Olympic Winter Games 2006 / cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics
information
venue	Pragelato
Competition venue	Pragelato plan
Nations	53
Athletes	307 (183 , 124 )
date	February 11-26, 2006
decisions	12
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Nordic skiing 2006, further disciplines: Nordic combined ski jumping  

At the XX. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , twelve cross-country skiing competitions were held.

There were two cross-country trails at an altitude of 1530 to 1620 meters; the "red" was 6.2 km long, the "yellow" 3.8 km. The audience capacity in the finish area was 8,000 (including 5,400 seats).

The pursuit races over 20 km for men and 10 km for women were further developed and now run in one piece - first half of the course classic, second half freestyle . Changing skis was allowed and necessary when changing from the classic to the skating style. The distances were now 30 km for the men and 20 km for the women. For men, the competition held in one style at earlier events over 30 km was not applicable, for women the one over the 5 km distance. Instead, the team sprint was part of the Olympic program for the first time for women and men.

There wasn't such a dominant figure among cross-country skiers this year. The Swede Björn Lind was at least the winner in the individual and the newly introduced team sprint. In the women’s category, Estonian Kristina Šmigun-Vähi won two cross-country gold medals, which later became somewhat in doubt due to - unpunished - doping allegations.

Doping issue

Even after the doping incidents punished at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City , at least some athletes had learned nothing from it. After a raid on Austrian cross-country skiers and biathletes, 30 boxes of medication, more than 100 syringes and various devices for blood tests and transfusions were found. In addition, the actually banned coach Walter Mayer was illegally close to the team and then quickly fled. These incidents resulted in subsequent life-long bans - later reduced to 2010 - for the two biathletes Wolfgang Perner and Wolfgang Rottmann as well as for their four cross-country colleagues Roland Diethart , Johannes Eder , Jürgen Pinter and Martin Tauber . In 2009 the public prosecutor's office in Austria brought charges against other functionaries of the ÖSV for violating the Austrian anti-doping laws . a. President Peter Schröcksnadel and Biathlon Director Markus Gandler . Schröcksnadel, Gandler, Mayer, sports medicine specialist Peter Baumgartl and the two cross-country skiers Tauber and Pinter got away with acquittals in 2012. The former cross-country trainer Emil Hoch and the affected biathletes Perner and Rottmann were sentenced in the first instance to conditional imprisonment and unconditional fines. As part of the doping follow-up tests for Olympic athletes, there were four further positive results for the 2006 Winter Games. According to radio reports by the broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, this includes the cross-country double Olympic champion Kristina Šmigun-Vähi from Estonia - meanwhile Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of Estonia. There were no consequences from this.

Balance sheet

Medal table

space	country				total
1	Sweden	3	-	2	5
2	Estonia	3	-	-	3
3	Russia	2	2	3	7th
4th	Italy	2	-	2	4th
5	Czech Republic	1	2	-	3
6th	Canada	1	1	-	2
7th	Germany	-	3	1	4th
8th	Norway	-	3	1	4th
9	France	-	1	-	1
10	Austria	-	-	1	1
11	Finland	-	-	1	1
12	Poland	-	-	1	1

Medalist

Men competitor gold silver bronze Sprint freestyle Bjorn Lind Roddy Darragon Thobias Fredriksson Classic team sprint Björn Lind , Thobias Fredriksson Tor Arne Hetland , Jens Arne Svartedal Ivan Alypow , Vasily Rotschew 15 km classic Andrus Veerpalu Lukáš Bauer Tobias Angerer 30 km pursuit Yevgeny Dementiev Frode Estil Pietro Piller Cottrer 50 km mass start Giorgio Di Centa Yevgeny Dementiev Mikhail Botvinov 4 × 10 km relay Giorgio Di Centa , Pietro Piller Cottrer , Fulvio Valbusa , Cristian Zorzi Tobias Angerer , Jens Filbrich , Andreas Schlütter , René Sommerfeldt Mathias Fredriksson , Mats Larsson , Johan Olsson , Anders Södergren

