Dario Cologna pulled away at the top of the final section to win the men's 30-kilometer skiathlon at the Sochi Olympic Games on Sunday.

The Swiss came first in one hour, eight minutes and 15.4 seconds for his second Olympic gold, beating defending champion Marcus Hellner of Sweden into second place by 0.4 seconds.

"It's very emotional to come and win a gold medal. My coach was crying today, and the same in Vancouver when I won the gold," said Cologna, who won gold in the 15km free at Vancouver 2010.

Hellner still led the competition with only one kilometer to go but Cologna powered past him on the final uphill climb before entering the stadium.

"I kept thinking I had to be fast and keep pushing forward. During the classic, I was more passive. I was raising my speed. After the classic I made the decision that everything would come down to the final climb." Said Cologna.

The Swiss went into Sochi 2014 after a serious injury. He injured an ankle in November 2013 and required surgery, which made him miss the opening two months of the 2013-14 world cup season. However, Cologna refused to give up on his Olympic chances.

"After today I can't say it's not 100%, but the foot is OK. I'm limping a bit, but who cares? I won the gold medal," said Cologna, "I did everything to be ready today. I feel I have room to grow and maybe win again. I want to become stronger."

Martin Johnsrud Sundby from Norway won the bronze medal in 1:08:16.8, beating Russian Maxim Vylegzhanin into the fourth place with only 0.1 second.

The Russian team filed a protest against Sundby's bronze, claiming that the Norwegian stepped on Vylegzhanin's ski in the final sprint.

Sundby denied the charge, saying that he didn't hurt the Russian's performance. "The fight was close. I do not remember the last 100 meters because I was tired and I lost my balance," said Sundby.

Xu Wenlong, the only Chinese competitor, finished 59th with a time of 1:16:53.3.