Alessandro Hämmerle of Austria has grabbed an Olympic gold medal, winning the snowboard cross at the Beijing Games on Thursday. The race came down to a photo finish, with Hämmerle taking the edge to prevail on the 1,252-metre course at the Genting Snow Park, beating Eliot Grondin of Canada who took silver. The two tussled for the lead throughout, with Grondin sliding across the finish line after a fall. Hämmerle, the three-time reigning World Cup champion and world championship silver medallist, gave Austria its first gold medal in a men’s snowboarding event. He said the gold medal felt specia…