Cross Country Skiing at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Games:

The 10 km race, organized three days after the 5 km race, involved the same four skiers in the fight for the medals, but this time with a different outcome.

Nina Baldycheva had this time the unlucky fate to start as number 1, but her intermediate time at 5 km was first beaten by Raisa Smetanina by 18 seconds. Smetanina’s arch rival from the 5 km, Helena Takalo, this time starting 1.30 behind her Soviet opponent, could not better Smetanina at the halfway point, passing that mark 10 seconds behind her. Defending champion Galina Kulakova starting last of the favorites, was third at 5 km, five seconds behind Takalo. But Takalo, the 5 km champion, then started her move. She gained seconds on Smetanina over the last part of the race, eagerly supported by Finnish coaches, but reached the finish just one second behind Smetanina, and had to be content with the silver medal. Kulakova finished her race 25 seconds behind Smetanina, but beat her teammate Baldycheva’s time by 14 seconds, adding a bronze to her collection of Olympic medals.

Takalo won the 5 km race by 1.04 seconds, and Smetanina the 10 km by 0.87 seconds, certainly deserving of a gold medal each. Takalo finished her great Olympic season by winning both the 5 and 10 km race at Holmenkollen, but the Soviet skiers were not present.