It took 20 seconds before Kristoffer Jakobsen’s Olympic Games were over. The Swede went down on an inside ski and fell out of the race. But he wasn’t alone.
It was a competition with very uneven conditions. Heavy snow and heavy clouds hung over Bormio and many had problems on the flat hill.
– Slalom can be the most unfair sport you can find, as Kristoffer Jakobsen said before the start of the Olympics, mentioning that it looks like it could get complicated due to the weather and the surface.
Later, when it was a fact, he was dejected and disappointed.
– There’s not much to say. Another sad day.
– It was difficult to see the background. I lost my balance a bit and it was difficult to turn quickly enough.
Jakobsen had one disastrous season this winter. In nine World Cup starts he only achieved one valid result. Otherwise, he was twice too slow to qualify for the second race and crashed seven times.
The 31-year-old nevertheless came to the Olympic Games with belief in himself and the hope of exploiting his potential, which the entire mountain world still agrees with him.
But it ended as usual, on a day when most people had problems with visibility and the surface. Of the 30 seeded riders, eleven fell in the first race, including recent giant slalom gold medalist Lucas Pinheiro Braathen of Brazil.
Disappointed Kristoffer Jakobsen says it is not certain whether he will continue driving next season.
– I’ve got good stuff in me, a few good curves here and there. But it’s hard, he says.
– We’ll see what organization will be built. If Slalom turns out to be a good team, I won’t rule out the possibility, but at the moment I’m having a hard time motivating myself to do the work required to come back next season.
When do you make a decision?
-It will probably be sometime this spring that you will have to make a decision and start summer training if you want to drive. You can’t lie on the sofa, then there won’t be any medals anyway.
– Going into summer training without motivation is not easy. Doing the work required to get to the top and fight is extreme.
Jakobsen started this season alone because his coach was on sick leave. He doesn’t want to be involved in a situation like that again if there is to be a sequel.
– Conditions weren’t bad, but many parts may not have been quite optimal and perfect. All of these requirements must be met if there is to be another season, says Jakobsen, who will become a father of two children in the summer, as he and his partner expect an increase.
Among those who perished The distances before the second descent are large for the entire piste. The Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath with start number 1 is also in the lead, followed by the Swiss Loïc Meillard, who started in second place.
The second Swede in the competition, 22-year-old Fabian Ax Swartz, made it to the finish after a hard-fought run and is allowed to do the second run, but is 3.05 seconds behind leader McGrath.
– It’s tough out there today. There are difficult routes, difficult combinations and heavy snowfall. You can’t see very well. “A lot of people messed up, so for my part, maybe you get a little passive and slow down,” says Ax Swartz.
This is what he says before the second trip:
– Now, after the first ride here, you can aim for the top ten; that will be the goal. I think it will be a straighter and easier course, so I will now go full throttle and attack.
The competition is still ongoing. The text is updated.
