Hoffman best US man in Skiathlon with 35th
Sun, Feb 9, 2014 - By USSA
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (Feb. 9) – Noah Hoffman (Aspen, CO) skied into the top spot for the USA Sunday, finishing 35th in the Olympic skiathlon at the Laura Cross Country Ski Center. Swiss skier Dario Cologna earned gold in the 15k classic x 15k freestyle race with Marcus Hellner of Sweden and Martin Johnsrud Sundby taking silver and bronze. Coverage of the men’s skiathlon airs on NBC Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST and can be streamed online at NBCOlympics.com.
Noah Hoffman skied into the top spot for the USA Sunday, finishing 35th in the Olympic skiathlon at the Laura Cross Country Ski Center. (Getty Images/Harry How)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Noah Hoffman (Aspen, CO) skied into the top spot for the USA Sunday, finishing 35th in the Olympic skiathlon at the Laura Cross Country Ski Center.
- Hoffman was tracking well through the classic portion until he came around a 180-degree corner into the stadium and crashed, breaking a pole.
- Swiss skier Dario Cologna earned the gold medal in the 15k classic x 15k freestyle race with Marcus Hellner of Sweden and Martin Johnsrud Sundby taking silver and bronze.
- Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, WA) finished 42nd, Brian Gregg (Winthrop, WA) 47th and Kris Freeman (Andover, NH) 54th.
- Coverage of the men’s skiathlon airs on NBC Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST and can be streamed online at NBCOlympics.com.
- Men’s and women’s freestyle sprints are scheduled for Tuesday Feb. 11 and will feature World Champion Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) in her quest to become the first American woman to ever win a cross country medal.
QUOTES
Noah Hoffman
The race today was definitely a little disappointing. I was really happy with the way it started. I was sitting in a very good position and feeling comfortable. The pace was fast and the pack was stringing out. Coming into the stadium after three of four classic laps I got tangled in the loose snow around the sharp corner. I broke a pole in the fall. It was not a good place to break a pole because the entire stadium is a no coaching zone.
My energy heading into the race was good, but not great. I think I can do a better job in the coming days of resting and conserving energy. There has been a lot going on here in the Olympic Village, so it would be good for me to build in a little more down time.
Erik Bjornsen
There’s a lot of racing ahead, so the goal is to just use this as a start race. The sprint and the 15k classic are my big races. I had a good 15k today so that was a confidence builder. It was the Olympics; it’s so fun.
RESULTS
Official Results