Medals will be awarded today in the men's pursuit, a 30km event comprised of two techniques. Since 2006, the men's pursuit takes place as a combined competition in which the first half is carried out in the classical technique and the second is carried out in the freestyle technique. 30km is the only distance in which an American has won a medal in the Olympics - Bill Koch won silver in 1976 in an event that doesn't exist anymore. The Americans would be hard pressed to match Koch's success today. Kris Freeman leads the squad and is generally considered the best distance skier on the U.S. men's cross-country team. He is joined by second-time Olympian James Southam.