Lahti, Finland  - Two-times world champion Justyna Kowalczyk on Sunday won a women's 10 kilometre freestyle cross-country race in Finland's Lahti.

The Pole won in 24 minutes 38.6 seconds, beating Sweden's Charlotte Kalla by 22.4 seconds into second place. Norway's Marthe Kristoffersen managed to secure third place by just 0.1 second from Russian Evgenia Medvedeva.

Kowalczyk managed to cut Petra Majdic's lead at the top of the overall standings to just 71 points with seven races remaining.

Liberec, Czech Republic  - Bill Demong turned from villain to hero with a Nordic combined gold and Justyna Kowalczyk became the queen of cross-country skiing with a second world title on her own at the Nordic skiing world championships on Saturday.

Demong beat Germany's Bjoern Kircheisen for the Nordic combined normal hill crown, two days after he failed to find his bib in the team event which led to his disqualification and ended the US medal hopes.

Liberec, Czech Republic - Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland had the strongest finish in a 30-kilometres cross-country ski marathon on Saturday to claim her second gold medal at the world championships.

Kowalczyk skied away from her rivals on the final kilometre to add the 30km gold to the pursuit title and 10km bronze.

Kowalczyk clocked 1 hour 16 minutes 10.6 seconds to win from Russian Evgenia Medvedeva (8.8 seconds behind) and Valentina Shevchenko of Ukraine (9.3).

Liberec, Czech Republic - Justyna Kowalczyk became the first Polish woman to win a cross-country skiing world title and Wolfgang Loitzl ended a long ski-jumping title drought for Austria at the Nordic world championships on Saturday.

Kowalczyk, 26, passed long-time leader Kristin Stoermer Steira of Norway on the final turn to win the 15-kilometres pursuit race.

Loitzl, 29, then proved his big event qualities this year, when he added the normal hill world title to the Four Hills crown in January. He won from compatriot Gregor Schlierenzauer as Austria got its first individual ski-jump world title since Heinz Kuttin's success in 1991.

Liberec, Czech Republic - Justyna Kowalczyk attacked on the final turn to win a first cross-country skiing world title for the Polish women on Saturday, in the
15-kilometres pursuit.

Kowalczyk, 26, passed long-time leader Kristin Stoermer Steira of Norway and crossed the finish line in 40 minutes 55.3 seconds.

Steira trailed by 1.7 seconds as she missed out on a major individual title yet again despite setting a fierce pace. Thursday's 10km world champion Aino Kaisa Saarinen of Finland came third, 8.0 seconds behind the winner.

Liberec, Czech Republic - Justyna Kowalczyk attacked on the final turn to win a first cross-country skiing world title for the Polish women on Saturday, in the
15-kilometres pursuit.

Kowalczyk, 26, passed long-time leader Kristin Stoermer Steira of Norway and crossed the finish line in 40 minutes 55.3 seconds.

Steira trailed by 1.7 seconds as she missed out on a major individual title yet again. She has a relay gold from the 2005 worlds, a 30km silver 2007, plus pursuit bronze 2005 and 2007 to go with Saturday's silver.