Jarl Magnus Riiber found himself in a prime position to claim victory in the men’s large hill event in nordic combined. However, a wrong turn on the opening lap of the 10-kilometer cross-country skiing portion of the event slashed his lead and likely cost him a medal.
He told The Guardian, “It’s a silly mistake.” Riiber added, “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.”
The Norwegian had only been cleared to compete a day prior following a two-week period spent in isolation due to the contraction of COVID-19. He told reporters, “I had two days with very hard symptoms with corona and I was starting to train a little bit, building it a little bit up to perform on this day.”
Riiber stated that a focus on technique and pace were to blame for his lapse in orientation during the event. According to Reuters, Riiber commented, “I was actually quite focused on the technique and the pace, and I was staring down and suddenly when I was raising the head, I see the finish line and then I thought, okay -- this is not my Olympics.”
Given the human nature of his mistake, it’s a relatable experience for anyone who’s accidentally overslept before work or simply forgotten to perform a task, but those mistakes and accidents don’t often cost individuals an Olympic gold medal.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Norway though, as Joergen Graabak took victory in the event. Another Norwegian, Jens Lurås Oftebro, finished in second, leaving Norway in a great position for the relay. Entries for the relay have not been released yet, but if Riiber get a chance to chase gold once more he’ll certainly hope to avoid making a wrong turn once more.
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