The men's sprint cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, was held on 22 February at Pragelato

Pragelato

Pragelato is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km west of Turin, in the upper Val Chisone. The name Pragelato, meaning ‘icy meadow’, has been derived from the harsh climate and the fact that the ground is covered with ice for long periods...

.

Vasili Rotchev

Vasili Rotchev

Vasily Vasilyevich Rochev is a Russian cross-country skier who has competed since 2000. He won the bronze medal in the Team sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics at Turin....

 was the defending World Champion at this event, but he won in the classical style. The last free style sprint at the World Championships was won by Thobias Fredriksson

Thobias Fredriksson

Thobias Fredriksson is a Swedish cross-country skier who has competed since 2000. He won two medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin with a gold in the team sprint and a bronze in the individual sprint events.Fredriksson also won two medals in the individual sprint events at the FIS Nordic...

 in 2003, while Tor Arne Hetland

Tor Arne Hetland

Tor Arne Hetland is a professional Norwegian cross-country skier.Hetland was born in Stavanger. He now lives in Trondheim and is with the Byåsen IL ski club there. Hetland is and...

 was defending Olympic champion. Swede Björn Lind

Björn Lind

Björn Lind is a Swedish cross country skier who has competed since 2000. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won gold medals in both the Individual and Team sprint events at Turin in 2006....

 won the two most recent World Cup events, and also won the Olympic race, beating Frenchman Roddy Darragon to the line. Darragon won France's first cross-country skiing medal in the history of the Olympics, while Sweden took the bronze through Thobias Fredriksson

Thobias Fredriksson

Thobias Fredriksson is a Swedish cross-country skier who has competed since 2000. He won two medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin with a gold in the team sprint and a bronze in the individual sprint events.Fredriksson also won two medals in the individual sprint events at the FIS Nordic...

.

Qualifying

Eighty skiers completed the 1.3 kilometre course in the qualifying portion of the event, with the top thirty advancing to the quarterfinals.

