The lightning comeback after his corona infection was a disaster for Jarl Magnus Riiber: A curious faux pas and dwindling strength in the cross-country ski run cost the World Cup dominator in Nordic combined a medal in the large hill competition.
“I was completely lost in my thoughts and was thinking about technical things. Suddenly I looked up and was on my way to the goal,” said the 24-year-old Norwegian at “Eurosport Norway” when he went two kilometers into the cross-country ski run accidentally turned onto the home stretch while in the lead, had to turn around and lost first place.
The superstar, who was the clear gold favorite before the Olympics, was then passed down to eighth place.
“I didn’t feel very well today. The body is not used to cross-country skiing, at least not at minus 20 degrees. I was done, although it was slow. I felt bad and maybe shouldn’t have started,” confessed Riiber, who was the first was released from his ten-day corona isolation on Monday, around 24 hours before the start.
“I tried to motivate myself as a preparation in the room with a small skateboard and training, but it wasn’t optimal. I could deduct maybe 15-20 seconds on the hill and 30 seconds for the mistake, then maybe you have the Olympic medal “Riber said.
Nordic Combined: Doesn’t Jarl Magnus Riiber compete in the team event?
The misfortune of his team did not give rise to high hopes for the team event on Thursday either.
“I’ll see if I survive today. From what I know, I could be a bit sick tomorrow. We’ll see,” said Riiber.
The individual was also less pleasant for the German team. As the best DSV starter, Manuel Faißt took the thankless fourth place when Riiber’s compatriot Jörgen Graabak won.
This broke the series of German “dominators” from the last four Olympic golds in a row and eight Olympic races with at least one medal.