50 kilometres (Freestyle), Men

The 1987 World Champion was Maurilio De Zolt with Gunde Svan having won in 1985. In 1987-88 Svan was leading the World Cup chase and would win the season title. Both were late starters, with De Zolt off 64th and Svan 69th. When De Zolt started the pace was being set East Germany’s Holger Bauroth and Switzerland’s Andi Grünenfelder, neither of whom had done much in major internationals. At 15 km De Zolt was only in eighth place, but he moved up to third at the 25 km checkpoint. De Zolt would move into second at the 40 km check, but nobody could match Svan. The 1987 Holmenkollen champion was over 40 seconds ahead at 15 km and would extend his lead at each time check, eventually defeating De Zolt by over one minute. Grünenfelder’s bronze medal was considered a major upset. This was the fourth gold medal for Svan, after two at Sarajevo, and a gold in the relay in Calgary, and he would also win seven times at the Worlds. Svan later became a champion rallycross racer. De Zolt would repeat his silver at Albertville four years on, but would win a gold medal in “The Great Race,” the 1994 4 x 10 km relay.