The German skiers won their second Turin Winter Olympic gold medal here on Tuesday with an easy victory over Russia in the men's 4x7.5km relay.

The German team of Ricco Gross, Michael Roesch, Sven Fischer and Michael Grei lagged behind in the first leg but overtook the lead after the second leg and stayed in front to finish the course with a winning total of one hour 21 minutes and 51.5 seconds.

The Russia team took the silver medal in 1:22:12.4.

France edged Sweden from the podium as Raphael Poiree beat CarlJohan Bergman just in front of the finish line, and France claimed the bronze medal in 1:22:35.1.

Despite the brilliant final leg from five-time Olympic champion Ole Einer Bjorndalen, the pre-match favorite Norway had to accept the fifth place as Norway ranked 10 place after the first three legs.

(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2006)