Norway's Northug golden in 50K, Canada's Kershaw 5th

Canadian cross-country skier Devon Kershaw missed winning a medal by about the length of ski in the men's classical 50-kilometre race at the Winter Olympics on Sunday. 

The 27-year-old from Sudbury, Ont., finished fifth in the gruelling marathon of the Winter Games, in two hours 5:37.1 seconds, just 1.6 seconds behind the gold medal winner. It's the best-ever result for a Canadian in the event.

"One and a half seconds from gold … I'm going to leave this Olympics really proud of what we accomplished, but also you never know if you get another chance," an emotional Kershaw said after the race. 

His finish highlighted a good performance by the men's team in the Callaghan Valley cross-country course west of Whistler Mountain, as the skiers have managed seven Top-10 finishes. 

Norway's Petter Northug won gold using his trademark sprint to push past Axel Teichmann of Germany on the final straightaway. 

Northug finished in 2:05.35.5 for his second gold medal of the Olympics. 

Teichmann took the silver after coming in 0.3 seconds behind. Johan Olsson of Sweden took bronze, one second back. 

Kershaw looked strong through the first 40 kilometres of the race, skiing in the lead pack and conserving strength on the downhills. 

His wax technicians appeared to have created some of the fastest skis among the 48 skiers who finished the race. At times Kershaw seemed to be flying past other racers in the downhills. 

But in the end, the race came down to a thrilling sprint in the stadium, and the 27-year-old Kershaw was defeated by the world's best. 

"I paced that race perfectly," he said. "I did everything exactly as planned and I got beat by four stronger skiers today." 

George Grey, 30, of Rossland, B.C., also remained with the pack through much of the race, fading in the last 10 kilometres to 18th.

Alex Harvey, 21, of St.-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., wasn't pleased with his effort, saying he felt fatigue from earlier competitions. He placed 32nd. Ivan Babikov, 29, of Canmore, Atla., also struggled, placing 33rd.