Norway take tenth relay World gold in succession

The Norway team - Didrik Toenseth, Niklas Dyrhaug, Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Finn Haagen Krogh - crossed the line in a time of 1:37:20.1, just ahead of the Russian quartet.

It was a two team battle from the off, but while the Norwegians held a 17.7 second lead at the third exchange, Russia's Sergey Ustiugov cut the deficit to 4.6 seconds at the finish line.

Having sat seventh after the second exchange, Sweden's Marcus Hellner recorded the fastest third leg to steer his team to the bronze medal, with Calle Halfvarsson finishing 2:31.8 behind the winner.

Fourth-place Switzerland missed out on a medal by just 0.2 seconds.

"Ustiugov is the worst you can have behind [you]," said Norway's Krogh, who led his team home.

"Martin gave me just enough of a gap. I had to fight all the way. I really had to push myself." Sportsbeat 2017