10/15 kilometres Pursuit, Men

This was the first time the pursuit was contested at the Winter Olympics, and it would not feature at the World Championships until the next year. The event consisted of results from the 10 km individual race, skied in the classical style. In the second section, skiers skied 15 km freestyle, starting in the order of their placements from the 10 km. Thus, the first skier across the line was the winner of the race. The 10 km champion had been Vegard Ulvang, who started 19 seconds ahead of Marco Albarello, 20 seconds ahead of Christer Majbäck, and 25 seconds ahead of his teammate, Bjørn Dæhlie. But this was Dæhlie’s race. He caught Ulvang at four kilometers and was never headed, winning by over almost a minute, although Ulvang held on for the silver medal. Albarello dropped back to fourth while Majbäck finished sixth. The bronze medal went to Giorgio Vanzetta, who started seventh, 50 seconds back of Ulvang, but posted the third fastest freestyle time.

This was the first Olympic gold medal for Bjørn Dæhlie, but it would become a common occurrence at major international races. He had already won two gold medals at the 1991 World Championships, and in his career would win 12 Olympic medals, with eight golds, both records for the Winter Olympics through 2006. At the World Championships, he would win 18 medals and nine titles.