LYON, France

After a two-day marathon of cooking and judging that pitted chefs from 24 countries against each other, the chef from Norway won the Bocuse d'Or, the cooking competition known as the Olympics of Food.

The Swede took the silver, the Frenchman the bronze and the American came in sixth.

Paul Bocuse, who created the competition in his name 22 years ago, and many of the top chefs here, both French and foreign, were rooting for the American team to get the gold. American victory would insure more American interest, investment and validation of the award.

But Timothy Hollingsworth, the 28-year-old American chef who is the sous-chef at the Napa Valley restaurant, French Laundry, did not fulfill his hopes.

In the previous 11 contests since 1987, a Frenchman has won the gold medal six times, a Norwegian three. Sweden and Luxembourg both won once. The Americans have never even won the silver or bronze; the best an American placed was sixth in 2005.