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Norway take gold in nordic combined relay

AFP
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Norway take gold in nordic combined relay
Norway's Magnus Hovdal Moan, Haavard Klemetsen, Magnus Krog and Joergen Graabak celebrate their gold medal. Photo: Peter Parks/AFP

Norway on Thursday beat Germany by a fraction of a second in a thrilling final sprint to take gold in the Olympic Games men's nordic combined team relay.

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The initial ski jumping phase of the two-sport discipline left Norway, Germany and Austria ahead and the three were never challenged in the decisive 4x5km cross country ski race.

Norway's Joergen Graabak and Germany's Fabian Riessle surged ahead of Austria in the final section of the last leg and Graabak just managed to hold off a fast-finishing Germany.

Norway finished in 47min 13.5sec while Germany took silver, just 0.3 sec behind. Austria cruised home for an unchallenged bronze.

The triumph was the first time Norway had won the nordic combined Olympic team gold medal since Nagano 1998. It also capped a glorious Olympics for Graabak who won the large hill individual competition two days before.

Nordic combined is now the sole sport at the Olympic Games to be only open to men.

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