Arthur Saparbekov, representing Kyrgyzstan, participated in his first Olympic appearance in cross-country skiing, where he competed in the freestyle sprint.
In the qualifying round, which took place on February 10, 94 athletes participated. Saparbekov started under number 91 and completed the first part of the 800-meter distance in 2 minutes 23.8 seconds, while his overall finishing time was 4 minutes 36.85 seconds, which allowed him to take 94th place - last.
Only the top 30 skiers were able to advance to the quarterfinals. The leader of the qualification was Norwegian Johannes Høsflot Klæbo with a time of 3 minutes 7.37 seconds, while Saparbekov lagged behind him by 1 minute 29.48 seconds.
The next race for the Kyrgyz athlete is scheduled for February 13, where he will compete in the 10 km freestyle event.
