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Cross-country skiing was contested at the inaugural Olympic Winter Games in 1924 and has been a part of every Winter Games since. It is one of six sports that have been contested at every Winter Games. Since its inception, cross-country has been dominated by the Nordic countries and other European powers. While that is likely to continue in Whistler, there are reasons for optimism in North America.
Here are some story lines to watch in 2010:
The ‘Kikkanimal'
American Kikkan Randall, who was born in Utah and moved to Alaska at the age of three, makes her second Olympic appearance in Vancouver. She won a silver medal in the individual sprint event at the 2009 Nordic World Championships, the first world championship medal for a United States cross-country skier since 1982, when Bill Koch won bronze in the men's 30km. Though Randall should still be considered an outside medal contender at best for Vancouver, her story has several compelling parts. Her 2009 success came after she recovered from blood clots which surfaced in the spring of 2008.
In May 2008, Randall married Canadian cross-country skier Jeff Ellis. They met through their common passion for cross-country skiing. It was at the end of the 2006 season, and Randall was in Maine for the last race of her season. Ellis drove in from his home in Orangeville, Ontario to compete. Randall describes their first meeting: "We talked a lot about running shoes, which is probably the most dorky thing in the world. I worked for a sports equipment store in the off season (Skinny Raven Sports) and he worked as a rep for Brooks," Randall remembers. "We exchanged emails at the end of the event. I wasn't sure if I'd ever hear from him again. But, sure enough, I got an email from him the next day. About a month or two later we talked, and I ended up flying him up to Alaska. We were supposed to be at a glacier ski camp, but [the camp] didn't work out. So he and I had this 10 day window to ski together and get to know each other."
Europe, Europe, Europe
Norway continues to produce champions. Ola Vigen Hattestad will enter the Games as the best sprinter in the world and a 2009 double world champion. Joining him in making Norway a gold medal favorite in the relay are Petter Northug Jr, Johan Kjoelstad and Eldar Roenning. In addition to relay gold, Northug won two individual gold medals at the 2009 Worlds in Liberec, the 30km pursuit and the 50km mass start. Northug, who will be 24 in Vancouver, was left off of the Norwegian Olympic team in 2006, a controversial decision that was only exacerbated when Norway failed to win a single gold medal in cross-country. On the women's side, Marit Bjørgen could win a medal in either the 10km or the 30km mass start, while teammate Kristin Stoermer Steira is also expected to do well. Nordic neighbors Sweden and Finland should again have strong showings as well.
Italy will be represented by a number of very strong skiers who have had good results on the Olympic venue. 2009 sprint champion Arianna Follis and Marianna Longa won three medals at the 2009 World Championships while their male counterparts Pietro Piller Cottrer and Giorgio di Centa have experience and Olympic medals to their credit.
Poland has one skier of note, but it's a skier who could easily win multiple medals in Vancouver. Justyna Kowalczyk won two golds and a bronze at the 2009 Worlds and claimed a bronze in the 30km mass start in Torino.
The German men are led by Axel Teichmann and Tobias Angerer, who paired up to win silver in the team sprint at the 2009 Worlds, with Angerer also winning bronze in the 50km mass start.
These European powers should again combine to make the Men's 4x10 relay one of the most exciting events of the entire Games. At the 2009 Worlds in Liberec, Norway beat Germany by less than three seconds, with Finland, Italy and Canada not far behind. Canada...
...Canada?
The host Canadians have a couple of reasons to hope for Olympic medal success in 2010. Olympic silver medalist Sara Renner and Olympic gold medalist Chandra Crawford give the home country a legitimate threat in the ladies team sprint. Olympic rookie Alex Harvey, son of legendary Canadian skier Pierre Harvey, is a dark horse but could wind up a popular upset winner, after earning two World Cup podiums in 2008-2009.
