The "A" final was held on 25 September. The temperature was 18 °C, the weather was sunny, and wind was 2.9 m/s northeast. East Germany led at 500 metres, followed closely by Italy. The East Germans could not keep the pace, however, and by the halfway mark Italy had taken the lead, with the Soviet Union second and East Germany third. This order held through 1500 metres (with Italy widening its lead to 3 seconds), before the Norwegian squad made a strong push to pass the Soviets and East Germans. Norway was far enough behind Italy to not seriously challenge for the gold, but took silver. The East Germans outpaced the Soviets in the last quarter, taking the bronze medal. Australia trailed West Germany slightly for fifth place throughout most of the race, but passed the West Germans near the end.
