beating Sweden's Stina Nilsson in a dramatic sprint finish.
Norway came a close third, earning Marit Bjorgen her 14th Olympic medal to become the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time.
Here are the times:
USA (Kikkan Randall, Jessica Diggins)—15:56.47
Sweden (Charlotte Kalla, Stina Nilsson)—15:56.66
Norway (Marit Bjorgen, Maiken Caspersen Falla)—15:59.44
Here is the updated medal table:
Bjorgen led the field into the first exchange ahead of the Olympic Athletes from Russia, but it quickly became apparent the race would boil down to a contest between Sweden, Norway and the USA, with the trio atop the standings at the second changeover.
On the third, Bjorgen turned the screw through the uphill section, but she failed to shake loose Kalla or Randall as a gap opened up on the field.
The three teams remained together into the fourth and fifth exchanges, while a brief challenge from Switzerland fell away.
NBC's Alex Azzi felt confident the trio would close out the podium positions, ensuring a medal for the United States:
Sweden's Nilsson looked to have fallen slightly on the final leg but made up the gap on the second uphill section and was first heading into the final stretch.
As Norway's Falla fell back, Diggins powered past sprint champion Nilsson to claim a memorable victory, per Eurosport UK:
Per Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, Randall also made history along with the U.S. as a team:
So too did Bjorgen, as her medal took her overall tally past compatriot Ole Einar Bjorndalen.
She'll have the opportunity to earn a 15th medal in the 30-kilometre event on Sunday.
Norway claimed gold ahead of defending Olympic champions Sweden in the women's 4x5-kilometre cross-country skiing relay, recording a time of 51 minutes, 24.3 seconds at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
A thrilling race came down to a contest between Marit Bjorgen and Stina Nilsson, with the former taking gold by two seconds and picking up her 13th medal to pull level with compatriot Ole Einar Bjorndalen as the joint-most decorated Winter Olympian of all time.
The Olympic Athletes from Russia rounded out the podium. Here are the times:
Norway (Ingvild Oestberg, Astrid Jacobsen, Ragnhild Haga, Marit Bjorgen)—51:24.3
Sweden (Anna Haag, Charlotte Kalla, Ebba Andersson, Stina Nilsson)—51:26.3
OAR (Natalia Nepryaeva, Yulia Belorukova, Anastasia Sedova, Anna Nechaevskaya)—52:07.6
Here's the updated medal table:
The Russian team set the pace early on, with Natalia Nepryaeva setting a time of 13:24.5 over the first five kilometres, ahead of Norway and Slovenia.
Sweden deployed Charlotte Kalla, who won the 15-kilometre skiathlon earlier in the Games, in the second leg.
Kalla was tasked with making up a 25.8 second deficit—similar to the gap she made up in the anchor leg at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, to beat Germany and Finland in one of the most dramatic races of all time.
The Russian team maintained the lead into the second changeover, but Kalla had closed the gap to just 1.7 seconds, and Sweden led in third exchange thanks to Ebba Andersson.
However, Norway—who were 29.8 seconds back at the halfway point—were just 3.4 seconds behind after a superb leg from Ragnhild Haga, who set up the final showdown between Bjorgen and individual sprint gold medallist Nilsson as OAR faded.
Bjorgen quickly took a narrow lead, but with Nilsson less than a second behind heading into the closing stages, sports journalist Jonathan Harris-Bass warned of an explosive finish from the sprinter:
The 37-year-old veteran held off her younger rival, though, per journalist Gavin Day:
Bjorgen will have the chance to surpass Bjorndalen with a 14th Olympic medal in the 30-kilometre mass start on the final day of the Games.
Norway's Ragnhild Haga put in a stunning performance to claim gold in the women's 10-kilometre individual cross-country ski at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Thursday.
The 27-year-old stormed away from the field in the second half of the race to finish in a time of 25 minutes, 0.05 seconds.
She beat three-time Olympic gold medallist Charlotte Kalla into the silver-medal position by over 20 seconds.
Meanwhile, Haga's compatriot, the much-celebrated Marit Bjorgen, could only do enough for a share of bronze as she and Finland's Krista Parmakoski tied for third place with a time of 25:32.4.
The full result can be found at Pyeongchang2018.com.
Here is the updated medal table following the action from the Alpensia Cross-Country Centre:
Kalla, 30, set the early pace in proceedings as she was fastest at the 1.6-kilometre and five-kilometre marks.
However, with six-time Olympic gold medallist Bjorgen having gone off before her and Haga, there was always likely to be a difficult time to beat.
So it proved as the 37-year-old Bjorgen set the benchmark time, coming home fastest of anyone in the first 32 starters to take the lead by 52 seconds.
However, a burst of speed in the second half of the race from Haga saw her to the gold medal, and there was nothing her competitors could do about it.
With Bjorgen home and dry, her younger compatriot powered through the 8.4-kilometre checkpoint 31.2 seconds up on the lead time.
Kalla desperately tried to keep pace but came through the same checkpoint 12.2 seconds down on the leader and could only lose time on the eventual winner before the finish line.
An impressive late dash from Parmakoski saw her tie for the bronze with Bjorgen, while Jess Diggins of the United States just fell short of a medal as she finished with a time of 25:35.7 to place fifth.
Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo took gold in the men's cross-country skiing individual sprint on Tuesday with a winning time of 3 minutes, 5.75 seconds.
He edged out Italy's Federico Pellegrino, whose time of 3:07.09 earned him silver. Alexander Bolshunov, an Olympic Athlete from Russia, was just 0.02 seconds behind Pellegrino in third.
Klaebo spent much of the race behind Bolshunov, but he produced an explosive finish in the second half to take it comfortably, while Pellegrino's late challenge on the final straight saw him beat the Russian in a photo finish.
The 21-year-old made history with his win, per Eurosport UK:
Former Norway international footballer Jan Aage Fjortoft celebrated his countryman's victory:
His performance continues Norway's success in the cross-country, after they dominated the podium in the men's 30-kilometre skiathlon and Marit Bjoergen picked up a silver in the women's 15-kilometre skiathlon.
It also marked a significant improvement after Klaebo could only muster a 10th-placed finish in the men's skiathlon.
Klaebo had come second in sprint qualifying, but he topped Quarter-final 1 and Semi-final 1, the latter proving an accurate rehearsal for the final, with Pellegrino and Bolshunov close behind in second and third, respectively.
Sweden's Stina Nilsson won gold going away in the ladies' cross-country sprint classic final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Tuesday.
Norway's Maiken Caspersen Fallas, who won gold in the sprint at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, nabbed silver, while Yulia Belorukova of the Olympic Athletes from Russia secured bronze.
Here's a look at the final results:
Simply put, Tuesday's run represented redemption for Nilsson.
The 24-year-old entered the sprint final with the nickname "Silver Stina" after she captured three silver medals at the 2015 World Championships, and she added to that tally in 2017 with a silver in the four-by-five-kilometer relay.
However, Nilsson was deprived a chance of making a run for gold in the sprint at last year's World Championships when she crashed out in the semifinals.
Tuesday, she didn't have that problem.
Nilsson was the front-runner in qualifying all day, and she dominated en route to Sweden's first-ever medal in the ladies' classic sprint, according to the Olympic Channel.
Nilsson has now won two Olympic medals, after previously taking home bronze in the team sprint four years ago.
Falla also managed her second piece of Olympic hardware, although she may be disappointed with silver considering she entered the day as defending gold medalist and world champion.
The United States' lone hope for a medal was Jessie Diggins, who looked sharp in her semifinal run and appeared poised to take aim at the podium.
However, Diggins ran out of gas and trailed for the entirety of the final run. She finished sixth and failed to become the first woman in American history to medal in cross-country skiing.
Norway's Simen Hegstad Kruger picked himself up off the floor on Sunday to clinch a dramatic gold in the men's skiathlon at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
After falling and breaking a ski pole at the start of the 30-kilometre event, Kruger had to fight his way back into the pack in gruelling conditions before eventually pulling away in the final stages, winning in a time of one hour, 16 minutes and 20 seconds.
Kruger led home an all-Norwegian podium, with Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Hans Christer Holund taking silver and bronze respectively.
Read on for the results from one of the most testing events at the Games and a recap of a historic triumph for Kruger.
1. Simen Hegstad Kruger (NOR)—1:16:20.0
2. Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR)—1:16.28.0
3. Hans Christer Holund (NOR)—1:16.29.9
For the result in full, visit the Pyeongchang website.
Kruger Storms Back to Win Gold
With the wind swirling at the start of the race at the Alpensia Cross-Country Centre, there was drama from the outset of this 30-kilometre tussle.
Indeed, one of the favourites for gold, Kruger, lost his balance at the very start, with one of his ski poles snapping. As noted by the FasterSkier account, it gave the Norwegian a massive mountain to climb from the outset:
While the superior natural speed of some competitors whittled down the leading group over the first 15 kilometres, in which the skiers must use classic technique, with the conditions so challenging the pace wasn't blistering.
There were a couple of moves from the pack, with Iivo Niskanen often at the head of the field and occasionally injecting some pace into proceedings. But with the wind still howling, there wasn't any man ready to really take it on before halfway.
Per sports writer Veronika Pullmanova, as the racers entered the transition phase, all three medals were still up for grabs:
By this point, despite his poor start, Kruger had actually been able to work his way back into the lead group and was working in tandem with compatriot Sundby. As they passed three-quarter distance, they were both well in contention along with a number of big names.
There were also some surprise names in the lead group, as Great Britain's Andrew Musgrave was settled in second spot behind Kruger. However, with the final lap beckoning, Kruger made a big move and built up a 10-second gap to the rest of the field.
Nobody appeared willing to go with the Norwegian initially, and as a result, that advantage quickly doubled. As we can see courtesy of the Tuixent-La Vansa account, the gap was a big one as the finish approached:
The big dig at the front was always going to have an impact on the leader, especially after his early issues. And as the final climb approached, Sundby was closing the gap to his fellow Norwegian.
However, remarkably, Kruger was able to cling on on the last ascent and even had time to soak up the acclaim of the crowd before crossing the line to win gold.
Sundby, meanwhile, finished in second after a scrap with Holund. Elsewhere Musgrave finished in a creditable seventh; the previous best performance from any British athlete in a cross-country skiing event was 29th.