Women competitor gold silver bronze Sprint freestyle Chandra Crawford Claudia Künzel Alyona Sidko Classic team sprint Lina Andersson , Anna Olsson Sara Renner , Beckie Scott Virpi Kuitunen , Aino-Kaisa Saarinen 10 km classic Kristina Šmigun Marit Bjørgen Hilde Pedersen 15 km pursuit Kristina Šmigun Kateřina Neumannová Yevgenia Medvedeva 30 km mass start Kateřina Neumannová Yulia Chepalova Justyna Kowalczyk 4 × 5 km relay Natalja Baranowa , Larissa Kurkina , Yevgenia Medvedeva , Julija Tschepalowa Viola Bauer , Stefanie Böhler , Claudia Künzel , Evi Sachsenbacher-Stehle Antonella Confortola , Arianna Follis , Gabriella Paruzzi , Sabina Valbusa

Results men

Sprint freestyle

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	SWE	Bjorn Lind	2: 26.5 (F)
2	FRA	Roddy Darragon	2: 27.1 (F)
3	SWE	Thobias Fredriksson	2: 27.8 (F)
4th	ITA	Cristian Zorzi	2: 31.7 (F)
5	ITA	Freddy Schwienbacher	2: 23.9 (Theatrical Version)
6th	ITA	Loris Frasnelli	2: 25.2 (Theatrical Version)
7th	NOR	Johan Kjølstad	2: 25.6 (Theatrical Version)
8th	EST	Anti Saarepuu	2: 27.9 (Theatrical Version)
9	NOR	Ola Vigen Hattestad	2: 29.0 (HF)
10	NOR	Gate Arne Hetland	2: 43.2 (HF)
20th	AUT	Martin Stockinger	2: 27.1 (VF)
24	AUT	Harald Wurm	2: 23.4 (VF)
30th	SUI	Christoph Eigenmann	2: 25.6 (VF)

Date: February 22, 2006, 10:30 am (qualification) / 2:00 pm (final) Length of the route: 1325 m; Difference in altitude: 26 m; Maximum ascent: 26 m; Total ascent: 47 m 80 participants from 34 countries, all in the rating.

F = final; KF = small finale; HF = semifinals; VF = quarter finals

After qualifying, 30 runners reached the quarter-finals (5 runs with 6 runners each) and the semi-finals (2 runs with 5 runners each). This was followed by a B final for places 5 to 8 and the final of 4 runners for the medals. The Swedes Lind and Fredriksson continued the good results of the Swedish team in sprint competitions with the Olympic victory and third place. Favorite Lind, who was already the fastest in the qualifying race, also won his other runs. The result was disappointing for the favorite runners from Norway, none of whom reached the A-final.

The B final for places 5 to 8 was faster than the A final for medals.

Classic team sprint

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	SWE	Thobias Fredriksson Björn Lind	17: 02.9 (F)
2	NOR	Gate Arne Hetland Jens Arne Svartedal	17: 03.5 (F)
3	RUS	Ivan Alypow Vasily Rotschew	17: 05.2 (F)
4th	GER	Jens Filbrich Andreas Schlütter	17: 14.0 (F)
5	FIN	Keijo Kurttila Lauri Pyykönen	17: 21.5 (F)
6th	KAZ	Yevgeny Koshevoy Nikolai Chebotko	17: 25.1 (F)
7th	POLE	Maciej Kreczmer Janusz Krężelok	17: 26.3 (F)
8th	SVK	Martin Bajčičák Ivan Bátory	17: 30.9 (F)
9	ITA	Giorgio Di Centa Freddy Schwienbacher	17: 31.3 (F)
10	CZE	Dušan Kožíšek Martin Koukal	17: 49.6 (F)
15th	SUI	Reto mayor Christoph Eigenmann	17: 49.6 (HF)

Date: February 14, 2006, 11:40 a.m. Route length: 1325 m; Difference in altitude: 26 m; Maximum ascent: 26 m; Total ascent: 47 m 48 participants from 24 countries, 44 of them in the rating.

F = final; HF = semifinals

The competition was held in six rounds. It initially consisted of two preliminary runs or the semi-finals, followed by the final race, for which the top five teams from each preliminary run qualified. The teams consisted of two runners each, who took turns in each round.

The Swedish won ahead of the Norwegian tandem, which won the only medal for the Norwegian team in cross-country sprint competitions. The German team had hoped for a medal, but missed it. The Austrian team ranked 17th ( Johannes Eder , Jürgen Pinter ) was subsequently disqualified in April 2007.

