The First Day of Nordic Skiing: Women's 5k and Men's 10k Events
The first day of Nordic Skiing began with the Women's 5k event. The snow was at –2 degrees Celsius (approximately 25 degrees Farenheit). The wind was blowing and the sun was shining. Each woman departed the starting gate at thirty second intervals and it was no surprise that Tone T. Myrvoll (NOR), the CISS Sportswoman of the Year for 1998 finished in first place. Her final time was 16,53, a full minute and five seconds ahead of Anna Fedoulova (RUS) who finished with a time of 17,58,7. Maarit Korhonen (FIN) finished third with a time of 18,02,5.
Before the men commenced their 10k event, they hurriedly adjusted the wax on their skis as the temperature grew warmer. Torbjör Svenningsson (SWE) finished in first place with a time of 32,48,3 followed by Svedas Ramunas (LIT) who finished at 33,49,7. Viktor Ioujaninov (RUS) completed his run with a time of 34,11,2. Reiner Kamradt (GER) was disqualified as he illegally switched from the Classical to the Free technique during his run.
All the athletes were extremely breathless at the end as most of them were not used to the high altitude of Davos. Quite a few found themselves stumbling across the finish line. A Russian competitor in the Women's event collapsed at the finish line and was taken to the hospital where she was quickly released. Daniel Newman of the USA did not finish his run for the same reason. In spite of all the breathlessness, most of the athletes did extremely well and were beaming with pride upon completion of their event.
| 10 km men classical | |||||
| Place | Number | Name | Nation | Time | Final Time |
| 1 | 35 | Svenningsson Torbjör | SWE | 15,51,3 | 32,48,3 |
| 2 | 41 | Svedas Ramunas | LIT | 16,31,3 | 33,49,7 |
| 3 | 44 | Ioujaninov Viktor | RUS | 16,24,9 | 34,11,2 |
| 4 | 47 | Sponberg Ole Th. | NOR | 16,39,5 | 34,20,0 |
| 5 | 32 | Willumsen Geir | NOR | 16,53,2 | 34,21,0 |
| 6 | 34 | Degtiannikov Alexandre | RUS | 17,11,4 | 35,25,6 |
| 7 | 40 | Bergh Jonny | SWE | 17,25,2 | 35,53,4 |
| 8 | 50 | Kahle Peter | GER | 18,15,7 | 36,45,8 |
| 9 | 46 | McCusker Angus | USA | 18,38,6 | 36,53,3 |
| 10 | 49 | Karvonen Timo | FIN | 18,02,8 | 37,15,7 |
| 11 | 51 | Gundi Urban | SUI | 17,58,6 | 37,24,3 |
| 12 | 39 | Svatiev Vladimir | RUS | 17,40,7 | 37,51,8 |
| 13 | 45 | Pyshnyak Ivan | UKR | 18,37,9 | 38,18,2 |
| 14 | 31 | Kung Ulf | SWE | 18,53,7 | 38,38,1 |
| 15 | 48 | Tichtchenko Serguei | RUS | 20,51,9 | 38,52,6 |
| 16 | 43 | Beregovyi Veleriy | UKR | 19,20,7 | 39,18,7 |
| 17 | 42 | Rombach Martin | GER | 18,50,4 | 39,56,7 |
| 18 | 38 | Kurylyak Stepan | UKR | 19,49,2 | 41,50,1 |
| 19 | 36 | Schättin Markus | SUI | 22,12,6 | 44,43,0 |
| 33 | Newman Daniel | USA | 0,0 | did not finish | |
| 37 | Kamradt Reiner | GER | 18,55,4 | disqualified | |
| 5 km women classical | ||||
| Place | Number | Name | Nation | Final Time |
| 1 | 17 | Myrvoll Tone T. | NOR | 16,53,0 |
| 2 | 15 | Fedoulova Anna | RUS | 17,58,7 |
| 3 | 14 | Korhonen Maarit | FIN | 18,02,5 |
| 4 | 10 | Tichtchenko Marina | RUS | 18,38,3 |
| 5 | 4 | Smirnova Natalia | RUS | 19,25,3 |
| 6 | 12 | Beltrando Katia | ITA | 19,36,1 |
| 7 | 5 | Strömsten Anne-Marie | SWE | 19,45,5 |
| 8 | 11 | Shvayka Tamara | UKR | 19,47,0 |
| 9 | 9 | Resch Katja | GER | 19,59,3 |
| 10 | 18 | Telser Renate | ITA | 20,11,1 |
| 11 | 8 | Kostamoinen Ulrika | FIN | 20,13,2 |
| 12 | 16 | Lavryk Maryna | UKR | 20,21,8 |
| 13 | 3 | Härer Gertrud | GER | 20,26,1 |
| 14 | 13 | Klute Judith | GER | 20,47,9 |
| 15 | 1 | Strange Calla | USA | 20,52,9 |
| 16 | 7 | Nevostroueva Anastas | RUS | 20,59,6 |
| 17 | 6 | Besio Giovanna | ITA | 21,28,4 |
| 18 | 2 | Lavryk Tetyana | UKR | 22,38,2 |