Skiing star takes positives from disappointing Beijing campaign

Andrew Young says his fourth Olympics meant more than the rest despite an early team sprint exit ending a disappointing Beijing campaign.

The Huntly star harboured hopes of a push for the final alongside James Clugnet in the short-distance event, but they ended prematurely in the first round.

The Team GB pair finished 10th in a field of 13 at the semi-final stage and were 56 seconds shy of a top-four place that would have seen them through to the final.

Clugnet’s ski pole broke on the second lap, which scuppered their challenge and left them with an overall ranking of 20th.

“It was a tough one,” said Clugnet. “I broke the pole when things started getting serious and the pace was going up.”

There was one pyrrhic victory as Young managed to hold off the challenge of minnows Australia in the closing stages.

“That’s a 1-0 victory in the cross-country skiing Ashes I think,” joked Young. “Even if today is not our best performance, we can take that as a positive.”

Sprint specialist Young finished 36th in qualification for the individual sprint and subsequently struggled to recover for the 15km classic, where he placed 51st.

Having made his debut at Vancouver 2010 and achieved some of the nation’s best ever results in the sport, Young saw these Games with new eyes after his virus scare.

“I’ve really just appreciated being a part of Team GB, I think I’m a bit more proud than I was at the other Games,” he said.

Huntly’s Andrew Young crashed out of the first round.