Norwegian skier blows 44-second biathlon lead by going the WRONG WAY in 10km cross country leg after losing out on track practice time during two-week Covid isolation

 A Norwegian Winter Olympic athlete threw away his chance of a gold medal in a biathlon event by going the wrong way on the 10km cross country ski race.

Norway's Jarl Magnus Riiber, who was competing in the Nordic combined individual large hill/10 km event, had a huge 44-second lead in the crucial cross country leg and was heading towards gold.However, Riiber - unfamiliar with the track as he couldn't practice on it after testing positive for coronavirus earlier this month - realised he was going the wrong way on the track and sharply turned round.

A Norwegian Winter Olympic athlete blew his chances of winning gold by going the wrong way on a 10km ski race

Jarl Magnus Riiber was competing in the Nordic combined individual large hill/10 km biathlon event but had to turn round in the second part of the contestHowever, Riiber - unfamiliar with the track as he couldn't practice on it after testing positive for coronavirus earlier this month - realised he was going the wrong way on the track and sharply turned round.

A Norwegian Winter Olympic athlete blew his chances of winning gold by going the wrong way on a 10km ski race

Jarl Magnus Riiber was competing in the Nordic combined individual large hill/10 km biathlon event but had to turn round in the second part of the contest

The 24-year-old finished eighth in the cross country race after realising his error as his compatriots Jorgen Graabak and Jens Luras Oftebro made it a Norway one-two on the podium, leaving Riiber to rue his moment of misdirection.Riiber had put himself in a brilliant position to take the gold in the biathlon event after winning the individual large hill event with a jump of 142 meters, earning 139.8 points in the process. 

The 24-year-old then went out first in the 10km race with a 44-second lead to his name, but his wrong-way moment scribbled out that advantage and Riiber ended up 40 seconds behind the leader Graabak. 

Riiber (middle) was eventually caught up by the rest of the field and slipped to eighth place

Riiber tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month and was only released on Monday, meaning he was unable to practice on the 10km track based at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center and Biathlon Center. 

The Norwegian was a heavy favourite to win the Olympic gold having won 21 out of the 24 large hill tournaments - including his last five in a row - but he came out unprepared for the second part of the biathlon event in minus 20 degree temperatures.

Riiber admitted that he might have been able to fight for the bronze position, but believed his gold medal chances were ruined by that mistake.  

'I did not feel completely fit,' he said after the event. 'Maybe I could have fought for the bronze. I don't think the gold would have been possible anyway.'