Bjørn Dæhlie

Bjørn Dæhlie
Personal information
Full name	Bjørn Erlend Dæhlie
Born	19 June 1967 (1967-06-19) (age 44) Elverum, Norway
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Professional information
Club	Nannestad IL
World Cup
Seasons	1989–1999
Wins	46
Additional podiums	35
Total podiums	81
Updated on 25 January 2010.

Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Olympic Games
Gold	1992 Albertville	10 km + 15 km combined pursuit
Gold	1992 Albertville	50 km
Gold	1992 Albertville	4 x 10 km
Gold	1994 Lillehammer	10 km
Gold	1994 Lillehammer	10 km + 15 km combined pursuit
Gold	1998 Nagano	10 km
Gold	1998 Nagano	50 km
Gold	1998 Nagano	4 x 10 km
Silver	1992 Albertville	30 km
Silver	1994 Lillehammer	30 km
Silver	1994 Lillehammer	4 x 10km
Silver	1998 Nagano	10 km + 15 km combined pursuit
World Championships
Gold	1991 Val di Fiemme	15 km
Gold	1991 Val di Fiemme	4 x 10 km
Gold	1993 Falun	30 km
Gold	1993 Falun	10 km + 15 km combined pursuit
Gold	1993 Falun	4 x 10 km
Gold	1995 Thunder Bay	4 x 10 km
Gold	1997 Trondheim	10 km
Gold	1997 Trondheim	10 km + 15 km combined pursuit
Gold	1997 Trondheim	4 x 10 km
Silver	1995 Thunder Bay	10 km
Silver	1995 Thunder Bay	30 km
Silver	1995 Thunder Bay	50 km
Silver	1997 Trondheim	30 km
Silver	1999 Ramsau	4 x 10 km
Bronze	1993 Falun	50 km
Bronze	1997 Trondheim	50 km
Bronze	1999 Ramsau	30 km

Bjørn Erlend Dæhlie (born 19 June 1967) is a Norwegian businessman and retired cross-country skier. With 8 olympic gold medals, Dæhlie is the most winning winter olympic champion of all time. With nine gold medals in the Nord World Ski Championships he is in addition the most winning World Champion skier. Dæhlie won a total of 29 medals in the Olympics and World Championships in the period between 1991 and 1999, making Dæhlie the most successful cross-country skier in history.

During his career, Dæhlie measured the highest Vo2 max ever recorded at an astounding 96 ml/kg/min. Dæhlie's result was achieved out of season, and physiologist Erlend Hem who was responsible for the testing stated that he would not discount the possibility of the skier passing 100 ml/kg/min at his absolute peak.

In addition to being an athletic figurehead, Dæhlie is a cultural icon in Norway. Since retiring, Dæhlie has become a successful businessman in real estate and fashion. His real estate investments have produced a fortune of more than a quarter of a billion kroner. A shrewd businessman, Dæhlie has been heavily featured in advertising campaigns, he started a brand of signature ski apparel, and he even co-hosted a television show called Gutta på tur. Dæhlie also invented the Salomon Nordic System Pilot Bindings.

Early life and career

Born in Elverum, Norway, Dæhlie later moved to Nannestad, where he settled down. Dæhlie attributes much of his success in sports to his upbringing where he was active in hunting, fishing, hiking, kayaking, soccer and of course, skiing from a very early age. For much of his childhood Dæhlie wanted to be a soccer player, but after being prompted by a coach, he tried Nordic skiing. Dæhlie did not have immediate success as a junior racer but he consistently improved and eventually qualified for the FIS World Cup competitions.

Athletic career

Dæhlie's eight Olympic titles are a record for the Winter Olympics, as are his total of 12 Olympic medals (he also won four silver medals) which he amassed in three Olympics (Albertville, Lillehammer and Nagano). In addition to his achievements at the Olympics he had great success in the World Championships where he won 17 medals of which 9 were gold medals. He was particularly successful in the Trondheim 1997 World Championships, where he earned medals in all five events. A career-ending roller skiing accident in 2000 prevented Dæhlie from adding more medals to his collection. Despite his unanticipated early exit from the sport, Dæhlie is considered by many to be the greatest Winter Olympic athlete of all time.^[1] Despite the fact that he never won an event at the Holmenkollen ski festival, Dæhlie was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1997 (shared with Bjarte Engen Vik and Stefania Belmondo).

During his career, Dæhlie measured the highest Vo2 max ever recorded at an astounding 96 ml/kg/min. Dæhlie's result was achieved out of season, and physiologist Erlend Hem who was responsible for the testing stated that he would not discount the possibility of the skier passing 100 ml/kg/min at his absolute peak. By comparison a competitive club athlete might achieve a VO2 max of around 70 ml/kg/min.

He also supports non-profit organisations that work for causes such as multiple sclerosis.^[2]

In 2009 Dæhlie raced in the American Birkebeiner, the largest cross country ski race in America, which is starts in Cable, Wisconsin and finishes in Hayward, Wisconsin. Dæhlie competed in the classic race, which is 54 km long, finishing second in a photo finish.

In 2011, Dæhlie won the downhill event in the Kicksled World Championships in Hurdal.^[3] Also in 2011, Dæhlie announced a comeback, stating his intention to participate in long distance races like Marcialonga and Vasaloppet.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
• List of multiple Winter Olympic medalists

References

• Bjoern Daehlie at the International Ski Federation
• Holmenkollen medalists - click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file (Norwegian)
• Official website

1. ^ http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Olympic-Athletes/All-Athletes/Athletes-DA-to-DM/-BJORN-DAEHLIE-/
2. ^ Tallying a Birkebeiner score card
3. ^ http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article4027980.ece

Awards
Preceded by Johann Olav Koss	Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year 1995	Succeeded by Vebjørn Rodal
Preceded by Hanne Haugland Nils Arne Eggen	Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year 1998	Succeeded by Lasse Kjus

Persondata
Name	Dahlie, Bjorn
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	19 June 1967
Place of birth	Elverum, Norway
Date of death
Place of death