Skiathlon (30 kilometres), Men

The 30 kilometres skiathlon (15 km classical, 15 km freestyle) was the first men’s cross-country event at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. After winning the event at the 2021 World Championships, Aleksandr Bolshunov also secured Olympic gold in 1:16:09.8 with a dominant performance. On the demanding course in Zhangjiakou, no one could even come close to him. After three silvers and one bronze at PyeongChang in 2018, this was Bolshunov’s first Olympic gold medal.

Silver also went to Russia with Denis Spitsov who, like Bolshunov at the beginning of the race, survived fall late on, but he finished 1:11.0 behind his team-mate. The Finn Iivo Niskanen took bronze, 2:00.2 behind the winner. The three medallists already held the top three ranks after the classical section with Bolshunov in first place, classical specialist Niskanen in second, just 0.5 behind, and Spitsov (+30,5) in third.

Surprisingly, the Norwegians did not make it onto the podium. Four years earlier in the PyeongChang skiathlon, they swept all three medals. Hans Christer Holund missed the podium, but was the best Norwegian in fourth place, followed by Pål Golberg in fifth. The co-favorite Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, three-time Olympic champion from PyeongChang, finished a completely disappointing 40th (+9:06.0).