Date | 18 September 1988 — 9:00 | |
---|---|---|
Status | Olympic | |
Location | Tongil-ro Circuit, Paju | |
Participants | 124 from 31 countries | |
Format | Four-man teams. |
The event was fairly open, with the last three World Championships split among East Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. Italy had been on the podium at all three races, but no nation had really dominated the event since Los Angeles. In the end, East Germany won the gold medal but it was close over the unheralded Polish team. At 25 km., East Germany had the fastest split, with Poland 20 seconds back. But Poland closed to trail by only 11.5 second at 50 km. They then fell back to a 31.6 second deficit at 75 km. However, Poland had the fastest finish of any team and almost caught the East Germans, as the GDR won the gold by only 6.5 seconds. Another surprising team, Sweden, won the bronze medal. Italy placed fifth while the Netherlands was well-beaten in 11th.