Lars Bergendahl (January 30, 1909 – June 22, 1997) was a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 cross country skier who competed during the 1930s.

He won several medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and since 1954 for women. Championship events include nordic skiing's three disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined...

. In 1937, Bergendahl earned golds in the 18 km cross country event and 4 x 10 km relay. In 1938, he earned a silver in the 4 x 10 km relay and a bronze in the 50 km Cross country event. In 1939, Bergendahl won the 50 km cross-country skiing event. Bergendahl won the men's 50 km at the Holmenkollen ski festival

Holmenkollen ski festival

The Holmenkollen Ski Festival is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. It takes place in March and has been arranged every year since 1892, except for 1898 and during World War II...

 in 1940. Because of his successes, Bergendahl was awarded the Holmenkollen medal

Holmenkollen medal

The Holmenkollen medal is Norwegian skiing's highest award for competitors. It signifies top placings in international championships and other international events, including the Holmenkollen events....

 in 1939 (Shared with Sven Selånger

Sven Selånger

Sven Selånger was a Swedish Nordic skier who competed in the 1930s. He won a ski jumping silver at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and also competed in nordic combined at the Winter Olympics in 1928, finishing 6th, and in 1932, finishing 5th...

 and Trygve Brodahl

Trygve Brodahl

Trygve Brodahl was a Norwegian cross country skier who competed during the 1930s.He won a silver medal at the 1930 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 17 km and a silver in the 4 x 10 km relay as well as a bronze at 50 km in 1935. In 1939, Brodahl won the 18 km cross country...

.). His uncle, Lauritz

Lauritz Bergendahl

Lauritz Bergendahl was a Norwegian Nordic skier who won both the nordic combined and the 50 km cross country skiing events at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1910, 1912, 1913, 1914, and 1915...

, won the medal in 1910.

Bergendahl fought in the Norwegian Campaign

Norwegian Campaign

The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...

 following the German invasion

Operation Weserübung

Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...

 of Norway in 1940. Together with other sportsmen Bergendahl served in the improvised ski unit

Ski warfare

Ski warfare, the use of ski-equipped troops in war, is first recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century. The speed and distance that ski troops are able to cover is comparable to that of light cavalry.-History:...

Sørkedalen Company in April 1940.