5 kilometres, Women

The 5 km cross country race for women was a new event on the Olympic program, first introduced at the World Championships 1962, and as expected ending in a clean sweep for the Soviets with Alevtina Kolchina as World champion.

After the Soviet domination in the 10 km race four days earlier, the 5 km race was expected to be another triumphant day for the Soviets. When the intermediate times after 2.5 km were announced in the Seefeld Cross Country Stadium, it was met with surprise. In the lead was a 22-year-old skier from Finland, Senja Pusula, 3.1 seconds ahead of another first time Olympian, Sweden’s Toini Gustafsson. But it was very close. Less than two seconds behind Gustafsson followed the newly crowned Olympic Champion Klavdiya Boyarskikh, another Nordic surprise, the 21-year-old Finn Mirja Lehtonen, and two more Soviet skiers, Yevdokiya Mekshilo and Kolchina.

Pusula faded in the last part of the race and dropped down to ninth place at the finish, but her teammate Lehtonen was the big surprise of the day. Starting one and a half minute earlier than Boyarskikh, she continued her pace, and Boyarskikh had to struggle hard at the final part of the race to beat the young Finn by a scant margin of 2.4 seconds. Kolchina was able to advance from her sixth position halfway and secured her only individual Olympic medal.