site.btaMario Matikanov Places 49th in Men's 10km Interval Start Cross-Country Skiing Event at Milano Cortina

Bulgarian Mario Matikanov placed 49th in the men’s 10 km interval start cross-country skiing event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday. The 21-year-old crossed the finish line in 23:00.5 minutes on the course in Tesero, finishing about a minute and a half outside the top 10.

He initially recorded the 50th fastest time but later moved up one position following the disqualification of Spaniard Bernat Selles Gasch.

The other Bulgarian competitor, 23-year-old Daniel Peshkov, finished 67th out of 111 athletes who completed the race, with a time of 23:54.8 minutes.

Both Bulgarians are making their Winter Olympics debut, and their next start will be on February 18 in the team sprint.

World champion Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway, who started immediately after Matikanov wearing bib number 44, won the race in 20:36.2 minutes, claiming his third title in Milano-Cortina after victories in the 10+10 km skiathlon and the individual sprint.

The 29-year-old Norwegian became the fourth athlete in history to win eight Winter Olympic gold medals, following his compatriots Bjorn Daehlie and Marit Bjorgen in cross-country skiing, and Ole Einar Bjorndalen in biathlon.