WHISTLER - Charlotte Kalla won Sweden's first medal of the 2010 Winter Olympics, dominating the competition Monday in the women's 10K cross-country freestyle ski race at Whistler Olympic Park just as she did nine days ago in a World Cup tune-up in Canmore, Alta.

Kalla, 22, finished 6.6 seconds ahead of Kristina Smigun-Vaeh of Estonia with a winning time of 28 minutes, 58.4 seconds. Norway's Marit Bjoergen won the bronze, finishing15.9 seconds behind Kalla.

Madeleine Williams of Edmonton, the only Canadian in the field of 78 racers, was 51st in her first Olympic competition.

"It hasn't hit home yet that we are in the Olympics," Kall said. "It's so crazy right now."

Sweden sent its A team, including Kalla, to a pre-Olympic World Cup event in Whistler in January, 2009, and the Swedes' familarity with the topography and snow conditions of the Callaghan Valley appears to have paid off from the get-go.