Name
Date
Olympic Cross-Country Skiing
By Trista L. Pollard
Since the first winters began around the world, people have traveled on ice
and snow. The earliest skis found in Scandinavia by scientists were about
4,500 years old! People have used skis for transportation and work.
Cross-country skiing or XC skiing was used by people to travel across large
areas of snow. Even explorers used this type of Nordic skiing as
transportation. The Scandinavian army still trains their soldiers in XC skiing.
Some of the original materials used for equipment were wood and
bamboo. The skis were made from wood, and the poles were bamboo with
leather straps. People wore leather boots that had thick soles. The bindings
on the skis were usually twisted wood-like thread. This binding was called a
Kandahar binding. The binding attached to the front and back of the skier's
boot.
Today, cross-country skis are made from plastics, polyurethane foam, and other materials. Even the bindings
are different. The skier's boot only attaches to the binding at the toe. The heel of the boot is free to move up and
down. This is called a Nordic ski. These skis are long and thin. They usually measure two meters long, 5
centimeters wide, and 4 centimeters thick. The skier's poles are made from aluminum or fiberglass. The lighter
the pole, the more money the poles cost.
Cross-country skiers carry two poles that have spikes at the end. There is a plastic ring or basket to keep the
pole from sinking too deep into the snow. The length of the pole depends on the style of XC skiing. Classic XC
skiers use a straight stride. They must stay on a set course of parallel tracks. These tracks are called pistes . The
skis are longer and narrower. This style of skiing is slower. It is also used by a lot of beginning skiers. Freestyle
or free skate XC skiing is faster. It is usually done on firm snow. However, it can also be done on snow crust or
frozen snow covered lakes and rivers. Free skate poles are longer than classic skiing poles.
Cross-country first appeared in the 1924 Olympic games in Chamonix, France. In 1932, it became its own
event at the games in Lake Placid, New York. Women's cross-country was added at the 1952 Oslo, Norway,
games. The women and men's events are the 1.5-kilometer sprint, the team sprint, and the combined pursuit.
Men also compete in the 15-kilometer classical, the 50-kilometer freestyle, and the 4 x 10-kilometer relay. The
women's other events are the 10-kilometer classical, 30-kilometer freestyle, and the 4 x 5-kilometer relay.
For the sprint race, 16 skiers are grouped into four heats. This is a single-elimination event. Racers who are
the top two finishers in each heat advance or go on to the next race. The last four racers or semifinalists compete
for three medals. Combined pursuit is a classical race that ends with a freestyle race. The order that the skiers
finish during the classical race is very important. It helps to determine when each skier starts for the freestyle
race. The first one to cross the finish line at the end of the freestyle race wins the gold medal. Relay
cross-country skiing is almost like running a relay. When the skiers finish their runs, they touch the next skier on
his or her hand so he or she can begin.
Most Olympic cross-country skiing events have been won by Europeans. Skiers from Italy, Norway, and
Russia have taken home most of the medals. In 1976, Bill Koch won the silver medal for the United States. So,
if you want a slower pace, cross-country is your choice for skiing.
Name
Date
Olympic Cross-Country Skiing
Questions
1. Parallel tracks that classical XC skiers follow are called ______.
A. Kandahars
B. heats
C. pistes
D. none of the above
2. Cross-country skis are still made of wood today.
A. True
B. False
3. Women's cross-country first appeared at the ______.
A. 1924 Winter Olympics
B. 1952 Winter Olympics
C. 1936 Winter Olympics
D. 1932 Winter Olympics
4. Cross-country skiing was first used for ______.
A. traveling
B. recreation
C. hunting
D. A and C
5. Why is cross-country a Nordic type of skiing?
6. Freestyle or free skating XC skiing moves faster and uses longer poles than classical XC skiing.
A. False
B. True
7. Cross-country skiing first appeared at the ______.
A. 1932 Winter Olympics
B. 1952 Winter Olympics
C. 1936 Winter Olympics
D. 1924 Winter Olympics
8. What materials were used for earlier cross-country skis and poles?
Name
Date
Why do you think men and women have events that have different distances?
Explain why the skiing equipment is different for free skating and classical cross-country skiing.