2002 Olympics: Cross Country Skiing
Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff 
There are two techniques in cross country: classical (parallel skis) and freestyle (skating style). The Sprint features a qualification round with the fastest 16 skiers moving on to elimination heats. Top two finishers in each heat advance until there is a four-skier final. The Combined Pursuit is held on one day and consists of a classical race (10-km for men, 5-km for women) followed by a freestyle race (10-km for men, 5-km for women). The starting order in the freestyle portion of the Combined Pursuit is determined by the classical leg finish.
Medal breakdown (12 events): 10 medals—Norway (3-4-3); Seven—Russia (3-3-1); Five—Italy (2-2-1); Four—Germany (1-2-1); Three—Estonia (1-1-1); Two—Spain (2-0-0) and Austria (0-1-1); One—Canada (0-0-1), Czech Republic (0-0-1) and Switzerland (0-0-1).
Men
1.5–km Sprint
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tor Arne Hetland, NOR | 2:56.9 |
| 2 | Peter Schlickenrieder, GER | 2:57.0 |
| 3 | Cristian Zorzi, ITA | 2:57.2 |
Best USA: No American skier qualified for the elimination heats.
15–km Classical
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrus Veerpalu, EST | 37:07.4 |
| 2 | Frode Estil, NOR | 37:43.4 |
| 3 | Jaak Mae, EST | 37:50.8 |
Best USA: 12th, John Bauer (38:55.7); 16th, Patrick Weaver (39:24.4).
Combined Pursuit
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johann Muehlegg, SPA | 49:20.4 |
| 2 | Frode Estil, NOR | 49:48.9 |
| 2 | Thomas Alsgaard, NOR | 49:48.9 |
Best USA: 15th, Kris Freeman (50:32.0).
30–km Freestyle
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johann Muehlegg, SPA | 1:09:28.9 |
| 2 | Christian Hoffmann, AUT | 1:11:31.0 |
| 3 | Mikhail Botvinov, AUT | 1:11:32.3 |
Best USA: 22nd, Andrew Johnson (1:14:26.9).
50–km Classical
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikhail Ivanov, RUS* | 2:06:20.8 |
| 2 | Andrus Veerpalu, EST | 2:06:44.5 |
| 3 | Odd-Bjoern Hjelmeset, NOR | 2:08.41.5 |
*Ivanov finished second to Spain's Johann Muehlegg, who was stripped of his gold medal after test results revealed he failed a pre-race drug test. Muehlegg tested positive for darbepoetin, a drug that can enhance performance in endurance sports by increasing oxygen capacity through greater red blood cell production. He was ordered to leave the Games but allowed to keep the two gold medals he won earlier.
Best USA: 34th, John Bauer (2:19:35.7).
4 x 10–km Mixed Relay
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | 1:32:45.5 |
| 2 | Italy | 1:32:45.8 |
| 3 | Germany | 1:33:34.5 |
NOR—Anders Aukland, Frode Estil, Kristen Skjeldal, Thomas Alsgaard; ITA—Fabio Maj, Giorgio di Centa, Pietro Piller Cottrer, Cristian Zorzi; GER—Jens Filbrich, Andreas Schluetter, Tobias Angerer, Rene Sommerfeldt.
USA entry: 5th; John Bauer, Kris Freeman, Justin Wadsworth, Carl Swenson (1:34:05.5).
Women
1.5–km Sprint
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julija Tchepalova, RUS | 3:10.6 |
| 2 | Evi Sachenbacher, GER | 3:12.2 |
| 3 | Anita Moen, NOR | 3:12.7 |
Best USA: No American skier qualified for the elimination heats.
10–km Classical
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bente Skari, NOR | 28:05.6 |
| 2 | Olga Danilova, RUS | 28:08.1 |
| 3 | Julija Tchepalova, RUS | 28:09.9 |
Best USA: 38th, Wendy Wagner (30:50.7); 40th, Nina Kemppel (30:51.9).
Combined Pursuit
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olga Danilova, RUS | 24:52.1 |
| 2 | Larissa Lazutina, RUS | 24:59.0 |
| 3 | Beckie Scott, CAN | 25:09.9 |
Best USA: 32nd, Nina Kemppel (26:27.8).
15–km Freestyle
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefania Belmondo, ITA | 39:54.4 |
| 2 | Larissa Lazutina, RUS | 39:56.2 |
| 3 | Katerina Neumannova, CZR | 40:01.3 |
Best USA: 30th, Nina Kemppel (42:53.1).
30–km Classical
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriella Paruzzi, ITA* | 1:30:57.1 |
| 2 | Stefania Belmondo, ITA | 1:31:01.6 |
| 3 | Bente Skari, NOR | 1:31:36.3 |
*Paruzzi finished second to Russia's Larissa Lazutina, who was stripped of her gold medal and ordered to leave the Games after failing a subsequent drug test. Lazutina tested positive for darbepoetin, a drug that can enhance performance in endurance sports by increasing oxygen capacity through greater red blood cell production. She was allowed to keep the two silver medals she won earlier but was barred from participating in the 20-km team relay.
Note: Russia's Olga Danilova, who finished eighth in this race, also tested positive for darbepoetin and was ordered to leave the Games. She was allowed to keep the gold and silver medals she won earlier.
Best USA: 15th, Nina Kemppel (1:37:08.7).
4 x 5–km Mixed Relay
| Time | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 49:30.6 |
| 2 | Norway | 49:31.9 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 50:03.6 |
GER—Manuela Henkel, Viola Bauer, Claudia Kuenzel, Evi Sachenbacher; NOR—Marit Bjoergen, Bente Skari, Hilde G. Pedersen, Anita Moen; SWI—Andrea Huber, Laurence Rochat, Brigitte Albrecht Loretan, Natascia Leonardi Cortesi.
USA entry: 13th; Wendy Wagner, Nina Kemppel, Barbara Jones, Aelin Peterson (53:23.4).
