Coming into the relay at the Beijing Olympics, the competition was expected to be a neck-a-neck thriller between defending Norway as defending champions from the 2018 Olympics, and Russia who were chasing the first Russian gold in an Olympic relay since 1980. 

But the Russians made sure from the first lap that the only suspense was going to be how much they would win by. 

Alexey Chervotkin exchanged with Alexander Bolshnov with 23.5 seconds to Germany in second place. Bolshunov exchanged with Denis Spitsov 59.5 seconds ahead of Norway. 

Spitsov sent Sergey Ustiugov off on the final leg with a 44.5-second margin to Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. And when Ustiugov crossed the finish line, the gap to Klæbo was one minute and seven seconds. 

France took home the bronze medal, nine seconds behind Norway. 

The race for the rest of the medals was more exciting, with six nations in serious contention for the podium at various points of the race: In addition to Norway and France, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Italy added to the excitement throughout the event.

Updates in progress

Top 3, 4x10km relay, men
1. Russian Olympic Committee (Alexey Chervotkin, Alexander Bolshunov, Denis Spitsov, Sergey Ustiugov), 1:54:50.7
2. Norway (Emil Iversen, Pål Golberg, Hans Christer Holund, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo) +1:07.2
3. France (Richard Jouve, Hugo Lapalus, Clement Parisse, Maurice Manificat) +1:16.4

Complete results

Yesterday, the Russian women won the 4×5-kilomter relay at the 2022 Olympics. 

The sprint relay is the next events for the cross-country skiers at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. The sprint relays for both men and women are scheduled for Wednesday, February 16. Semifinals start at 10am, while the finals take place at noon. All times are CET. 

FACTS: 2022 OLYMPICS 
What: XXIV Olympic Winter Games (24th edition)
Beijing 2022 – All you need to know 
Where: Beijing, China
Biathlon, cross-country skiing and Nordic events will take place at the Zhangjiakou arena, situated at and above 1650 meters above sea level. 
When: February 4 to 20, 2022
What happens when: 
Complete schedule for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, all sports. 
Who: 53 cross-country teams compete at the 2022 Olympics, each fielding from 1 to 16 athletes. 
All the cross-country ski teams to the Beijing Winter Olympics 
How: Where to watch the Olympics – World Wide

Results, start lists and competition details for all events at the 2022 Beijing Olympics will be posted here

Beijing Olympics homepage