Norway's Bjoergen and Weng cry as they celebrate after women's cross-country skiathlon event at 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics
Norway's Bjoergen and Weng cry as they celebrate after women's cross-country skiathlon event at 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Reuters

Norway and Netherlands got ahead of the field in the early medal tally owing to a Norwegian gold-bronze finish in the ladies’ skiathlon and a 1-2-3 Dutch dominance in men’s speedskating on the third day of action at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya, Polyana, Russia.

Norway’s Marit Bjoeergen clocked in with 38 minutes and 33.6 seconds for first-place in the cross country event and continued her dominating run in the cross country event after winning three gold medals in the Vancouver games four years ago.

Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla came in 1.8 seconds behind for the silver to crash an all-Norwegian podium finish. Another skier from Norway Heidi Weng ended up at third place (38:46.8) for the bronze and compatriot Therese Johaug was at fourth (38:48.2).

The 33-year-old Bjoergen was the most decorated athlete in Canada as she also added a silver and bronze in 2010. With a gold in the bag in Sochi, she is expected to once again to aim for most medals by any athlete in this Olympics.

The skiathlon event features two phases—both at 7.5 kilometers each. Bjoergen had a time of 19 minutes and 10.6 seconds in the first stage, the classic-style skiing and 18 minutes and 47.9 seconds in the second, the freestyle showing her versatility in cross country competition.

Meanwhile, Dutch Sven Kramer led compatriots Jan Blokhuijsen and Jorrit Bergsma to a gold-silver-bronze finish in the men’s 5000m event in speedskating.

Other events were scheduled late Saturday in Sochi. Here are some of the results in Day 3 of the 2014 Winter Olympics:

Ice Hockey – Preliminary Round
 USA def. Finland 3-1
Canada vs. Sweden, 5-0

Snowboarding – Men’s Slopestyle
 Gold - Sage Kotsenburg (USA) - 93.50
Silver – Staale Sandbech (Norway) – 91.75
Bronze – Mark McMorris (Canada) – 88.75

Speedskating – Men’s 5000m
 Gold – Sven Kramer (Netherlands) - 6:10.76
Silver – Jan Blokhuijsen (Netherlands) – 6:15.71
Bronze – Jorrit Bergsma (Netherlands) – 6:16.66

Cross Country – Ladies’ Skiathlon 7.5km Classic + 7.5km Free
Gold – Marit Bjoergen (Norway) – 38:33.6
Silver – Charlotte Kalla (Sweden) – 38:35.4
Bronze – Heidi Weng (Norway) - 38:48.6