The 50 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1952 Winter Olympics. It was the sixth appearance of the event. The competition was held on Wednesday, 20 February 1952. Thirty-six cross-country skiers from 13 nations competed.
The 1936 Winter Olympics were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The games began on 6 February 1936, and ended on 16 February 1936. There were three cross-country skiing events held, in which only men competed. There were 109 male competitors from 22 different nations. The youngest participant was 17-year-old Resat Erces from Turkey, while the oldest participant was Nils Backstrom from the United States of America at 34 years old. The athletes whom collected the most medals were Oddbjørn Hagen of Norway, and Erik Larsson of Sweden – each received two medals. Sweden collected more medals than any other country in the cross-country skiing events at a total of five.
At the 1936 Winter Olympics, one individual Nordic combined event was contested. It was held on Wednesday, February 12, 1936 and on Thursday, February 13, 1936.
Trygve Brodahl was a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed during the 1930s.
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 50 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing at the 1928 Winter Olympics programme. It was the second appearance of the event. The competition was held on Tuesday, 14 February 1928. Forty-one cross-country skiers from eleven nations competed.
The 50 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing at the 1924 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on Wednesday, 30 January 1924. Thirty-three cross-country skiers from eleven nations competed.
The 18 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing at the 1936 Winter Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event. The competition was held on Wednesday, 12 February 1936. Seventy-five cross-country skiers from 22 nations competed.
The men's 4 × 10 kilometre relay cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing at the 1936 Winter Olympics programme. It was the first appearance of the event. The competition was held on Monday, 10 February 1936. Sixty-four cross-country skiers from 16 nations competed.
The 50 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing at the 1948 Winter Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event. The competition was held on Friday, 6 February 1948. Twenty-eight 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 50 kilometre classical cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada was held on 28 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia at 09:30 PST. on the final day of the Games.
Peru sent a delegation to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from 12–28 February 2010. This marked Peru's debut at the Winter Olympics. The Peruvian delegation consisted of three athletes: two alpine skiers—Manfred Oettl Reyes and Ornella Oettl Reyes—and the cross-country skier Roberto Carcelen. The nation's best performance in any event was 67th place in the men's giant slalom alpine skiing event by Manfred Oettl Reyes.
Bermuda sent a delegation to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. from 12–28 February 2010. The territory sent one athlete, cross-country skier Tucker Murphy. This was the country's first appearance in a skiing discipline. Murphy finished 88th in the 15 kilometre freestyle event, the only one he was entered into.
Armenia sent a delegation to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9–25 February 2018. This marked the nation's seventh appearance at a Winter Olympics as an independent country. The Armenian delegation consisted of three athletes, two in cross-country skiing and one in alpine skiing. The team's highest finish in any event was a 42nd place mark by Ashot Karapetyan in the alpine skiing men's slalom event.
The men's 50 kilometre freestyle cross-country skiing competition at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, was held on 22 February in Les Saisies.
The men's 50 kilometre cross-country skiing competition at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, was held on Sunday 19 February at Veliko Polje, Igman. It was the last event of the men's cross-country skiing programme at these games and the fourteenth appearance of the 50 kilometre race as it had appeared in every Winter games. Thomas Wassberg of Sweden was the 1982 World champion and Nikolay Zimyatov of the Soviet Union was the defending champion from the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, United States.
The men's 50 kilometre cross-country skiing competition at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, was held on Thursday 10 February at Makomanai Cross Country Events Site. Kalevi Oikarainen of Finland was the 1970 World champion and Ole Ellefsæter of Norway was the defending champion from the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France.
