German skier Evi Sachenbacher has passed Anita Moen of Norway in the final 100 meters to lead her country to the gold medal in the women's 4x5 kilometer cross-country relay event at Soldier Hollow.

The German team completed the event in 49 minutes, 30.6 seconds to push Norway into the silver medal, 1.3 seconds back. Switzerland picked up the bronze, 33 seconds behind the winners.

It was the first medal in this event for Germany since the former East Germany won it in 1980.

Earlier, Russia withdrew from the event after nine-time Olympic medalist Larissa Lazutina was disqualified because of high levels of hemoglobin in a blood test. The Russian team immediately launched a protest because they said they had been unable to replace Lazutina in time for the race. Ukraine also failed to start the race, but no reason was given for their withdrawal.

Some information for this report provided by AP.

Email this article to a friend
Printer Friendly Version