Cross-country skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics
# Cross-country skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics

The 1976 Winter Olympic Games cross-country skiing results. The women's 3 × 5 km relay was replaced by a 4 × 5 km relay at these games.

## Medal summary

### Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Soviet Union (URS) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | Finland (FIN) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Norway (NOR) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | United States (USA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (6 entries) | Totals (6 entries) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |

### Men's events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 15 km details | Nikolay Bazhukov Soviet Union | 43:58.47 | Yevgeny Belyayev Soviet Union | 44:01.10 | Arto Koivisto Finland | 44:19.25 |
| 30 km details | Sergey Savelyev Soviet Union | 1:30:29.38 | Bill Koch United States | 1:30:57.84 | Ivan Garanin Soviet Union | 1:31:09.29 |
| 50 km details | Ivar Formo Norway | 2:37:30.05 | Gert-Dietmar Klause East Germany | 2:38:13.21 | Benny Södergren Sweden | 2:39:39.21 |
| 4 × 10 km relay details | Finland (FIN) Matti Pitkänen Juha Mieto Pertti Teurajärvi Arto Koivisto | 2:07:59.72 | Norway (NOR) Pål Tyldum Einar Sagstuen Ivar Formo Odd Martinsen | 2:09:58.36 | Soviet Union (URS) Yevgeny Belyayev Nikolay Bazhukov Sergey Savelyev Ivan Garanin | 2:10:51.46 |

### Women's events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 km details | Helena Takalo Finland | 15:48.69 | Raisa Smetanina Soviet Union | 15:49.73 | Nina Baldycheva Soviet Union | 16:12.82 |
| 10 km details | Raisa Smetanina Soviet Union | 30:13.41 | Helena Takalo Finland | 30:14.28 | Galina Kulakova Soviet Union | 30:38.61 |
| 4 × 5 km relay details | Soviet Union (URS) Nina Baldycheva Zinaida Amosova Raisa Smetanina Galina Kulakova | 1:07:49.75 | Finland (FIN) Liisa Suikhonen Marjatta Kajosmaa Hilkka Riihivuori Helena Takalo | 1:08:36.57 | East Germany (GDR) Monika Debertshäuser Sigrun Krause Barbara Petzold Veronika Hesse | 1:09:57.95 |

### Participating NOCs

Twenty four nations participated in Cross-country skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympic Games.

* Argentina
* Austria
* Bulgaria
* Canada
* Republic of China
* Czechoslovakia
* East Germany
* Finland
* France
* Great Britain
* Greece
* Iceland
* Italy
* Japan
* Liechtenstein
* Norway
* Poland
* Soviet Union
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* United States
* West Germany
* Yugoslavia

## Doping controversy

Galina Kulakova of the Soviet Union finished third in the women's 5 km event, but was disqualified due to a positive test for banned substance ephedrine. She claimed that this was a result of using the nasal spray that contained the substance. Both the FIS and the IOC allowed her to compete in the 10 km and the 4 × 5 km relay. This was the first stripped medal at the Winter Olympics.

