The women's 30 kilometre classical cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada was held on 27 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia at 11:45 PST.2010 Winter Olympics Cross-Country skiing schedule. - accessed 3 November 2009.

Summary The 30 kilometre has been skated as a mass start event at the World Championships since 2005 and since the 2006 Winter Olympics. Kateřina Neumannová of the Czech Republic was the defending Olympic champion though that event was held in the freestyle technique.2006 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiing 24 February 2006 women's 30 km freestyle mass start results. - accessed 3 November 2009. She retired after the 2006-07 season and later chaired the organizing committee for the 2009 world championships. Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk, the defending Olympic bronze medallist, was the reigning world champion though that was also in the freestyle technique.FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 Cross-country skiing 28 February 2009 women's 30 km freestyle mass start results. - accessed 3 November 2009. The last World Cup event in the 30 km classical took place in Trondheim, Norway on 14 March 2009 and was won by Petra Majdič of Slovenia.FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Trondheim 14 March 2009 women's 30 km classical mass start results. - accessed 3 November 2009.

The race was a mass start event where all of the skiers start at the same time.

Results Majdič, the bronze medallist in the sprint event at these games who also won the last event in this format prior to this race, did not participate in the wake of crashing down a bank, into an unprotected deep gorge and landing on ice and rocks, resulting in five broken ribs and a pneumothorax prior to the start of qualifying for the sprint event ten days earlier. This race also matched up the last four world champions in this event (Zavyalova: 2003,FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2003 Cross-country skiing 28 February 2003 women's 30 km freestyle results. - accessed 27 February 2010. Bjørgen: 2005,FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2005 Cross-country skiing 26 February 2005 women's 30 km classical mass start results. - accessed 27 February 2010. Kuitunen: 2007,FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 Cross-country skiing 3 March 2007 women's 30 km classical mass start results. - accessed 27 February 2010. and Kowalczyk: 2009.).

At the 7.1 km mark, the top three leaders were Størmer Steira (who finished eighth), Jatskaja (who finished 19th), and Kalla (who finished sixth). Kowalczyk, the defending world champion, led at the halfway mark, followed by Saarinen and Longa (who finished 12th). Bjørgen, the 2005 world champion in this event, held the lead at the 22.1 km mark, followed by Kowalczyk and Saarinen, who changed skis at the 25 km mark. Kowalczyk's finish over Bjørgen was the closest in Olympic history, edging out Neumannová's 1.4-second win over Russia's Yuliya Chepalova at the previous Olympics in Turin.2010 Winter Olympics 27 February 2010 Cross-country skiing women's 30 km classical mass start results. - accessed 28 February 2010.Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2009). "Cross-Country (Nordic) Skiing, Women: 4 x 5-Kilometre Relay". In The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 251.

Kowalczyk is the first woman from Poland to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics and only the second overall, after Wojciech Fortuna's victory in the ski jumping individual large hill event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2009). "Ski Jumping: Large Hill Individual". In The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition. London: Aurum Pres Limited. p. 264. Saarinen earned her first and only individual Winter Olympic medal. She was the first Finnish woman to win an individual Olympic medal in cross-country skiing since Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. 2003 World champion Zavylova finished 23rd while 2007 World champion Kuitunen finished 14th.

Rank Bib Name Country Time Deficit 1 Justyna Kowalczyk 1:30:33.7 5 Marit Bjørgen 1:30:34.0 +0.3 2 Aino-Kaisa Saarinen 1:31:38.7 +1:05.0 10 Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle 1:31:52.9 +1:19.2 24 Masako Ishida 1:31:56.5 +1:22.8 3 Charlotte Kalla 1:31:57.6+1:23.9 20 Therese Johaug 1:32:01.3 +1:27.6 4 Kristin Størmer Steira 1:32:04.4 +1:30.7 23 Anna Olsson 1:33:00.3 +2:26.610 22 Karine Laurent Philippot 1:33:11.4 +2:37.711 6 Marianna Longa 1:33:19.9 +2:46.212 17 Riikka Sarasoja 1:33:33.2 +2:59.513 8 Virpi Kuitunen 1:33:36.7 +3:03.014 35 Aurore Cuinet 1:33:58.3 +3:24.615 25 Sara Renner 1:34:04.2 +3:30.516 27 Antonella Confortola 1:34:07.7 +3:34.017 26 Stefanie Böhler 1:34:08.7 +3:35.018 36 Oxana Yatskaya 1:34:11.0 +3:37.319 16 Katrin Zeller 1:34:18.1 +3:44.420 15 Marthe Kristoffersen 1:34:31.1 +3:57.821 38 Tetyana Zavalíy 1:34:32.3 +3:58.622 9 Olga Zavyalova 1:34:46.3 +4:12.623 33 Kikkan Randall 1:34:59.0 +4:25.324 41 Sylwia Jaśkowiec 1:34:59.1 +4:25.425 30 Krista Lähteenmäki 1:35:08.4 +4:34.726 42 Kateryna Grygorenko 1:35:11.4 +4:37.727 11 Kristina Šmigun-Vähi 1:35:27.2 +4:53.528 54 Paulina Maciuszek 1:36:31.7 +5:58.029 12 Olga Rocheva 1:37:15.5 +6:41.830 55 Madoka Natsumi 1:37:35.4 +7:01.731 32 Li Hongxue 1:37:50.4 +7:16.732 28 Kateřina Smutná 1:37:51.3 +7:17.633 19 Elena Kolomina 1:37:53.0 +7:19.334 48 Marina Matrosova 1:38:00.6 +7:26.935 46 Holly Brooks 1:38:14.5 +7:40.836 34 Laura Orgué 1:38:18.3 +7:44.637 14 Olga Schuchkina 1:38:30.3 +7:56.638 29 Alena Sannikova 1:38:31.3 +7:57.639 37 Eva Nývltová 1:38:40.1 +8:06.440 31 Ivana Janečková 1:40:13.6 +9:39.941 43 Tatjana Mannima 1:40:51.3 42 13 Svetlana Malahova-Shishkina 1:41:01.6 43 51 Lada Nesterenko 1:41:40.1 44 45 Nastassia Dubarezava 1:42:28.1 45 49 Madeleine Williams 1:42:33.7 46 50 Monika Gyorgy 1:44:03.5 47 53 Eva Skalníková 1:44:47.8 47 Kornelia Marek 7 Valentyna Shevchenko 44 Ida Ingemarsdotter 39 Cécile Storti 40 Morgan Arritola 52 Laurence Rochat 18 Sabina Valbusa 21 Kamila Rajdlová

References

External links 2010 Winter Olympics results:Ladies' 30 km, Mass Start Classic, from https://web.archive.org/web/20100222080013/http://www.vancouver2010.com/ retrieved 2010-02-26.