The final women's race at the 2006 Olympics, the 30km mass-start skate, was expected to be a battle between Russia's Julija Tchepalova and Katerina Neumannova of the Czech Republic. That's exactly what happened this morning, with the gold being decided by just over a second after more than an hour and 20 minutes of racing.
 finished 8th.</p>
<p>The top finish for USA was biathlete Sarah Konrad's 32nd place. Konrad was roughly 6 minutes back of the winning time, and over 3 minutes ahead of the next-best US finish which was Rebecca Dussault in 43rd. Abby Larson was 47th and the fourth US starter, Lindsey Weier, had to join several top names on the DNF list including Virpi Kuitunen, Lina Andersson, Kati Venaelaeinen-Sundqvist, and Antonella Confortola. None of the Canadian women raced.</p>
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http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/CC/C73E_CCW730101.html
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