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| Event type

4 × 10 kilometres Relay, Men

Date16 February 1984 — 8:45
StatusOlympic
LocationVeliko Polje, Igman
Participants68 from 17 countries
DetailsCourse Length: ?
Height Differential: 122 m
Maximum Climb: 36 m
Total Climbing: 363 m

The men’s relay race at the 1982 World Championships in Oslo turned out to be the most dramatic race in the history of cross-country skiing to this date. On the last leg, a few hundred meters from the finish, the Soviet Union’s Aleksandr Zavyalov and Norway’s Oddvar Brå were close together. Zavalyov fell, but Brå broke one of his poles, only to get a new one quickly, and they skiied side-by-side over the last meters. The race was judged a draw, and for the first time there two world champion relay teams. And that was not the end of the story. Finland and Eastern Germany had a close fight for the bronze, and the judges could not separate them either, as they shared bronze. Ties for first and third, a unique feat.

The defending Olympic Champion Soviet Union was favored to win another Olympic relay gold, but a close competition was expected with Finland and Sweden. On the first leg, Sweden’s Thomas Wassberg had a 10 second lead over the Soviet Union’s Aleksandr Batyuk, with US skier Dan Simoneau in a surprising third. Norway in sixth and Finland in eighth position were left far behind. On the second leg, the Soviet Union’s Aleksandr Zavyalov passed Sweden’s Benny Kohlberg and sent Vladimir Nikitin out on the third leg with a 12 second lead over Sweden’s Jan Ottosson. Juha Mieto brought Finland back in the fight for the medals by bringing his team up to third place, half a second ahead of Norway, but over 1½ minutes behind the leading Soviet team. Ottoson was able to close the gap to Nikitin, and was only half a second behind at the last exchange. Norway’s Ove Aunli, third at the last exchange, was 10 seconds ahead of Finland’s Harri Kirvesniemi. The last leg saw a close duel between the two 1984 Olympic champions, Gunde Svan and Nikolay Zimyatov. The young Swede left his Russian rival and secured Sweden their first Olympic relay gold medal since 1964. Finland’s Aki Karvonen had an easy contest for the bronze medal against Norway’s Tor Håkon Holte, leaving the Norwegian almost one minute behind.

