FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The Nordic skiing World Championships (officially the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships) have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and including women since 1954. Championship events include Nordic skiing's three disciplines: Cross-country skiing (aka XC skiing), Ski jumping, and Nordic combined (the latter being a combination sport consisting of both XC skiing and Ski jumping). Since 1985, the Nordic skiing World Championships have been held every odd-numbered year. Until 1980, the Winter Olympics also counted as World Championship events.
Information format of this article : The following tables list the host towns/cities of the Championships and the medalists in the different events. The events are listed in roughly the same order they have been held in recent Championships. Some events have been discontinued over the years, and as such are listed as "defunct". Also note that the Double Pursuit, Sprint, and Team Sprint races have had their running distances changed between Championships; details of this are given in each event's section, above the medalist tables.
Host towns/cities, venues
Arranged Championships:
- 1925 Johannisbad (Janské Lázne), Czechoslovakia
- 1926 Lahti, Finland
- 1927 Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
- 1929 Zakopane, Poland
- 1930 Oslo-Holmenkollen, Norway
- 1931 Oberhof, Germany
- 1933 Innsbruck, Austria
- 1934 Sollefteå, Sweden
- 1935 Vysoké Tatry, Czechoslovakia
- 1937 Chamonix, France
- 1938 Lahti, Finland
- 1939 Zakopane, Poland
- 1950 Lake Placid, New York, USA
- 1954 Falun-Lugnet Stadion, Sweden
- 1958 Lahti, Finland
- 1962 Zakopane, Poland
- 1966 Oslo-Holmenkollen, Norway
- 1970 Vysoké Tatry, Czechoslovakia
- 1974 Falun-Lugnet Stadion, Sweden
- 1978 Lahti, Finland
- 1982 Oslo-Holmenkollen, Norway
- 1985 Seefeld, in Tyrol, Austria
- 1987 Oberstdorf, in Oberallgäu, West Germany
- 1989 Lahti, Finland
- 1991 Val di Fiemme, in Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
- 1993 Falun-Lugnet Stadion, Sweden
- 1995 Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
- 1997 Trondheim-Granåsen, Norway
- 1999 Ramsau, Lower Austria
- 2001 Lahti, Finland
- 2003 Val di Fiemme, in Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
- 2005 Oberstdorf, in Oberallgäu, Germany (16–27 February) (Medal page)
Upcoming Championships:
- 2007 Sapporo, Japan (22 February–4 March) (Home page)
- 2009 Liberec, Czech Republic (dates TBA) (Home page)
XC skiing, Men, present
15 km
This event was arranged from 1954 to 1991, and as pursuit, with the results from 10 km deciding the starting times, from 1993 to 1999.
Double Pursuit
This event was first held in 2001.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |  Per Elofsson |
 Johann Mühlegg |
 Vitaly Denisov
|
| 2003 | Per Elofsson |
 Tore Ruud Hofstad |
Jörgen Brink
|
| 2005 |  Vincent Vittoz |
 Giorgio di Centa |
Frode Estil
|
Sprint
This event was first arranged in 2001.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Tor Arne Hetland |
Cristian Zorzi |
Håvard Solbakken
|
| 2003 | Thobias Fredriksson |
Håvard Bjerkeli |
Tor Arne Hetland
|
| 2005 | Vassili Rotchev |
Tor Arne Hetland |
Thobias Fredriksson
|
Team Sprint
This event has only been arranged once, in 2005.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Tore Ruud Hofstad Tor Arne Hetland Norway |
Jens Teichmann Axel Teichmann  Germany |
Dusan Kozisek Martin Koukal  Czech Republic
|
4×10 km Relay
50 km
This event was first held in 1925.
XC skiing, Men, defunct
10 km
This event was held from 1991 to 1999, before it was abandoned and the double pursuit replaced it.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Terje Langli |
Christer Majbäck |
Torgny Mogren
|
| 1993 | Sture Sivertsen |
 Vladimir Smirnov |
Vegard Ulvang
|
| 1995 | Vladimir Smirnov |
Bjørn Dæhlie |
 Mika Myllylä
|
| 1997 | Bjørn Dæhlie |
Aleksej Prokurorov |
Mika Myllylä
|
| 1999 | Mika Myllylä |
 Alois Stadlober |
Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset
|
18 km
This event was arranged first time in 1925, and last in 1950.
