Andrew Musgrave starred on Sunday, finishing seventh in the men's skiathlon
Day Two of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games saw cross-country skier Andrew Musgrave right in the mix of the men's skiathlon, Adam Rosen and Rupert Staudinger complete their luge campaigns and Aimee Fuller progress to the final of the women's snowboard slopestyle after weather hit qualifying.
There was an earthquake in Korea on Sunday and just hours later Brit skier Andrew Musgrave nearly pulled off a seismic shock of his own. Musgrave finished seventh in the men’s 30km skiathlon as Simen Hegstad Krueger led home a Norwegian clean sweep, to underline just why they call it Nordic skiing. It was Britain’s best-ever Olympic result in the sport but Musgrave wasn’t happy. And he’s vowed to crack the podium in Friday’s 15km event - his main target here in South Korea. “It's a decent result but I'm not at the Olympics to come seventh. I'm here to fight for a win,” said Musgrave, who finished fourth at last year’s World Championships. “If you told me ten years ago I would be seventh in the Olympics, I wouldn’t have thought I would be disappointed with it. But that is what makes an athlete – you want more. “I'm a little disappointed, I felt really good. I felt awesome with about a lap and a half to go and I felt that I would be in the fight for the victory. “That's why I do this. I think all the guys at the top, if you don't believe you can win, then you're not going to spend the thousands hours out training, suffering every week through interval sessions and pushing our pain limits every session. "You don't do that if you don't believe you can win.”
Luge athlete AJ Rosen cut a disappointed figure as he failed to register a personal best on his third Games appearance.
The Brit was lying in 24th overnight, within touching distance of 16th and where he finished at both Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010. But he was only able to climb two places after Sunday's third and fourth runs, finishing with a combined time of 2:25.1567. "It is a huge let down to myself. I felt like I was just there, I tried my hardest,” he said. “But it's such a huge honour, no matter how many times you've been to the Games, every single time it is a huge, huge bonus and I can't begin to say how privileged I am and what an honour it is for me.” His teammate Rupert Staudinger meanwhile placed 33rd on his Olympic Games debut, clocking a time of 2:27.842. “I finished on a high note, it wasn't the cleanest run but the ice was so hard. It was a rough day yesterday and finishing today with a solid run gives me a good feeling,” he said. “I'm so proud to be part of this amazing Team GB. The environment and everything all around it is just an incredible feeling. "I'm still super pumped and I can't way to watch the others now and support them in their races."
Aimee Fuller will compete for a medal on Monday after the entire field progressed through to the final of the women's snowboard slopestyle. That came after heavy winds at the Phoenix Sports Park saw the heats initially postponed, before eventually being cancelled, with Games organisers allowing all competitors through.
The United States kickstarted their Games with teenager Red Gerard snatching a dramatic gold in the men's snowboard slopestyle ahead of Canadian pair Max Parrot and Mark McMorris. The latter's bronze was particularly emotional after he suffered a near-fatal crash less than 12 months ago. Meanwhile Dutch speed skating star Sven Kramer made it a hat-trick of victories in the 5,000m.
“It's a decent result but I'm not at the Olympics to come seventh. I'm here to fight for a win.” Andrew Musgrave targets more despite history-making finish in the men's skiathlon
“I'm so proud to be part of this amazing Team GB. The environment and everything all around it is just an incredible feeling. Rupert Staudinger after making his Team GB debut at PyeongChang 2018
Aimee Fuller will hope the weather is kinder with the women's snowboard slopestyle final set to take place at 10:00 at the Pheonix Snow Park (01:00am UK time). The other Brit in action is alpine skier Alex Tilley who begins her PyeongChang campaign in the giant slalom. The first run begins at 10:15 (01:15am UK time) followed by the second at 13:45 (4:45am UK time) Sportsbeat 2018