PosNumberCompetitorsNOCTimeExchange
15SwedenSWE1-55:06.3– (–)Gold
Lead-Off5-1Thomas Wassberg 28:47.028:47.0 (1)
2nd Leg5-2Benny Kohlberg 28:47.957:34.9 (2)
3rd Leg5-3Jan Ottosson 29:04.11-26:39.0 (2)
Anchor5-4Gunde Svan 28:27.31-55:06.3 (1)
21Soviet UnionURS1-55:16.5– (–)Silver
Lead-Off1-1Aleksandr Batyuk 28:57.628:57.6 (2)
2nd Leg1-2Aleksandr Zavyalov 28:25.157:22.7 (1)
3rd Leg1-3Vladimir Nikitin 29:15.81-26:38.5 (1)
Anchor1-4Nikolay Zimyatov 28:38.01-55:16.5 (2)
33FinlandFIN1-56:31.4– (–)Bronze
Lead-Off3-1Kari Ristanen 30:21.630:21.6 (8)
2nd Leg3-2Juha Mieto 28:36.258:57.8 (3)
3rd Leg3-3Harri Kirvesniemi 28:35.01-27:32.8 (4)
Anchor3-4Aki Karvonen 28:58.61-56:31.4 (3)
42NorwayNOR1-57:27.6– (–)
Lead-Off2-1Lars Erik Eriksen 30:14.630:14.6 (6)
2nd Leg2-2Jan Lindvall 28:43.758:58.3 (4)
3rd Leg2-3Ove Aunli 28:24.11-27:22.4 (3)
Anchor2-4Tor Håkon Holte 30:05.21-57:27.6 (4)
57SwitzerlandSUI1-58:06.0– (–)
Lead-Off7-1Giachem Guidon 29:42.929:42.9 (4)
2nd Leg7-2Konrad Hallenbarter 29:48.759:31.6 (5)
3rd Leg7-3Joos Ambühl 29:28.51-29:00.1 (5)
Anchor7-4Andi Grünenfelder 29:05.91-58:06.0 (5)
64West GermanyFRG1-59:30.2– (–)
Lead-Off4-1Jochen Behle 30:05.830:05.8 (5)
2nd Leg4-2Stefan Dotzler 29:54.71-00:00.5 (6)
3rd Leg4-3Franz Schöbel 29:37.31-29:37.8 (6)
Anchor4-4Peter Zipfel 29:52.41-59:30.2 (6)
76ItalyITA1-59:30.3– (–)
Lead-Off6-1Maurilio De Zolt 30:21.430:21.4 (7)
2nd Leg6-2Alfred Runggaldier 30:26.61-00:48.0 (7)
3rd Leg6-3Giulio Capitanio 29:47.01-30:35.0 (8)
Anchor6-4Giorgio Vanzetta 28:55.31-59:30.3 (7)
88United StatesUSA1-59:52.3– (–)
Lead-Off8-1Dan Simoneau 29:36.429:36.4 (3)
2nd Leg8-2Tim Caldwell 31:43.01-01:19.4 (8)
3rd Leg8-3Jim Galanes 29:14.71-30:34.1 (7)
Anchor8-4Bill Koch 29:18.21-59:52.3 (8)
913East GermanyGDR2-02:13.9– (–)
Lead-Off13-1Karsten Brandt 32:06.332:06.3 (11)
2nd Leg13-2Uwe Wünsch 29:35.11-01:41.4 (9)
3rd Leg13-3Frank Schröder 30:48.01-32:29.4 (9)
Anchor13-4Uwe Bellmann 29:44.52-02:13.9 (9)
1010BulgariaBUL2-03:17.6– (–)
Lead-Off10-1Svetoslav Atanasov 31:48.431:48.4 (10)
2nd Leg10-2Atanas Simitchiev 30:25.51-02:13.9 (10)
3rd Leg10-3Milush Ivanchev 30:17.11-32:31.0 (10)
Anchor10-4Hristo Barzanov 30:46.62-03:17.6 (10)
1116AustriaAUT2-04:39.0– (–)
Lead-Off16-1Andreas Gumpold 32:59.132:59.1 (14)
2nd Leg16-2Franz Gattermann 30:59.71-03:58.8 (13)
3rd Leg16-3Peter Juric 30:35.61-34:34.4 (12)
Anchor16-4Alois Stadlober 30:04.62-04:39.0 (11)
1211YugoslaviaYUG2-04:42.8– (–)
Lead-Off11-1Ivo Čarman 31:38.231:38.2 (9)
2nd Leg11-2Jože Klemenčič 31:47.91-03:26.1 (11)
3rd Leg11-3Janež Kršinar 30:49.41-34:15.5 (11)
Anchor11-4Dušan Đurišič 30:27.32-04:42.8 (12)
139JapanJPN2-06:42.5– (–)
Lead-Off9-1Kazunari Sasaki 32:54.032:54.0 (13)
2nd Leg9-2Hideaki Yamada 30:56.61-03:50.6 (12)
3rd Leg9-3Satoshi Sato 31:14.11-35:04.7 (13)
Anchor9-4Yusei Nakazawa 31:37.82-06:42.5 (13)
1412Great BritainGBR2-10:09.9– (–)
Lead-Off12-1Mark Moore 32:31.832:31.8 (12)
2nd Leg12-2Andrew Rawlin 32:19.31-04:51.1 (14)
3rd Leg12-3Mike Dixon 33:17.51-38:08.6 (14)
Anchor12-4John Spotswood 32:01.32-10:09.9 (14)
1517People's Republic of ChinaCHN2-16:52.4– (–)
Lead-Off17-1Song Shi 34:12.834:12.8 (15)
2nd Leg17-2Li Xiaoming 34:47.41-09:00.2 (15)
3rd Leg17-3Lin Guanghao 34:00.81-43:01.0 (15)
Anchor17-4Zhu Dianfa 33:51.42-16:52.4 (15)
1614ArgentinaARG2-27:07.1– (–)
Lead-Off14-1Julio César Moreschi 37:05.937:05.9 (16)
2nd Leg14-2Norberto von Baumann 35:30.91-12:36.8 (16)
3rd Leg14-3Ricardo Holler 37:29.31-50:06.1 (16)
Anchor14-4Alejandro Baratta 37:01.02-27:07.1 (16)
DQ15MongoliaMGL[2-16:01.6]– (–)
Lead-Off15-1Pürevjavyn Batsükh 34:35.434:35.4 (AC)1
2nd Leg15-2Vangansürengiin Renchinkhorol 35:09.31-09:44.7 (AC)
3rd Leg15-3Dondogiin Gankhuyag 33:11.11-42:55.8 (AC)
Anchor15-4Luvsandashiin Dorj 33:05.82-16:01.6 (AC)