A major equipment revolution in cross-country skiing took place during 1973-74 where fiberglass skis (and later from more complex composite materials) replaced a nearly 3,000 year tradition of skis constructed of wood. The Norwegians were behind their competitors in this transition, which caught up with them at the 1974 championships in Falun. Myrmo's won the 15 km less than a second ahead of East Germany's Gerhard Grimmer, who was using fiberglass skis, and it became historic, as the "last world champion on wooden skis".