15 km classic

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	EST	Andrus Veerpalu	38: 01.3
2	CZE	Lukáš Bauer	38: 15.8
3	GER	Tobias Angerer	38: 20.5
4th	RUS	Vasily Rotschew	38: 24.4
5	EST	Jaak Mae	38: 35.2
6th	SWE	Johan Olsson	38: 38.8
7th	GER	Andreas Schluetter	38: 44.7
8th	RUS	Sergei Novikov	39: 15.0
9	FIN	Sami Jauhojärvi	39: 15.3
10	SWE	Södergren is different	39: 17.1
11	GER	René Sommerfeldt	39: 17.2
29	SUI	Christian Stebler	40: 38.6
43	GER	Franz Goering	41: 29.9

Date: February 17, 2006, 10:00 a.m. Difference in altitude: 76 m; Maximum ascent: 54 m; Total ascent: 522 m 99 participants from 46 countries, 96 of them in the rating.

After Kristina Šmigun , Andrus Veerpalu also won gold for Estonia. Another Estonian, Jaak Mae, took 5th place. Tobias Angerer won the first medal for the German team after the competitions had been disappointing in terms of both his own expectations and those of the public. Martin Tauber (AUT), originally ranked eighth, was subsequently disqualified in April 2007.

30 km pursuit

space	country	athlete	Time (h)
1	RUS	Yevgeny Dementiev	1: 17: 00.8
2	NOR	Frode Estil	1: 17: 01.4
3	ITA	Pietro Piller Cottrer	1: 17: 01.7
4th	ITA	Giorgio Di Centa	1: 17: 03.2
5	SWE	Södergren is different	1: 17: 04.3
6th	FRA	Vincent Vittoz	1: 17: 07.5
7th	AUT	Mikhail Botvinov	1: 17: 08.5
8th	SVK	Martin Bajčičák	1: 17: 08.7
9	UKR	Maxim Odnodvorzew	1: 17: 09.6
10	CZE	Lukáš Bauer	1: 17: 10.1
11	LIE	Markus Hasler	1: 17: 10.9
12	GER	Tobias Angerer	1: 17: 12.5
22nd	GER	Jens Filbrich	1: 18: 38.2
36	SUI	Remo Fischer	1: 20: 19.7
40	SUI	Toni Livers	1: 21: 08.2
58	SUI	Reto mayor	1: 25: 49.9

Date: February 12, 2006, 1:45 p.m. Elevation difference: 52 m (A) / 59 m (B); Maximum ascent: 40 m (A) / 54 m (B); Total ascent: 366 m (A) / 498 m (B) 77 participants from 27 countries, 65 of them in the rating.

The race began with a 15-kilometer run in the classic style (mass start), after a ski change was followed by a 15-kilometer run in free style. Dementjew and Estil secured their medals with the fastest and second fastest time in free style, while Piller Cottrer was able to claim his third place after the classic section. Lukáš Bauer , who had led when changing skis, fell back to 10th place. Anders Aukland , who was in second place after the classic section, even lost two and a half minutes and finished 29th. The winner of the silver medal, Frode Estil, broke a ski in a mass fall shortly after the start, which meant that he had now reached the end of the Field of participants had fallen behind.

As for the German women, the first Olympic race was disappointing for the runners of the German Ski Association : While René Sommerfeldt gave up, Tobias Angerer , who was one of the closest favorites , lost the connection shortly before the finish and was only 12th. A good one seventh place went to the Austrian Mikhail Botwinov . His teammate Martin Tauber was subsequently disqualified in April 2007.

