TESERO, Italy, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Norway won the Nordic Combined team sprint at the Olympics on Thursday in a chaotic race that saw several of the athletes crash and collide in heavy snow.
Andreas Skoglund and Jens Luraas Oftebro delivered for Norway, surging to gold by a ski's length over Finland after a breathless sprint finish.
Heavy snowfall turned the course into a test of balance and nerve, reducing the contest to a five-nation battle halfway through as conditions deteriorated. Several racers lost their grip and lurched close to crashing on the treacherous surface.
With visibility fading and the tracks softening, none of the leading teams were willing to risk a decisive move.
Germany’s hopes unravelled when Vinzenz Geiger crashed late on, taking Japan’s Ryota Yamamoto down with him after the Japanese skier was unable to avoid the fallen German, sending both nations out of the medal battle.
Austria were also forced out of contention, and grabbed bronze, when Stefan Rettenegger fell not long after, leaving Norway and Finland to settle the medals in a dramatic final stretch as Oftebro secured his third of three possible gold medals in the Olympics.
(Tommy Lund and Liz Hampton in Tesero; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
