By his own admission this one hurt more than most as Ireland’s Thomas Maloney Westgård finished 54th in the 10km cross-country skiing interval race on day seven of the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
Over three different course laps at the Tesero Cross-Country Stadium in Predazzo, the 113 starters set off at 30 second intervals, but Maloney Westgård struggled to find his usual rhythm in the freestyle event, his second of three races at these Games.
Norway’s Johannes Klæbo once again proved unstoppable, winning his third gold medal in seven days, and now eighth Olympic gold medal in all. His winning time on the 10km course was 20:36.2, with Maloney Westgård finishing just over two and a half minutes behind, clocking 23:08
“Disappointed that I didn’t deliver more today,” said Maloney Westgård, who had finished 35th over the 20km skiathlon race last weekend, his best result from three Winter Olympics. “I’ve kind of felt good since the skiathlon, and I had much higher ambitions than what I finished today.
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“Pacing was crucial in this one. I tried to open at a controlled pace and then go faster, but I didn’t really have the last gear today. I was pushing hard, but there was only one speed, unfortunately.”
In unseasonably warm conditions, Klæbo was once again a class apart, winning ahead of Mathis Desloges from France, just under five seconds behind, with fellow Norwegian Einar Hedegart winning the bronze medal in 20:50.2
Maloney Westgård said his pre-race plan was to capitalise on his steady pacing and control the opening kilometres of the race. However, the 29-year-old struggled to find his upper speed throughout, losing too much time in his opening 4.9km.
“I felt I was opening controlled, where I had to be, but when the easy terrain came, where I should push more, I felt like the gear was not there. So, it was kind of the same pace all the way, which is a bit disappointing. I felt straight away that I didn’t have that last gear, the last push. And then I knew that my dream was not going to come true today, for sure.”
Maloney Westgård will now switch his focus next week to his preferred event, the 50km mass start: “What’s good with the 50km is that you have one steady pace, I think I have that. Hopefully, I will respond more and I’ll be better with one week, and what will be will be.”
On Saturday, Cormac Comerford will continue his Olympic campaign when he competes in his two giant slalom runs, one of the more technical events in Alpine skiing.
