Russia took gold Saturday in a dramatic men's team relay at the Sochi Games which saw Norwegian star Ole Einar Bjoerndalen miss out on a chance for a historic ninth gold medal.
Four teams were neck-and-neck on the final leg of the relay but Norway's anchorman Emil Hegle Svendsen endured a disastrous final standing shoot that put his team out of the running.
Russian Anton Shipulin secured the gold by sprinting clear of Germany's Simon Schempp in the home straight, finishing in 1 hour 12min 15.9sec with Germany 3.5 sec behind. Austria took the bronze.
Bjoerndalen set a record at these Games by winning a total of 13 gold medals at Winter Olympics but remains equal with Norwegian cross country skier Bjoern Daehlie on the most golds at eight.