The ROC athlete finally claimed top spot in an Olympic cross-country skiing race with compatriot Denis Spitsov winning silver and Finland’s Iivo Niskanen holding on for bronze.
Alexander Bolshunov finally claims the Olympic gold medal he’s been dreaming of since winning three silvers and one bronze at his debut Olympic Winter Games at PyeongChang 2018.
The ROC athlete won the Beijing 2022 cross-country skiing 15km + 15km skiathlon on Sunday (6 February) at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre.
Bolshunov finished in a time of 1:16:09.8 beating his countryman Denis Spitsov into second place (1:17:20.8).
Finland’s Iivo Niskanen held on for bronze (1:18:10.0) after being chased to the podium in the final stages by Norwegian Hans Christer Holund (1:18:40.7) who finished fourth.
Historically the best country in cross-country skiing, Norway won’t have any athletes on the podium, with Paal Golberg finishing behind his teammate in fifth.
On realising a medal was out of the question, Norwegian favourite Johannes Klaebo finished well down the field in 40th.
Next cross-country skiing event at Beijing 2022 is the women’s and men’s sprint qualification and medal races on Tuesday (8 February) starting 16:00 Beijing time.