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Patterson 18th In Skiathlon

By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
February, 11 2018
Scott Patterson competes in the men's skiathlon at the Alpensia cross country ski center Sunday. (Getty Images/AFP - Franck Fife)
Scott Patterson competes in the men's skiathlon at the Alpensia Cross Country Skiing Centre Sunday. (Getty Images/AFP - Franck Fife)

Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska) led the way for Team USA, finishing 18th as men's skiathlon made its debut at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games Sunday afternoon at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center.

“My first Olympic race was awesome,” said Patterson. “You know, World Cup-Olympic, they are kind of similar, and then you get here and they’re nothing at all the same.”

Patterson was 27th at the midway point of the 30-kilometer race, which featured 15k of classic, followed by 15k of freestyle, when the athletes switched from the classic to the freestyle technique.

“The first couple of laps the pack really spread out and then I relaxed,” Patterson said. “We switched over to skate and really felt like I knew what I was doing. Then just picked off a few people and put together a great race overall.”

“That was a perfect time for his best performance of the season,” men’s U.S. cross country head coach Chris Grover said. “Scott and his group were tantalizingly close to the lead group for the entire race but came up just shy of reconnecting.

“Scott stayed patient early in the race, stayed out of trouble, and picked off skier after skier in front of him during the skate leg,” Grover added. “The USA service team once again made great skis.”

Simen Hegstad Krueger took the gold and led a Norwegian sweep. Martin Johnsrud Sundby was second, and Hans Christer Holund was third.

Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) finished 42nd for Team USA, while Patrick Caldwell (Lyme Center, N.H.) was 51st and Noah Hoffman (Aspen, Colo.) was 54th.

RESULTS
Men’s skiathlon