– Giuseppe Romele, gold medalist today. No one is close to his times, said commentator Pål Thomassen on NRK’s broadcast before he was interrupted by expert Håkon Olsrud.
– But he chooses the wrong corridor. This is dramatic, he said.
And it was dramatic. For Romele, who had completed his six laps of two kilometers, put on a seventh in addition. Thus, it was 13th place and not a victory and gold celebration.
– 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 rounds, no stops, Romele told NRK and laughed.
– It was a fantastic race, but there was a problem with my Garmin watch, the Italian said in a bit lame English.
– It sounded like he had followed the GPS on the heart rate monitor, maybe that’s not what you should rely on when going long distance, Olsrud said.
– Sometimes it happens
In the 10 kilometer long opening distance in the championship last Thursday, Romele took silver behind the Russian Ivan Golubkov, who thanks to Romele’s mistake secured his second World Cup gold in cross-country skiing. He also has two gold medals from biathlon in the championship at Lillehammer.
WHOLESALER: Ivan Golubkov has four golds from the World Cup in snow sports in Lillehammer.
Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB
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– It’s horrible. It’s a shame for him, but sometimes it happens. The Italian team should control him, says Golubkov to NRK.
Coach Aleksei Kobelev believes it is the support apparatus’ responsibility that the runners go straight.
– We count the number of rounds and tell them whether they are going to the finish line or not. It is a long and hard distance. He is tired and loses concentration, Kobelev thinks.
Assistant coach for the Italian team, Marchetti Paolo, explains to NRK that they did not have a coach who was in the goal area, and that they therefore did not have the opportunity to steer Romele the right way.
– It is disappointing with that mistake, but it is impossible to change what has happened. He must use the result to analyze for the future. In 40 days it will be the Paralympics, it is most important, Paolo says to NRK.
Frozen eyes
Not a gold winner either Golubkov escaped drama during the race.
– It was a hard race. I was about to lose my sight. The eyes were frozen. In the downhills it was difficult, he says to NRK.
– I’m surprised I could win today.
After the finish, the Russian had to get help from the support apparatus. But he eventually got up and was able to celebrate his fourth gold in this year’s World Cup in snow sports for pair athletes.
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