Cross Country Skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Cross-country skiing was held at the Lago di Tésero Cross Country Stadium in Tésero, Trentino, Italy, which had been renamed as the Centro del Fondo e del Biathlon Fabio Canal. The site was built between 1988-90 to host the 1991 Nordic Ski World Championships.

Cross-country skiing can claim to be the original Winter Olympic sport, having been contested at all celebrations of the Winter Olympics. It was preceded by figure skating and ice hockey, which were contested at the 1908 and 1920 Summer Olympics, but cross-country was the primary sport at the Nordic Games, which originated in 1901 and were considered the forerunners of the Olympic Winter Games.

The Olympic Programme for the 2026 cross-country events was notable in that it completely equalized the events for both men and women. The women’s long-distance event was increased from 30 km to the classic 50 km distance that men had skied since 1924, and the relay distance was equalized at 4 x 7.5 km for both men and women.

One name completely dominated the men’s events at Trentino, as Johannes Høsflot Klæbo entered all six of the men’s events and took home six gold medals. He became the first Winter Olympian to win six gold medals at a single celebration, surpassing the mark of five set by Eric Heiden in speed skating at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. Klæbo became only the fifth Olympian to win six or more gold medals at a single Olympic Games, after Mark Spitz (USA-SWM-1972; 7 golds), Kristin Otto (GDR-SWM-1988; 6 golds), Vitali Shcherba (EUN-GAR-1992; 6 golds), and Michael Phelps, USA swimmer, who won 8 golds in 2008 and 6 in 2004.

The six gold medals also gave Klæbo a total of 11 Olympic gold medals, moving him to second all-time behind only Phelps, who had 23. Klæbo led Norway as they won 11 of the men’s 18 available medals in cross-country skiing.

On the women’s side, the story was the dominance of the Swedish women. They won five of the six gold medals, missing out only in the 4 x 7.5 km relay to Norway, but even that could be explained as Swedish star Ebba Andersson fell early in the second leg, losing a ski and a full minute of time until it could be replaced. Andersson won four medals for the Swedes, with gold in the 50 km and silvers in the 10 km, skiathlon, and relay. Frida Karlsson won both the 10 km and the skiathlon and was the favorite for the 50 km but had to withdraw due to a fever. This likely cost Sweden another medal, but their women still won 10 of the 18 available medals.

Behind the invincible Klæbo, Frenchman Mathis Desloges won three silver medals. The first was a major surprise, as he came second in the first race of skiathlon, where many cross-country skiing experts expected a Norwegian sweep. He was the first French cross-country skier to win an Olympic medal in an individual event since Roddy Darragon in 2006. Desloges repeated his success in the 10km freestyle, finishing less than 5 seconds behind Klæbo, and added a silver medal in the relay with the French team.

Down the medal list another story was that of American Ben Ogden, who won silver medals in both the individual sprint and team sprint (alongside Gus Schumacher). These were only the second and third Olympic medals won by men for the United States in cross-country skiing, and the first since Bill Koch took silver in the 30 km at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics. The USA and France were third in total medals in the discipline, with three, after Norway and Sweden.