Sprint finish decides Nordic combined

Jason Lamy Chappuis won France's second gold in the space of two hours when he triumphed in the Nordic combined.

As compatriot Vincent Jay won the 10km biathlon, Lamy Chappuis stood fifth in his event after the ski jump segment.

He and Johnny Spillane both put in strong cross-country showings but the Frenchman overtook the American in a thrilling dash for the line.

"I just went for it. Johnny was pretty good. I just tried to catch him," said Lamy Chappuis, 23.

"It was good to have a view in front of me and a goal to catch him.

"I can't believe I am an Olympic champion."

Alessandro Pittin of Italy took the bronze, finishing 0.8 seconds behind Lamy Chappuis and just ahead of world champion Todd Lodwick of the United States.

Spillane's silver was the first medal for the US in this version of the combined, from the normal hill. Biathlon is now the only Winter Olympic sport in which the country has not reached the podium.

Chappuis, the son of a French father and American mother, was born in Missoula, Montana, but has always raced for France and has five World Cup wins and nine podium places this season.

Lamy Chappuis held off American Johnny Spillane on the line

He is close with the American team, and the French team went to Park City, Utah, for a pre-Olympic training camp with the Americans before flying to Vancouver.

Winds swept through Whistler Olympic Park just as the World Cup heavyweights were about to jump down the normal hill, keeping distances down and pushing some of the best skiers to the back of the pack.

Magnus Moan of Norway, who took silver and bronze in the individual events at the 2006 Turin Games, finished in ninth and Felix Gottwald of Austria, a six-time Olympic medallist, was 14th.

Lamy Chappuis jumped last but managed the fifth-best result, just close enough to the front to give him a chance to win.

Niyaz Nabeev of Russia was barred from competing in the race after tests before the Olympics detected haemoglobin levels that were too high.

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