Perhaps the worst part of it all for Finland’s Remi Lindholm is that it was not even the first time it had happened.
Such was the chance of athletes suffering frostbite, freezing conditions at the Winter Olympics in Beijing had already seen the blue riband men’s 50km cross-country ski delayed by an hour – and shortened to a 30km event.
But even those alterations could not save Lindholm from an “unbearable” fate.
The immediate concern for the 24-year-old, in the aftermath of completing the final event of his debut Olympic Games, was thawing out his frozen penis.
A heat pack eventually helped the Finn salvage the situation at the end of what was a gruelling race.
However, having spent almost one hour and 16 minutes out on the course in howling winds and appendage-threatening temperatures of -17C, he was, understandably, left in a tremendous amount of pain.
“You can guess which body part was a little bit frozen when I finished,” Lindholm told Finnish media.
“It was one of the worst competitions I’ve been in. It was just about battling through.
“When the body parts started to warm up after the finish, the pain was unbearable.”
Poor Lindholm previously suffered a similar incident at a competition in Finland last year, with the thin suits and under layers worn by racers offering minimal protection from extreme cold.
Source: BBC