Five days ago, Niskanen had to settle for bronze in the men’s 30km skiathlon after being overtaken by Alexander Bolshunov of the Russian Olympic Committee who powered clear to take gold.

But on this occasion, Niskanen refused to let the lead slip as he forged ahead, finishing almost half a second in front of Bolshunov.

The Finnish cross-country skier clocked a winning time of 37min 54.8sec as Bolshunov sealed silver in 38:18.0.

The bronze medal went to Norway’s sprint freestyle gold medallist Johannes Høsflot Klæbo who clocked 38:32.3.

It is Niskanen’s third Olympic gold of his career having claimed the team sprint title at Sochi 2014, followed by the 50km classic mass start crown at Pyeongchang 2018.

"Actually I felt so strong today and it was under control the whole race," said Niskanen.

"This victory means a lot to me.

"I was fourth, 0.2 seconds behind the medal at Sochi 2014, at this distance, and it's been a long eight years to wait for this race again in the Olympic programme.

"Now I managed to win it.

"I have been focusing on it all the time.

"This is a really big victory for me."

When asked about his feelings heading into the race, Niskanen added: "After skiathlon, the Russians were so strong that I have to say that Bolshunov lived in my head five days after that, but now he's moved away.

"I was so worried about the speed in the skiathlon, but classic 15km has been a perfect distance for me."

Bolshunov’s silver was his sixth Olympic medal having claimed the skiathlon title in Beijing as well as earning three silvers and one bronze at Pyeongchang 2018.

"I think you can be called 'the most-decorated' only when you have more gold medals," added Bolshunov.

"Six [Olympic medals]?

"What is six?

"There is still time and there are opportunities so these are not the last medals.

"I will keep trying.

"I'm calm about it.

"What should I think about it?

"If I had five gold medals, then I would think about it.

"But for now, there is nothing to think about."