Marit Bjørgen
Encyclopedia
Marit Bjørgen is a Norwegian
cross country skier and triple olympic
champion from Midtre Gauldal
, Norway
. Bjørgen is the most successful sprinter in Cross-Country World Cup
history, with twenty-four victories. She is ranked first in the all-time Cross-Country World Cup rankings with forty-eight individual victories. One of her most notable achievements was becoming the most successful athlete at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, by winning five medals, including three gold medals.
She is a member of the Rognes IL ski club and is 5'6" (168 cm) tall, weighs 141 lb (64 kg), and is coached by Svein Tore Samdal.
On March 19, 2006 in Sapporo, Japan Bjørgen claimed her second FIS World Cup title. Bjørgen led the overall World Cup by 66 points, ahead of Canada's Beckie Scott
going into the final race of the season, the 2 x 7.5 km double pursuit. Scott needed to win the race and for Bjørgen to finish no higher than eighth to claim the title. Scott did win the race but Bjørgen came fourth, winning the crystal globe with 1036 points to Scott's 1020. Bjørgen also won the sprint title for the season, 6 points ahead of Norway's Ella Gjømle
, making the 2005/06 season the fourth season in a row that Bjørgen has won the sprint title. Bjørgen finished the distance standings in fourth place, 108 points behind Russia's Julija Tchepalova
.
Bjørgen made the podium eight times during the 2005/06 season, six of them in first place, one second and one third place. Bjørgen now has 70 podium finishes, 46 of them in first place, 13 in second and 11 in third. 22 of her victories have been in the sprint, which is by far her most successful event. Seven of these victories were in the 2003/04 season and they have decreased in the past few seasons whilst her results in the other disciplines have improved. She has nine victories in the 10 km and seven in the pursuit. Her four other victories have been in longer races (30 km. and Vasaloppet
).
Bjørgen has competed in the World Cup since 2000, when she finished the season in 53rd place overall and 48th in the sprints. The season after she finished the overall season in 32nd and the sprint in 36th. The season after however (2002/03) she won the sprint title and finished in 6th place overall. The 2003/04 season was Bjørgen's best season up until that time when she again won the sprint title, and came 11th in the distance standings, finishing the season in 2nd place behind Gabriella Paruzzi
. In the 2004/05 season she won all the titles, and again won the overall and sprint title in 2005/06.
gold medals, five of them individual. Her first gold medal in the World Championships came in the individual sprint in Val di Fiemme
in 2003
, where she also picked up a silver in the 4 x 5 km. Her three other gold medals came in Oberstdorf
in 2005
in the 30 km classical, team sprint, and 4 x 5 km. She also won a silver in the 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit and a bronze in the 10 km free in the same games. At the 2007 championships in Sapporo, Bjørgen won two bronze medals in team sprint (with Astrid Jacobsen
) and in the 4 x 5 km. In Holmenkollen 2011 she won the individual sprint
, the pursuit
, the 10 km classical
, the 4 x 5 km
, and a silver in the 30km
.
in Turin. She suffered from bronchitis a week before the games started and was prescribed antibiotics, then in the first race of the games, the 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit, Bjørgen withdrew during the classic phase complaining of an upset stomach. In the next event, the team sprint, Bjørgen and Hilde G. Pedersen came fourth, and despite winning a silver in the 10 km, the remainder of the games went poorly for her. The next event was the 4 x 5 km relay, where Bjørgen took the anchor leg and finished in fifth place, the first time since 1988
that Norway had failed to reach the podium in the women’s relay. In the individual sprint, Bjørgen failed to make the semi finals, and both Bjørgen and Pedersen decided not to compete in the 30 km and returned home to Norway. Afterwards she was quoted as saying she was "sick and tired of Pragelato and OL (Olympic games)".
However Bjørgen recovered to win the 45 km Vasaloppet
from Oxberg to Mora on the March 4, eight days after the end of the Winter Olympics. Bjørgen broke away with Hilde Pedersen and Vibeke Skofterud
after only 10 km, but Skofterud could not keep up with the pace and fell back, and Bjørgen powered away from Pedersen with a few kilometres left, winning in a time of 2:17:53, 1:22 ahead of Pedersen and 3:23 ahead of Petra Majdič
of Slovenia. Winning a purse of 88,000 SEK
and also winning two of the three sprints during the race to add another 10,000 SEK. Then three days later on the March 7, Bjørgen finished second in the individual sprint event in Borlaenge, Sweden.
