Aksel Lund Svindal wrote his name in Winter Olympic history by becoming the oldest man to win the prestigious men's downhill title on a Norwegian-dominated day at the Jeongseong Alpine Centre.

The 35-year-old Svindal led home his compatriot Kjetil Jansrud by 0.12 seconds while the pre-race favourite, double and reigning world champion Beat Feuz, had to settle for bronze.

Svindal already had one Olympic medal of each colour, all from the 2010 Vancouver Games, but it was feared his hopes of landing the Games’ blue riband title had gone after he finished fourth in Sochi.

Svindal said: “That (my age) doesn’t matter. The only thing it says is that this is probably my last Olympics. There is no such thing as a 100 per cent sure thing in this world but it is very likely.”