The Men's team sprint

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

competition at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, was held on 14 February, at

Pragelato Pragelato (also ''Pragelà''; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Prajalats'', French: Prajalats) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, in the upper Val Chisone. The name ''Prag ...

. This was the first time the team sprint was contested in the Winter Olympics. Each race featured teams of two, with each skier completing 3 laps of a 1325-metre course. Norway, with

Tore Ruud Hofstad Tore Ruud Hofstad (born 9 August 1979) is a Norwegian former cross-country skier who competed from 1998 to 2010. A freestyle specialist, Hofstad is best noted as a member of the Norwegian relay team during three successful FIS Nordic World Ski C ...

and

Tor Arne Hetland Tor Arne Hetland (born 12 January 1974) is a Norwegian cross-country skiing coach and a former professional cross-country skier. Hetland was born in Stavanger. He now lives in Trondheim. While active he represented Byåsen IL ski club. He was co ...

, had won the competition at the 2005 Nordic skiing World Championship, the only time it had been skied in the World Championship prior to the Turin games, but that was in free technique. The most recent team sprint event in classic technique had been in Canmore,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, on 18 December 2004.

Jens Arne Svartedal Jens Arne Svartedal (born February 14, 1976) is a Norwegian former cross-country skier who competed in the World Cup between 1999 and 2010. He represented Trøsken IL from Sarpsborg in Norway. His greatest achievement is winning the individual s ...

and

Eldar Rønning Eldar Rønning (born 11 June 1982 in Levanger) is a Norwegian former cross-country skier. He skis with the Skogn IL club, in Nord-Trøndelag. Career In 2004/05, he achieved three podium finishes in World Cup Sprint events, including a win at R ...

won that race for Norway's first team. However, despite this good Norwegian record, it was the Sweden's

Thobias Fredriksson Thobias Fredriksson (born 4 April 1975 in Dals Rostock, Dalsland) is a Swedish former cross-country skier who 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 individ ...

and

Björn Lind Björn Johan Lind (born March 22, 1978, in Ljusterö, Uppland) is a Swedish former cross-country skier who competed since 2000. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he won gold medals in both the Individual and Team sprint events at Turin in 20 ...

who pipped Norway to the title.

Results

Semifinals

Fifteen teams were entered in the two semifinals, with the top five in each advancing to the final. ;Semifinal 1 ;Semifinal 2

Final

The top three teams separated themselves from the pack fairly easily, with Sweden finishing just 0.6 seconds ahead of Norway to take the gold medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics - Men's team sprint Men's cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics Men's team sprint cross-country skiing at the Winter Olympics