WINTER OLYMPICS CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING

There is evidence that primitive skis were used in Norway over 5000 years ago. As early as the 10th century, Vikings used skis for transportation. It wasn't until the 19th century, however, that ski competitions came into existence, starting in Norway. The famous Holmenkollen ski festival was started in 1892. At first, the main focus of these Nordic festivals was the Nordic combined event - cross-country skiing and ski jumping. In 1900, a separate cross-country race was held at the Holmenkollen.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING was contested at the inaugural Olympic Winter Games in 1924 and has been a part of every Winter Games since. The events held at the first Games in Chamonix were the 18km and the 50km.

A women's cross-country event, the 10km, was added to the Olympic program in 1952.

The Soviet Union is one of the only countries to break the Scandinavian dominance in these events, although Italy's Franco Nones surprisingly won the 30km race in 1968 and American hero Bill Koch caused an upset in 1976 when he finished second in the 30km race, the only competitor from the United States to ever win a medal. The Soviet Union has won the most Olympic medals in cross-country, with 77. It also has won the most gold medals, with 28. Norway has the second-most total medals, with 73.

COMPETITION
At the Olympic Winter Games, cross-country consists of twelve events. Women compete in the 1.5km sprint, 10km classical, combined pursuit, 15km freestyle, 30km classical, and 4x5km relay. Men compete in 1.5km sprint, 15km classical, combined pursuit, 30km freestyle, 50km classical and 4x10km relay.

The 1.5 km sprint
The 1.5 km sprint, is the shortest event on the cross-country program, and any style of skiing is permitted. The sprint events are different from the other cross-country events in that they are contested in a series of elimination rounds.

The combined pursuit
The combined pursuit features two separate races on the same day. The first part of the event is 5 kilometers ski -classical style. The second part is a 5-kilometer freestyle race. Competitors start the freestyle portion staggered according to their finish in the classical portion. The athlete who crosses the finish line first is the winner.

The classical races
In the classical races, skiers use the traditional straight-striding technique (called a "diagonal stride") and do not deviate from distinct parallel tracks. The form required for classical skiing resembles the form used on a typical cross-country exercise machine.

The freestyle technique
The freestyle technique, which is often referred to as "skating," has no restrictions. The athletes do not keep their skis within narrow tracks but instead push off with both legs in a motion that resembles skating.

The relay event
For the relay event, each team is composed of four skiers, each of whom skis one of the four 5km or 10km relay legs. The first two legs of the relay are classical style. The final two are freestyle.

VERIFIED FEB 25, 2002

MEN

	1.5km Sprint	15km Classical	30km Freestyle Mass Start	50km Classical
		18km from 1924-1952 10km pursuit from 1992-98	30km Classical from 1956-1992 and in 1998	50km Freestyle in 1988, 1992, 1998
1924		Thorleif Haug, NOR		Thorleif Haug, NOR
1928		Johan Grøttumsbråten, NO		Per Erik Hedlund, SWE
1932		Sven Utterström, SWE		Veli Saarinen, FIN
1936		Erik-August Larsson, SWE		Elis Wiklund, SWE
1948		Martin Lundström, SWE		Nils Karlsson, SWE
1952		Hallgeir Brenden, NOR		Veikko Hakulinen, FIN
1956		Hallgeir Brenden, NOR	Veikko Hakulinen, FIN	Sixten Jernberg, SWE
1960		Haakon Brusveen, NOR	Sixten Jernberg, SWE	Kalevi HÄMÄLÄINEN, FIN
1964		Eero MÄNTYRANTA, FIN	Eero MÄNTYRANTA, FIN	Sixten Jernberg, SWE
1968		Harald Grönningen, NOR	Franco Nones, ITA	Ole Ellefsaeter, NOR
1972		Sven-Aake LUNDBÄCK, SWE	Vyacheslav Vedenin, RUS	Paal Tyldum, NOR
1976		Nikolay Bazhukov, URS	Sergey Savelyev, URS	Ivar Formo, NOR
1980		Thomas Wassberg, SWE	Nikolay Zimyatov, URS	Nikolay Zimyatov, URS
1984		Gunde Anders Svan, SWE	Nikolay Zimyatov, URS	Thomas Wassberg, SWE
1988		Mikhail Devyatyarov, URS	Aleksey Prokurorov, URS	Gunde Anders Svan, SWE
1992		Vegard Ulvang, NOR	Vegard Ulvang, NOR	Björn Dahlie, NOR
1994		Björn Daehlie, NOR	Thomas Alsgaard, NOR	Vladimir Smirnov, KAZ
1998		Björn Daehlie, NOR	Mika Myllylae, FIN	Björn Dahlie, NOR
2002	Tori Arne Hetland, NOR	Andrus Veerpalu, EST	Johann Muehlegg, ESP	Mikhail Ivanov, RUS

WOMEN

	1.5km Sprint	10km Classical	15km Freestyle Mass Start	30km Classical
		5km Classical 1964-98	10km Classical 1952-88 15km Classical in '92/'98	1984-88: 20km Freestyle 1992 & 98: 30km Freestyle 1994 & 02: 30km Classical
1924-48
1952			Lydia Wideman, FIN
1956			Lyubov Baranova, URS
1960			Mariya Gusakova, URS
1964		Klavdiya Boyaskikh, URS	Klavdiya Boyarskikh, URS
1968		Toini Gustafsson, SWE	Toini Gustafsson, SWE
1972		Galina Kulakova, URS	Galina Kulakova, URS
1976		Helena Takalo, FIN	Raisa Smetanina, URS
1980		Raisa Smetanina, URS	Barbara Petzold, GDR
1984		Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi, FIN	Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi, FIN	Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi, FIN
1988		Marjo Martikainen, FIN	Vida Venciene, URS	Tamara Tikhonova, URS
1992		Marjut Lukkarinen, FIN	Lyubov Yegorova, EUN	Stefania Belmondo, ITA
1994		Lyubov Yegorova, RUS	Manuela Di Centa, ITA	Manuela Di Centa, ITA
1998		Larissa Lazutina, RUS	Olga Danilova, RUS	Julija Tchepalova, RUS
2002	Julija Tchepalova, RUS	Bente Skari, NOR	Stefania Belmondo, ITA	Gabriella Paruzzi, ITA

MEN'S & WOMEN'S COMBINED PURSUIT & RELAY

	COMBINED PURSUIT	4x10km Relay	COMBINED PURSUIT	4x5km Relay
	1992-98: 10km C/15km F 2002: 10km C/10km F	1936-1984: 4 Classical 1988: 4 Freestyle 1992-2002: 2 C & 2 F	1992-98: 5km C/10km F 2002: 5km C/5km F	1956-1972: 3 Classical 1976-1984: 4 Classical 1988: 4 Freestyle 1992-2002: 2 C & 2 F
1924-32
1936		Finland
1948		Sweden
1952		Finland
1956		Soviet Union		Finland
1960		Finland		Sweden
1964		Sweden		Soviet Union
1968		Norway		Norway
1972		Soviet Union		Soviet Union
1976		Finland		Soviet Union
1980		Soviet Union		East Germany
1984		Sweden		Norway
1988		Sweden		Soviet Union
1992	Björn Daehlie, NOR	Norway	Lyubov Yegorova, EUN	Unified Team
1994	Björn Daehlie, NOR	Italy	Lyubov Yegorova, RUS	Russia
1998	Thomas Alsgaard, NOR	Norway	Larissa Lazutina, RUS	Russia
2002	Johann Muehlegg, ESP	Norway	Olga Danilova, RUS	Germany