15 kilometres (Freestyle), Women

This was the first cross-country ski race of the Lillehammer Olympics. The favorites were the big five of women’s cross-country over the last few years – Russians Lyubov Yegorova, Yelena Välbe, and Larisa Lazutina and Italians Manuela Di Centa and Stefania Belmondo. Di Centa, Yegorova, and Valbe were currently in a tight battle for the 1993-94 World Cup title, with Di Centa eventually winning it, while Välbe had won the last two World Championships at the distance. There were 54 starters and the favorites all went off from starting position 43 to 52. But right from the start, Di Centa set the fastest pace and she would win fairly easily, almost by 19 seconds over Yegorova. Belmondo, Lazutina, and Välbe placed 4-5-6 respectively, while the bronze medal went to Russian Nina Gavrylyuk. Di Centa would win five medals in all the cross-country events in Lillehammer, adding a gold in the 30 km to her victory in this event. Gavrylyuk was the least heralded of the Russians, and this was her only individual Olympic medal, but she would win three relay golds in her career – in 1988, 1994, and 1998.