5 kilometres, Women

Galina Kulakova had won the World Championships 1970 at this distance and was favored for her second Olympic gold after her impressive victory over 10km. The 5 km race developed into a very close fight for the medals, with only 6.9 seconds between the first four finishers. Marjatta Kajosmaa, starting last of the 43 participants, was able to control her opponents, but could not prevent Kulakova from winning her second Olympic gold medal with a margin of 5 seconds. The International Ski Federation FIS had decided before the 1970 World Championship to register the times in hundredths of a second, and in a close battle Helena Šikolová, a 22-year old Czechoslovak skier, would secure the bronze medal only 0.08 seconds better than Alevtina Olyunina. Šikolová was however no big surprise, aged only 20, she placed fourth at the 10 km in the 1970 World Championships, and she had placed seventh at the 10 km race three days earlier. Now she secured her country the first ever cross-country skiing Olympic medal.