It is the queen event of cross-country skiing, the equivalent of the marathon in athletics for its prestige, but the 50 km cross-country of the 2022 Olympics finally had to be amputated by 20 kilometers. In extreme cold and on a track swept by gusts of wind, the explanation between the two stars of the discipline, the Russian Alexander Bolshunov and the Norwegian Johannes Klaebo, quickly came to an end. Klaebo, let go, gave up shortly after halfway and Bolshunov offered himself his third gold medal, after the skiathlon and the relay, his fifth medal and the unofficial title of best cross-country skier in the world. The best Frenchman, Clément Parisse, was ranked 7th, Maurice Manificat, a member like him of the bronze medal-winning 4×10 km relay in Zhangjiakou, 10th.
To equal the French record for medals in an edition of the Winter Olympics (15), it will probably be necessary to wait until Sunday with the parallel event by mixed teams where Tessa Worley and Alexis Pinturault, who remained without a medal, hope to save their Games during this test. Provided it takes place: the Team Event scheduled for this Saturday has been postponed to Sunday morning (9am) due to strong gusts of wind in Yanqing. “The forecast isn’t much better, just slightly better” for Sunday, said the race director for the International Ski Federation (FIS) Markus Waldner.
In half pipe skiing, Kevin Rolland finished in 6th place, far from New Zealander Nico Porteous, reigning world champion in the specialty and now Olympic champion, ahead of the Americans David Wise and Alex Ferreira. But for the standard-bearer of the French delegation during the opening ceremony, the bet had already been won since he had qualified for the final, three years after a terrible fall which almost cost him his life.
The closing ceremony of the Games is scheduled for this Sunday morning from 1 p.m. The French delegation will be led by biathlete Quentin Fillon-Maillet. Despite a fourth place in the mass start on Friday, the Jura, who achieved an almost perfect Olympic Games by winning five medals (two gold and three silver) in six events, will be the standard bearer for France.