PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (Reuters) – Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla won the first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on Saturday after powering away from the field to secure victory in the women’s 7.5km + 7.5km skiathlon.
Sochi Games champion Marit Bjoergen of Norway took the silver 7.8 seconds behind and Krista Parmakoski of Finland won the bronze.
Kalla made her break midway through the last of the four laps, leaving Bjoergen to battle Parmakoski and Swede Ebba Andersson for the podium places.
It was the third Olympic gold medal for the 30-year-old Kalla, who won the 10km freestyle at Vancouver in 2010 and followed that up with a win in the 4x5km relay in Sochi four years later.
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