Sochi 2014: Switzerland`s Cologna powers to victory in skiathlon

Sochi: Switzerland`s Dario Cologna on Sunday powered to victory in the men`s skiathlon at Sochi 2014, hanging on for the second Olympic gold of his career an enthralling final sprint.

Cologna pushed ahead of his rivals with a bold move before the final corner at the Laura cross-country ski centre and just managed to keep his lead finishing in 1hr 08min 15.4sec ahead of an attacking Marcus Hellner of Sweden who took silver in 1:08:15.8. Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway and Maxim Vylegzhanin of Russia engaged in a titanic struggle for bronze with the Norwegian winning by an inch in a time of 1:08:16.8. Russia still have no gold medals from these games. Cologna`s gold is the second of his career after he won the 15 km freestyle at the Vancouver Games in 2010. The skiathlon is a combination of 15 km classic style immediately followed by 15 km freestyle skating, with the competitors rapidly changing skis for the different styles in a changeover area during the race.