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| Event type

Team, Men

Date19 – 20 February 1998
StatusOlympic
LocationHakuba Ski Jumping Stadium, Hakuba / Snow Harp, Hakuba
Participants44 from 11 countries
FormatNormal hill ski jumping and 4 x 5 kilometre relay skiing; placements determined by points table. Three members per team, with all ski jump scores to count towards team total. Pursuit-style cross-country relay race, with skiers leaving in order of their finish in the ski jumping, so that final placement determined by final placement in cross-country ski race.

Japan had won the 1992 and 1994 Olympic gold medals and the 1993 and 1995 World Championships. But their wins in 1994 and 1995 had been so dominant that the FIS changed the rules, changing the team relay from a 3 x 10 event to a 4 x 5 km race. This would seem to favor the Norwegians who had stronger skiers. Although Japan won the 1995 World Championships under the new format, Norway was second and at the 1997 Worlds, Japan dropped off the podium with Norway winning the gold. Japan had the home course advantage and their best athletes, Kenji Ogiwara, had won the 1997 World Championship individually, so they were still to be considered. Finland won the jumping portion of the event, but it was extremely close, with the top five teams having a shot at the gold, as the start margins for the relay were only 4 seconds for Austria, 8 seconds for Norway, 9 seconds for the Czech Republic, and 21 seconds for Japan. The ski relay was held in a pouring rain, just as in the individual event. Norway’s Halldor Skard, Jr. passed Finland’s Samppa Lajunen early on and gave Norway the lead at the first exchange. The next three Norwegians skiers expanded the lead on each leg and they won easily, crossing 1:18.9 ahead of Finland. Their anchor leg, Bjarte Engen Vik, had such a comfortable lead that he skied the last 600 metres carrying a Norwegian flag. France held on for the bronze, while Japan finished back in fifth place. At the 1999 World Championships, Finland would get revenge, winning the gold medal narrowly over Norway.

PosCompetitorsNOCTime MarginSki Jumping, Normal HillCross Country Skiing, 4 × 5 km Relay
1NorwayNOR901.0 (3)54:03.5 (2)Gold
Halldor Skard, Jr. 222.513:38.6
Kenneth Braaten 204.013:29.1
Bjarte Engen Vik 255.013:40.1
Fred Børre Lundberg 219.513:15.7
2FinlandFIN+1:18.9906.0 (1)55:30.4 (5)Silver
Samppa Lajunen 235.013:58.2
Jari Mantila 231.514:21.4
Tapio Nurmela 210.513:53.8
Hannu Manninen 229.013:17.0
3FranceFRA+1:41.9863.0 (6)54:42.4 (3)Bronze
Sylvain Guillaume 226.013:45.3
Nicolas Bal 212.013:30.4
Ludovic Roux 218.514:05.2
Fabrice Guy 206.513:21.5
4AustriaAUT+1:53.1903.5 (2)56:00.6 (8)
Christoph Eugen 216.014:13.6
Christoph Bieler 223.014:51.9
Mario Stecher 248.513:42.3
Felix Gottwald 216.013:12.8
5JapanJPN+2:07.3893.0 (5)55:57.8 (7)
Tsugiharu Ogiwara 229.513:55.6
Satoshi Mori 223.514:04.5
Gen Tomii 217.014:46.9
Kenji Ogiwara 223.013:10.8
6GermanyGER+2:10.5861.0 (7)55:07.0 (4)
Matthias Looß 208.014:24.3
Ronny Ackermann 209.013:28.3
Thorsten Schmitt 210.013:44.7
Jens Deimel 234.013:29.7
7SwitzerlandSUI+2:30.1797.0 (10)53:40.6 (1)
Marco Zarucchi 189.013:33.6
Andy Hartmann 230.513:33.3
Jean-Yves Cuendet 193.513:41.8
Urs Kunz 184.012:51.9
8Czech RepublicCZE+2:53.2900.5 (4)56:55.7 (10)
Marek Fiurášek 190.514:50.5
Milan Kučera 241.013:27.6
Jan Matura 242.015:19.3
Ladislav Rygl 227.013:18.3
9Russian FederationRUS+4:22.7826.0 (8)56:21.2 (9)
Vladimir Lysenin 165.013:58.6
Valery Stolyarov 231.014:19.9
Aleksey Fadeyev 205.514:33.4
Dmitry Sinitsyn 224.513:29.3
10United StatesUSA+4:27.1807.0 (9)55:53.6 (6)
Dave Jarrett 205.014:23.0
Tim Tetreault 197.014:07.0
Bill Demong 175.514:18.8
Todd Lodwick 229.513:04.8
11EstoniaEST+9:21.4749.5 (11)59:11.9 (11)
Ago Markvardt 176.015:20.1
Jens Salumäe 209.515:03.5
Tambet Pikkor 184.015:04.5
Magnar Freimuth 180.013:43.8