In the 2010 Olympics
in Vancouver
, Bjørgen finished third in the 10 km freestyle
event, before winning her first Olympic gold medal in the sprint
. In the sprint she was up against a very strong field which consisted of Petra Majdič
of Slovenia, who had taken a serious fall earlier in the day during qualification and Justyna Kowalczyk
of Poland who was leading the overall World Cup standings coming into the race. Bjørgen won her second gold in the 2 x 7.5-kilometre on 19 February 2010. Bjørgen was also part of the 4 x 5 km relay team that won gold on 25 February 2010, finishing with enough time to cross the line with a large Norwegian flag given to her by a spectator near the finish, and jumping over the finish line. She closed out her trip in Vancouver by taking silver 0.3 seconds behind Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk in the women's 30 km event.
in 2005. She won the same event five years later in 2010. This was the first World Cup event to be held at Holmenkollen since the completion of the new ski jumping hill. For her win in both the 30 km and the sprint event, along with her successes at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Bjørgen was awarded the Holmenkollen medal
.
In the World Championships 2011, held at Holmenkollen
, Oslo
during February and March 2011, Bjørgen won gold medals in the Sprint, the 10-kilometre classic, the 15-kilometre pursuit and the 4 x 5-kilometre relay. She also finished second to Therese Johaug
in the 30-kilometre freestyle.
who accused her of doping. this medication is no longer on the doping list of WADA, and can be used by any athlete.
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
cross country skier and triple olympic
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...
champion from Midtre Gauldal
Midtre Gauldal
Midtre Gauldal is a municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Støren...
, Norway
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...
. Bjørgen is the most successful sprinter in Cross-Country World Cup
FIS Cross-Country World Cup
The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recognition on the 31...
history, with twenty-four victories. She is ranked first in the all-time Cross-Country World Cup rankings with forty-eight individual victories. One of her most notable achievements was becoming the most successful athlete at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, by winning five medals, including three gold medals.
She is a member of the Rognes IL ski club and is 5'6" (168 cm) tall, weighs 141 lb (64 kg), and is coached by Svein Tore Samdal.
World Cup
Bjørgen initially excelled at the sprint events, and seven victories in that event was enough to give her second place overall in the 2003/04 World Cup season. However in the 2004/05 season, Bjørgen became an accomplished distance skier.On March 19, 2006 in Sapporo, Japan Bjørgen claimed her second FIS World Cup title. Bjørgen led the overall World Cup by 66 points, ahead of Canada's Beckie Scott
Beckie Scott
Rebecca "Beckie" Scott, MSM is a retired Canadian cross-country skiing athlete and as of February 23, 2006, an International Olympic Committee member by virtue of being elected to the IOC Athlete's Commission along with Saku Koivu....
going into the final race of the season, the 2 x 7.5 km double pursuit. Scott needed to win the race and for Bjørgen to finish no higher than eighth to claim the title. Scott did win the race but Bjørgen came fourth, winning the crystal globe with 1036 points to Scott's 1020. Bjørgen also won the sprint title for the season, 6 points ahead of Norway's Ella Gjømle
Ella Gjømle
Ella Gjømle is a cross country skier from Stathelle, Bamble, Norway. She competes for Lyn ski club, Oslo.- Results :Gjømle competed in the 2005 World Championship in Oberstdorf, finishing 9th at the Sprint competition...
, making the 2005/06 season the fourth season in a row that Bjørgen has won the sprint title. Bjørgen finished the distance standings in fourth place, 108 points behind Russia's Julija Tchepalova
Julija Tchepalova
Yuliya Chepalova is a Russian cross-country skier.-Early and current personal life:Daughter of a cross-country skiing coach, Chepalova started to ski as soon as she began to walk...
.
Bjørgen made the podium eight times during the 2005/06 season, six of them in first place, one second and one third place. Bjørgen now has 70 podium finishes, 46 of them in first place, 13 in second and 11 in third. 22 of her victories have been in the sprint, which is by far her most successful event. Seven of these victories were in the 2003/04 season and they have decreased in the past few seasons whilst her results in the other disciplines have improved. She has nine victories in the 10 km and seven in the pursuit. Her four other victories have been in longer races (30 km. and Vasaloppet
Vasaloppet
Vasaloppet is an annual long distance cross-country ski race held on the first Sunday of March in northwestern Dalarna, Sweden between the village of Sälen and town of Mora. It is the oldest, one of the longest, and in popular consideration the biggest cross-country ski race in the world...
).
