There’s something special about the feelings that arise from athletes and audiences at cross-country skiing finish lines.
Watching the athletes glide through the snowy terrain of the Italian Alps is exciting, but the final meters of the race are pure emotion. When the game face slips off and the crowd roars, the skiers show their core — their hope, exhaustion, pride, joy. It is everything fans love to see at the Olympics.
As FIS Cross-Country said on social media: "Regular or first-timer, finish line emotions always feel huge."
In honor of all the cross-county skiers who skied over the finish line at Milan Cortina 2026, here are some of the best end-of-the-race moments...
With Olympic spirit
An active doctor and Mexico's first female cross-country skier, Regina Martínez Lorenzo, showed how special the support of the cross-country skiing community is.
When she made her Olympic debut in the women’s 10km freestyle on Thursday, Feb. 12, her fellow athletes and the event's three medalists celebrated her as she crossed the finish line. Martínez Lorenzo also had plenty of fans and supporters in the stands chanting "Viva México!"
With teammates
Victory tastes sweeter with friends. In the men’s and women’s 4x7.5km relay, teammates from each country waited at the end of the race to celebrate the return of their anchor.
In the men’s race, Team Norway waited for Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo as he became the most decorated Winter Olympian. His mates swaddled him in a Norwegian-flag group hug like a newborn G.O.A.T.
Though Klaebo had just reached legendary status, Team France and Team Italy were just as pumped. The French skiers raised their fists in the air and yelled “YEAH!” before embracing their teammate. Italy’s Federico Pellegrino raised his ski poles and looked thrilled as he ended the race in 3rd with his team in front of a home crowd.
With a bow
Stevenson Savart became a breakout star of cross-country skiing after he bowed at the end of the skiathlon race. As he crossed the finish line 64th, the crowd cheered on his historic race as the first man to represent Haiti in cross-country skiing at the Winter Games.
He wasn’t the only one to do this. Matthew Smith, a South African cross-country skier crossed the finish line backwards and took a stylish bow with ski poles in one hand after the men’s 10km free in which he finished 108th. For Smith, it was a moment that represents the growth of sport on his continent.
With(out) sleeves
As the saying goes: suns out, guns out ("guns" meaning arms, because this isn’t biathlon).
Temperatures were toasty enough at about 40 degrees during the men's 10km free that several athletes wore short sleeves or just their race bibs. Both Great Britain’s Andrew Musgraves and John Steel Hagenbuch of the United States wore the race-bib crop-top looks, and social media captured their finish line fashion. Some comments that people had:
- “Winter Olympics…Sleeveless?!”
- “Is this biathlon cause I was not aware the other XC events had GUNS like that”
- “Olympic cropped!”
- “Short sleeves in the Winter Olympics is wild.”
With nothing left
American Jessie Diggins gives it her all every race. At the end of the women’s 10km free, it was palpable just how much she was fighting to make it to the end. With all the determination and effort she could muster, she battled through pain before collapsing at the finish line and gasping for air.
This level of exertion, followed by a flop to the snow at the end of the race, has become Diggins' signature as she showcases why she is one of the greatest cross-country skiers of all time. It shows she is all glitter and grit.
With confidence
In cross-country skiing, most competitors don’t have time to look around as they race as quick as they can. But Klaebo isn’t most competitors.
In an unbelievably fast finish, Klaebo peered over his left shoulder during the sprint classic to see how close his competitors were, then he calmly glided across the finish line all alone
In celebration
While Klaebo was looking back, Ben Ogden was focused on getting his medal for Team USA.
With his poles pushing ahead on every stride, he skied as fast as he could until he crossed the finish line. Once the job was done, he put his poles in the air and looked up to the sky, stunned at his own accomplishment. For both men it was a celebration, but for Ogden it was history 50 years in the making. He was given an American flag but was so exhausted that it was hard for him to cheer.
The following week, Ogden gave encore enthusiasm when he won silver with his best friend in the men's team sprint. This time, he tackled teammate Gus Schumacher as he crossed the finish line.
With their nation's flag
Every now and then at the Olympics, a fan hands an athlete a flag at the finish line. What proceeds is usually a display of national pride.
In the women’s skiathlon, Frida Karlsson skied with an impressive lead that carried her to the end of the race. At the finish line, she grabbed the Swedish flag for a sweet moment where she soaked in becoming a first-time gold medalist.
With furry friends
Man’s best friend loves cross-country skiing too. At the women’s team sprint qualification, a doggo Italiano made a surprise entry onto the cross-country stadium in Tersero. With unbridled enthusiasm, the 2-year old Czechoslovakian wolfdog named Nazgul raced Croatia's Tena Hadzic and Greece's Konstantina Charalampidou across the finish line. It was a photo finish spread around the world wide web.
“The late entry closes strong at the cross country finish line!” NBC Olympics wrote on social media.
“Could only an animal beat Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo?” FIS Cross-country asked.
The dog deserves gold for trying.