Glitter, grit and the 50-km grind: What to know about cross-country skiing at the Winter Olympics

Cross-country skiing, the rugged grandfather of snow competition, will give its brightest stars a defining stage at the Milan Cortina Winter Games.

Sporting greats such as Jessie Diggins of the United States and Italy’s own Federico Pellegrino arrive at the Feb. 6–22 Games still in form but nearing the end of their careers.

A cornerstone winter event, cross-country skiing traces its roots to centuries-old Nordic traditions and is considered one of the purest tests of endurance.

The biggest change at these Olympics is the equalization of race distances for men and women — extending the women’s longest event from 30 kilometers to 50. Twelve competitions are split evenly between genders, with distances ranging from the 1,585-meter sprint to the grueling 50-kilometer race.

The sport features two primary techniques: the classic style, with skiers racing in parallel tracks, and the faster freestyle skating method. The demanding skiathlon blends both styles over a 20-kilometer course, with athletes switching skis mid-race.

Norway has long dominated cross-country skiing, and its powerhouse team is once again led by Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo — already a legend at 29. The five-time Olympic champion, renowned for explosive climbs and all-around versatility, arrives in Italy chasing more medals.

On the women’s side, Diggins remains a standout as the most decorated U.S. cross-country skier in history. This will be her final competitive season. Federico Pellegrino — who will be one of Italy's four flag bearers at the opening ceremony — is also in his final season. The 35-year-old world champion sprinter is seeking a long-awaited Olympic gold after silver-medal finishes at the past two Games.

Sweden's Jonna Sundling is the one to beat in the women's individual sprint, having won three consecutive world titles in the discipline as well as Olympic gold in 2022.

The 2026 Olympic venues are spread across the broccoli-shaped northern tip of Italy, with cross-country skiing held in Val di Fiemme, a valley in the heart of the Dolomites.

The Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium, a regular host of elite competitions, will be familiar terrain for many athletes.

Events begin the day after the opening ceremony and conclude on the Games’ final day, starting with sprints and finishing with the women's 50-kilometer mass start.

Cross-country skiing has produced some of the Olympics’ most enduring moments.

In 2018, Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall delivered a dramatic photo-finish to win gold in the team sprint at the PyeongChang Winter Games. Their breakthrough ended the United States’ medal drought in the discipline and inspired a new generation of American skiers — many even copying Diggins’ trademark glitter makeup.

The Sarajevo Games in 1984 were electrified by 22-year-old Swede Gunde Svan, who became a winter sports icon by winning four medals, including two golds, across events from sprints to relays.

Snow sports — cross-country skiing in particular — owe much to the Norwegian military. Soldiers on skis held races as part of their training more than 200 years ago, helping shape the sport into formal competition. Norwegian dominance has continued ever since: cross-country great Marit Bjoergen retired in 2018 as the most decorated Winter Olympian, with 15 medals, including eight golds.

The physical demands of cross-country skiing are among the most extreme in sport. Top athletes often post some of the highest oxygen-uptake scores ever recorded, reflecting the extraordinary cardiovascular capacity needed to drive both arms and legs across varied terrain for hours.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

FILE - Italy's Federico Pellegrino is seen in action during the 10km men's mass start race of the Tour de Ski cross country in Val di Fiemme, Italy, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati, File)

FILE - Tour de Ski winner Norway's Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, celebrates after the 10km men's mass start Tour de Ski cross-country race in Val di Fiemme, Italy, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati, File)

FILE - United States' Jessie Diggins competes during World Cup Tour de Ski mass start 15 km a cross-country ski race in Val di Femme, Italy, Jan. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Police scuttled an NBA Finals watch party near Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks warned fans to get to Monday’s matchup at least two hours early as part of enhanced security measures with President Donald Trump attending the game.

Trump is a longtime Knicks fan who confirmed Friday that he would attend the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. He already has attended a number of major sporting events in his second term, including the 2025 Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and Ryder Cup.

Part of the fallout from Trump’s visit was the cancellation of a Game 3 watch party outside MSG. The New York Police Department said in a statement Sunday the decision was made in coordination with the Secret Service.

“There will be no watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden for Game 3 only,” the statement said. “This was done fully in coordination with the Secret Service because of the presidential visit. We expect watch parties at Madison Square Garden to resume for Game 4.”

Such parties, where thousands of fans pack in to watch the game on a big screen, have been a point of contention for the city’s police department, even without the complication of a presidential visit.

More than two-dozen people were arrested as Friday’s watch party spilled into the streets surrounding the Garden after the Knicks beat the Spurs in San Antonio. One woman was accused of punching a police officer in the face, the NYPD said.

Heading into the NBA Finals, the city had moved to cancel watch parties outside the arena altogether because of rowdy behavior at unofficial gatherings but later reversed itself and granted a permit for Game 1 last Wednesday.

Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s New York field office, said he understood that with the Knicks on a historic run there would be some disappointment from fans.

“At the same time, our responsibility is to ensure the highest level of public safety,” he said. “After careful coordination and assessment, the Secret Service and the NYPD jointly determined that outdoor watch parties could not be accommodated in the immediate vicinity of Madison Square Garden due to the security requirements associated with an event of this scale and the need to maintain a secure environment for protective operations.”

Team-sanctioned watch parties will go on at Wollman Rink in Central Park and Brooklyn Bowl, the Knicks website said. Both events required advanced registration and were already at capacity as of Sunday afternoon.

Strict rules were put in place for those attending the game. The Knicks warned fans to bring as little as possible to Game 3 and encouraging them to arrive at least two hours before tipoff as part of enhanced security measures.

The Knicks said Saturday that a strict no-bag policy would be in place and there would be “TSA-style screening procedures” for fans when they enter Madison Square Garden for the game that is scheduled to begin just after 8:40 p.m. EDT.

The Knicks said there would be no storage at MSG for prohibited items brought to the arena. A list of them is available at https://www.secretservice.gov/prohibiteditems.

Associated Press writers Michael Sisak and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

FILE - Actor Elliott Gould, left, joins Donald Trump, center, and Marla Maples at courtside during an NBA basketball game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, in New York, March 6, 1991. (AP Photo/Steve Freeman, File)

FILE - Donald Trump, right, talks to an unidentified man from the stands at Madison Square Garden during the New York Knicks game against the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 11, 2006, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)