Emily Harrop and Thibault Anselmet combined to win gold for France in the mixed relay event of Olympic ski mountaineering in Bormio on Saturday as the sport makes its Olympic debut at the Milan-Cortina Games.
Harrop and Anselmet clocked a winning time of 26min 57.44sec in the relay.
The Swiss duo of Marianne Fatton and Jon Kistler claimed silver, 11.86sec behind, with Spain's Ana Alonso Rodriguez and Oriol Cardona Coll in third place.
"It's a crazy feeling. The Olympics are the top of any athlete's dream," said Harrop.
"To be in the top place today with such a strong field out there, it's just crazy."
Harrop said she and Anselmet had a strategy "to start off hard and to put everyone in difficulties".
"But that includes ourselves!" the 28-year-old said. "I knew that it was going to be a hard race until the end."
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A lung-busting race
Harrop, a four-time World Cup overall champion who was born in the French Alps to English parents, was in dominant form in her opening leg.
A silver medallist in the individual sprint, she built up a healthy lead over Switzerland's Fatton and Spain's Alonso Rodriguez, the sprint gold and bronze medallists respectively.
Anselmet maintained that lead over Kistler and men's sprint champion Carona Coll.
Ski mountaineering is making its Olympic debut at the Milan-Cortina Games and while the 'skimo' sprints offered a condensed version of the sport, the mixed relay proved to be a true lung-busting race.
The 12 teams of two had to negotiate two ascents plus a steep section of steps on foot with skis attached to the backpack.
The athletes are required to employ all their technical nous to transition efficiently, stripping off reusable 'skins' that give their skis grip for climbing so they can freely ski down two descents.
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(with newswires)
