Niskanen brings gold for Finland in Olympic

Iivo Niskanen of Finland bagged the gold medal of cross-country 50km mass start classic at PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games here on Saturday.

Niskanen finished the most demanding race with 2 hours, 8 minutes and 22.1 seconds.

Niskanen, gold medalist in the team sprint in Sochi four years ago, became the fourth Finnish cross-country skier to win multiple gold medals in the sport.

"It was a big dream," commented Niskanen following his victory.

It was Finland's 79th medal in cross-country skiing, equaling Sweden's total for second-most behind Norway with 120.

Olympic Athletes from Russia Alexander Bolshunov and Andrey Larkov were ranked second and third respectively.