Thomas Alsgaard

Thomas Alsgaard
Personal information
Born	(1972-01-10) 10 January 1972 Flateby, Norway
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)

Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Competitor for Norway
Olympic Games
Gold	1994 Lillehammer	30 km
Gold	1998 Nagano	4 x 10 km
Gold	1998 Nagano	10 km + 15 km combined pursuit
Gold	2002 Salt Lake City	10 km + 10 km combined pursuit
Gold	2002 Salt Lake City	4 x 10 km
Silver	1994 Lillehammer	4 x 10 km
World Championships
Gold	1995 Thunder Bay	4 x 10 km
Gold	1997 Trondheim	4 x 10 km
Gold	1999 Ramsau	10 km + 15 km combined pursuit
Gold	2001 Lahti	4 x 10 km
Gold	2003 Val di Fiemme	30 km
Gold	2003 Val di Fiemme	4 x 10 km
Silver	1999 Ramsau	30 km
Silver	1999 Ramsau	4 x 10 km
Bronze	1997 Trondheim	30 km

Thomas Alsgaard (born 10 January 1972) is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier. Alsgaard is regarded by many as the best performer of the skate-style in cross-country skiing and many of today's best skiers have studied his technique. In total, Alsgaard won 15 medals in the Winter Olympics and FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, making him one of the most successful skiers of all time.

Early life

Born in Flateby, Enebakk, Alsgaard began cross-country ski racing at the age of three. That was when he was entered into a race against many 5-year olds. He beat all of them. A year later, it was rumored that he was lost in the village the family lived in. In fact, he was found at the local ski area, just about to start his third time around a 9-kilometer loop. Alsgaard says that his passion for skiing comes from liking to be outdoors.

Athletic career

Alsgaard got his international breakthrough in the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics winning the 30 kilometre freestyle event. In total, Alsgaard won 15 medals in the Winter Olympics and FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, making him one fo the most successful skiers of all time. Alsgaard retired from racing after the 2003 World Championships.

He won the Holmenkollen medal in 2001 (shared with Adam Małysz and Bente Skari).

Retirement

Alsgaard retired from racing in 2003. He now works as a technical advisor for Alpina Sports, working in the Nordic boot department. He used to ski on Madshus skis, one of Alpina's partners, with Adidas boots and Salomon bindings.

He is also known as a sports commentator for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

In the Norwegian Championship in January 2011, Alsgaard took a sensational bronze medal at the 15 km classical individual race, defeating many skiers on the Norwegian World Cup team. He was only beaten by Eldar Rønning (gold) and Martin Johnsrud Sundby (silver). He repeated the feat in 2012, expressing frustration with the lack of aggressiveness and initiative in both the younger elite athletes and the team surrounding them.

References

• Thomas Alsgaard at the International Ski Federation
• Holmenkollen medalists - click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file (Norwegian)
• Holmenkollen winners since 1892 - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file (Norwegian)