A devastated cross-country skier has blamed his Winter Olympics defeat on stomach problems that left him feeling ‘terrible’. Jules Chappaz, representing France, crashed out of the quarter-finals of the men’s sprint on Tuesday. It came after a sickness bug ripped through the French squad, leaving Chappaz with gas since the qualifying rounds.

Following his exit in the last eight, he told France 2: “I wasn’t feeling well at all, I had a stomach ache. I felt a bit nauseous and I had gas since the end of qualifying. My body is slowly recovering and it was perhaps a little too soon. Four years of work down the drain because of gastroenteritis.

“From the start, I felt nauseous. Since the end of qualifying, I haven’t been feeling well. I don’t have many symptoms anymore but as soon as I push myself, I feel terrible.”

Gastroenteritis is a common condition that causes diarrhoea and vomiting, according to the NHS website. It’s usually caused by a bacterial or viral stomach bug.

Chappaz arrived in Milan-Cortina with high hopes of winning a medal in the men’s sprint, but the 26-year-old underestimated the impact his illness would have on his Olympic dream.

“I wanted to believe I could do it, otherwise I wouldn’t have come,” he added. “I was here to win a medal, but unfortunately, things haven’t gone very well these last two weeks.

“I did what I could with what I had. My body isn’t exactly inclined to give its all right now. These are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, everyone was there for me.

Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

“You have to be able to beat everyone if you want to win a medal. I was aware of that. It’s the Olympics, I really wanted to run. Qualifying [as the third fastest time] gave me high hopes.

“Maybe I didn’t have enough energy to get through the rounds. It’s a shame because I wasn’t far off even though I wasn’t feeling great. That’s life. My regret is my form. I believed in myself until the very end and gave it my all, but it wasn’t enough.”

Chappaz isn’t the only athlete to have fallen ill at the Winter Olympics, with Finland’s women’s hockey team being struck down by an outbreak of norovirus.

Earlier in the Games, they had to put six players in quarantine to stop the illness from spreading further. Their match against Canada was postponed after only 10 players turned up for a morning skate, causing the training session to be cancelled.

In a statement, the organising committee said: “The decision was taken following consultations with medical professionals after cases of norovirus were identified within Team Finland.”