Overview

Bruce Haslingden and Cedric Sloan were Australia’s first cross-country representatives at an Olympic Winter Games. They participated in the 18km and 50km events at the 1952 Games in Oslo.

The most important change to the cross-country skiing format came at the 1988 Games in Calgary, when new freestyle technique events were introduced to complement the classic technique. This enabled skiers to use a style similar to skating (pushing the skis from both legs) in addition to the classic form where skis stay parallel and do not deviate from the grooved tracks marked out in the snow.

There are six Australian cross-country skiers set to compete at Beijing 2022. The competition starts on Saturday 5 February, the day after the Opening Ceremony, and continues right through to Sunday 20 February.

What’s the story?

• Phil Bellingham has been selected for his third Olympics in Cross-Country Skiing, equalling the most by an Australian Cross-Country skier with Anthony Evans (1992-1998) and Esther Bottomley (2006-2014).
• Jess Yeaton achieved Australia’s best ever Olympic team sprint result at PyeongChang 2018, 12th place, and will compete in the event again at her second Games.
• Casey Wright, Seve de Campo, Jess and Phil will compete in all in five cross-country events, more than anyone else on the Australian Team.

Ones to watch

The Aussies

Hugo Hinckfuss will make his Olympic debut in Beijing and is the second youngest Australian on the Beijing 2022 Team. He will turn 19 shortly after the Games. The Queensland-born athlete represented Australia in cross-country skiing at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics.

Lars Young Vik will also make his Olympic debut and has his sights set on the sprint and team sprint events at Beijing. Vik’s uncle Bjarte Engen Vik was an Olympic cross-country skier for Norway, winning two gold medals at Nagano 1998 plus silver and bronze at Lillehammer 1994.

The competition

Ebba Andersson (SWE) is the women’s cross-country skiing world no.2, who won silver in the women's 4x5km relay at PyeongChang 2018, and is determined to claim gold in Beijing. She has been top-three in world cup action 27 times for one win. She will need to beat Therese Johaug (NOR), who has 37 world cup race victories since November 2018.

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) won three gold medals at PyeongChang 2018, to tie for the most gold medals won by an individual at the Games. He is the youngest male Olympic cross-country skiing champion and will be seeking more medals.

Jaqueline Mourao (BRA) will be a rare athlete to have competed at both the Beijing 2008 and Beijing 2022 Olympics. The 46-year-old, who competed in the women's 10km classic and freestyle at PyeongChang 2018, becomes an eight-time Olympian.

Competition format

Women's 10km Classic and Men's 15km Classic

A competitor starts at every 30-second interval with the best-ranked skiers starting at the end. Skiers race against the clock and the winner is the competitor with the quickest time.

Women's 7.5km + 7.5km Skiathlon and Men's 15km + 15km Skiathlon

Skiathlon combines both classical and freestyle techniques, meaning there are more tactics involved in Skiathlon than in regular mass start races. Competitors start simultaneously, lined up in an arrow format with the best ranked skiers at the front.

The first half of the race is completed using a classical technique. Athletes then use dedicated changing boxes in the stadium to switch skis and often poles. The second half of the race is raced using the free technique. Ladies complete three 2.5km loops and men complete four 3.75km loops.

Women's 30km Mass Start Free and Men's 50km Mass Start Free

Athletes start in a mass start lined up in rows according to previous International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup results, with the best athletes starting in the first positions. The first competitor across the finish line wins the race.

Women's 4×5km Relay and Men's 4×10km Relay

Each team has four skiers, each of whom skis one of the four 5km (women) or 10km (men) relay legs. The first two legs of the relay are skied classical style and the final two are freestyle.

Teams start in a mass start lined up in rows according to their results from the previous FIS World Championships.

Women's Sprint Free and Men's Sprint Free

The Sprint event includes qualifying, quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final.

Individual time trials begin qualifying on the course, with a 15 second interval start for each skier. The fastest 30 athletes advance to the quarter-finals - which consist of five heats with six athletes in each.

The top two finishers in each quarter-final heat, and the two fastest athletes from the quarter-finals that did not place first or second in their heat, advance to the semi-finals.

There are two semi-finals of six athletes each. The top two finishers in each semi-final heat, and the two fastest athletes from the semi-finals that did not place first or second in their heat, advance to the final of six athletes.

Women's Team Sprint Classic and Men's Team Sprint Classic

The team sprint competition consists of two semi-final heats and a final heat. In the team sprint, each team is made up of two skiers who alternate skiing the sprint course three times each for a total of six laps.

Competitors must perform a correct exchange between laps by physically touching their teammate without interfering or obstructing other teams. The winning team is the first team to cross the finish line after completing all six laps.

There are two semi-final heats. The top three teams from each heat will advance, and the next four fastest teams will advance. Ten teams contest the final.

#HaveAGo at Cross-Country Skiing