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Finland Wins 2nd Straight Nordic Combined VOA Sports 18 Feb 2002 02:24 UTC 
Finland has captured its second straight Nordic combined gold medal of the Salt Lake City Olympics, holding on to its big lead from ski jumping to win the men's team competition.
The Finnish team, anchored by Samppa Lajunen, finished the four by five-kilometer relay in 48 minutes, 42.2 seconds on Sunday. Germany took advantage of a late surge by Ronny Ackermann to finish with the silver medal, 7.5 seconds back. Austria got the bronze, 11 seconds behind the leaders.
These games mark the first time since 1948 that Finland won the gold medal in the event, which combines ski-jumping and cross-country. The United States failed in its quest to win its first ever medal in a Nordic sport. The Americans finished fourth, one minute and 11.9 seconds off the winning pace.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
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