Dario Cologna, skiing in short sleeves on another warm and sunny day, won his second gold medal at the Sochi Olympics on Friday with a dominant performance in the 15-kilometer classical-style cross-country race.
The Swiss led by just 0.7 seconds at the 8-kilometer mark of the interval-start race, but his advantage grew steadily and he finished 28.5 seconds ahead of Sweden's Johan Olsson.
Another Swede, Daniel Richardsson, took bronze after his strong finish put him 0.2 seconds ahead of Finland's Iivo Niskanen. Cologna started 30 seconds behind Olsson but caught the Swede before coming into the stadium, and the two were side-by-side on the final straight.
The two may have benefitted from early start numbers. Both went out ahead of the seeded group, and the warm weather softened the course for the later starters. Czech veteran lukas Bauer, second in the seeded group, was the only other skier within a minute of Cologna, finishing 58.9 seconds back in fifth place.
Overall World Cup leader Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway had a disappointing race, finishing 1:37.7 behind the winner. Chris Andre Jespersen was the top Norwegian in sixth place. He skied in a modified suit with shorts and cutoff sleeves in the bright sunshine.
Cologna and Olsson would both normally have been in the seeded group, but they haven't competed much on the World Cup because of injuries. Cologna had ankle surgery in November and returned to competition only last month, but still won the opening 30K skiathlon in Sochi. Olsson, the 50K classical world champion, had not competed in about two months because of an illness and rib injury.
Iqbal finishes 85th
India's cross country skier Nadeem Iqbal had a disappointing outing as he finished 85th in the men's 15km classic run event.
The 30-year-old Armyman, in his first Winter Olympics, clocked 55 minute 12.5 seconds to cover the 15km distance and secure a lowly 85th position out of 87 athletes who finished the race at the laura Cross-country Ski and Biathlon Center.
Iqbal was 16 minute 42.8 seconds behind gold medal winner Dario Cologna of Switzerland, who clocked 38 minute 29.7 seconds. Swedish skiers Johan Olsson (38:58.2s) and Daniel Richardsson (39:08.5s) grabbed the silver and bronze medals respectively.
Alpine skier Himanshu Thakur is the only Indian left in the fray now and his Giant Slalom event begins on February 19.