Extremely harsh weather conditions, almost “extreme & rdquor; those that accompanied the last great test of cross-country skiing. So much so that the 50km freestyle mass start was eventually reduced to 30km to preserve “safety” of the participants, after the appointment was delayed an hour due to bad weather caused by the wind.
A test with which the Gipuzkoan Imanol Red closed his participation in this Olympic event, with a more than meritorious twenty-first place, three minutes, 17 seconds and eight tenths behind the champion, the Russian Alexander Bolshunov. The faces of the participants when crossing the finish line said it all, congested, with their beards practically frozen due to the low temperatures that reached 12 degrees below zero and the wind gusts of 15 km/h.
“It was a very tough race, they pushed a lot from the beginning. When they threw the first 15 there was a cut, I tried to enter but I couldn’t. It makes me angry because I felt very well. Afterwards I was comfortable in the second group and we played it against the sprint”, analyzed Imanol.
Rojo thus equaled his position in the ‘skiathlon’ test at these Games, in which he also competed in the 15-kilometer, classic style (39th). “I make a very positive balance of these Games. Improving all my positions at all distances is very positive, although I still have an aftertaste that in some test I could have done a better position & rdquor ;, he commented after closing his third Olympic event after those of Sochi’14 (Russia) and PyeongChang (Korea del Sur) four years ago.
The Andorran Irineu Esteve finished 25th in this event that elevated Bolshunovwith his third gold in Beijing. Bolshunov, 25, captured his fifth medal at the Beijing Games, the third gold, by covering the route, which was finally 28.4 kilometers -there were four laps of the 7,100-meter circuit- in one hour, eleven minutes, 32 seconds and seven tenths; and won with an advantage of five and a half seconds over his compatriot Ivan Yakimushkin, who completed the Russian ‘double’ in the last long-distance test, which the Basque Imanol Rojo, the only Spanish participant, concluded in twenty-first position, three minutes and 17 seconds from the Russian champion.