50 km mass start freestyle

space	country	athlete	Time (h)
1	ITA	Giorgio Di Centa	2: 06: 11.8
2	RUS	Yevgeny Dementiev	2: 06: 12.6
3	AUT	Mikhail Botvinov	2: 06: 12.7
4th	FRA	Emmanuel Jonnier	2: 06: 13.5
5	ITA	Pietro Piller Cottrer	2: 06: 14.0
6th	SWE	Södergren is different	2: 06: 14.1
7th	CZE	Martin Koukal	2: 06: 14.9
8th	CZE	Jiří Magál	2: 06: 15.1
9	FRA	Vincent Vittoz	2: 06: 16.4
10	SWE	Mathias Fredriksson	2: 06: 17.1
17th	GER	Jens Filbrich	2: 06: 31.1
21st	SUI	Remo Fischer	2: 06: 40.9
24	GER	Tobias Angerer	2: 07: 00.3
32	SUI	Toni Livers	2: 07: 25.4
36	GER	René Sommerfeldt	2: 08: 03.0
39	LIE	René Sommerfeldt	2: 08: 29.0
50	SUI	Christian Stebler	2: 11: 13.0

Date: February 26, 2006, 10:00 a.m. Difference in altitude: 76 m; Maximum ascent: 54 m; Total ascent: 1810 m 79 participants from 31 countries, 63 of them in the rating.

For a long time there were no serious attempts to blow up the large field of participants: after 25 km, more than 50 runners formed the top group, after 40 km still around 40. Only then was the pace tightened, the closed leadership field dissolved and the result was the elimination race characteristic of a mass start competition, in which weaker runners were gradually left behind - the last on the last climb just before the finish. At the finish line, a sprint decision was made in which about ten runners were still involved.

4 × 10 km relay

space	Country / athlete	time
1	Italy Fulvio Valbusa Giorgio Di Centa Pietro Piller Cottrer Cristian Zorzi	1: 43: 45.7 h 25: 54.0 min 26: 50.6 min 24: 59.1 min 26: 02.0 min
2	Germany Andreas Schlütter Jens Filbrich René Sommerfeldt Tobias Angerer	1: 44: 01.4 h 25: 53.9 min 26: 50.2 min 25: 18.9 min 25: 58.4 min
3	Sweden Mats Larsson Johan Olsson Anders Södergren Mathias Fredriksson	1: 44: 01.7 h 25: 53.4 min 26: 55.4 min 25: 00.5 min 26: 12.4 min
4th	France Christophe Perrillat-Collomb Alexandre Rousselet Emmanuel Jonnier Vincent Vittoz	1: 44: 22.8 h 26: 05.4 min 26: 46.2 min 25: 47.1 min 25: 44.1 min
5	Norway Jens Arne Svartedal Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset Frode Estil Tore Ruud Hofstad	1: 44: 56.3 h 25: 53.0 min 26: 50.8 min 25: 42.8 min 26: 29.7 min
6th	Russia Sergei Novikow Wassili Rotschew Ivan Alypow Evgeni Dementjew	1: 45: 09.9 h 26: 03.7 min 26: 39.8 min 25: 58.2 min 26: 28.2 min
7th	Switzerland Reto Mayor Christian Stebler Toni Livers Remo Fischer	1:45: 10.9 h 26: 02.0 min 26: 50.2 min 25: 46.4 min 26: 32.3 min
8th	Estonia Aivar Rehemaa Andrus Veerpalu Jaak Mae Kaspar Kokk	1:45: 23.8 h 26: 45.7 min 26: 39.9 min 25: 32.0 min 26: 26.2 min

Date: February 19, 2006, 10:00 a.m. Difference in altitude: 59 m; Maximum rise: 54; Total ascent: 376 m 16 relays at the start, 15 of them in the classification.

The first two runners mastered the route in classic style, the other two in free style. The host's season won. The Germans, who were also favorites, ran evenly and won the silver medal. Bronze went to outsider Sweden. The victory of the Italians was mainly thanks to Pietro Piller Cottrer, who led his relay on the third leg from 5th to 1st and together with Anders Södergren, who ran from 6th to 2nd and the fastest lap time of all participants Competition temporarily depended. In the last section, Tobias Angerer was able to bring his season closer to the Swedish one and defeat Mathias Fredriksson in the final sprint.

As with the women the day before, the Norwegian relay, Olympic champion of 2002 and reigning world champion, disappointed with a 5th place. The Austrian relay originally placed fourth was subsequently disqualified in April 2007.

