Thomas Maloney Westgaard finished 60th in the Men's 15km +15km cross-country skiathlon at the Winter Olympics today.
The skier, whose mother hails from Dunmore in Galway, clocked a time of 1:32:34.2, 16 minutes and 14 seconds behind winner Simen Hegstad Krueger of his birth country Norway.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Hans Christer Holund completed a podium sweep for the Norwegians.
Westgaard found his Winter Olympic debut harder than he had ever imagined but was still proud to finish 60th in the gruelling biathlon event, where skiers race in the classical style for the first 15km and then switch skis and ski freestyle for the second half.
"Despite that I didn't feel 100 percent I'm extremely proud to get my Olympic debut for Ireland. It's a big honour," said Westgaard.
"I dreamed about this since I was 10 so this was a big day for me,"
"The last 10k was like nothing I've ever experienced before, it was just horrendous," he said. "But when you are able to finish in the Olympic spirit you just have to be proud.
"It was really windy so it was so important to be in a group to block the wind and unfortunately I wasn't able to be in group for the last 15km so I had to struggle in my own battle.
"In that third lap I just gave it everything. I was seeing stars. It was one of the most gruelling experiences I ever had."
Westgaard has qualified for three more events in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea but said a recent illness has weakened him so, after a medical review, he will decide whether he will take part in all three. The 50km, on the final day of competition on 24 February, is his best event so he may concentrate on recovering fully for that.
Briliant team spirit with @SnowsportsIRE @olympiccouncil team members @mcwindy, Bubba Newby & Seamus O’Connor getting a feel for the snow @sportireland @RTEsport @Inst_of_Sport pic.twitter.com/aZyghfLtoP
— Sean Ui Conchubhair OLY (@seanui) February 5, 2018
Earlier, Clare skier Patrick McMillan saw his Winter Olympics debut put on hold after winds of up to 45mph at Jeongseon forced the organisers to postpone the men's Downhill.
It has been rescheduled to Thursday and, as a result, the men's Super-G – which is McMillan's other event – has been moved to Friday, which means he will now be racing on consecutive days.
However, the Killaloe man was not perturbed, saying: "This is very normal. Skiing's an outdoor sport and in Downhill we often have to wait for the weather.
"I'm actually happy because I've had three days of very good training on the course and now I can get a day's rest."
Alpine skier Tess Arbez is next in action for Ireland, taking part in the Giant Slalom tomorrow at 4.45am Irish time.
Watch highlights of the 2018 Winter Olympics tonight on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player at 8.30pm
