Should’ve used Google maps
Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber had a moment to forget in the Nordic Combined large hill/10km event on Monday after he blew a 44-second lead… by going the wrong way.
Riiber had only returned to action the same day after recently spending two weeks in isolation after testing positive for covid-19 – giving him no chance to practice and learn the course.
Temperatures for the race were a concern for the athletes, as reported by The Guardian, with the race brought forward by 30 minutes to avoid the weather – which still hit lows of minus 20ºc.
At first it looked as if the Norwegian looked as if he had never been away. In the first half of the event, Riiber set the record for the the longest and highest-scoring ski jump.
Giving himself a 44-second time advantage over the rest of his competitors, it looked like it was going to be a straightforward route to the gold medal – or so he thought.
Riiber then took the wrong turning and was forced to go back, meaning any advantage was long gone, with the 24-year-old eventually finishing in eighth place.
He went the wrong way 😳
Jarl Magnus Riiber of Norway was in the lead in the men's Nordic Combined but then this happened…
📺📱 https://t.co/U6r7XnjVSI #BBCOlympics https://t.co/GvGGBF8ykF
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 15, 2022
Reflecting on the moment of madness afterwards, Riiber said: “It’s a silly mistake.
“It’s not fun to show the world that I maybe wasted a gold medal. I had been locked inside for two weeks, not breathing fresh air. My body is not working. Normally, I’m one of the better skiers and today I was just bad.”
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