Results women

Sprint freestyle

space	country	sportswoman	Time (min)
1	CAN	Chandra Crawford	2: 12.3 (F)
2	GER	Claudia Künzel	2: 13.0 (F)
3	RUS	Alyona Sidko	2: 13.2 (F)
4th	CAN	Beckie Scott	2: 14.7 (F)
5	FIN	Virpi Kuitunen	2: 18.1 (Theatrical Version)
6th	NOR	Ella Gjømle	2: 18.2 (Theatrical Version)
7th	ITA	Arianna Follis	2: 20.3 (Theatrical Version)
8th	SLO	Petra Majdič	2: 21.5 (Theatrical Version)
9	SWE	Anna Dahlberg	2: 18.9 (HF)
10	United States	Kikkan Randall	2: 19.1 (HF)
12	GER	Manuela Henkel	2: 16.4 (VF)
15th	SUI	Laurence Rochat	2: 18.9 (VF)
20th	GER	Stefanie Boehler	2: 18.5 (VF)
31	GER	Nicole Fessel	2: 18.35 (Q)
32	SUI	Seraina Mischol	2: 18.83 (Q)

Date: February 22, 2006, 10:30 a.m. (qualification) / 1:45 p.m. (final)

Route length: 1100 m; Difference in altitude: 16 m; Maximum ascent: 16 m; Total ascent: 37 m

66 participants from 28 countries, all rated.

F = final; KF = small finale; HF = semifinals; VF = quarter finals; Q = qualification

After qualifying, 30 runners reached the quarter-finals (5 runs with 6 runners each) and the semi-finals (2 runs with 5 runners each). This was followed by a B final for places 5 to 8 and the final of 4 runners for the medals.

Beckie Scott, the fastest in qualifying, only finished fourth in the final. Aljona Sidko reached the final just as confidently as Claudia Künzel, who won the quarter and semi-finals before she was beaten by Chandra Crawford. Crawford, a hitherto rather unknown outsider, won all of her runs except for qualification and won the final with a sovereign victory, while Künzel narrowly beat Sidko. Marit Bjørgen , the most successful cross-country sprinter of the previous years, was already out of the quarter-finals with poor health.

Classic team sprint

space	country	Sportswomen	Time (min)
1	SWE	Anna Dahlberg Lina Andersson	16: 36.9
2	CAN	Beckie Scott Sara Renner	16: 37.5
3	FIN	Virpi Kuitunen Aino-Kaisa Saarinen	16: 39.2
4th	NOR	Marit Bjørgen Ella Gjømle	16: 50.4
5	GER	Viola Bauer Evi Sachsenbacher-Stehle	17: 03.5
6th	RUS	Olga Moskalenko Alyona Sidko	17: 08.5
7th	ITA	Arianna Follis Gabriella Paruzzi	17: 24.8
8th	JPN	Nobuko Fukuda Madoka Natsumi	17: 27.6
9	KAZ	Oxana Jazkaja Jelena Kolomina	17: 42.8
10	United States	Kikkan Randall Wendy Kay Wagner	18: 06.9

Date: February 14, 2006, 10:00 a.m.

Route length: 1100 m; Difference in altitude: 16 m; Maximum ascent: 16 m; Total ascent: 37 m

32 participants from 16 countries, all in the ranking.

The individual races were held in 6 rounds in the classic style. The competition initially consisted of two semi-finals, followed by the final race, for which the top five teams from each run qualified. As in the men's team sprint, the Swedish tandem won. The other medal places went to the Canadian team ahead of the Finnish team. The German team with Evi Dingebacher-Stehle (in their first outing after being blocked due to an increased hemoglobin level) had hoped for a medal, but missed it, as did the Norwegian team with Marit Bjørgen .

10 km classic

space	country	sportswoman	Time (min)
1	EST	Kristina Šmigun	27: 51.4
2	NOR	Marit Bjørgen	28: 12.7
3	NOR	Hilde G. Pedersen	28: 14.0
4th	NOR	Kristin Størmer Steira	28: 21.0
5	CZE	Kateřina Neumannová	28: 22.2
6th	SLO	Petra Majdič	28: 22.3
7th	FIN	Aino-Kaisa Saarinen	28: 29.6
8th	CAN	Sara Renner	28: 33.0
9	FIN	Virpi Kuitunen	28: 51.4
10	GER	Viola Bauer	29: 03.6
15th	SUI	Seraina Mischol	29: 30.4
17th	GER	Claudia Künzel	29: 31.6
20th	GER	Evi Sachsenbacher-Stehle	29: 38.4
25th	SUI	Laurence Rochat	30: 02.2
38	GER	Stefanie Boehler	30: 43.2
41	SUI	Seraina Boner	30: 58.0

Date: February 16, 2006, 10:00 a.m.

