Russians finish 1-2 in men's cross country sprint

Published Feb. 17, 2010 5:23 p.m. ET

foxsports

Russia's Nikita Kriukov edged countryman Alexander Panzhinskiy in a photo finish to win the gold medal in the men's individual classic cross-country sprint race.

Kriukov's winning time Wednesday was 3 minutes, 36.3 seconds. The bronze medal went to Norway's Petter Northug, who finished a whopping 9.2 seconds later.

The Russians set a quick pace from the start, and it became a two-man race over the final third of the 1.6-kilometer competition. On one of the big turns, Alexey Poltaranin of Kazakhstan fell, taking out Norway's Oeystein Pettersen.