Featured
Ikpefan Ends Milano- Cortina 2026 Campaign With 94th-Place Finish in Men’s 10km Freestyle
Nigeria’s lone athlete at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Samuel Ikpefan, concluded his outing at the Games after placing 94th in the men’s 10km freestyle cross-country skiing event on Thursday, February 13.
READ ALSO: CAFCL: Last Chance for Rivers United to Impress as RS Berkane Seek Final 8 Ticket
The 28-year-old clocked a time of 26:38.4 in the interval-start race held at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium, bringing an end to his participation in Italy.
Earlier in the competition, Ikpefan finished 65th in the men’s sprint classical qualification on February 10 with a time of 3:33.31—an improvement on his 73rd-place result in the same discipline at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Although his final standings were modest, Ikpefan made history by becoming the first Nigerian to compete at two consecutive Winter Olympic Games, having also represented the country four years ago in China.
A total of 113 athletes lined up for the men’s 10km freestyle race in Val di Fiemme. Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo claimed gold with a winning time of 20:36.2, while Israel’s Attila Mihaly Kertez finished last.
Competing as Nigeria’s sole representative, Ikpefan once again carried the nation’s colours on the world stage, continuing to pave the way for greater West African presence at the Winter Olympics.
(function (document, window) {
var a, c = document.createElement("script"), f = window.frameElement;
c.id = "CleverCoreLoader95885";
c.src = "https://scripts.cleverwebserver.com/2777295adab0c8a007d7f8a0312ad6f2.js";
c.async = !0;
c.type = "text/javascript";
c.setAttribute("data-target", window.name || (f && f.getAttribute("id")));
c.setAttribute("data-callback", "put-your-callback-function-here");
c.setAttribute("data-callback-url-click", "put-your-click-macro-here");
c.setAttribute("data-callback-url-view", "put-your-view-macro-here");
try {
a = parent.document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0] || document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
} catch (e) {
a = !1;
}
a || (a = document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0] || document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0]);
a.parentNode.insertBefore(c, a);
})(document, window);
/* ]]> */
The post Ikpefan Ends Milano- Cortina 2026 Campaign With 94th-Place Finish in Men’s 10km Freestyle appeared first on Sports247 Nigeria.