Marit Björgen wins fifth medal at PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics

Marit Björgen won her fifth medal at PyeongChang 2018 on Sunday, her second gold, by winning the 30-kilometer classic cross-country skiing mass start event. With this victory, she improved her own record for most medals in Winter Olympics and also helped Norway top the medal standings.

Björgen, 37, won the final event of the XXIII Winter Olympics at Alpensia Nordic Skiing Centre in PyeongChang with a time of 1 hour, 22 minutes, 17.6 seconds. She finished with a massive lead of 1 minute and 49 seconds ahead of Finnish skier Krista Parmakoski.

The bronze medal went to Swedish skier Stina Nilsson, who finished 1 minute and 58 seconds behind Björgen. With this latest title, Björgen has now broken her own record for most medals won by a woman in Winter Olympics, taking her total tally to 8 golds, 4 silvers, and 3 bronzes.

The relentless Marit, who holds the record for most victories in the World Cup with 112, arrived in South Korea already as the most decorated woman in Winter Olympics history with 6 golds, 3 silvers, and 1 bronze. However, she surpassed the previous record holders, Russian skier Raisa Smetanina and Italian skier Stefania Belmondo, in terms of gold medals won.

In PyeongChang, Björgen had already won four medals before the final event on Sunday: a gold in the 4x5 relay, a silver in the skiathlon, and two bronzes in the 10-kilometer freestyle and the sprint relay.

Her total of 14 medals surpassed the previous record of 13 held by her compatriot and biathlete Ole Einar Björndalen, who had one more gold than her with a total of 8 golds, 4 silvers, and 1 bronze.

With her victory on Sunday at Alpensia Nordic Skiing Centre, where she dominated right from the start, Björgen equaled Björndalen's record of 8 gold medals and became the all-time leader in Winter Olympics medals with a collection that also includes 4 silvers and 3 bronzes.

Björgen made it clear from the beginning that she was aiming for gold, not just any medal. At 37 years old, she knew that these would likely be her last Olympics and dedicated a whole season to prepare for them, despite currently ranking tenth in the World Cup standings.

One medal in PyeongChang would have made her the most decorated woman in Winter Olympics history. Björgen ended up winning five. Her final medal added excitement to the medal standings, which could have changed with the last two events and was only decided by the end.

During the final day of competition, Germany temporarily took the lead in the medal standings at PyeongChang 2018 after winning gold and silver in the 4-man bobsleigh event.

In the afternoon, with Germany ahead of Norway 14-13 in gold medals, there were two final events that would determine the standings: the hockey final involving Germany and the women's 30-kilometer classic cross-country skiing. The indomitable star from Trondheim would compete in the latter.

In addition to the gold in the 4-man bobsleigh, Sweden also won gold in women's curling, defeating host country South Korea 8-3 in the decisive match played just meters away from the Gangneung Ice Arena. At the same time, the Figure Skating Gala exhibition took place, featuring the majority of the medalists from these Games, including Spain's Javier Fernández, who won bronze in the individual event and later served as the flagbearer at the closing ceremony.

Germany forced overtime but lost the hockey final to Russia, who secured victory with a golden goal from Kirill Kaprizov (4-3). If the outcome had been the other way around, Germany would have mathematically topped the medal standings. The final ended just minutes before Björgen crossed the finish line at Alpensia Nordic Skiing Centre.

Marit did not falter unexpectedly, and her victory on Sunday gave Norway its 14th gold medal, equaling Germany's total. However, Norway had more overall medals with 14 silvers (which would have been enough to top the table) and 11 bronzes compared to Germany's 10 silvers and 7 bronzes.

Björgen gave it her all and added excitement to the final day of competition. She crowned Norway and rightfully proclaimed herself as the queen of Winter Olympics on the day of the PyeongChang Games closing.