Just 4.8 seconds separated Akito Watabe from Olympic gold at the Pyeongchang Winter Games on Wednesday, as the Nordic combined athlete was left stranded when defending champion Eric Frenzel turned on the final-kilometer afterburners to claim the championship.
Frenzel became just the third man to defend the Olympic men's normal hill 10-km title, with Watabe the runner-up both times. Finishing 13.3 seconds behind Watabe, Austria's Lukas Klapfer, collected his second Olympic bronze medal.
"I'm half happy I won a medal, and half frustrated that I fell short of the one I was aiming for," Watabe said. "I knew Frenzel was going to hit the gas at the end and I planned to do the same, but he was just faster. He completely beat me."