Bjørgen has competed in the World Cup since 2000, when she finished the season in 53rd place overall and 48th in the sprints. The season after she finished the overall season in 32nd and the sprint in 36th. The season after however (2002/03) she won the sprint title and finished in 6th place overall. The 2003/04 season was Bjørgen's best season up until that time when she again won the sprint title, and came 11th in the distance standings, finishing the season in 2nd place behind Gabriella Paruzzi
Gabriella Paruzzi
Gabriella Paruzzi is a retired Italian cross-country skier who competed from 1991 to 2006 and formerly skied with the C.S. Forestale club. She skied in World Cup events, and won the Women's Overall World Cup in 2004....
. In the 2004/05 season she won all the titles, and again won the overall and sprint title in 2005/06.
World championships
Bjørgen has eight World ChampionshipFIS 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...
gold medals, five of them individual. Her first gold medal in the World Championships came in the individual sprint in Val di Fiemme
Val di Fiemme
thumb|300px|Location of the Fiemme Valley in [[Trentino]].thumb|300px|The [[Lagorai]] seen from [[Passo Lusia]].Fiemme Valley is a valley in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region in northern Italy located in the Dolomites mountain region....
in 2003
2003 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2003 took place February 18-March 1, 2003 in Val di Fiemme, Italy for a second time . The ski jumping team normal hill held in 2001 was not held at this championships while the women's 30 km returned after being cancelled in the previous championships due to...
, where she also picked up a silver in the 4 x 5 km. Her three other gold medals came in Oberstdorf
Oberstdorf
Oberstdorf is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in southwest Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps.At the center of Oberstdorf is a church whose tall spire serves as a landmark for navigating around town. The summits of the Nebelhorn and Fellhorn provide...
in 2005
2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2005 took place February 16-27, 2005 in Oberstdorf, Germany for the second time after hosting it previously in 1987. The ski jumping team normal hill returned after not being held in 2003...
in the 30 km classical, team sprint, and 4 x 5 km. She also won a silver in the 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit and a bronze in the 10 km free in the same games. At the 2007 championships in Sapporo, Bjørgen won two bronze medals in team sprint (with Astrid Jacobsen
Astrid Jacobsen
Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen is a Norwegian cross-country skier. She skis with the IL Heming club in Oslo, near Holmenkollen...
) and in the 4 x 5 km. In Holmenkollen 2011 she won the individual sprint
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 – Women's sprint
The Women's sprint at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 was held on 24 February 2011. Sprint qualifying at 13:00 CET with finals at 15:00 CET...
, the pursuit
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 – Women's 15 kilometre pursuit
The women's 15 kilometre pursuit at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 was held on 26 February 2011 at 11:30 CET. The defending world champion was Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk while the defending Olympic champion was Norway's Marit Bjørgen.- Results :...
, the 10 km classical
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 – Women's 10 kilometre classical
The Women's 10 kilometre classical at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 was held on 28 February 2011 at 13:00 CET. A 5 km qualifying event took place on 23 February. The defending world champion was Finland's Aino-Kaisa Saarinen while the defending Olympic champion was Sweden's...
, the 4 x 5 km
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 – Women's 4 × 5 kilometre relay
The Women's 4 × 5 kilometre relay at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 was held on 3 March 2011 at 14:00 CET. The defending world champions were the Finnish team of Pirjo Muranen, Virpi Kuitunen, Riitta-Liisa Roponen and Aino-Kaisa Saarinen while the defending Olympic champions were the...
, and a silver in the 30km
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 – Women's 30 kilometre freestyle
The Women's 30 kilometre freestyle at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 was held on 5 March 2011 at 12:00 CET. Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk is both the defending world and Olympic champion. Norwegian Therese Johaug won after a dash in the steepest hills giving her the lead for most of the...
.
Olympics
Bjørgen had a disappointing Winter Olympics2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
in Turin. She suffered from bronchitis a week before the games started and was prescribed antibiotics, then in the first race of the games, the 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit, Bjørgen withdrew during the classic phase complaining of an upset stomach. In the next event, the team sprint, Bjørgen and Hilde G. Pedersen came fourth, and despite winning a silver in the 10 km, the remainder of the games went poorly for her. The next event was the 4 x 5 km relay, where Bjørgen took the anchor leg and finished in fifth place, the first time since 1988
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
that Norway had failed to reach the podium in the women’s relay. In the individual sprint, Bjørgen failed to make the semi finals, and both Bjørgen and Pedersen decided not to compete in the 30 km and returned home to Norway. Afterwards she was quoted as saying she was "sick and tired of Pragelato and OL (Olympic games)".
