TESERO, Italy, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Female cross-country skiers are preparing to make Olympic history by racing a 50km classic race on Sunday, marking the first time they have tackled that distance at a Winter Games in an event being met with mixed emotions.
The competition will be the final cross-country skiing event of the Milano Cortina Games, and comes after many skiers have already participated in five other contests, meaning they will likely enter the gruelling race with tired legs.
Many will also have to hop straight back on the World Cup circuit after finishing up in Italy.
"If I would choose I would prefer 30k, but if it's 50k I can do 50k," said Sweden's Jonna Sundling, who won gold in the women's team sprint."In some way I would prefer 30k, like for the audience also."
The event is likely to take more than two hours to complete with racers facing a hilly course at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme.
Norway's Therese Johaug won a Cross Country World Cup 50k competition at the end of the 2024/2025 season with a finish time of two hours, 14 minutes and 40 seconds.
Still, some female racers are excited about thechallenge.
"I think a 50k is a good distance. It's quite different than a 30k," said Astrid Oeyre Slind of Norway.
"When a race is more than two hours, you have to be more aware of energy and tactical stuff and everything. It's quite a different race, so I think it's a good thing we have a 50k."
Others see it as an important step for equality at the Olympics, particularly after the absence of a women's Nordic combined event sparked controversy over women's participation in sport.
"I am really excited about having equal distance," said U.S. skier Jessie Diggins. "When I got to the World Cup and was like, 'Wait a minute, the men get to do 50 and the women are capped at 30. Why?' And I didn't understand why.
"Why do we not get to do these big, epic races that are pretty iconic and pretty legendary in our sport?"
Cross-country skiing debuted at the Olympics in Chamonix in 1924 with only men’s competitions, with women joining at the Oslo Olympics in 1952. At the Beijing Olympics in 2022, women competed in a 30km freestyle race, in which Diggins won silver.
"Whether or not you're an athlete who wants to race the 50k, I think you should have the opportunity to race the 50k," she said.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton and Tommy Lund in Tesero, Italy; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
