A quadrocopter crashed into skier Bolshunov during the Russian Cup race in Khakassia

Three-time Olympic champion in cross-country skiing Alexander Bolshunov managed to finish only ninth during the Russian Cup competition in Khakassia. As Sport-Express reported on December 1 , the athlete's unsuccessful finish was due not only to his physical form, but also to an incident during a stage of the course, during which a drone crashed into him.

According to the media, the athlete lost 12 seconds to Saveliy Korostelev, who ran first in the men's 10 km race, after 1.4 km. At the next checkpoint, the gap was already 16.6 seconds.

Then, at one of the points on the course, the skier collided with a quadrocopter that was recording video. The drone hit his leg and his pole, which fortunately remained intact.

"[After the collision with the drone] Alexander was going with a tenth time, losing 33 seconds. At the 8km mark, he dropped a line lower, and on the final two-kilometer stretch he still managed to claw his way into the top-10 and was ninth with a loss of 48 seconds," Sport-Express notes."

Before that, on March 20, skiers Savely Korostelev and Alexander Bolshunov, competing for the Arkhangelsk region, won the team sprint classic style at the Russian Cross-Country Skiing Championships. The athletes finished in 18 minutes 10.4 seconds. Silver medals were then won by Ilya Semikov and Ermil Vokuyev, who represent the Komi first team.