Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber has had a Winter Olympics in Beijing to forget. Having tested positive for Covid he has spent two weeks in isolation, unable to train, and was only released on Monday. Cleared to compete today in the Nordic combined large hill/10km he put himself well in contention for a medal.
Having recorded the longest and highest-scoring ski jump earlier in the day, he set off first for the cross-country element with a 44-second time advantage over the rest of the field. And then he took a wrong turn. Unfamiliar with the course, he went the wrong way. He had to turn around, but the time taken virtually wiped out his entire lead, and he eventually faded to finish in eighth place.
