'I've never seen it!' - Alexander Bolshunov shocks commentators by celebrating mid-race at Beijing Olympics

Updated 06/02/2022 at 10:28 GMT

Alexander Bolshunov demonstrated that he was far from sheepish about his romp to the gold medal as he took a moment to both take a swig of drink and celebrate with plenty of race left to ski. "A little punch of the air from Bolshunov," said a stunned Patrick Winterton on commentary for Eurosport. "You might have picked up on that. I have never, ever seen him celebrate prior to crossing the line."

'I've never, ever seen it' - Bolshunov shocks commentators by celebrating mid-race

Alexander Bolshunov is no stranger to making headlines beyond his performances, and he left commentators stunned by celebrating mid-race at the Beijing Olympics.

The 25-year-old, who boasts the overall World Cup victories in 2020 and 2021 on his resume, stormed to the gold medal in the men's 30km skiathlon on Sunday.

The Russian's emphatic victory was all the more impressive given a strong field, which included Norway's Johannes Hosflot Klaebo, and he was certainly more than confident even midway through the race.

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Bolshunov demonstrated that he was far from sheepish about his romp to the gold medal as he took a moment to both take a swig of drink and celebrate with plenty of race left to ski.

"A little punch of the air from Bolshunov," said a stunned Patrick Winterton on commentary for Eurosport at the time.

"You might have picked up on that. I have never, ever seen him celebrate prior to crossing the line!

"This is the one that he has wanted for so long. It didn't happen for him in Pyeongchang - he came very, very close. He was a young man then - he's still only 25. But despite that, he was still expecting to come away with some gold.

"But today it is definitely a golden day for Bolshunov."

'The world's best' - Bolshunov celebrates romping to victory in skiathlon

The precocious skier won three silvers and a bronze in Pyeongchang four years ago but had never won gold before.

The Russian Olympic Committee racer finished well ahead of compatriot Denis Spitsov who took the silver medal, spending the final 13km of the race in second.

Finland's Iivo Niskanen, rated as the best classic skier in the world, held off challenges from Norway's Hans Christer Holund and Pal Golberg to take bronze.