Difference in altitude: 76 m; Maximum ascent: 54 m; Total ascent: 362 m

72 participants from 29 countries, 70 of them in the evaluation.

The race started with an interval start. Kristina Šmigun won her second gold medal. The classic style 10K race was the only one in which Norwegian runners were successful. Marit Bjørgen , who had disappointed in her previous appearances, won silver. Bronze went to the 41-year-old Hilde G. Pedersen ahead of Kristin Størmer Steira. From the German team, only Viola Bauer, a specialist in classic style races, was able to convince with 10th place.

15 km pursuit

space	country	sportswoman	Time (min)
1	EST	Kristina Šmigun	42: 48.7
2	CZE	Kateřina Neumannová	42: 50.6
3	RUS	Yevgenia Medvedeva	43: 03.2
4th	NOR	Kristin Størmer Steira	43: 06.3
5	ITA	Gabriella Paruzzi	43: 18.9
6th	CAN	Beckie Scott	43: 20.6
7th	RUS	Olga Zavyalova	43: 23.7
8th	POLE	Justyna Kowalczyk	43: 25.6
9	RUS	Yulia Chepalova	43: 39.5
10	NOR	Hilde G. Pedersen	43: 40.5
18th	GER	Claudia Künzel	44: 48.1
24	SUI	Natascia Leonardi Cortesi	45: 34.3
28	GER	Stefanie Boehler	45: 56.9
52	GER	Manuela Henkel	48: 21.8

Date: February 12, 2006, 10:00 a.m.

Height difference: 36 m (A) / 59 m (B); Maximum ascent: 33 m (A) / 54 m (B); Total ascent: 252 m (A) / 312 m (B)

67 participants from 28 countries, 64 of them in the evaluation.

The race began with a 7.5-kilometer run in classic style (mass start), followed by a 7.5-kilometer run in free style after a ski switch. Šmigun and Neumannová were already in medal places after the first leg, while Medvedeva improved from 11th to 3rd place in free style. Petra Majdič , who had led when changing skis, lost almost a minute on the second leg and fell back to 11th place. The big favorite Marit Bjørgen ended the race early. The Olympic Games also got off to an unhappy start for the German runners, because Evi Sachsenbacher-Stehle , who was one of the favorites , received an automatic five-day safety lock due to her hemoglobin level being too high and was therefore unable to start; the other German runners remained below their possibilities.

30 km mass start freestyle

space	country	sportswoman	Time (h)
1	CZE	Kateřina Neumannová	1: 22: 25.4
2	RUS	Yulia Chepalova	1: 22: 26.8
3	POLE	Justyna Kowalczyk	1: 22: 27.5
4th	NOR	Kristin Størmer Steira	1: 22: 40.8
5	ITA	Gabriella Paruzzi	1: 23: 00.8
6th	GER	Claudia Künzel	1: 23: 02.1
7th	UKR	Valentyna Shevchenko	1: 23: 07.9
8th	EST	Kristina Šmigun	1: 23: 22.5
9	RUS	Olga Zavyalova	1: 23: 28.5
10	ITA	Sabina Valbusa	1: 23: 37.6
13	GER	Evi Sachsenbacher-Stehle	1: 25: 15.8
16	SUI	Natascia Leonardi Cortesi	1: 25: 32.0
20th	GER	Stefanie Boehler	1: 26: 19.2
48	GER	Nicole Fessel	1: 34: 06.2

Date: February 24, 2006, 11:30 a.m.

Difference in altitude: 76 m; Maximum ascent: 54 m; Total ascent: 1086 m

61 participants from 23 countries, 50 of them in the evaluation.

