It seems that Alexander Bolshunov was so happy about winning a gold medal that he could not help but jump on the podium celebrating his victory at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. It did not take long to see the result of his impulsive action - the pedestal broke. A video of the incident was published by journalist Dmitry Guberniev on his Telegram channel and has gone viral on the Russian segment of Twitter.
Part of the pedestal fell off after the 25-year-old skier jumped on it and Bolshunov tried to repair the structure, albeit unsuccessfully.
Earlier on Sunday, Alexander Bolshunov, representing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), won the gold medal in the 30-kilometre skiathlon. This Olympic gold was the first in Bolshunov's career and the first for the team of the Russian sportsmen in Beijing. Second place was also taken by a representative of the Russian team, Denis Spitsov.
Gold in the skiathlon was the first for the Russian team since 2006; back then, the best result was shown by Evgeny Dementiev.
The Olympic Games kicked off in Beijing on 4 February and will last until 20 February, while the Paralympic Games will be held on 4-13 March.