Charlotte Kalla Wins Gold Medal for Cross-Country Olympics 2018 Skiathlon

Sweden's Charlotte Kalla won the first gold medal of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang on Saturday, as a brilliant last-lap surge saw her to glory in the women's cross-country skiing.

In the 15-kilometre race, Kalla was able to catch the rest of the field sleeping on the fourth circuit on an uphill section, eventually coming home in a time of 40 minutes, 44.9 seconds.

She finished just under eight seconds ahead of Norway's Marit Bjoergen, who was chasing an 11th Olympic medal, while Finland's Krista Parmakoski took bronze.

The Olympics Twitter account confirmed the result:

Here's a look at the live medals table from Pyeongchang:

Kalla Secures Opening Gold

All eyes were on Bjoergen in the early stages of the race, as she sought to make history with an 11th medal and seventh gold in the Winter Olympics.

After the opening lap the Norwegian battled into the leading group and found herself at the head of the field. As noted by the FasterSkier account, Bjoergen was beginning to look especially strong on the uphill sections:

In the classical section of the race, the veteran started to turn up the pressure on the rest of the field and the leading group was gradually whittled down.

At the halfway mark a change of skis were needed as the competitors geared up for the final freestyle 7.5-kilometre section.

It was Bjoergen who led them into the pit stop, although she still had some illustrious company in the form of compatriot Heidi Weng and Kalla.

On the third of four laps, there were a few tactical battles, with none of the leaders wanting to be at the head of the race quite yet.

FRANCK FIFE/Getty Images

It meant some competitors who had dropped off the back had a chance to get their way back into contention, with around eight racers in the hunt for the medals with a lap to go.

On the first climb of the final lap, it was Kalla who made what proved to be the decisive move. And the Swede caught the rest of the field sleeping, with a huge surge putting her 10 seconds ahead of the chasing pack.

Bjoergen was penned in and in no position to respond, allowing Kalla to race away from the rest of the field and get over the final climb unchallenged. As the Australia Team Twitter account noted, in the end she had time to celebrate her third Olympic title:

While Bjoergen would've been disappointed not to have gotten over the line in first position here,  the silver medal ensured Saturday was still a landmark day for her, as noted by BBC Sport:

With so many competitors in with a chance of victory on the last lap, timing the burst for the line was always going to be critical for the eventual champion. And Kalla, now at her third Olympics, showcased the experience and acumen of a champion.