Rank	Name	Country	Time	Notes
1	Björn Lind Björn Lind Björn Lind is a Swedish cross country skier who has competed since 2000. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won gold medals in both the Individual and Team sprint events at Turin in 2006....		2:13.53	Q
2	Andrew Newell Andrew Newell Andrew "Andy" Newell is an American cross country skier who has been competing on the international level since 2001.- Career :...		2:14.79	Q
3	Johan Kjølstad Johan Kjølstad Johan Kjølstad is a Norwegian cross country skier who has competed since 2002.Born in Levanger, he represents the sports club Skogn IL....		2:15.11	Q
4	Vassili Rotchev		2:16.19	Q
5	Cristian Zorzi Cristian Zorzi Cristian Zorzi is an Italian cross country skier who excels at sprint ski races. He is nicknamed Zorro, for his exuberant character....		2:16.23	Q
6	Mikael Östberg		2:16.24	Q
7	Trond Iversen Trond Iversen Trond Iversen is a Norwegian cross country skier who has been competing since 1996. He competes for Mjoendalen IF in Norway....		2:16.25	Q
8	Loris Frasnelli Loris Frasnelli Loris Frasnelli is an Italian cross country skier who has competed since 1998. His lone World Cup victory was in a team sprint event in Japan in 2006....		2:16.30	Q
9	Peter Larsson		2:16.62	Q
10	Roddy Darragon Roddy Darragon Roddy Darragon is a French cross-country skier who has competed since 2002. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he earned France's first ever Winter Olympic cross country skiing medal with a silver in the individual sprint event at Turin in 2006.Darragon's best finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski...		2:16.76	Q
11	Renato Pasini Renato Pasini Renato Pasini is an Italian cross country skier who has been competing since 1996. He won the gold medal in the team sprint at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo...		2:16.87	Q
12	Ola Vigen Hattestad Ola Vigen Hattestad Ola Vigen Hattestad is a Norwegian cross country skier who has competed since 2002. Competing in two Winter Olympics, hea earned his best finish of fourth in the individual sprint event at Vancouver in 2010....		2:17.26	Q
13	Yuichi Onda Yuichi Onda is a Japanese cross-country skier who has competed since 1999. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of 12th in the team sprint event at Turin in 2006 while his best individual finish was 17th in the individual sprint event at Vancouver four years later.Onda's best finish at...		2:17.53	Q
14	Anti Saarepuu Anti Saarepuu Anti Saarepuu is an Estonian cross-country skier who has competed since 2003. He competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He represents Estonia at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver...		2:17:75	Q
15	Tor Arne Hetland Tor Arne Hetland Tor Arne Hetland is a professional Norwegian cross-country skier.Hetland was born in Stavanger. He now lives in Trondheim and is with the Byåsen IL ski club there. Hetland is and...		2:17.91	Q
16	Chris Cook		2:18.46	Q
17	Freddy Schwienbacher		2:18.59	Q
18	Yevgeniy Koschevoy		2:18.88	Q
19	Thobias Fredriksson Thobias Fredriksson Thobias Fredriksson is a Swedish cross-country skier who has competed since 2000. He won two medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin with a gold in the team sprint and a bronze in the individual sprint events.Fredriksson also won two medals in the individual sprint events at the FIS Nordic...		2:18.90	Q
20	Martin Koukal Martin Koukal Martin Koukal is a Czech cross country skier and mountaineer who has been competing since 1996. He won two medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with gold in 50 km and a bronze in the team sprint...		2:19.39	Q
21	Dušan Kožíšek Dusan Kozisek Dušan Kožíšek is a Czech cross country skier who has been competing since 2002. He won a bronze medal in the team sprint at the 2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf and finished 38th in the individual sprint in those same games...		2:19.64	Q
22	Keijo Kurttila		2:19.94	Q
23	Janusz Krężelok Janusz Krezelok Janusz Adam Krężelok is a Polish cross country skier who has competed since 1994. His best individual finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was a seventh in the individual sprint in 2005 while his best overall finish was fifth in the team sprint event in 2007.Krężelok's best individual...		2:20.04	Q
24	Harald Wurm		2:20.11	Q
25	Martin Stockinger		2:20.18	Q
26	Lauri Pyykönen Lauri Pyykönen Lauri Pyykönen is a Finnish cross country skier who competed from 1998 to 2008. His best World Cup finish was second twice, both in sprint events with one each in 2002 and in 2003....		2:20.21	Q
27	Ivan Alypov Ivan Alypov Ivan Vladimirovich Alypov is a Russian cross-country skier who has competed since 2002. He won the bronze medal in the Team Sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics at Turin....		2:20.21	Q
28	Sergei Novikov Sergei Novikov (cross-country skier) Sergei Vladimirovich Novikov is a Russian cross country skier who has competed since 1999. His lone World Cup victory was in a 4 x 10 km event in Switzerland in 2007 while Novikov's best individual finish was third in a 15 km event in Estonia the previous year.Competing in three Winter Olympics,...		2:20.29	Q
29	Lefteris Fafalis		2:20.33	Q
30	Christoph Eigenmann Christoph Eigenmann Christoph Eigenmann is a Swiss cross country skier who has competed since 1998. His best World Cup finish was second in a sprint event in China in 2006....		2:20.46	Q
31	Drew Goldsack Drew Goldsack Drew Goldsack is a Canadian cross country skier who has competed since 2001. His best finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was sixth in the team sprint in 2007 while his best individual finish was 21st in the sprint in 2005.Competing in two Winter Olympics, Goldsack's best individual...		2:20.62
