Ten-time Australian cross country champion Paul Murray has skied his last international race, teaming up with Ben Sim to contest the Men’s Team Sprint Free at Whistler Olympic Park.

The 32-year-old from Mt Beauty said it was an ‘awesome’ way to finish his career on the Australian team, even though the pace in the semi-final was way too fast for him.

“To finish today being able to race at the Olympics with Simbo, after being on the team with him for so long, and with both our families here, and we’ve had such an awesome support crew in the lead-up to the Olympics ... to finish on that note is pretty cool,” Murray said.

The Team Sprint features six laps of a 1.6km course, with two skiers from each country alternating. Sim started the race, and also did the third and fifth laps, while Murray took over for laps two, four and six.

“It was actually a pretty fast first acceleration on my very first lap and then it eased up a little bit and then on my second lap the pace was on, then on the fourth lap they really turned the heat on to try to make the finals,” Sim said, adding that it had been their best performance in the event.

The pair said that their pre-race aim had been to stick with the bunch for four laps – knowing that the rest of the field featured the best skiers around.

“Thanks to Simbo’s second lap we were there for three and a half (laps), but then when they accelerated over the top of the last hill just before coming into the stadium, I just went under and that was that,” Murray explained.

“This season hasn’t turned out the way I anticipated it being but that’s the way it goes. I had some really good results in the lead up to the last Olympics and not everything goes the way that you planned it,” he added.

“There’s plenty of athletes who leave the Olympics not happy with how they’ve gone but as long as you can go home knowing that you’ve done everything that you could have and left everything out there, you can’t ask for more than that.”

Murray said his career had been full of highlights, but a few races stood out.

“Getting world cup points in 2005 - the first Aussie to do that - and 31st and 38th at the World Championships in the classic sprint in 2005 and 2007 ... and my world cup result in Stockholm last year, when I was 42nd which qualified me for these Olympics.

“I’ll still ski in Australia and do the odd race there, but I’m 32 and I don’t really have the motivation to keep going and my body’s only just been hanging in there for the past 18 months. I’m too old – it’s time for the young guys to step up,” the dual Olympian said.

“It’s been awesome, with people like (coach) Finn (Marsland) who have been just such a great support for the past 10 years, my family and all of the people back home who have helped out. It wouldn’t have been possible to do what I’ve done and to have had such a great time doing it.”

The semi-final featured an extraordinary finish, as the skier from Belarus looked to have a top-three place and a spot in the final in his keeping, but instead of following the leader from the Czech Republic, turned left as if going for another lap.

Norwegian pair Oeystein Pettersen and Petter Northug won the gold medal, passing Germany on the last lap of the final. Russia overtook Canada to take the bronze.

In the women's event Germany sprung an upset by winning the gold medal ahead of the fancied Swedish outfit. Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle and Claudia Nystad finished only 0.6 seconds clear of Sweden, with Russia taking the bronze medal.

Murray Brust
AOC-Whistler