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Muehlegg wins gold in men's 30K
Associated Press
MIDWAY, Utah — In the men's 30-kilometer race, Johann Muehlegg of Spain broke away early and cruised to his first gold medal in one hour, nine minutes, 28.9 seconds. Christian Hoffmann of Austria took the silver in 1:11.31.0, and Mikhail Botvinov, another Austrian, won the bronze in 1:11.32.3.
Muehlegg set an impressive pace from the start, leading a five-man breakaway group at the 6.2-kilometer mark. He pulled away from there.
"My plan was to force the pace during the first few laps and pull away from my rivals, and I did it," said Muehlegg, a German-born skier who sought and attained Spanish citizenship after a 1998 dispute with the German ski federation.
Per Elofsson of Sweden, the overwhelming favorite for the gold, skied deep in the pack and retired at the halfway mark after trailing Muehlegg by more than 2 minutes.
"I had rubber legs halfway through the race," Elofsson said.
Andrew Johnson led the way for the Americans, finishing 22nd, while Lars Flora and Carl Swenson were 56th and 58th, respectively. Justin Wadsworth did not finish.
Drexel University professor Prawat Nagvajara suffered the same fate. The 43-year-old engineering professor — the first Thai athlete to participate in the Winter Games — pulled out before the 15-kilometer mark.
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February 9, 2002
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