. world ski news : Norway sprints for Gold - 23 Февруари 2010 - 01:42
OLYMPICS, CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING. Oeystein Pettersen and Petter Northug jr. capture Gold in Team Sprint F. Germany's Axel Teichmann and Tim Tscharnke took Silver and Russia's Alexey Petukhov and Nikolay Morilov raced for Bronze.
Men's race was very tactical and nobody wanted to escape or set a higher pace. Second last leg proved to be decisive as Tim Tscharnke attacked and created a gap and handed over on Axel Teichmann in the last leg on first place. Axel Teichmann was pushing hard but he was caught by Northug in the last uphill before finish. Northug jr. showed again his powerfull sprinting abilities and destroyed the rest of the field in the stadium and decided before the last curve.
Petter Northug who broke a pole in the Pursuit is back on the podium and took the gold which he wanted for a long time together with his sprint colleague Oeystein Pettersen. "Oeystein did a great job on the last leg and gave me a great position for my last round. I wanted this medal. It's been a little bit up and down here so now I have the Gold medal and I am happy," said Norwegians Cross-Country star Northug.
For Germany, it was an amazing day, after the gold of the ladies, Axel Teichmann and Tim Tscharnke fixed another medal. Teichmann, who had always bad luck at the Olympics and got sick - also this time, he was out for a couple of days and made his first competition today - took his first ever Olympic medal and fullfilled with that a big dream. "It has been a dream for me for the last eight years. The race was amazing. Tim did a great job. He chased some guys and gave us some seconds. I got an advantage of three or four seconds on the last lap and I did everything I could, but Petter was too strong," said a smiling Axel Teichmann. "It is not a matter of losing Gold, it's a matter of winnign a medal. All I thought about was to win a medal and got toe the Medals Plaza and I made it."
Teichmann's team mate Tim Tscharnke will got into the history books as the youngest male Olympics medallists in Cross-Country skiing since the sport's 1924 Olympic debut.
Alexey Petukhov and Nikolay Morilov followed the ladies and made as well bronze. Morilov who won with that at the same day as his sister Natalia Korosteleva a medal said after his race. "What I can say is that it's a beautiful day, beautiful sun, beautiful snow and we are happy in our hearts."
FIScrosscountry.com
Monday 22 February 2010