February 24, 2013 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – Defending Team Sprint champs, Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw from Canada, were edged out of the medals by mere centimeters as Kazakstan’s Alexey Poltoranin nipped Harvey at the line for the bronze, as the powerful Russian duo of Alexey Petukhov and Nikita Kriukov claimed the gold over Sweden. Kriukov’s untouchable finish over the final 50 meters of the race solidified the win over Sweden’s speed king, Emil Joensson, who was paired with Marcus Hellner.

Kershaw suffered a broken pole on his second leg causing the Canadians to drop to 9th but he kept his cool, got a pole and on his final leg recovered superbly, handing off to Harvey in 5th as the pace heated up. Harvey skied smart and strong on the final leg and put himself into third coming into the finish as Poltoranin charged to the line with him besting the Canuck by less than a boot in a photo-finish lunge for the final podium spot.

Team USA’s Andrew Newell and Erik Bjornsen did not make the final ending up 14th. And the Americans were not alone as powerhouse Norway was also eliminated and did not make the final as well.

Full results HERE.
Full results with splits HERE.