30 km
This event was arranged first time in 1954, and last time in 2003.
XC skiing, Women, present
10 km
This event was first arranged in 1954, the first event for women in the Nordic Skiing Championships. From 1993 to 1999 it was arranged as pursuit, and from 2001 it was back as an individual event.
Double Pursuit
This event was first held in 2001, but then as 10 km, 5 km in classical style and 5 km in free style. In 2005 it was expanded to 15 km, 7.5 in each style.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Virpi Kuitunen |
Larissa Lazutina |
Olga Danilova
|
| 2003 |  Kristina Smigun |
Evi Sachenbacher |
Olga Savyalova
|
| 2005 | Yuliya Chepalova |
Marit Bjørgen |
Kristin Størmer Steira
|
Sprint
This event has been held since 2001.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Pirjo Manninen |
Kati Sundqvist |
Yuliya Tchepalova
|
| 2003 | Marit Bjørgen |
Claudia Künzel |
Hilde Gjermundshaug Pedersen
|
| 2005 | Emilie Öhrstig |
Lina Andersson |
 Sara Renner
|
Team Sprint
This event has only been held once, in 2005.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Hilde Gjermundshaug Pedersen Marit Bjørgen Norway |
Riitta Liisa Lassila Pirjo Manninen Finland |
Yuliya Tchepalova Alena Sidko Russia
|
4(3)×5 km Relay
From 1954–1970 the women's relay event had 3 legs only.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 |  Soviet Union |
Finland |
Sweden
|
| 1958 | Soviet Union |
Finland |
Sweden
|
| 1962 | Soviet Union |
Sweden |
Finland
|
| 1966 | Soviet Union |
Norway |
Sweden
|
| 1970 | Soviet Union |
 East Germany |
Finland
|
| 1974 | Soviet Union |
East Germany |
Czechoslovakia
|
| 1978 | Finland |
East Germany |
Soviet Union
|
| 1982 | Norway |
Soviet Union |
Finland
|
| 1985 | Soviet Union |
Norway |
East Germany
|
| 1987 | Soviet Union |
Norway |
Sweden
|
| 1989 | Finland |
Soviet Union |
Norway
|
| 1991 | Soviet Union |
Italy |
Norway
|
| 1993 | Russia |
Italy |
Norway
|
| 1995 | Russia |
Norway |
Sweden
|
| 1997 | Russia |
Norway |
Finland
|
| 1999 | Russia |
Italy |
Germany
|
| 2001 | Russia |
Norway |
Italy
|
| 2003 | Germany |
Norway |
Russia
|
| 2005 | Norway |
Russia |
Italy
|
30 km
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 |  Zinaida Amosova |
Galina Kulakova |
Helena Takalo
|
| 1982 | Raisa Smetanina |
Berit Aunli |
Hilkka Riihivuori
|
| 1985 | Grete Ingeborg Nykkelmo |
Brit Pettersen |
Anette Bøe
|
| 1987 | Marie Helene Östlund |
Anfisa Reztsova |
Larissa Lazutina
|
| 1989 | Yelena Välbe |
Larissa Lazutina |
Marjo Matikainen
|
| 1991 | Lyubov Yegorova |
Yelena Välbe |
Manuela di Centa
|
| 1993 | Stefania Belmondo |
Manuela di Centa |
Lyubov Yegorova
|
| 1995 | Yelena Välbe |
Manuela di Centa |
Antonina Ordina
|
| 1997 | Yelena Välbe |
Stefania Belmondo |
Marit Mikkelsplass
|
| 1999 | Larissa Lazutina |
Olga Danilova |
Kristina Smigun
|
| 2001 | Event cancelled | ||
| 2003 | Olga Savyalova |
Yelena Burukina |
Kristina Smigun
|
| 2005 | Marit Bjørgen |
Virpi Kuitunen |
Natalia Baranova-Masalkina
|
XC skiing, Women, defunct
5 km
This event was arranged for the first time in 1962, and it later became the starting distance of the pursuit event - i.e. the one that determined starting times in the pursuit - from 1993 to 1999.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Alevtina Kolchina |
Lyubov Baranova |
Maria Gusakova
|
| 1966 | Alevtina Kolchina |
Klavdija Bojarskikh |
Rita Atskina
|
| 1970 | Galina Kulakova |
Galina Pilyushenko |
Nina Fyodorova
|
| 1974 | Galina Kulakova |
Czechoslovakia Bianca Paulu | Raisa Smetanina
|
| 1978 | Helena Takalo |
Hilkka Riihivuori |
