Winter Olympics 2022 – ROC strike gold in women’s 4x5km relay as Therese Johaug misses out on medal

The Russian Olympic Committee swept to gold in the women’s 4x5km relay at Beijing 2022. The quartet of Yulia Stupak, Natalia Nepryaeva, Tatiana Sorina and Veronika Stepanova combined to see off Germany by 18.2 seconds, with Sweden taking bronze.

Ad/> Therese Johaug was denied her third gold of the Games as Norway finished fifth. /> Beijing 2022Watch Niskanen clinch stunning gold ahead of Bolshunov at Beijing 2022A DAY AGO Watch incredible Johaug win second gold in thrilling finish to 10km race Watch Niskanen clinch stunning gold ahead of Bolshunov at Beijing 2022 Beijing 2022 Olympic Games: Schedule, big names, key events and more The Norwegian's arrived in Beijing as strong favourites in the cross country women’s 4x5km skiing event, having won the World Championships title last year.

They were also looking to defend their title, although their squad is now completely different to last time out. Their defence started in the worst possible way following a collision between Tiril Udnes and Latvia’s Patricija Eiduk, leaving the champions with a lot of work to do to claw themselves back into contention.

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) started strongly, with Yulia Stupak handing over a convincing lead to Natalia Napryaeva at the first changeover, although Germany, Sweden and Finland remained in pursuit, sensing an opportunity for medal success. /> It was the German team who were first to make a move for the front, with Katharina Hennig taking the lead during the second leg, and handing over a lead of more than 20 seconds at the halfway point.

This is the part of the race where the style changes; moving from a classic skiing technique on a classic course to freestyle on a freestyle course. The Germany v ROC battle