In a turbulent men’s skiathlon with challenging conditions on the course, ROC’s cross-country skiers Alexander Bolshunov and Denis Spitsoz took the top two spots of the podium. After winning four medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Bolshunov lived up to expectations and finally won his first gold Olympic medal with a time of 1:16:09.8. More than a minute behind him, his compatriot Spitsov crossed the finish line at 1:17:20.8 to win his third silver Olympic medal. Finland’s Iivo Niskanen took bronze.
Norway’s pre-race favorite Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo dropped off quickly and, surprisingly, finishing the race in 40th place. In an upset performance, no Norwegians made it onto the podium. They filled each step of the podium in PyeongChang.
Klaebo won three gold medals at the 2018 Winter Games at the age of 21, but his effort was not enough to land him anywhere near the top. Bolshunov got the better of Klaebo in the past two World Championships in distance and proved that during his gold medal performance.
Despite a crash in the beginning of the race, Bolshunov started pushing the pace early and was followed close behind by Finland’s Niskanen. Niskanen made the first move of the race, but soon fell behind ROC’s Spitsov after the athletes changed to the freestyle technique. Seemingly overcome with lactic acid build up, Spitsov was able to chase down Niskanen with zip in his step and stole second. But, it was clear no one was going to catch up to Bolshunov.
American Scott Patterson stabilized his strides in the second half of the race to hold onto the pack. Patterson was the best U.S. skier in this event and placed 11th. Fellow American Gus Schumacher finished 39th.
The next cross-country skiing event is the men’s and women’s sprint free qualifiers, semifinals and finals on Feb. 8 at 3:00 a.m. ET.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.