Austrian cross-country skier Teresa Stadlober was well on her way to a silver medal at the Pyeongchang Games. Then came her mental hiccup.

With 7km left in Sunday’s 30km race, the 25-year-old Stadlober inexplicably veered right on a downhill slope while the rest of the skiers went left. By the time she had corrected her course, she had fallen from second place to eighth and her medal hopes had vanished.

Winter Olympics day 16 - in pictures Read more

“I don’t know, I really don’t know,” said Stadlober, who ended up in ninth place. “I took the wrong way and I did this twice. The second time I wasn’t sure anymore. I had a blackout. I don’t know why I took the wrong way.”

The Austrian team’s sports director, Markus Gandler, said he believes Stadlober, trailing far behind eventual champion Marit Bjoergen, simply took her eyes off the track for a moment.

“For us, it’s unbelievable,” Gandler said. “On this downhill there are two sides, the right course and the left course. The right course is the first loop and the left course in the second loop. The second loop is going into the finish area.” Then he smiled wryly and said: “The left would have been the better one.”

Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla, who finished fifth, said she had no problems with the markings on the course, but added “there are a lot of things to be aware of.”

“It’s sad for her,” Kalla said. “I didn’t know about it until I got to the mixed zone.”

Stadlober said the course markings could have been clearer, but she refused to blame the setup.

“You have to know the course,” said Stadlober, who was racing in her second Olympics. “I’m really sad and disappointed that it has happened today because I had a really good day. My shape is good. I know in [classical cross country skiing] I can make a good race and I also had really good skis. Before I took the wrong way I thought I could fight for a medal.”

She had her father Alois, a former Olympic cross country skier himself, to pick her up. After the race, he greeted her at the finish line with a huge hug. “I cried,” she said. “He just said, ‘It was not your day today.’ But when you want to win a medal you have to know the track.”