Raisa Smetanina
|
| 1982 | Berit Aunli |
Hilkka Riihivuori |
Brit Pettersen
|
| 1985 | No competition | ||
| 1987 | Marjo Matikainen |
Anfisa Reztsova |
 Evi Kratzer
|
| 1989 | No competition | ||
| 1991 | Yelena Välbe |
Marie Helene Östlund |
Tamara Tikhonova
|
| 1993 | Larissa Lazutina |
Lyubov Yegorova |
Trude Dybendahl
|
| 1995 | Larissa Lazutina |
Nina Gavrilyuk |
Manuela di Centa
|
| 1997 | Yelena Välbe |
Stefania Belmondo |
Olga Danilova
|
| 1999 | Bente Skari |
Olga Danilova |
Katerina Neumannova
|
15 km
This event was arranged from 1989.
20 km
This event was arranged from 1978 to 1987.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Zinaida Amosova, USSR |
Raisa Smetanina, USSR |
File:Finland flag large.png Helena Takalo, Finland |
| 1982 | Raisa Smetanina, USSR |
File:Norway flag large.png Berit Aunli, Norway | File:Finland flag large.png Hilkka Riihivouri, Finland |
| 1985 | File:Norway flag large.png Grete Ingeborg Nykkelmo, Norway | File:Norway flag large.png Brit Pettersen, Norway | File:Norway flag large.png Anette Bøe, Norway |
| 1987 | File:Sweden flag large.png Marie-Helene Westin, Sweden | Anfisa Reztsova, USSR |
Larissa Ptistyna, USSR |
Ski jumping
This event was arranged first time in 1925, and the ski jumpers competed in only one hill. In 1962, a "large hill" competition was introduced, and in 1982 a team competition - where four jumpers from the nation compete together, and their points are tallied together at the end - entered the program. In 2001 and 2005, there were team competitions in both the normal and the large hill.
Normal hill
Large hill
Team - normal hill
Team - large hill
Nordic combined
This event was first time arranged in 1925. Then, the athletes competing in Nordic combined competed together with the 18 km athletes and the ski jumpers, so an athlete could conceivably win gold in ski jumping and combined on the same day. This format existed until 1939. From 1950, there were separate races for athletes competing in the combined competition, and there was one individual competition, with three jumps where the best two counted, and a 15 km cross country race. Later, the third jump was abolished. From the 1980s onwards, the Gundersen method - named after the former combined athlete Gunder Gundersen, who devised the system - was used, where the points from ski jumping were recalculated into cross country skiing times and the athletes then started with a staggered start, the winning ski jumper starting first. In 1999, the sprint competition was introduced together with the individual competition, with only one jump and a shorter skiing distance, 7.5 km instead of 15 km. There is also a team competition, which began in 1982.
Individual
Individual, sprint
This competition has been held since 1999. It is often seen as more random and uncertain than the Gundersen two jumps + 15 km competition, as there's more room for error in the one jump performed in the sprint, and there's also more opportunity for poorer cross country skiers on the short distances skied.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Bjarte Engen Vik |
Mario Stecher |
 Kenji Ogiwara
|
| 2001 | Marco Baacke |
Samppa Lajunen |
Ronny Ackermann
|
| 2003 |  John Spillane |
Ronny Ackermann |
Felix Gottwald
|
| 2005 | Ronny Ackermann |
Magnus Moan |
Kristian Hammer
|
Team event
This event had three legs in the relay until 1993, when the format was changed to prevent good ski jumpers from walking away with seven-minute victories (which happened in Falun 1993). From 1995 up to date, there has been four legs of 5 km in the relay
