CROSS-COUNTRY:

Triple gold for Bjoergen: Norwegian rules 10 km distance

Feb. 28, 2011 

OSLO, Norway ― Marit Bjoergen of Norway earned her third gold medal at the nordic skiing World Championships in Oslo, Norway, on Monday by winning the women's 10-kilometre classic.

Bjoergen, unbeaten in a distance race since the Vancouver Olympics, won in 27 minutes, 39.3 seconds.

Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland, a two-time world champion, led for most of the race but was overtaken in the closing stages and finished 4.1 seconds behind. Aino Kaisa Saarinen of Finland was third, 9.7 seconds back.

Bjoergen's two previous wins came in the sprint and 15 km pursuit. The 30-year-old Olympic champion is the first Norwegian to win three individual gold medals at a World Championships.



The Canadian team was led by Dasha Gaiazova in 37th, followed five seconds later by Perianne Jones. Chandra Crawford was 52nd and Brooke Gosling 56th.

— The Canadian Press and Cross Country Canada contributed to this report