Kalla celebrates winning the first gold medal of the 2018 Winter Olympics (Source: Getty Images) Seoul (VNA) - Swedish cross-country skier Charlotte Kalla grabbed the first gold medal of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics 2018 after winning the women's skiathlon event on February 10.
Kalla clocked a time of 40 minutes, 44.9 seconds in the 15-kilometer skiathlon competition at Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, some 182 kilometers east of Seoul.
Defending champion Marit Bjoergen of Norway, also a six-time Olympic gold medalist, was second at 40:52.7, followed by Krista Parmakoski of Finland at 40:55.
The women's 15km skiathlon - an event in which athletes have to race 7.5km routes back-to-back with the first half using classical technique and the latter half using freestyle - was the first gold medal event at the PyeongChang Olympics, which kicked off on February 9. There are a record 102 gold medals up for grabs at this year's Winter Olympics, with some 2,920 athletes from 92 countries competing at its events, according to Yonhap news agency.-VNA
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