 Saturday, 23 February, 2002, 19:15 GMT  Muehlegg claims golden
hat-trick  Johann Muehlegg of Spain staged a strong late
comeback to win his third gold medal of the Winter Games in the
men's 50km classical cross country.  The German-born skier, who
has still not been universally accepted in his adoptive country,
also won the 30km freestyle and combined pursuit earlier in the
Olympics.  However, controversy surrounded his latest success
after he failed a pre-race blood test before passing a second
test and being allowed to complete.  Muehlegg was among 13 men
selected at random to undergo a blood test.   His red blood cell
count was above the legal level for the first test but beneath
the threshold when a second test was carried out five minutes
later.  He was therefore allowed to compete.  In the race itself
Muehlegg was in second place until a late burst in the final 10
km saw him cross the finishing line in two hours six minutes and
5.9 seconds.  Russia's Mikhail Ivanov took silver in a time
almost 15 secon