On Feb. 8, just a few days into the Sochi Olympics, the Cross-Country Skiing races began with what was formerly called the Women’s Pursuit Race, but is now known as the Cross-Country Ladies’ Skiathlon.

In the Skiathlon, the athletes ski seven-and-a-half kilometers (a little over four-and-a-half miles), first doing the classic method of skiing, and then skiing that same distance freestyle. Between the two races, they change their skis as fast as they can.

During the first part of the classic race in the Ladies’ Skiathlon, the Swedish athletes were doing surprisingly well. The Americans were lacking, however, yet the hopeful Jessica Diggins from Afton, MN hung in the back, with the plan of pulling forward during the second half of the race.

The ladies changed their skis, and were off on their freestyle portion. In a rousing uphill climb, the skiers got spread out, and Diggins snagged tenth place, which is impressive for an American. The Swedish athletes fell back down the ranks, and the Norwegians, as expected, landed in first, third, and fourth. The winner, Boergen, and fourth place finisher, Johaug, two good friends and teammates, shared an emotional embrace after finishing.

Next came the Men’s Skiathlon. It panned out roughly the same as the Ladies’ in that the Swiss, Swedish, and Norwegians took the top places. America did not come in until the thirty-fifth place.

Things got really exciting, however, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, when the qualifying and final rounds for the Cross-Country Freestyle Sprint races were held. Norwegian skiier Maiken Caspersen Falla took the gold in the women’s race, and Norwegian Ola Vigen Hattestad took gold in the men’s. But the real excitement took place during the Men’s Semifinals. A sharp turn on the course took down multiple skiers, and broke the skis of Russian athlete Anton Gafarov. Trying to finish the race with some dignity, he continued on the course, yet fell later on, which further broke his already broken ski. Luckily, Canadian coach Justin Wadsworth was watching, and rushed onto the course with an extra ski. Without saying a word, Wadsworth put it on Gafarov, thus showing what the Olympics are really about.