Penza, 6 February 2022. PenzaNews. Alexander Bolshunov, a student of the Institute of Physical Education and Sports of the Penza State University, brought the first gold medal of the Olympic Games in Beijing for the Russian team by winning the skiathlon.

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He covered the 30 km distance in 1 hour 16 minutes 9.8 seconds. Another Russian athlete Denis Spitsov took the silver, 1 minute 11 seconds behind the leader.

livo Niskanen of Finland finished with the bronze, two minutes behind the winner.

In the skiathlon, the first 15 km of the race is skied in the classic style, another 15 km – in freestyle. After half the distance, the athletes go to the pit stop to change their skis.

In total, the Russian national team currently has four medals: one gold, two silver and one bronze.

Skiers will compete for the next set of medals at the Beijing Olympics on February 8 in the sprint.