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Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber skis in the Nordic combined at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday. A wrong turn on the course at the National Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Zhangjiakou, China, cost Riiber a chance at a medal. (Reuters/Yonhap News)

Is winning gold at the Olympics more a matter of skill or luck?

During the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the forces of fortune have intervened multiple times in human endeavors, with results that have been a mixture of magical and tragic.

Jarl Magnus Riiber of Norway got a taste of misfortune Tuesday when the 25-year-old took a wrong turn in the Nordic combined individual large hill/10-kilometer event in Zhangjiakou, causing him to plummet from the lead to eighth place.

Globally top-ranked Riiber was ahead of the pack in the large hill ski jumping and proceeded to race the 10-kilometer cross country 44 seconds ahead of second place.

But as he finished his first loop of the 10-kilometer stretch, he failed to use the designated lane and ended up falling to second. He hung on to second place through 7.5km, but ultimately allowed other skiers to pass him. He finally reached the finish line in eighth place, 39.8 seconds behind first.

A moment’s error proved devastatingly costly for an athlete who had been leading by nearly a full minute on the first loop.

The misfortunes for Riiber date back to his arrival in China. At the time, he tested positive for COVID-19, which led to his isolation in a hotel for over 10 days. After he was pronounced fully recovered on Monday, he had to compete the very next day.

The Nordic combined is considered such a physically and mentally demanding event that it remains the only Winter Olympic sport women can’t compete in.

After giving the race his all Wednesday, Riiber told the foreign press, “It’s a silly mistake.”

At the same time, he added, “I’m a good sprinter, and I would fight for the gold anyway.”

The first- and second-place spots that day both went to fellow Norwegians, including gold medalist Jørgen Graabak.

Riiber will try again for gold Thursday with his teammates in the large hill/4x5km team event.

Members of Japan’s pursuit speedskating team (from left to right) Ayana Sato, Miho Takagi and Nana Takagi are seen crying on the podium after coming in second following a slip and fall by Nana Takagi just before the finish line in their event on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Yonhap News)

Nana Takagi of Japan couldn’t hold back the tears on the medal stand after the 30-year-old fell on the final corner of the race, just short of the gold medal in the women’s speedskating team pursuit event.

The Japanese team was narrowly ahead of Canada in the final Tuesday, but ended up with silver after Nana Takagi slipped before the finish line. She was consoled at the time by her sister and teammate Miho, 28, and fellow teammate Ayano Sato, 26, but could not hold back the tears.

She was still crying at the subsequent medal ceremony, and this time she was joined by her fellow members of the Japanese team. A double gold winner at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics in the team pursuit and mass start, she told Reuters, “My mind hasn’t recovered from the fall.”

China’s snowboarder Su Yiming boasts his gold medal from the men’s big air event on Tuesday, after winning silver in slopestyle due to an error by judges that cost him the gold in the event.

Su Yiming of China bounced back up again after the 18-year-old missed out on men’s slopestyle gold in snowboarding due to a judging error. In the men’s big air final on Tuesday, he scored 182.50 points — a resounding victory with a lead of over 10 points over second.

Su previously drew sympathy when he lost the gold in the slopestyle event on Feb. 7 due to a judging error. At the time, he finished second by a margin of 2.26 points behind gold medalist Max Parrot of Canada — but it subsequently emerged that a deduction was not factored into Parrot’s score.

In the competition, Parrot placed his hand near his knee rather than grabbing his board, which would have resulted in a 2.43-point deduction if it had been counted correctly.

After furious Chinese fans denounced the event’s head judge, Su and his Japanese coach Yasuhiro Sato said that they respected the outcome and called for restraint.

“People make mistakes. Rather than condemning the judging, we should congratulate Max Parrot for winning the gold,” they said.

Given a second opportunity, Su channeled his disappointment into a weapon — laughing in the face of the gods of fortune by capturing the gold.

By Kim Chang-keum, staff reporter

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