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Patterson Eighth In Shortened 30k Freestyle Mass Start

By Tom Horrocks
February, 19 2022
Scott Patterson
19.02.2022, Beijing, China (CHN): Scott Patterson (USA), Sjur Roethe (NOR), Ivan Yakimushkin (ROC), (l-r) - XXIV. Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, cross-country, mass men, Beijing (CHN). www.nordicfocus.com. © Modica/NordicFocus.

On a cold, blustery day at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center, in Zhangjiakou, China, Team USA’s Scott Patterson turned up the heat, finishing eighth in the shortened Freestyle mass start. Patterson’s finish was the second-best ever Olympic result for an American man behind Bill Koch’s silver medal at the 1976 Games.

Originally slated as a 50k race, the race jury made the decision to cut the race distance to 30k to reduce the time of exposure for the athletes due to the extreme conditions, which saw temperature in the single digits and winds gusting to 40+mph.

“I certainly could have used that extra 20k today,” said Patterson, who thrives in challenging conditions and longer races. “I would have liked it if they would have run us a 50k, even with these conditions. I wanted the grinding instead of the punches. But I am psyched with how it went. Eighth is pretty special.”

Patterson was in the mix throughout the race, protecting himself from the wind and going with the early surges to find himself among an elite lead group of 10 midway into the race. With one lap to go on the four-lap 7.5k circuit, he moved into the third position. 

 “With 5k to go, those guys started punching pretty hard,” Patterson said. “I didn’t have a ton of response for that.” 

The Russian Olympic Committee’s Alexander Bolshunov won his second gold medal - and his fifth medal of the 2022 Games - with a time of 1:11:32. Countryman Ivan Yakimushkin took the silver at 5.5 seconds back, with Norway’s Simen Krueger winning the bronze at 7 seconds off the winning time. Patterson was 33.9 seconds back from the Russian winner. 

“In the end, this worked out pretty well,” Patterson said of the shortened race distance. “The 50(k) is kind of iconic and it feels like a half measure to run a 30k, but…I’m not exactly sure it would have changed the results a ton. Those top guys were strong and they probably would have been strong with another 20k.”

Patterson walks away from the 2022 Games with three top-11 results, including 11th in the 30k Skiathlon, and ninth in the 4x10k men’s relay with JC Schoonmaker, Gus Schumacher, and Luke Jager.

The women’s 30k Freestyle, the final cross country event of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, has been moved up to 11:00 a.m. Sunday (10 p.m. EST Saturday). Jessie Diggins, Rosie Brennan, and Novie McCabe will be joined by Sophia Laukli, who will be making her Olympic debut. Laukli finished fifth in the final stage of the 2022 FIS Tour de Ski in Italy last month.

The race will stream live on Peacock at 10 p.m. EST Saturday, with same-day broadcasts offered on both USA Network and NBC at 2:30 p.m. EST Sunday. The medals ceremony for the women’s 30k will take place at the Closing Ceremonies in Beijing Sunday night.

 

RESULTS
Men’s 30k Freestyle Mass Start