By Emily Goddard

Petter Northug claimed his fourth gold medal of the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships ©Getty ImagesPetter Northug has brought the Nordic Ski World Championships to a dramatic close with his fourth gold medal of the flagship event in Falun.

The Norwegian Olympic gold medallist topped the podium in the men's 50 kilometres classic mass start with a time of 2 hours 26min 2.1sec thanks to his outstanding sprinting.

He entered the final straight just behind Lukáš Bauer of the Czech Republic and Russia's Maxim Vylegzhanin but managed to overtake the pair for the win.

Bauer claimed the silver medal in a time of 2:26:03.8, while Swedish defending world champion Johan Olsson came in two seconds behind Northug in a time of 2:26:04.1 to complete the podium and claim the bronze for the host nation.

The event concluded the 12 days of cross country, ski jumping and Nordic combined action in Falun, where 14 different nations won medals.

Swedish defending world champion Johan Olsson came in two seconds behind Petter Northug to take the bronze medal ©Getty ImagesSwedish defending world champion Johan Olsson came in two seconds behind Petter Northug to take the bronze medal ©Getty Images


Norway proved strong across all disciplines and topped the overall medals table, with a total of 20 medals, 11 of them gold.

Germany were also particularly successful and followed in second place, with five of the nation's eight total medals being gold.

Hosts Sweden closed the Championships in third place, with nine medals - two gold, four silver and three bronze.

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