updated 7:51 a.m. ET Feb. 17, 2006

PRAGELATO, Italy, - Andrus Veerpalu took a celebratory bow on the podium, his right hand still grasping the gold medal around his neck. He smiled and waved to his supporters from home cheering and waving flags in the stands.

Oh, what an Olympics this has been for Estonia.

The Estonians — not the Norwegians or Germans — are dominating these games in cross-country, and Veerpalu’s sensational skiing in tough conditions Friday made it three gold medals overall for this tiny Baltic nation of 1.3 million people.

Veerpalu defended his Olympic 15-kilometer classical title from Salt Lake City a day after countrywoman Kristina Smigun won her second gold of the Turin Games in the women’s 10km classical race. She also won the 15km pursuit Sunday.

“We have three golds for Estonia,” Veerpalu said. “We are a very small country, so it’s a great day for the country.”

Once his top competition had finished in the interval-start race, Veerpalu raised his poles into the air in triumph, then quickly took a big swig from his water jug.

Estonia has a strong cross-country tradition, but rarely is discussed in the same breath with Finland, Germany, Norway or Russia.

Smigun and Veerpalu are changing that in a hurry.

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Veerpalu finished in 38 minutes, 1.3 seconds to beat silver medalist Lukas Bauer of the Czech Republic by 14.5 seconds. Germany’s Tobias Angerer won his first individual Olympic medal by taking the bronze, 19.2 seconds back in a race skied in fresh snow.

The 35-year-old Veerpalu is a classical specialist who won his country’s first Winter Olympics gold medal four years ago. He also won a silver medal in the 50km race in 2002.

“It’s a very good Olympics for me,” he said of these games. “It was a very hard day but my skis are very good, and it was also the very good work of my technician. I’m very satisfied.”

Robel Teklemariam became the first Ethiopian to compete in a Winter Olympics and the 31-year-old finished 84th. Asked if it had sunk in what he accomplished for his country, he said “slowly.”

Afterward, facing a pack of media members in the mixed zone, Teklemariam — dreadlocks hanging out of his hat and sunglasses perched on his head — said he hopes to ski again in the next Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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“I didn’t know if I’d end up in the Olympics, but I definitely dreamed about it since I was 12,” said Teklemariam, who now trains in Colorado after originally leaving his native country for New York. “I was really excited and nervous. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Now that it’s done, I feel really good. I had a good time.”

The event features an interval start, with the best skiers going last out of the gate in the 99-man field. It was a challenging day for wax technicians with snow falling overnight and throughout the race.

Angerer, the World Cup leader, collapsed across the finish, but certainly had reason to be happy after a disappointing 12th-place finish in Sunday’s 30km pursuit race. He had never won an individual medal at the Olympic or world championship level.

“It was a very, very important medal for the German team,” Angerer said. “I had a perfect race. I was in the top five from the start. My only goal was to get to the podium.”

Frode Estil of Norway, a favorite in the event and the silver medalist in the Olympic pursuit race, finished 17th and seemed to struggle with his wax.

Four skiers cleared in recent days to compete following five-day suspensions for high hemoglobin levels took part in the race: Teklemariam, Alen Abramovic of Croatia, Alexander Lasutkin of Belarus and France’s Jean Marc Gaillard.

American Kris Freeman placed 22nd.

“I think I came through with a decent race,” said Freeman, who is a diabetic. “I’m not thrilled with it, but I think it was a good effort. It was representative of where I am today. I was a little sick last week and this is a good first race back.”

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