Cross-Country Skiing History

The most famous cross-country skiing legend dates back to 1206 A.D. and involves a bitter civil war between the Birkebeiner and Bagler clans.

CBC Sports Posted: Dec 02, 2009 5:57 PM EST | Last Updated: December 4, 2009

Canada's Chandra Crawford (8) crosses the finish line, winning the Gold Medal in the Womens Cross Country Skiing Sprint Final at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games. ((Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) )

The most famous cross-country skiing legend dates back to 1206 A.D. and involves a bitter civil war between the Birkebeiner and Bagler clans. The peace-loving Birkebeiner King Haakon III died, leaving a baby son, and soon a group of Baglers made plans to murder the child, who was next in line to the throne.

A group of the king's supporters, including his palace guards, set about smuggling little Haakon IV north to Trondheim for safety. But after only a couple of days of travel, a fierce snowstorm halted the mission. Two of the Birkebeiner palace guards bravely volunteered to push on. They strapped on their skis and carried the baby the remaining 55 kilometres through the blizzard to safety. Today's annual Birkebeiner races, or loppets, commemorate this event - in Norway, competitors wear backpacks weighing 5.5 kilograms to simulate the weight of the little prince.

Canada's Beckie Scott (left) and Sara Renner won the silver medal in the women's team sprint cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Olympic Games. ((Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press))

The first official ski competition was organized by the Norwegian military in 1767. There were cash prizes for shooting and skiing (the forerunner of today's biathlon event), bushwhacking, downhill skiing and racing in full military gear. When the Norwegian ski troops were disbanded in 1826, local civilian ski clubs picked up the slack and took over organizing races and events.

As Norwegians traveled and emigrated all over the world in increasing numbers, they introduced their style of skiing to the locals. Cross-country skiing evolved from being a military necessity to a healthy, sociable sport.

In 1888, Norwegian scientist Fridtjof Nansen skied across the unexplored southern end of Greenland. He later published a book about the expedition that sparked an enormous interest in skiing among Europe's leisured classes. By 1900 cross-country skiing was the rage.

Ski clubs popped up all over Europe, often with expatriate Norwegians serving as organizers and club mentors. But while the Norwegians were delighted that skiing was becoming so popular, they worried they were losing control of their national sport. In 1910, they called for an International Ski Congress to be formed.

Until the Congress was superseded by the Federation Internationale du Ski (FIS) in 1924, there was always at least one Norwegian at its helm. This meant that any national-level cross-country event staged in either Europe or America had to abide by Norwegian rules. Among their more eccentric concerns was the character of the competitors: according to tradition, the ideal cross-country skier had to be not only physically fit, but also morally upright.

Herman (Jackrabbit) Johannsen

In Canada, Quebec is the cradle of cross-country skiing, where it surfaced around 1879. Some 20 years later, on Canada's west coast, the Rossland Winter Carnival in British Columbia included ski jumping and ski running competitions in its program.

Quebec was also the adopted home of Herman (Jackrabbit) Johannsen, who founded the Canadian cross-country skiing movement. Born in Norway in 1875, the Jackrabbit emigrated to Quebec in 1928 and set about making skiing part of the local culture. He cut trails, set up some of the first slalom courses, and designed many of Canada's ski jumps. He was still skiing regularly at the age of 107, and lived to be 111 years old. To this day millions of Canadian children get their first taste of cross-country skiing in the Jackrabbit leagues that bear his name.

Cross-country skiing was a major event at the first Winter Olympics, held at Chamonix, France, in 1924. Only men were eligible to participate, however, and the only events were 18km and 50km races. In 1936, a 4x10km mixed relay (2 classical and 2 freestyle legs) was added. Women finally appeared on the scene at the 1952 Winter Games in Oslo, in a 10km classical race.

Canadian cross-country skiers participated in their first Winter Olympics in 1928. W.B. Thompson of Laurentian, Que., and Merritt Putnam of Toronto placed 37th and 40th, respectively, in the 18km race. The Norwegian and Swedish skiers easily claimed the top spots in both distances, with Norway's Thorleig Haug emerging as the big star, winning the 15km and 50km.

The continuing reign of Scandinavians

Events and distances in cross-country racing have changed with dizzying frequency over the years since 1924. Two significant changes have taken place since 1988: first, the classical and freestyle techniques were designated for specific events beginning at the Calgary Games; second, the pursuit race was introduced at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics.

Several things have remained consistent over the years, most notably the continued dominance of Scandinavian skiers, with Soviet and Russian skiers emerging as a force by the 1960s. With eight gold medals in three Olympics from 1992 to 1998, and twelve medals in total, the recently retired Bjorn Daehlie of Norway is the most successful Winter Olympian of all time.

Other notable Canadian skiers include Pierre Harvey, who won three World Cup gold medals between 1988 and 1989; four-time Olympian Angela Schmidt-Foster; and twins Sharon and Shirley Firth, who represented Canada in four consecutive Winter Olympics from 1972 to 1984.

The 2002 Salt Lake Olympics saw Olga Danilova and Larissa Lazutina fail out-of-competition doping tests. The pair tested positive for darbepoetin, a performance enhancing drug, therefore stripping them of their medals and bumping Canada' Beckie Scott from third to first place.

Alberta's Chandra Crawford, a former biathlete, became the surprise gold-medal winner in the women's cross-country 1.1-km sprint at the 2006 Torino Games. Scott continued her Olympic success by brining home silver in the team sprint with teammate Sara Renner.

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