Swiss ski star Dario Cologna ended his successful cross-country skiing at Holmenkollen in Oslo. Finn Venla Pellikka was beaten by Cologna in the fifth round of the competition.
Four-time Olympic winner Dario Colognan the last World Cup race of his career did not go smoothly. The Swiss dropped out of the top group in the final round in the fifth round after Norway Simen Hegstad Krüger collapsed in a rapid descent in front of him.
Cologna had to dodge the situation on the left side of the track, and he eventually drifted towards the person next to the track.
– I wasn’t scared of the situation, but I couldn’t avoid it. I hope the viewer is okay, but I didn’t feel any pain at the moment. It was a bad moment, of course, to crash on a long downhill, but it could happen, Cologna told Sport.
Sport hit Cologna Venla Pellikan, which is okay despite the bad situation.
– The pace was sick in that place. He had to dodge another competitor and flew into the bush. I didn’t have time to react fast enough and I was on my way. I was in the air for a while and flew, but no damage happened, Pellikka says.
– His skis somehow hit and probably pulled me under my feet, but we flew in different directions, Pellikka says.
Pellikka was working as a volunteer at the event. For him, the track didn’t have terribly spectators, but otherwise Holmenkollen had an “insanely dizzying atmosphere.”
– Just when I was at a festival. It was a great mood for Norwegians and other spectators.
Cologna finished ninth in the men’s 50km race after being overthrown. Despite the crash, he left his last race in good spirits.
– It’s hard to describe how it feels right now. This is a very special day for me. My career has been really long and it has had some really great moments. This day was special and I can leave in good spirits, we had a good race today. I’m happy with all of this and look forward to my new life after skiing, Cologna stated with a smile.
Watch the video to see how Dario Cologna celebrated the last race of his career at the finish line. The story continues after the video.
Cologna says he already has some plans and projects for the post-career period. At first, though, he wants to party a bit and enjoy his time with his family.
– Maybe at some point I’ll be back to the cross-country skiing business.
Dario Cologna, 35, had a successful career in cross-country skiing. Cologna celebrated Olympic gold four times, in addition to which he won one World Championship gold and two World Championship silver. He also won both the World Cup overall and the Tour de Skin Four times in his career.
– Certainly the Olympics in Sochi were very special. I had suffered an injury and the gold medal after that in skiathlon was very special to me. All four gold medals at the Olympics were awesome, Cologna described the highlights of her career.
– It’s hard to choose just one moment. I am happy to have had a really nice career and many good moments, Cologna says and still brings out the 2013 World Cup in Val di Fiemme.