updated 3:15 p.m. ET Feb. 16, 2006

PRAGELATO, Italy - Kristina Smigun scooted around the room hugging any friendly person she could find. She accepted congratulatory phone calls, her goggles still set snugly over the cap on her forehead as she motioned with her hands while recapping her race.

The bubbly blonde from Estonia is a two-time individual Olympic gold medalist — capturing both in a five-day span.

Smigun took the lead by the 7-kilometer mark in the interval start women’s 10km classical cross-country race Thursday, earning her second gold in as many events after winning the 15km pursuit Sunday.

“Actually, my race was perfect,” the beaming Smigun said. “But it was extremely hard, like for everybody.”

She finished in 27 minutes, 51.4 seconds, a commanding 21.3 seconds ahead of silver medalist Marit Bjorgen of Norway. Hilde Pedersen of Norway took the bronze — and Kristin Stormer Steira made it three Norwegians in the top four.

The 41-year-old Pedersen became the oldest woman to win a medal at an Olympic Winter Games. Raisa Smetanina won a cross-country relay gold for the Unified Team of Russia and the former Soviet republics in 1992, a few days before her 40th birthday.

Smigun watched Bjorgen, the World Cup leader, collapse across the finish line, glanced at the time, then raised her arms and screamed for joy in celebration.

On Wednesday, a close friend told Smigun the final three kilometers would make the difference and that she had a chance to beat the rest of the field by 17 seconds.

“I was like ’Whatever,”’ Smigun said.

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After more than her share of second-place finishes in the classical race, Smigun turned her focus to this event. She did not finish this race at the Salt Lake City Olympics because her mood was down following a bizarre doping scandal.

“Usually I have a problem with my skis or with my mind,” Smigun said. “My biggest wish was to get the gold medal in the 10K classical. I got it. It’s mine!”

Smigun tested positive in December 2001 for an anabolic steroid following a World Cup race in Italy. But a second sample came up negative, and she was cleared to compete in the 2002 Winter Games.

Four years ago, the World Anti-Doping Agency investigated Smigun’s case and chairman Dick Pound later said the first lab that tested her sample goofed and didn’t realize she was female.

Canada’s Sara Renner led through 6.2 kilometers Thursday, but dropped to fifth by 7.7 kilometers in and wound up eighth. Teammate Beckie Scott was disqualified for skiing in the wrong track in the final stretch through the stadium.

“Now, when we have only one in the top 10, we’re (ticked) off,” Canada coach Dave Wood said. “It shows how far we’ve come, and we’re not finished yet. Beckie, she’s not a quitter. This only drives her.”

Bjorgen, who had to pull out of the 15km pursuit Sunday before the midway point because of a stomach problem, returned to ski in the team sprint Tuesday and teamed with Ella Gjomle to finish fourth in the inaugural event.

“This silver is gold for me,” Bjorgen said. “I was really nervous before the start today because I’d been sick and didn’t know how good I could be.”

The 25-year-old Bjorgen is still looking for her first Olympic individual medal and first Olympic gold. She has four World Cup victories in this event, including two this season.

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“It’s a great day for us,” Norway coach Svein Tore Samdal said. “We had a lot of problems with sickness and we hoped for one medal today if everything went perfectly and we got two. It’s important for our whole team to get back in business. They are feeling a lot better.”

Finland’s Virpi Kuitunen, competing in her first Olympics and a favorite in the event, was a disappointing ninth.

This is Kuitunen’s favorite event and it had been her top focus in the Turin Olympics. The 29-year-old Kuitunen, who won bronze in the team sprint Tuesday, earned her first World Cup win in the 10km classic earlier this month in Davos, Switzerland — the final tuneup for the Olympics.

American Wendy Wagner, who plans to retire after the Olympics, was the top U.S. finisher in 50th.

The Italian Alps got a dusting of snow overnight, but light rain fell for about an hour before the race began and throughout the competition.

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