The China Mail - Cardona Coll, Fatton win Olympic-debuting ski mountaineering sprint golds

The men's sprint also saw Russian Nikita Filippov win the first medal at the Milan-Cortina Games for individual neutral athletes when he claimed silver.

Filippov finished 1.52sec off Cardona Coll, who won in 2min 34.03sec for Spain's first Winter Olympic gold since Francisco Fernandez Ochoa won the men's alpine skiing slalom at the 1972 Games in Sapporo, Japan.

Thibault Anselmet of France took bronze (+2.31) in the skimo sprint, an adrenaline-packed event requiring athletes to negotiate uphill climbs on ski and foot before descending by ski.

The Swiss pair of Arno Lietha and Jon Kistler had led up the initial gruelling 65-metre climb in heavy snow in northern Italy.

But Cardona Coll showed all his experience to fight back and surge into the lead in an astonishing display of stamina and technical nous on the opening transition.

Filippov moved into second as the Swiss duo faded and tracked Cardona Coll down through the finish line.

- Neutral flag -

It was a first medal for the 20-strong team of Russian and Belarusian athletes listed as 'AIN', meaning they are competing under a neutral flag.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus have faced bans from international competition since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Filippov and his AIN teammates have been allowed to compete at these Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics under a neutral banner having met strict conditions.

Those included competing under a neutral flag, taking part only in individual events and undergoing checks to prove that they did not actively support the war in Ukraine or have any links with the army.

The same conditions applied to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics at which 15 Russians and 17 Belarusians competed, winning a combined five medals.

In the women's sprint, Fatton clocked a winning time of 2min 59.77sec on the Stelvio course, depriving France's four-time World Cup champion Emily Harrop by 2.38sec.

Spain's Ana Alonso Rodriguez claimed bronze, 10.45sec down on Fatton's pace.

Harrop, a four-time World Cup overall champion, had been hot favourite, but she paid the price for a slow second transition.

After an initial ascent, Harrop was neck-and-neck with Fatton as the pair took off their skis to climb a stairway on foot.

Skiers have to re-don their skis at the top for one final climb, and Fatton was much slicker than Harrop, racing away to a lead she never looked likely to relinquish.

H.Ng--ThChM