Kim and Jeong finish 79th and 82nd in 15-kilometer classic

Olympic Sports

Published: 11 Feb. 2022, 19:34

Kim and Jeong finish 79th and 82nd in 15-kilometer classic

Jeong Jong-won reacts after crossing the finish line in the men's 15-kilometer classic cross country event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on Friday at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre. [AFP/YONHAP]

Cross country skiers Kim Min-woo and Jeong Jong-won finished 79th and 82nd respectively in the men’s 15-kilometer classic race.

Kim crossed the finish line with a time of 45 minutes and 21.06 seconds and Jeong followed behind with a time of 46 minutes and 34.06 seconds.

On Sunday, Kim and Jeong had raced in the 30-kilometer skiathlon at the same venue, the National Cross-Country Centre in Zhangjiakou, but failed to finish as they were both lapped. In pursuit competitions like skiathlon, competitors who fall behind are removed from the competition to avoid overlapping or the competition taking too long.

But this time, Kim and Jeong were not only able to finish their race but were able to finish in the middle of the pack, with 97 skiers having started the race.

Livo Niskanen of Finland took the gold medal with a time of 37:54.8 and Alexander Bolshunov of Russia took the silver medal with a time of 38:18.0. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway took the bronze medal with a time of 38:32.3.

Kim and Jeong will compete in one more event before wrapping up their first-ever Olympics, at the men’s team sprint classic on Wednesday.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]