2018 Winter Olympics: Cross-Country Skiing Guide and Preview for PyeongChang
With the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea fast approaching, here's everything you need to know about cross-country skiing.
Cross-country skiing at the Olympics is a lengthy competition, with events spanning throughout all 15 days in PyeongChang.
Check out the full cross-country skiing schedule here.
In December, SI published a complete Rookie's Guide to cross-country skiing, packed with information about the sport's different techniques, rules and qualifying criteria. From videos of hilarious pileups of skiers to detailed breakdowns of the Games' events and athletes, the Rookie's Guide will get you ready to go for one of the most popular (and highly contested) winter sports.
• Cross-Country Skiing 101: Everything You Need To Know Ahead Of PyeongChang.
And if you want even more coverage on the sport's athletes, our expert Brian Cazeneuve has you covered. In the January 29-February 5 Olympic Preview issue, Brian gave his medal predictions. Here are his picks for cross-country skiing:
Men
1.4K Sprint (Classical)
• Gold: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norway
• Silver: Emil Iverson, Norway
• Bronze: Federico Pellegrino, Italy
Klæbo is an active vlogger on YouTube with 30,000 subscribers.
Team Sprint (Freestyle)
• Gold: Italy
• Silver: Norway
• Bronze: Sweden
The Russians, who won a silver medal in Sochi, have been banned for doping.
15K Freestyle
• Gold: Dario Cologna, Switzerland
• Silver: Maurice Manificat, France
• Bronze: Alex Harvey, Canada
Harvey’s dad, Pierre, was an Olympian in cycling and cross-country.
30K Skiathlon
• Gold: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norway
• Silver: Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Norway
• Bronze: Maurice Manificat, France
Sundby has won three overall World Cup titles but never Olympic gold.
50K Mass Start (Classical)
• Gold: Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Norway
• Silver: Alex Harvey, Canada
• Bronze: Alexey Poltoranin, Kazakhstan
Sochi winner Alexander Legkov was banned for doping.
4x10KRelay
• Gold: Norway
• Silver: Russia
• Bronze: Sweden
Norway leads all countries with 40 cross-country gold medals.
Women
1.2K Sprint (Classical)
• Gold: Maiken Caspersen Falla, Norway
• Silver: Stina Nilsson, Sweden
• Bronze: Jessie Diggins, U.S.
At worlds, Nilsson crashed out in the semis.
Team Sprint (Freestyle)
• Gold: Sweden
• Silver: U.S.
• Bronze: Norway
The U.S. was eighth in 2014.
10K Freestyle
• Gold: Heidi Weng, Norway
• Silver: Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Norway
• Bronze: Jessie Diggins, U.S.
Weng sleeps 12 hours per day.
15K Skiathlon
• Gold: Charlotte Kalla, Sweden
• Silver: Heidi Weng, Norway
• Bronze: Marit Bjørgen, Norway
Kalla made up a 25-second deficit to lead Sweden to Sochi gold in the 4×5K relay.
30K Mass Start (Classical)
• Gold: Heidi Weng, Norway
• Silver: Charlotte Kalla, Sweden
• Bronze: Marit Bjørgen, Norway
Bjørgen’s partner is two-time Nordic combined gold medal winner Fred Børre Lundberg.
4x5K Relay
• Gold: Norway
• Silver: Sweden
• Bronze: Finland
Norway leads all countries with 107 total cross-country medals.
Check out Brian's medal predictions for all 102 events in the magazine.