The race began with a mass start and resembled an elimination race: between km 10 and km 20, a top group of ten to twelve runners was able to break away, about 2 kilometers from the finish on the last climb with a further increase in pace. Only those three runners who finally fought for victory and finished on the podium were able to hold out. Kristin Størmer Steira finished fourth for the third time in an Olympic decision in 2006 and continued the series of unfortunate appearances by the Norwegian team, which had been among the most successful at the World Championships and Olympic Games in previous years. Claudia Künzel lost touch with the leaders shortly before the finish and came in sixth.

4 × 5 km relay

space	Country / athletes	Time (min)
1	Russia Natalja Baranowa Larissa Kurkina Julija Tschepalowa Evgenija Medvedeva	54: 47.7 14: 34.9 14: 41.8 12: 41.2 12: 49.8
2	Germany Stefanie Böhler Viola Bauer Evi Sachsenbacher-Stehle Claudia Künzel	54: 57.7 14: 33.9 14: 19.5 12: 50.6 13: 13.7
3	Italy Arianna Follis Gabriella Paruzzi Antonella Confortola Sabina Valbusa	54: 58.7 14: 32.0 14: 26.1 13: 05.0 12: 55.6
4th	Sweden Anna Dahlberg Elin Ek Britta Johansson Norgren Anna-Karin Strömstedt	55: 00.3 14: 23.9 14: 38.6 12: 55.0 13: 02.8
5	Norway Kristin Størmer Steira Hilde G. Pedersen Kristin Mürer Stemland Marit Bjørgen	55: 21.8 14: 23.5 14: 29.3 13: 03.7 13: 25.3
6th	Czech Republic Helena Balatková Kamila Rajdlová Ivana Janečková Kateřina Neumannová	55: 46.3 14: 40.8 15: 03.0 13: 16.6 12: 45.9
7th	Finland Aino-Kaisa Saarinen Virpi Kuitunen Riitta-Liisa Lassila Kati Venäläinen	55: 55.8 14: 21.1 14: 30.4 13: 13.4 13: 50.9
8th	Ukraine Kateryna Hryhorenko Tetjana Savali Vita Yakymchuk Walentyna Shevchenko	56: 36.3 14: 56.5 15: 01.8 13: 33.4 13: 04.6
11	Switzerland Seraina Mischol Laurence Rochat Natascia Leonardi Cortesi Seraina Boner	56: 52.4 14: 25.3 15: 03.4 13: 29.4 13: 54.3

Date: February 18, 2006, 9:45 am

Difference in altitude: 59 m; Maximum ascent: 54 m; Total ascent: 188 m

17 relays at the start, all in the ranking.

The first two runners of each relay completed their section in the classic style, the two other runners in the free style. The race was extremely varied: after the first leg, the Japanese relay surprisingly led, the later medal winners were in 7th to 9th place at this point. The eventual winners from Russia were about 25 seconds behind at this point, but Julija Tschepalowa was able to bring her squadron back to the leading squadrons on the third leg. Sachsenbacher's performance was also outstanding: at the end of the third stretch, he was around 10 seconds ahead of the field of pursuers. The German final runner Künzel could not defend this lead, was caught up and left on the last climb by the relays from Russia, Sweden and Italy. Thanks to an outstanding catch-up race and a successful final spurt on the home straight, however, Künzel was able to catch up more than 10 seconds behind, overtake the final runners in Italy and Sweden and win the silver medal. Bronze went to the season of the host country ahead of the surprisingly strong Swedes.

The race ended disappointingly for the favored relay from Norway, which was among the top three seasons with every change, but only finished 5th in the end. After a good start, Finland also fell back on the classic routes.

Web links

• Results at sports-reference.com

Individual evidence

1. ^ Doping at Winter Games - 2002 Salt Lake City. Süddeutsche Zeitung , February 22, 2014, accessed April 30, 2017 . 
2. ^ Draconian punishments against Austrian doping sinners. Der Tagesspiegel , April 25, 2007, accessed April 30, 2017 . 
3. ↑ Doping: Chronology of the doping scandal in Turin 2006. Tiroler Tageszeitung , February 18, 2002, accessed on March 6, 2020 . 
4. ^ Doping follow-up tests from Turin 2006: Four positive tests. Süddeutsche Zeitung , February 19, 2014, accessed on August 9, 2020 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} The IOC punishes six Austrian athletes for doping at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, life ban. Berliner Zeitung , April 26, 2007, accessed on April 30, 2017 .