Cross-country skiing : “I want to turn the page on skiathlon”, says Federico Pellegrino
Federico Pellegrino, the Italian flag-bearer, did not get his Olympic fortnight off to the ideal start on home soil and at his last Games. Twentieth in Sunday’s skiathlon, the Italian sprinter is now looking ahead to the classic sprint, scheduled for this Tuesday, a discipline in which he has won two Olympic silver medals, in Pyeongchang (South Korea) in 2018 in the classic and in Beijing (China) in 2022 in the skateboard.
“I want to put Sunday’s skiathlon behind me, where I felt good physically, but unfortunately my equipment wasn’t up to scratch at the start of the race; it happens ,” explained the Italian in a statement from the Italian federation.
Having already turned his attention to the classic sprint, a discipline that brings back precious memories for him, the Italian wants to believe that he can bounce back quickly. “ I have an immediate opportunity to make up for lost time in the classic sprint, where I finished on the podium eight years ago. A lot of years have gone by, but I still want to try my luck.
The author of two World Cup podiums this winter – second in the skate sprints in Davos (Switzerland) and Oberhof (Germany) – the Italian is approaching the event without setting himself any limits. “I’m up against guys who are much younger and faster than me, and especially at the start of the race, it won’t be easy to keep up with them.
However, experience could work in his favour on a demanding track. “However, I’m convinced that if I manage to qualify after the quarter-finals, on snow as demanding as today’s, the ideal conditions could present themselves to achieve another feat. I’m going to give it my all, as always; we’ll see at the finish.”
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