The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Torino 2006 or Turin 2006, was a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. This marked the second time that 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. Turin was selected as the host city for the 2006 Games in June 1999.
Marit Bjørgen is a 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.
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Turin, Italy, from February 10 to February 26, 2006. A total of 2,508 athletes representing 80 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 84 events from 15 different sports and disciplines.
Mongolia sent a delegation to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy from 10-26 February 2006. The delegation consisted of two cross-country skiers, Erdene-Ochiryn Ochirsüren and Khürelbaataryn Khash-Erdene. Their best finish in any event was 68th in the women's 10 kilometer classical by Ochirsüren. The same two competitors would return to the Olympics four years later representing Mongolia at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Kristina Šmigun-Vähi is a former Estonian female cross-country skier and politician. She is the most successful Estonian female cross-country skier with two Olympic gold medals. In 2019 she was elected as a Member of the Estonian Parliament.
Andrus Veerpalu is a retired Estonian cross-country skier. He is Estonia's most successful Winter Olympian, having won the gold medal in men's 15 kilometre classical in 2002 and 2006, and silver in men's 50 kilometre classical in 2002.
Kristin Størmer Steira is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier. She competed from 2002 to 2015, and won six individual World Cup victories and five individual medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and Winter Olympic Games. She also won four gold medals with the Norway relay team. In Norwegian media, Steira was dubbed "the eternal fourth" due to her many finishes in fourth place.
Cross-country skiing was one of the three disciplines of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007, held between February 22 and March 4, 2007 in Sapporo, Japan. The sprint events were held at the Sapporo Dome and the distance races were held at the Shirahatayama Open Stadium.
The men's 15 kilometre classical cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, was held on 17 February at Pragelato.
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 4 x 10 kilometre relay cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, was held on 19 February at Pragelato.
The Women's 4 x 5 kilometre relay cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy was held on 18 February, at Pragelato.
The Women's 30 kilometre freestyle cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy was held on 24 February, at Pragelato.
The Women's 15 kilometre pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy was held on 12 February, at Pragelato.
The Women's sprint cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy was held on 22 February, at Pragelato.
The Women's team sprint cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy was held on 14 February, at Pragelato. This was the first time the team sprint was contested in the Winter Olympics. Each race featured teams of two, with each skier completing 3 laps of a 1145 metre course.
The women's 30 kilometre classical cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada was held on 27 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia at 11:45 PST.
The women's 7.5 kilometre + 7.5 kilometre double pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada was held on 19 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia at 13:00 PST.
Maiken Caspersen Falla is a Norwegian cross-country skier who specializes in sprint and short distance races. She is the 2014 Olympic champion in the individual sprint and three-time Olympic medalist. She became the individual sprint World champion at the 2017 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and successfully defended her World title in 2019. Winner of three consecutive Sprint World Cup crystal globes, Falla has won total of five gold and four bronze medals at the World Championships in her career. Her highest finish in the overall World Cup standings is sixth-place which she achieved in 2014–15 and 2015–16 World Cup seasons.
The women's 30 kilometre mass start freestyle cross-country skiing competition at the 2014 Sochi Olympics took place on 22 February at Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex. Three Norwegian athletes, Marit Bjørgen, Therese Johaug, and Kristin Størmer Steira, took the lead from 1 km on and skied in the group, never being threatened by other competitors. At the finish line, Bjørgen won gold, Johaug finished second, and Størmer Steira was third. This is the first gold for Norway in women's 30 km race, and the first clean sweep in Olympic cross country skiing since 1992. For Bjørgen, this was the sixth Winter Olympic gold medal, which, together with Lidiya Skoblikova and Lyubov Yegorova, made her a woman with the largest number of Winter Olympics gold medals won. Størmer Steira won her first individual Olympic medal. The defending 2010 champion Justyna Kowalczyk did not finish.
