Kruger bags skiathlon gold
PyeongChang : Norway’s Simen Hegstad Kruger made a remarkable fightback to win gold in the men’s skiathlon at the Winter Olympics.
Kruger, 24, was floored by a collision early in the race, leaving him last out of 68 and having to replace his poles.
Yet he took the lead in the penultimate lap in PyeongChang and raced clear to win in one hour 16 minutes 20 seconds.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Hans Christer Holund made it a Norwegian 1-2-3 while Team GB’s Andrew Musgrave claimed seventh place.
Kruger finished eight seconds clear of Sundby, the 2014 bronze medallist, while OAR athlete Denis Spitsov came fourth after also being involved in the collision.
The men’s 15km + 15km skiathlon is a mass start cross country event in which competitors swap techniques midway through the race.
There is a pit-stop halfway through the race where athletes change skis and poles to go from classic to free technique.
The men’s event features eight laps of a 3.75km course and Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo led at the change-over, with Kruger 15.2 seconds behind in 14th.
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