Winter Olympics 2026: India's Stanzin Lundup finishes 104th in men's 10km cross country skiing

India's Stanzin Lundup finished 104th in men's 10km cross country skiing at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy on Friday.

Lundup, who had reached the European city just before the opening ceremony after a long legal battle, clocked 28:26.7s to cross the finish line.

He was 7:50.5s behind gold medallist Johannes Klaebo of Norway, who clocked 20:36.2s to finish the race.  

France's Mathis Desloges (20:41.1s) and Norwegian Einar Hedegart (20:50.2s) took the silver and bronze medal respectively.

Lundup, who started late in the competition, was placed 109th after the first 1.8km. He climbed up two spots by the end of 3.7km, and gained a place more at the half-way stage.

By the time the finish line came across, he had gained two more spots to finish 104th out of 113 athletes in contention. 

Only 111 athletes completed the race, with Spain's Bernat Selles Gasch disqualified and Lithuania's Modestas Vaiciulis not finishing the course.

Lundup had earned a quota place for India in the event with his performance at the 2025 Nordic World Championships last year. 

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and ad-hoc committee of Ski and Snowboard India (SSI) had then forwarded his name for the quadrennial event. This decision was challenged in the Delhi High Court by Manjeet, who claimed he deserved to go to the Winter Olympics, being higher ranked.

The Delhi High Court had ruled in favour of the petitioner and directed the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to include Manjeet in the Indian contingent. His entry, however, was rejected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the deadline for quota allocation and reallocation had passed.

Lundup left India for the 2026 Winter Olympics just a day before the opening ceremony, after nearly a fortnight of uncertainty. 

The other Indian at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Arif Khan, will be in action on Monday in the slalom event of alpine skiing.

Khan, who will compete in his second consecutive Olympic Games, had earned his place via his world rankings.

He had then finished 45th in the giant slalom event but did not finish the slalom race.