Video of the Sunday medal ceremony from ETV (if file size is too large to view, right-click link and save to your computer desktop. Open file from your desktop.)

PRAGELATO, Italy (Reuters) - Kristina Smigun gave Estonia their first Olympic medal in women's cross-country skiing on Sunday when she won the 15-km pursuit at the Turin Games.

The former world champion swept past veteran Katerina Neumannova of the Czech Republic in the skate to the finish to claim her country's first medal of the 2006 Olympics in the opening race of the cross-country program.

Neumannova, competing at her sixth Olympics, including an appearance as a mountain biker in the summer Games in Atlanta in 1996, had to settle for silver and Russia's Evgenia Medvedeva-Abruzova took bronze.

Norway's Marit Bjoergen, the World Cup leader and race favorite, pulled out at around the 7-km stage complaining of stomach problems.

Smigun, who turns 29 during the final week of the Games, made the pace for much of the race in bright sunshine at Pragelato, 80 km (50 miles) from host city Turin.

But Neumannova used her expertise in the second, freestyle half of the event to take the lead.

She had looked set to claim her first Olympic gold medal after taking three silvers and a bronze at Nagano and Salt Lake City but, in an exciting finish, Smigun stepped up a gear, reclaimed the lead and crossed the line first.

SURPRISE

Medvedeva-Abruzova's bronze medal was a surprise. The Russian has only won one World Cup race in her career, although she was part of Russia's silver medal relay team at last year's world championships.

Norway's Kristin Stormer Steira took fourth and Gabriella Paruzzi delighted home fans with a surprise fifth place, as many of the race favorites struggled.

Julija Tchepalova of Russia, who won gold in this event at the 2005 world championships, managed only ninth while Germany's Claudia Kuenzel, strong in the World Cup this year, trailed home in 18th.

In the pursuit, the women race for 7.5 km in the classical style, with their skis parallel, and then change skis and complete the second 7.5 km in freestyle, which means they can skate.

The men's pursuit is scheduled for later on Sunday.

The start of the cross-country program at the Turin Games has been overshadowed by the suspension, for five days as a health precaution, of 12 athletes after tests showed they had abnormally high red blood cell counts.

Among them was German Olympic champion Evi Sachenbacher Stehle, who was barred from Sunday's race.