BEIJING: Norwegian cross-country skier Therese Johaug won the first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics on Saturday as sport moved centre stage after a troubled build-up dominated by coronavirus and rights concerns.
Johaug was a comfortable winner of the women’s 7.5-plus-7.5-kilometre skiathlon in what is expected to be the first of many cross-country skiing medals for Norway at these Games.
Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a 20-year-old Uyghur who was chosen by China as one of two athletes to light the cauldron in Friday’s opening ceremony, finished 43rd in the skiathlon race.
Yilamujiang’s inclusion in a ceremony watched by a worldwide television audience placed her at the centre of long-time controversy over rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region.
