The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC to 394 AD. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. This cycle changed in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee sesion held in 1986,IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years.Also,at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the edition that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994.After this edition,the next one was to be held in 1998 when the 4-years Olympic Cycle resumed.
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter Olympics, the first being in 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo; Italy had also hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960 in Rome.
Marit Bjørgen is a former Norwegian cross-country skier. She is ranked first in the all-time Cross-Country World Cup rankings with 114 individual victories. Bjørgen is also the most successful sprinter in Cross-Country World Cup history, with 29 victories. She headed the medal table at the 2010 Winter Olympics by winning five medals, including three gold. A five-time Olympian, her five Olympic medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games brought her total number of medals up to a record 15, the most by any athlete in Winter Olympics history.
Canada competed at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States. Canada has competed at every Winter Olympic Games.
At the 1932 Winter Olympics, two cross-country skiing events were contested. The 18 km competition was held on Wednesday, 10 February 1932, while the 50 km event was held on Saturday, 13 February 1932.
Austria competed at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States, February 4 to February 15. The team was composed of 7 athletes, consisting of 6 men and 1 women.
Turkey sent a delegation to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway from 12–27 February. Turkey was making its 11th appearance at the Winter Olympic Games. The delegation consisted of a single athlete, cross-country skier Mithat Yıldırım. In his only event, he finished in 87th place.
Brian McKeever is a Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete, who became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won his 14th medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. He finished the 2018 Games with a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals, making him the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever. McKeever claimed a 16th Paralympic gold medal in the men's para cross-country middle distance vision impaired race at Beijing 2022, drawing him level with the German para-alpine racer Gerd Schönfelder for the most men's Winter Paralympic wins.
The 50 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing at the 1932 Winter Olympics programme. It was the third appearance of the event. The competition was held on Saturday, 13 February 1932. Thirty-two cross-country skiers from nine nations competed.
The Men's 50 kilometre freestyle cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, was held on 26 February, at Pragelato. This was the final day of the Games, and the top three finishers were presented their medals as part of the Closing Ceremony.
The men's 15 kilometre + 15 kilometre double Pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, was held on 20 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia, at 13:30 PST.
Andorra sent a delegation to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from 12 to 28 February 2010. Andorra has never won an Olympic medal, despite appearing at every Winter and Summer Games since 1976. The Andorran delegation to these Olympics consisted of six athletes, four in alpine skiing, one in cross-country skiing, and one in snowboarding, the last being Lluís Marin Tarroch, the first snowboarder to represent Andorra at the Olympics. He placed 34th in his only event, and failed to advance to the quarterfinals as a result. Francesc Soulié, the first Andorran cross-country skier to compete at the Games, made his second Olympics appearance, achieving a 47th place finish in the best of his three events. The four alpine skiers that competed recorded six DNFs in their thirteen combined events, though Mireia Gutiérrez recorded a team-high 24th-place result in her best event.
The 5 kilometre cross-country skiing event was the shortest distance of the women's cross-country skiing programme at the 1984 Winter Olympics, in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. It was the sixth appearance of the 5 km race. The competition was held on Sunday, February 12, 1984 at Veliko Polje, Igman.
Cross-country skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The twelve events took place between 10 and 25 February 2018.
The women's 30 kilometre classical cross-country skiing competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics was held on 25 February 2018 at 15:15 KST at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Pyeongchang, South Korea. It became the final event of the 2018 Winter Olympics before the Closing Ceremonies.
The men's 4 × 10 kilometre relay cross-country skiing competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics was held on 18 February 2018 at 15:15 KST at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The women's 10 kilometre freestyle pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, was held on 17 February at Birkebeineren Ski Stadium in Lillehammer. The Italian Stefania Belmondo was the 1993 World champion and Russian Lyubov Yegorova was the defending champion from the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France.
The men's 50 kilometre freestyle competition in cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 19 February, at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center and Biathlon Center in Taizicheng. Alexander Bolshunov, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, won the event, and Ivan Yakimushkin, also of ROC, won silver, his first Olympic medal. Simen Hegstad Krüger of Norway won the bronze medal, competing in his first and only race at these Games after an illness. Bolshunov became only the second skier who won 30 km and 50 km at the same Olympics, after Russian Nikolay Zimyatov accomplished this in 1980.
The women's 30 kilometre freestyle competition in cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 20 February, at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center and Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou. Therese Johaug of Norway became the champion, thereby winning all three individual distance events at these Olympics. She was only second woman to do so after Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi in 1984. Jessie Diggins of the United States won the silver medal, and Kerttu Niskanen of Finland the bronze. For Diggins, this was her first individual Olympic medal.
The women's 10 kilometre classical competition in cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 10 February, at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center and Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou. Therese Johaug of Norway became the Olympic champion, Kerttu Niskanen of Finland won the silver medal, and Krista Pärmäkoski, also of Finland, won bronze.
