The First Day of Nordic Skiing: Women's 5k and Men's 10k Events

The first day of Nordic Skiing began with the Women's 5k event. The snow was at –2 degrees Celsius (approximately 25 degrees Farenheit). The wind was blowing and the sun was shining. Each woman departed the starting gate at thirty second intervals and it was no surprise that Tone T. Myrvoll (NOR), the CISS Sportswoman of the Year for 1998 finished in first place. Her final time was 16,53, a full minute and five seconds ahead of Anna Fedoulova (RUS) who finished with a time of 17,58,7. Maarit Korhonen (FIN) finished third with a time of 18,02,5.

Before the men commenced their 10k event, they hurriedly adjusted the wax on their skis as the temperature grew warmer. Torbjör Svenningsson (SWE) finished in first place with a time of 32,48,3 followed by Svedas Ramunas (LIT) who finished at 33,49,7. Viktor Ioujaninov (RUS) completed his run with a time of 34,11,2. Reiner Kamradt (GER) was disqualified as he illegally switched from the Classical to the Free technique during his run.

All the athletes were extremely breathless at the end as most of them were not used to the high altitude of Davos. Quite a few found themselves stumbling across the finish line. A Russian competitor in the Women's event collapsed at the finish line and was taken to the hospital where she was quickly released. Daniel Newman of the USA did not finish his run for the same reason. In spite of all the breathlessness, most of the athletes did extremely well and were beaming with pride upon completion of their event.

10 km men classical
Place Number Name Nation  Time Final Time
1 35 Svenningsson Torbjör  SWE 15,51,3 32,48,3
2 41 Svedas Ramunas LIT 16,31,3 33,49,7
3 44 Ioujaninov Viktor RUS 16,24,9 34,11,2
4 47 Sponberg Ole Th. NOR 16,39,5 34,20,0
5 32 Willumsen Geir NOR 16,53,2 34,21,0
6 34 Degtiannikov Alexandre RUS 17,11,4 35,25,6
7 40 Bergh Jonny SWE 17,25,2 35,53,4
8 50 Kahle Peter GER 18,15,7 36,45,8
9 46 McCusker Angus USA 18,38,6 36,53,3
10   49 Karvonen Timo FIN 18,02,8 37,15,7
11    51 Gundi Urban SUI 17,58,6 37,24,3
12   39 Svatiev Vladimir RUS 17,40,7 37,51,8
13    45 Pyshnyak Ivan UKR 18,37,9 38,18,2
14    31 Kung Ulf SWE 18,53,7 38,38,1
15   48 Tichtchenko Serguei RUS 20,51,9 38,52,6
16  43 Beregovyi Veleriy UKR 19,20,7 39,18,7
17  42 Rombach Martin GER 18,50,4 39,56,7
18 38 Kurylyak Stepan UKR 19,49,2 41,50,1
19  36 Schättin Markus SUI 22,12,6 44,43,0
  33 Newman Daniel USA 0,0 did not finish
  37 Kamradt Reiner GER 18,55,4 disqualified
5 km women classical
Place  Number Name Nation Final Time
1 17 Myrvoll Tone T. NOR 16,53,0
2 15 Fedoulova Anna RUS 17,58,7
3 14 Korhonen Maarit FIN 18,02,5
4 10 Tichtchenko Marina RUS 18,38,3
5 4 Smirnova Natalia RUS 19,25,3
6 12 Beltrando Katia ITA 19,36,1
7 5 Strömsten Anne-Marie SWE 19,45,5
8 11 Shvayka Tamara UKR 19,47,0
9 9 Resch Katja GER 19,59,3
10 18 Telser Renate ITA 20,11,1
11 8 Kostamoinen Ulrika FIN 20,13,2
12 16 Lavryk Maryna UKR 20,21,8
13 3 Härer Gertrud GER 20,26,1
14 13 Klute Judith GER 20,47,9
15 1 Strange Calla USA 20,52,9
16 7 Nevostroueva Anastas RUS 20,59,6
17 6 Besio Giovanna ITA 21,28,4
18 2 Lavryk Tetyana UKR 22,38,2
By Jennifer Herbold