Baku, February 23, AZERTAC

Norway’s Marit Bjoergen cemented her place in the pantheon of the greatest winter Olympians. Her bronze in the women’s cross-country team sprint took her medals total to 14 (seven of them gold), surpassing the previous benchmark set by her compatriot, biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. She still needs one win to match his tally of eight golds.

With the 30km classic mass start still to come, she has the perfect chance to do just that and provide PyeongChang 2018 with a grandstand finale. That would leave her position at the top of the all-time medal rankings beyond dispute, ahead of Bjoerndalen (13 medals; eight of them golds), Dutch speed skater Ireen Wuust (11 medals; five golds) and her fellow Norwegian cross-country legend Bjoern Daehlie (eight medals; six golds).

Bjoergen made her Olympic debut - and won her first medal (a silver in the 4x5km relay) way back in 2002 in Salt Lake City.