The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) celebrated its first gold medal of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Sunday after Alexander Bolshunov won the men’s 30km skiathlon.
Claiming three silvers and a bronze at Pyeongchang 2018, the 25-year-old finally dominated the event after finishing runner-up last time round.
In an impressive performance from the Russian team, Denis Spitsov completed an ROC 1-2 to clinch silver, with 2018 gold medalist Iivo Niskanen delivering bronze for Finland in third place.
Bolshunov suffered an early scare when he fell at the start of the race, but rallied back to lead by a minute with four kilometers to spare.
Roaring in delight while closing in on victory, Bolshunov coasted through the final seconds of an event that is usually much closer, and took an ROC flag from the crowd to celebrate his triumph with a bow.
Meeting Spitsov with a hug at the finish line as his compatriot – who also fell near the end of the race – bagged second place, the pair improved an already impressive Day 2 for the ROC which finished on top in the figure skating Team Event to close in on gold on Monday.
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