Canada's cross-country ski coach Justin Wadsworth has said that he helped Russia skier Anton Gafarov during the men's sprint free semi-finals on Tuesday to give him some dignity.

Gafarov fell three times during the heat, and it was clear that he would not be able to finish in front of his home crowd as his left ski was badly damaged.

However, Wadsworth came to the Russian cross-country skier's rescue, gave him a ski and even fastened it to his foot so that he can end the race without having to walk to the finish line.

"I went over and gave him one of Alex's (Harvey, a member of the Canadian team who didn't qualify for the sprint final) spare ski," he told the Globe and Mail.

"It was about giving Gafarov some dignity so he didn't have to walk to the finish area. We help because we know everyone works so hard in our sport."

Wadsworth was an Olympic skier for the USA.