Andrew Musgrave left it all on the course on the way to producing Britain's best-ever Olympic cross-country finish at Milano Cortina 2026.
The 35-year-old finished sixth in the men's 10km interval start free at his fifth Olympic Games, bettering his seventh place in the skiathlon back at PyeongChang 2018.
He led for around 30 seconds before eventual winner Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who now has a hat-trick of golds at the Games, crossed the line to take the lead.
With plenty more athletes still to go, Musgrave slipped out of medal position to finish in a time of 21 minutes and 6.3 seconds, with Team GB's Joe Davies in 12th and James Clugnet back in 34th after a crash on course.
Coming into these Olympics, Musgrave gave no pretence that he was there for a medal. But even with his best-ever finish at the Games, he knew that the podium just too far out of reach this time around.
"There's mixed feelings," he said. "The position is fairly decent and I was feeling good.
WHAT A MOMENT FOR MUZZY 🥳
— Team GB (@TeamGB) February 13, 2026
He finishes sixth in the men's 10km interval start free - that's GB's best-ever cross-country ski finish at a Winter Olympics. ⛷️#TeamGB | #MilanoCortina2026 pic.twitter.com/hptJ8tGvjS
"I stuck to the plan I had which not to go out too hard because it's hot, I didn't want to push and then die.
"I think I pushed a wee bit too hard on the last lap there and the last two hills I was absolutely dying and I think Klæbo probably could have got backwards faster than me up the last hill.
"So it wasn't the greatest job at pacing but I was never going to be in the fight for a medal, it was a long fight up to those guys.
"I probably should have been able to take a fourth spot but I didn't have 16 seconds in me for a medal."
He knew he was not going to be on the podium, but it was still hardly the result that Musgrave was aiming for.
With five World Cup podiums to his name during his career, Musgrave knows that there is still a possibility for Olympic silverware on the cards.
With the men's 50km still to come, the Scot is ready to go again in Tesero.
"I won't go out at party tonight and pop the champagne, I will probably go home," he added.
"I think it's the best result in history but I always do useless when I'm at the Olympics and get ill. So far I've done well, so fingers crossed.
"We have 50km and team sprint coming up and the 50km should be good.
"I'm getting old and slow but I can manage the distance better than before so I can be in the fight there."
Davies was left disappointed with his 12th-place finish, one minute and four seconds behind the winner, whilst Clugnet finished on a bittersweet note, in the form of his life before an unfortunate crash saw him fall down the rankings.
"I felt really good but I crashed on the last corner before the big uphill so I must have lost a lot of time there," he said. "I was having one of my best races of the season and so to throw that away with a crash like that is really disappointing."
Sportsbeat 2026