The 5 km event ran from 1964 to 1998 before being replaced by the 10 km event, which was being reintroduced after the 10 km had been discontinued following the 1988 Winter Olympics.
This event ran from 1992 to 2002 and was replaced by a 15 km double pursuit (7.5 km classical + 7.5 km freestyle) for the 2006 Winter Olympics.