32	Sean Crooks Sean Crooks Sean Crooks is a Canadian cross-country skier.Crooks made his World Cup debut in 2005, placing 28th in his first World Cup start in Vernon, BC. Later that season he teamed with Phil Widmer to finish 13th in team sprint at Canmore. His best individual performances came in 2007, when he placed 13th...		2:20.70
33	Maciej Kreczmer Maciej Kreczmer Maciej Kreczmer is a Polish cross country skier who has competed since 1999. His best individual finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was 17th in the sprint event in 2005 while his best overall finish was fifth in the team sprint event in 2007.Kreczmer's best individual finish at the...		2:20.83
34	Pavel Korostelev		2:21.00
35	Nikolay Chebotko Nikolay Chebotko Nikolay Chebotko is a Kazakhstani cross country skier who has competed since 2000. His best individual World Cup finish was seventh in a sprint event in Germany in 2006....		2:21.23
36	Torin Koos Torin Koos Torin Koos is an American cross country skier who has competed since 1998. His best World Cup finish was third in a sprint event in Estonia in 2007....		2:21.47
37	Devon Kershaw Devon Kershaw Devon Kershaw is a Canadian cross country skier who has been competing since 2000. Growing up in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, he split his time between several sports before choosing to focus on his skiing career.-Early life and career:...		2:21.49
38	Peeter Kümmel Peeter Kümmel Peeter Kümmel is an Estonian cross-country skier who has competed since 2001.Kümmel competed at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, the 2006–07, 2007–08 Tour de Ski, the 2007, 2009 and 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships....		2:21.60
39	Nejc Brodar		2:21.94
40	Ivan Bilosyuk		2:21.97
41	Priit Narusk Priit Narusk Priit Narusk is an Estonian cross-country skier. He represented Estonia at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.-References:...		2:22.19
42	Vitaly Martsyv		2:22.30
43	Shunsuke Komamura		2:22.38
44	Zoltan Tagscherer Zoltán Tagscherer Zoltán Tagscherer is a Hungarian cross country skier who has competed since 2001. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he finished 39th in the individual sprint at Salt Lake City in 2002....		2:22.69
45	Yevgeni Safonov		2:22.99
46	Lars Flora		2:23.02
47	Phil Widmer Phil Widmer Phil Widmer is a Canadian cross-country skier.Widmer made his World Cup debut in 2005. His best finish to date came in January 2009, when he teamed with Brent McMurtry to finish 9th in the team sprint in Vancouver...		2:23.79
48	Zhang Chengye		2:24.18
49	Martin Otcenas		2:24.77
50	Olegs Maluhins Olegs Maluhins Oļegs Maļuhins is a former Latvian biathlete.He retired after the 2006 Turin Olympics, but announced comeback in 2008 stating that in his plans is to qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics. In fact, in Torino he didn't make the Latvian biathlon team, so he participated in cross-country skiing...		2:24.88
51	Paul Murray Paul Murray (skier) Paul Murray is an Australian cross country skier who has competed since 1997. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of 20th in the team sprint event at Vancouver in 2010 while earning his best individual finish of 51st in the individual sprint event at Turin four years...		2:25.29
52	Alexander Lasutkin		2:25.79
53	Tian Ye Tian Ye Tian Ye is a Chinese cross-country skier and biathlete.He participated as a cross-country skier at the 2006 Winter Olympics in the classical 15 kilometre race , in the...		2:25.85
54	Aivar Rehemaa Aivar Rehemaa Aivar Rehemaa is an Estonian cross-country skier. He competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He represents Estonia at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver...		2:26.09
55	Sergey Cherepanov Sergey Cherepanov Sergey Cherepanov is a Kazakhstani cross country skier who has competed since 2001. His best World Cup finish was third in a 15 km event in Finland in 2008....		2:26.48
56	Joze Mehle		2:27.02
57	Oliver Kraas Oliver Kraas Oliver Martin Kraas is a South African cross-country skier who has competed since 2003. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of 57th in the individual sprint event at Turin in 2006....		2:27.68
58	Zhang Qing		2:27.90
59	Aleksej Novoselkij		2:28.04
60	Damir Jurcevic		2:28.21
61	Sami Jauhojärvi Sami Jauhojärvi Sami Jauhojärvi is a Finnish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000. His best finish at the Winter Olympics was fifth in the 4 x 10 km relay at Vancouver in 2010....		2:28.42
62	Mikhail Gumenyak		2:28.72
63	Park Byung Joo		2:28.85
64	Muhammet Kızılarslan Muhammet Kizilarslan Muhammet Kızılarslan is an Olympic skier competing in the cross-country discipline.Born 1986 in Sungurlu, a town in the province of Çorum, Turkey, Kızılarslan started skiing in Ankara, where he lives now. He entered the Turkish national ski team in 2003...		2:28.94
65	Zsolt Antal		2:29.40
66	Olexandr Putsko Olexandr Putsko Olexandr Putsko is a Ukrainian cross-country skier who has competed since 2000. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of 52nd twice, both in the 30 km mixed pursuit events ....		2:30.99
67	Sabahattin Oglago		2:31.10
68	Valts Eiduks		2:31.25
69	Mihai Galiceanu		2:31.43
70	Chen Haibin		2:32.01
71	Ivan Bariakov		2:32.18
72	Intas Spalvins		2:32.26
73	Denis Klobucar		2:33.10
74	Olegs Andrejevs		2:33.23
75	Alen Abramovic		2:34.61
76	Jung Eui Myung		2:35.39
77	Ilie Bria		2:42.30
78	Bahadur Gupta Bahadur Gupta Bahadur Gupta is a skier from India. He was born on 9 July 1976. He qualified for 2006 Winter Olympics, where he represented India. He participated in Men's sprint event of Cross-country skiing. He finished 78 in his event....		2:43.30
79	Hovhannes Sargsyan		2:47.68
80	Edmond Khachatryan		2:49.98

