Thomas Maloney Westgård marked his third Winter Olympics appearance on Sunday with his best result in the cross-country skiathlon at Milano Cortina, finishing 35th over the 20km race which combines the classic and freestyle techniques.
The gold medal went to the all-conquering Norwegian Johannes Klæbo, who simply bided his time before blowing away the last of rivals when winning his first cross-country title in Milano Cortina and a sixth Olympic gold medal in all.
For Westgård, who finished 43rd in this event in Beijing in 2022, and 57th in Pyeongchang in 2018, the pre-race target was to get inside the top-40 among the 75 starters. His finishing time of 49:24.6 left him three minutes and 13 seconds behind Klæbo, who is aiming to win all six of the men’s cross-country skiing eventsat the Games.
After the first 10km of classic cross-country skiing over three laps, Westgård was sitting 42nd. He moved up several places after the transition to the second 10km of freestyle skiing, also over three laps, where there was no let up in the intensity.
“That was a tough one, brutal,” said Westgård. “Soft conditions, but also icy and tricky on the downhills. So it was a real challenging course for sure, but happy to have started another Olympics.
“My plan to was stick near the front as long as I could, but the pace was just ridiculous, full out from the start. The cramps were coming on halfway through the race, it was just so tough, like it should be in the Olympics. I put everything out there and can’t really ask for more.
“I’m really happy, and proud to represent Ireland here, and looking forward now to the upcoming races.”
Gold medallist Johannes Høsflot Klæbo from Norway celebrates on the podium along with silver medal winner Mathis Desloges from France (left) and bronze medal winner Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget from Norway. Photograph: Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images
Staged at the forest venue at Tesero, the Norwegian hopes of gold again rested on Klæbo, and the 29-year-old star didn’t disappoint. On the last uphill section with under 800m to go, he put in a massive attack to crush the last of his rivals, winning in 46:11.
There was a surprise silver for French debutant Mathis Desloges, in 46:13, just ahead of Klæbo’s fellow Norwegian Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget.
The 30-year-old Westgård is also based in Norway, born on the tiny island of Leka to a Galway mother and Norwegian father. He’s also set to compete in the 10km free and 50km classic, two of his preferred events.
He was particularly pleased with his freestyle 10km, where all the competitors change skis and sticks at the transition. His mother also make the trip from Leka to see him compete: “It was the best atmosphere I’ve experienced by far, I heard my name shouted out there. I had some good guys around me, and the Olympics is really competitive, and that was such a tough race.”
Of the 74 starters, only 64 finished, as under FIS rules once a cross-country skier is lapped in multi-lap races they must leave the course.
The next Irish athlete in action is Cormac Comerford, who goes in the Super-G event on Wednesday.
Comerford finished 34th in the men’s downhill on the opening day of the Alpine skiing on Saturday, after making his Olympic debut in skiing’s queen event. He completed the revered 3,442-metre course at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio in a time of 2:04.40. That left him 34th among the 36 starters and he was well pleased with his effort on a highly technical, and in parts treacherous, course.
“It’s an incredible feeling to make my Olympic debut today in this weather, on this slope,” said the Dubliner, who started out last among the field. “To bring it down Stelvio is a huge achievement, coming from the artificial slope back home. There’s a huge sense of pride. I made a few mistakes in the run, it felt smoother in training, but that’s racing and I’m really proud to have brought it down.”