WHISTLER, British Columbia — Norway’s Petter Northug overcame treacherous conditions to win the closest-ever men’s Olympic 50 km cross country race yesterday, nipping ahead of Germany’s Axel Teichmann at the finish line.

Northug, the favorite, dug into his last reserves as the skiers entered the stadium, and he sprinted past Teichmann just when it looked as though the German had done enough to win.

The Norwegian finished in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 35.5 seconds — 0.3 seconds ahead of Teichmann.

Sweden’s Johan Olsson came third in a race marred by rain and snow, which made the going slippery and caused several crashes. Switzerland’s Dario Cologna was in contention for the bronze when he fell on the last bend.