Four-time Olympic medallist Watabe Akito: "I know the mountain better than anyone"

"I like to think I know the mountain better than anyone," says Japan's Watabe Akito, almost mystically.

And who could argue with the legendary nordic combined competitor in his fifth Olympic Winter Games at Beijing 2022, where he claimed medals for the third Games in succession.

In Beijing, the 33-year-old won multiple Olympic medals for the first time - bronze in the individual large hill and bronze in the team event to add to the normal hill silvers he won at Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018.

But it wasn't the gold he so badly wanted, the summit he so badly craved.

"In my heart I still want to see the summit, obviously, and I tried to get to the top of the mountain from a number of routes, going round and round.

"It's a beautiful mountain and I’ve seen it from various angles. I like to think I know the mountain better than anyone."

Watabe was just six-tenths of a second away from landing the gold he craved in Tuesday's large hill/10km individual event.

He led going into the stadium complex, but was passed by Norway's Joergen Graabak and Jens Luraas Oftebro inside the last 200 metres and had to settle for bronze.

Despite his obvious disappointment, he believes that competition is more than just winning medals.

"I’m not really happy about the performance, but it was good that I won a medal for the third consecutive Games," he continues to Olympics.com.

"Of course it’s disappointing I couldn’t win a gold medal but I think I helped contribute to an exciting race. If the people who are watching it are moved by it, medal or no medal, that’s the true beauty of sport. And I’m glad I was able to realise this."

"It's really big for me because this season was so hard for me with no podium in the World Cup so far. I couldn't trust