LIBEREC, Czech Republic — Finland defended its title in the women's cross-country relay Thursday after Aino Kaisa Saarinen pulled away on the final leg to secure her third gold at the Nordic skiing world championships.

Saarinen trailed Norway's Marthe Kristoffersen by 8 seconds going into the last leg but quickly caught up and gradually pulled away.

"This is a great feeling to get every day a gold," said Saarinen, who also won the opening 10K classical race last week and teamed with Virpi Kuitunen to win the team sprint on Wednesday.

Finland finished the 20-kilometer relay in 54 minutes, 24.3 seconds, with Germany trailing by 13 seconds and Sweden another 0.4 back.

Kristoffersen tired at the end and was passed by Germany's Claudia Nystad and Sweden's Charlotte Kalla on the final straight as Norway settled for fourth. Norway led Germany by 16 seconds and Sweden by 39 going into the last leg. The 18-year-old Kristoffersen collapsed, crying in the snow, as her teammates tried to comfort her.

Finland was the favorite to repeat as champion, using the same team of Saarinen, Kuitunen, Pirjo Muranen, and Riita-Liisa Roponen that won in 1997 in Sapporo, Japan.