Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing originated long ago. The word "ski" comes from the Old Norse "skid" or "long piece of wood". For centuries, people used skis to hunt and gather firewood in winter across northern Europe. With long distances between small, isolated communities and harsh, snowy winters, skiing also became important as a means of maintaining social contacts. In the late 19th century, cross-country skiing became a sport and was practiced by Norwegian army units. The first documented official competition dates to 1842. The event that brought cross-country skiing to prominence throughout Europe was the Greenland crossing by Fridtjof Nansen in 1888. The famous Holmenkollen ski festival began in 1892, and initially all attention was focused on the Nordic combined event. In 1901, however, a separate cross-country skiing race was added to the programme.

The sport, which was an instant success, has been an Olympic discipline since the first Winter Games were held in Chamonix in 1924 with men's competitions. Women's competitions were added at Oslo 1952. The Norwegians initially dominated the sport at the Games, later joined by Swedish and Finnish athletes.

Cross-country skiing is divided by technique: classic and free. In the classic technique, the skier glides along tracks etched in the snow, while in the free technique (also called "skate"), the skier makes lateral movements relative to the direction of travel. Each race at the Olympics takes place in the classic or free technique.

At Milano Cortina 2026 cross-country skiing events have the following format: in the 10km + 10km skiathlon, athletes start all together in line. They use both techniques in the same race. At the halfway point of the event, the athletes change from classic to free technique. In the 50km mass start classic, the athletes start all together in line. In the 4 x 7.5km relay, the teams start all together in line. A team consists of four athletes, each of whom covers the same distance. In the sprint classic, the race starts with a qualifying round and then elimination heats. Athletes start 15 seconds apart. The 30 fastest athletes reach the quarter-finals, which consist of five groups of six athletes each. The top two in each group plus the two athletes with the fastest times reach the semi-finals. In the team sprint free, athletes start individually at 30-second intervals. Teams of two alternate laps for six laps. The event begins with two semi-final races; the top two teams, along with six “lucky losers,” advance to the final. The men's and women’s 10km free events are the only ones to use interval starts; therefore, in these events the winner is the athlete with the fastest time —not the first to cross the finish line, as is the case with all other cross-country events at Milano Cortina.