Petter Northug wins 2nd Olympic gold

Petter Northug, already an Olympic medalist of all three varieties, added a second gold to his tally on the final day of action.

The Norwegian won the 50K cross-country race, using his famous final kick to beat Axel Teichmann of Germany.

Yet he flopped in the 15 km and 30 km events and could only win bronze in the individual sprint. Northug also won a team gold and a team silver.

The 24-year-old stayed in the leading pack for virtually all of the race, generally staying between five and 10 seconds behind the leader. He gradually moved up to the front and by the end - was well prepared when Teichmann made his move on the final hill.

Northug finally sprinted past Teichmann just when it looked as though the German had done enough to win. The Norwegian finished in two hours five minutes 35.5 seconds, three hundredth of a second ahead of Teichmann. He kissed the air as he celebrated winning his first individual gold medal. Sweden's Johan Olsson came third.