Quarterfinals

There were five quarterfinal races, each with six skiers. The top two in each heat advanced to the semifinals.

Quarterfinal 1

Rank	Seed	Athlete	Result	Notes
1	1		2:21.5	Q
2	10		2:21.9	Q
3	20		2:23.5
4	11		2:23.7
5	21		2:24.5
6	30		2:25.6

Quarterfinal 2

Rank	Seed	Athlete	Result	Notes
1	17		2:20.4	Q
2	14		2:20.7	Q
3	4		2:22.0
4	7		2:22.5
5	24		2:23.4
6	27		2:24.7

Quarterfinal 3

Rank	Seed	Athlete	Result	Notes
1	5		2:25.9	Q
2	15		2:26.1	Q
3	4		2:26.7
4	7		2:27.1
5	24		2:27.9
6	27		2:28.1

Quarterfinal 4

Rank	Seed	Athlete	Result	Notes
1	12		2:23.1	Q
2	19		2:23.2	Q
3	9		2:23.3
4	2		2:24.3
5	22		2:25.1
6	29		2:26.7

Quarterfinal 5

Rank	Seed	Athlete	Result	Notes
1	3		2:20.2	Q
2	8		2:20.4	Q
3	18		2:20.7
4	23		2:21.6
5	28		2:21.9
6	13		2:22.3

Semifinals

There were two semifinal races, each with five skiers. The top two in each semifinal advanced to the A Final, to compete for the top four places, while the third and fourth placed finishers advanced to the B Final, for places five through eight.

Semifinal 1

Rank	Seed	Athlete	Result	Notes
1	1		2:19.6	Q
2	10		2:19.9	Q
3	17		2:22.8
4	14		2:34.8
5	15		2:43.2

Semifinal 2

Rank	Seed	Athlete	Result	Notes
1	19		2:25.9	Q
2	5		2:26.1	Q
3	8		2:26.8
4	3		2:27.1
5	12		2:29.0

Finals

Björn Lind

Björn Lind

Björn Lind is a Swedish cross country skier who has competed since 2000. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won gold medals in both the Individual and Team sprint events at Turin in 2006....

 finished 0.6 seconds ahead of Roddy Darragon

Roddy Darragon

Roddy Darragon is a French cross-country skier who has competed since 2002. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he earned France's first ever Winter Olympic cross country skiing medal with a silver in the individual sprint event at Turin in 2006.Darragon's best finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski...

to win the Olympic gold medal in the cross-country sprint.

Final A

Rank	Seed	Athlete	Result
	1		2:26.5
	10		2:27.1
	19		2:27.8
4	5		2:31.7

Final B

Rank	Seed	Athlete	Result
1	17		2:23.9
2	8		2:25.2
3	3		2:25.6
4	14		2:27.9