MAIN Sports Olympic Games Olympic Cross-Country Skiing

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Sports historians usually point to the the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark as the natural birthplace of cross-country skiing.

Early technology was as simple as flat timbers, used by migratory Norse tribes, and later adopted by Vikings in early biathlons using skis for transport and bow-and-arrow to hunt for food.

Like the modern Olympic biathlon, XC skiing is primarily an endurance sport that demands great physical strength - primarily leg and lung power - over long distances and up sometimes steep and challenging climbs to make it to the finish.

The Winter Olympics competition with the greatest number of events, cross-fountry skiing includes sprint, freestyle, classic, team sprint and more for both men and women.

Classic cross-country skiing is the technique wherein skis are kept parallel on the tracks marked on the course with no deviation from them. Freestyle allows the skier to choose a "skating" technique, pushing the skis left and right from both legs.

More about Olympic Cross Country Skiing around the Web:

Cross-Country Skiing - Vancouver 2010 - Sports overview and how it all works, with complete competition events & schedule, photo gallery, related sports terms.

International Olympic Committee - Cross-Country Skiing - Overview of the bobsleigh competitions, list of events, Olympic records, athlete profiles, picture gallery.

FIS - Ski - Cross-Country - Use the left-hand menu to surf complete athlete biographies, results and standings, records, schedules, pictures and more.

U.S. Ski Team - Cross Country - News headlines, photo highlights, feature stories.

Cross-Country Ski World - Covering the world of cross-country skiing with feature stories, photos, news, plus tips and advice on equipment, techniques, travel info.

also in Winter Olympics -> Olympic Bobsled | Olympic Curling

Figure Skating | Freestyle Skiing | Olympic Hockey | Luge

Nordic Combined | Short-Track Skating | Olympic Skeleton

Ski Jumping | Olympic Speed Skating | Olympic Snowboard