However Bjørgen recovered to win the 45 km Vasaloppet
Vasaloppet
Vasaloppet is an annual long distance cross-country ski race held on the first Sunday of March in northwestern Dalarna, Sweden between the village of Sälen and town of Mora. It is the oldest, one of the longest, and in popular consideration the biggest cross-country ski race in the world...
from Oxberg to Mora on the March 4, eight days after the end of the Winter Olympics. Bjørgen broke away with Hilde Pedersen and Vibeke Skofterud
Vibeke Skofterud
Vibeke Westbye Skofterud is a Norwegian cross country skier who has been competing since 1999. She won gold in the 4 x 5 km relay at Vancouver in 2010...
after only 10 km, but Skofterud could not keep up with the pace and fell back, and Bjørgen powered away from Pedersen with a few kilometres left, winning in a time of 2:17:53, 1:22 ahead of Pedersen and 3:23 ahead of Petra Majdič
Petra Majdic
Petra Majdič is a Slovenian former cross-country skier. Her best results came in classic style races. She won twenty-four World Cup races, twenty in sprint races, but she also won a marathon in Trondheim in 2009...
of Slovenia. Winning a purse of 88,000 SEK
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
and also winning two of the three sprints during the race to add another 10,000 SEK. Then three days later on the March 7, Bjørgen finished second in the individual sprint event in Borlaenge, Sweden.
In the 2010 Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Bjørgen finished third in the 10 km freestyle
Cross-country skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Women's 10 kilometre freestyle
The women's 10 kilometre freestyle cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada was held on February 15 at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia at 10:00 PST....
event, before winning her first Olympic gold medal in the sprint
Cross-country skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Women's sprint
The Women's sprint cross-country skiing competition in the classical technique at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada was held on 17 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia....
. In the sprint she was up against a very strong field which consisted of Petra Majdič
Petra Majdic
Petra Majdič is a Slovenian former cross-country skier. Her best results came in classic style races. She won twenty-four World Cup races, twenty in sprint races, but she also won a marathon in Trondheim in 2009...
of Slovenia, who had taken a serious fall earlier in the day during qualification and Justyna Kowalczyk
Justyna Kowalczyk
Justyna Kowalczyk is a Polish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000.Kowalczyk is an Olympic Champion, a double World Champion and a triple winner of the FIS Cross-Country World Cup...
of Poland who was leading the overall World Cup standings coming into the race. Bjørgen won her second gold in the 2 x 7.5-kilometre on 19 February 2010. Bjørgen was also part of the 4 x 5 km relay team that won gold on 25 February 2010, finishing with enough time to cross the line with a large Norwegian flag given to her by a spectator near the finish, and jumping over the finish line. She closed out her trip in Vancouver by taking silver 0.3 seconds behind Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk in the women's 30 km event.
Holmenkollen
Bjørgen won the women's 30 km event at the Holmenkollen ski festivalHolmenkollen 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 2005. She won the same event five years later in 2010. This was the first World Cup event to be held at Holmenkollen since the completion of the new ski jumping hill. For her win in both the 30 km and the sprint event, along with her successes at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Bjørgen 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 the World Championships 2011, held at Holmenkollen
Holmenkollen
Holmenkollen is a neighborhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. In addition to being a residential area, the area has been a ski recreation area since the late 19th century, with its famous, eponymous, ski jump arena hosting competitions since 1892...
, Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
during February and March 2011, Bjørgen won gold medals in the Sprint, the 10-kilometre classic, the 15-kilometre pursuit and the 4 x 5-kilometre relay. She also finished second to Therese Johaug
Therese Johaug
Therese Johaug is a Norwegian cross-country skier. Johaug has competed for the clubs Tynset IF and IL Nansen.-Athletic career:...
in the 30-kilometre freestyle.
Asthma medications
In the 2009/2010 season World Anti Doping Agency allowed Marit to use a stronger asthma medication which is forbidden on the WADA doping List. Bjørgen continued to use the medication over the olympics 2010 and was strongly criticized by Justyna KowalczykJustyna Kowalczyk
Justyna Kowalczyk is a Polish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000.Kowalczyk is an Olympic Champion, a double World Champion and a triple winner of the FIS Cross-Country World Cup...
who accused her of doping. this medication is no longer on the doping list of WADA, and can be used by any athlete.
External links
- Fansite
- "Holmenkollmedaljen til Bjørgen". - 13 March 2010 skiforbundet.no article accessed 14 March 2010.
- Holmenkollen winners since 1892 - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file