Austria Takes Early Lead, United States Settles For Seventh Entering Cross Country

Feb 17, 2022, 3:58 AM

Eero Hirvonen of Team Finland competes during the Ski Jumping First Round as part of Biathlon Team Gundersen Large Hill/4x5km event on Day 13 of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at The National Cross-Country Skiing Centre on February 17, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Austria’s ski jumpers combined for 475.4 points in the Nordic combined team event Thursday. That gives them an eight-second lead in a cross-country ski race later in the day as competition in the sport wraps up at the Beijing Games.

Norway’s four-man team will start second, followed closely by Germany and Japan.

Ten countries will each have four skiers racing 5K on a cross-country course. The one that finishes first wins gold.

The bottom six teams have a very slim chance to catch up to the contenders, especially China’s young team. The Chinese skiers will have to wait 6 minutes and 28 seconds at the start line after the Austrians start a race that will take them about 50 minutes to finish.

Nordic combined star Jarl Magnus Riiber of Norway, who was hit hard by COVID-19, isn’t part of Norway’s team. He traveled home on Thursday after competing in one event. The three-time champion took the wrong turn early in a 10K cross-country race and lost a large lead he earned in ski jumping on Tuesday night, a day after getting out of COVID isolation.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

Just a year after Japan’s summer Olympics, the Games are back for a winter show in Beijing, China. The unusually short gap between Games is due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Strict precautions and enforced virus prevention protocol are in place to help keep athletes, coaches and personnel safe.

Beijing is the capital of China, with a population of more than 20 million people and the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympic games. It is one of the largest cities in the world and 15 hours ahead of Mountain Time. There are 13 different venues in and around Beijing that will be used for the Winter Olympics. A total of 109 events will be held in 15 different sports, and there will be a lot of Utah locals competing for medals. Keep up to date with them at our Olympic headquarters.

Follow along on social for Olympic stories, news and medal updates.

Follow our Olympic team for special coverage and exclusive content.