Arthur Saparbekov, representing Kyrgyzstan, made his debut at the Winter Olympics by participating in the freestyle sprint.
In the qualifying round, which took place on February 10, 94 athletes participated. Saparbekov started under number 91; he completed the first 800 meters in 2 minutes and 23.8 seconds, and his overall race time was 4 minutes and 36.85 seconds, which placed him in 94th position — last in this discipline.
Only the top 30 skiers were able to advance to the quarterfinals. The leader of the qualification was Norwegian Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who recorded a time of 3 minutes and 7.37 seconds. Saparbekov lagged behind him by a full 1 minute and 29.48 seconds.
The next start for the Kyrgyz athlete is scheduled for February 13, where he will participate in the 10 km freestyle race.
