Italian biathlon gold medal hopeful Tommaso Giacomel has been hospitalized after having to retire during the biathlon mass start at the Olympic Games earlier on Friday, DPA reported, BTA reported.
Giacomel slowed down after leading the race after the second shot and eventually broke away and sat down in the snow. He posted information on Instagram without specifying the exact nature of his problem.
“I am fine - if I can say I am fine when I had to retire while leading the race“, he posted. "Right after the second prolapse my body kind of stopped working properly and I was really struggling to breathe and move, so I had to stop. The worst feeling I've ever had in my life. I tried to ski very slowly in the first part of the third lap, but my body wouldn't let me ski anymore," the Italian lamented.
He added a photo of himself in a hospital bed: "I'll have some medical tests in the next few days to find out what went wrong today."
Giacomel, who led the World Cup for several weeks in January, said the disappointment was immense. He won silver with the mixed team in his first Olympic competition, while Friday's race was his last chance to add to his individual silver medals.
“A lot of things are going through my head right now... frustration, anger, disappointment... It's devastating. It's devastating to stop, but today there was nothing I could do against my own body.“
But he vowed to return for the 2030 Games in the French Alps, saying: “It's definitely not the end of the Games I was hoping for, but I'll never give up. Four years fly by and I'll try again in France,” Giacomel concluded.