After an almost complete monopolisation of the medal placings in Canada last month, it was a similar story here in Finland as Russian athletes took 13 of the 18 medals on offer in the cross country events.

In the visually impaired middle distance events, there was a Russian clean-sweep in both the men's and women's competitions.

Elena Remizova and guide Natalia Yakamova followed up their long distance win in Canmore with victory in the shorter version, finishing ahead of world champion Mikhalina Lysova and guide Alexey Ivanov, with Iuliia Budaleeva and guide Tatiana Maltseva completing the podium.

Stanislav Chokleav and his guide Maksim Pirogov performed a similar feat in the men's race by besting compatriot and world champion Nikolay Polukhin and his guide Andrey Tokarev, while Aleksandr Artemov, guided by Ilya Cherapanov, finished in third spot.

Vancouver 2010 silver medallist Roman Petushkov took top honours in the men's middle distance sitting competition, seeing off the challenge of compatriot and short distance biathlon world champion Grigory Murygin, who finished third, while Ukrainian Maksym Yarovyi split the Russians on the podium.

Germany's Vancouver 2010 silver medallist Andrea Eskau finally managed to break the Russian hold on the gold medals in Vuokatti as she led home Maria Iovleva and Svetlana Konovalova in the women's middle distance race.

The reigning cross-country sprint world champion, who also claimed World Championship gold in the biathlon 12.5 kilometres discipline in Sollefteå last year, was making her World Cup season debut after missing the meeting in Canmore.

Andrea Eskau was one of only two non-Russian winners on day one of the IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup in Vuokatti ©Getty Images