Norway's Svendsen edges out Bjoerndalen to 20km gold

From Sportsbeat staff, in Vancouver

 NORWAY'S Emil Hegle Svendsen has upgraded his 10km sprint silver to 20km individual gold in Vancouver, denying compatriot Ole Einar Bjoerndalen a sixth Olympic title in the process.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Emil Hegle Svendsen takes 20km gold in Whistler Olympic Park, denying compatriot Ole Einar Bjoerdalen a sixth Olympic title (Getty Images)

Svendsen, who finished second behind France's Vincent Jay, was in no mood to settle for second best again and romped home in 48:22.5 minutes, amassing just a single one-minute penalty in the process.

"The track was good, but it was really hot," said Svendsen.

 "Winning this gold makes up for my earlier performances. I came to Vancouver to get on the podium, and I had a dream for a medal.

"I don't think I would be here if it weren't for Bjoerndalen. I train with him every day and I try to copy everything he does.

"I owe him a great thanks. I'm very humble that I can be on the same team with him."

Bjoerndalen was forced to settle for second best and continues in vain to add to his five Olympic titles in Vancouver, paying the price for missing two out of his 20 targets on the shooting range, finishing 9.5 seconds behind Svendsen.

He shares the silver, his tenth Olympic medal, with Belarus' Sergei Novikov, who produced a flawless shooting display, hitting all 20 of his targets to also finish 9.5 seconds off the pace.

"The most important thing for me is to be satisfied with my race and not if I get a Gold or Silver medal," said Bjoerndalen.

"Many people said before the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games that it should be a competition between me and Emil. I had one more mistake today, so for me it means a lot that Emil won after I shot 18.

"We are a strong team and the Norwegian women showed that this morning as well. There's a new chance in the mass start now to get more medals, but the most important for us is to do well in the relay."

Meanwhile, British biathlete Lee-Steve Jackson has ended his Olympic debut on a disappointing note in Vancouver, coming home 59th in the 20km individual - his worst performance to date.

The 29-year old, a lance-corporal with the 2nd Battalion, Two Rifles, came home in 55:37.5 minutes, after amassing four one-minute penalties across the four shooting rounds.

Jackson's first Olympic appearance began promsingly, coming home 55th in his first outing in the 10km sprint, to equal his career-best finish at elite level, before just failing to repeat the trick in the 12.5km pursuit.

That prompted him to predict a top-20 finish in his final outing but it was a case of third time unlucky for Jackson, who paid the price for his shooting inaccuracy.

AS IT HAPPENS: Day seven of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver