Who is Andrew Musgrave and what time is he competing in the Winter Olympics 2018?
Meet Team GB's cross country skier – and find out when you can watch him live on the BBC and Eurosport
Team GB Winter Olympic 2018 athletes: Andrew Musgrave
Age: 27
Event: cross country skiing
- How to watch the Winter Olympics 2018 live on TV: full BBC and Eurosport coverage guide
- Winter Olympics 2018 medals table – full guide to every gold, silver and bronze awarded in Pyeongchang 2018
- Who are the Team GB athletes competing in the Winter Olympics?
- More Winter Olympic news
Who is Andrew Musgrave?
Remember when England’s footballers lost a World Cup qualifier to Norway in Oslo in 1981? It prompted a now infamous bit of local commentary: “Maggie Thatcher — your boys took one hell of a beating!”
Well, in 2014, after beating the Norwegians at their own game by taking the national freestyle skiing sprint title, Andrew Musgrave couldn’t resist teasing his hosts: “Arild Monsen [the Norwegian coach], your boys took a hell of a beating!”
His chutzpah turned Musgrave into a cult figure in Norway, so unlikely was the sight of a bloke from a country with no pedigree in this most gruelling winter sport defeating their very best skiers. “It’s like a Norwegian coming to Lord’s and bowling out the England cricket team,” says the 27-year-old.
Yet though he was once an amusing novelty to the Norwegians, Musgrave has since spent so much time in his adopted country, mixing skiing with his engineering studies, that they now take him deadly seriously. “I’ve become an honorary Norwegian,” says Musgrave. “People back in Britain think I’m weird: ‘I mean, skiing uphill, what’s all that about?’”
He feels that, at 27, he’s in shape to win Britain’s first-ever cross country medals in the 15km event and the 30km skiathlon. “If you’d said that about any British cross country skier ten years ago, they’d have said you were mad.” Interview by Ian Chadband
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When can I watch Andrew Musgrave compete in the Winter Olympics?
You can catch Musgrave competing in the 30km skiathlon on Sunday 11th February at 6am on BBC2 and Eurosport 1.
He will also be going for gold in the 15km cross country ski on Friday 16th February at 6am on BBC2 and Eursport 1.
