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Cross-country skiing
appeared as the principal means of locomotion for the Scandinavian peoples
across snow-covered land, to fish on frozen lakes and to hunt in the forests
and plains. Here is an overview of the history of Nordic cross-country skiing.
2500 B.C.: Skis belonging to this period were found on the Altaj Mountains
of Siberia. They were made of rushes tied together and snow shoes very similar
to modern ones. |
2000 B.C.: Wooden skis,
very similar to those used today by cross-country skiers, from this period
were found in Sweden. To this period also belong the primitive stone graffiti
found at Rodoy (Norvegia), depicting a stylized skier. iti found at Rodoy
(Norvegia), depicting a stylized skier.
A.D. 1000: According to a historian of skiing, Harold Grinden, the Vikings
introduced skis to North America 900 years ago, although cross-country skiing
started spreading in the US only after 1840, brought by the Scandinavian
immigrants.
1100: According to the ancient chronicles, the first true skis, 1.45 metres
long and 16 centimetres wide, appeared when the Swedish king Swerre adopted
them for his army, which helped him to win a battle near Oslo.
1520: In Sweden, Gustavus Vasa headed the rebellion against the Danish domination.
Later on he was crowned King of Sweden with the name Gustavus I. Every year
the historic event is commemorated with the Vasaloppet, "Vasa’s
race", a popular sports event run on a 90 kilometre long course.
1660: It seems that the first Italian skier was a parish priest of Ravenna,
Francesco Negri, who tried cross-country skiing during a journey to Lapland. |
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1886: This year Edoardo Martinori Romano brought
back a pair of skis from a journey to Lapland. About ten years later, skiing
begins as a discipline, thanks to Paolo Kind. At the time there were only
Nordic events, of course.
1909: The first Italian men’s cross-country skiing competition was
held at Bardonecchia, over a distance of 20 km. The winner was Mario Corti
of the Turin Ski Club, who ran the 20 km in 2 hours 27'30"4, preceding
Giovanni Gamma and Carlo Bollea. d Carlo Bollea. |
1913: The Italian Skiing Federation is
founded in Milan. Its first Chairman was a German engineer, Engelmann.
1920: Count Aldo Bonacossa founded the Italian Federation of Winter Sports
(FISI - Federazione Italiana Sport Invernali).
1924: The International Skiing Federation was established.
1933: The General Staff of the Italian Army set up the Military Alpine School
at Aosta, with the task of training a highly specialized corps of skiing
instructors, to teach skiing to soldiers and officers.
1968: Franco Nones wins a gold medal at the Grenoble Olympics, beating the
legendary Odd Martinsen. After this splendid victory, cross-country skiing
becomes widely known and appreciated among the general public in Italy.
1971: The celebrated Marcialonga of Fiemme and Fassa was run for the first
time. |
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1980: The Free Technique is introduced: it
is practically impossible to say who was the first athlete to adopt this
technique, because it appeared gradually and was the result of trials and
researches carried out during the training sessions of the best organized
national teams. The first athletes to practise it successfully were the
Finn Pauli Siitonen and the American Bill Koch.
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Sport
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Cross Country
