Marit Bjoergen of Norway took her third gold medal at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games 2014 when she led a clean sweep of the women's 30km mass start free on Saturday.

Bjoergen was followed home in second place by Therese Johaug and in third place Kristin Stoermer Steira.

"It's incredible," said Bjoergen. "We're all Norwegian and we're all on the podium. This has been a goal for me for a long time.

"I thought the 30k would be hard but I've felt very good in the last days. We weren't that good in the relay so we showed today that we are the best."

In winning, the 33-year-old Bjoergen equalled her gold medal haul at Vancouver 2010, even if overall she has won two fewer medals here.

More importantly still, her sixth gold medal also meant she equalled the Olympic Winter Games record of the Soviet speed skater Lidia Skoblikova and the cross country skier Lyobov Yegorova. Combining this gold medal tally with her three silver medals and one bronze medal, Bjoergen is now the most successful woman in Olympic Winter Games history.