Vegard Ulvang

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Vegard Ulvang Cross-country skiing
nation NorwayNorway Norway
birthday 10th October 1963 (age 56)
place of birth Kirkenes , Norway
Career
status resigned
End of career 1997
Medal table
Olympic medals 3 × gold 2 × silver 1 × bronze
World Cup medals 2 × gold 2 × silver 4 × bronze
JWM medals 0 × gold 1 × silver 0 × bronze
Olympic rings winter Olympics
bronze 1988 Calgary 30 km classic
gold 1992 Albertville 10 km classic
gold 1992 Albertville 30 km classic
gold 1992 Albertville Season
silver 1992 Albertville persecution
silver 1994 Lillehammer Season
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
bronze 1987 Oberstdorf Season
silver 1989 Lahti 30 km classic
bronze 1989 Lahti 15 km classic
gold 1991 Val di Fiemme Season
bronze 1991 Val di Fiemme 30 km classic
gold 1993 Falun Season
silver 1993 Falun 30 km classic
bronze 1993 Falun 10 km classic
FIS Nordic Junior Ski World Championships
silver 1983 Kuopio Season
Placements in the cross-country skiing world cup
 Debut in the World Cup 02/25/1984
 World Cup victories in individual 9 ( details )
 Overall World Cup 1. (1989/90)
 Sprint World Cup 45th (1996/97)
 Distance World Cup 19. (1996/97)
 Podium placements 1. 2. 3.
 Distance races 9 15th 10
 

Vegard Ulvang (born October 10, 1963 in Kirkenes ) is a former Norwegian cross-country skier .

Career

Ulvang, who had finished second at the Junior World Championships in 1983 in Kuopio, Finland with a Norwegian 3x5 kilometer relay, took part in the Winter Olympics in Calgary in 1988 , Albertville in 1992 and Lillehammer in 1994 and won a total of six medals (3 x gold , 2 x silver, 1 x bronze).

Immediately before the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Ulvang caused a stir when he heavily criticized the organization of the International Olympic Committee . He had difficulties with the undemocratic features of the IOC, which were mainly represented by its chairman Juan Antonio Samaranch . The chairman of the Norwegian Olympic Committee, Gerhard Heiberg , had to do a lot of work to smooth things over again.

At world championships, Ulvang won eight other medals (2 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze). He won nine races in the cross-country skiing world cup and was overall winner in 1990 . In 1991 he received the Holmenkollen Medal . A year later he won the election for Norway's Sportsman of the Year .

A personal stroke of fate struck Ulvang on October 10, 1993, when his two-year-old brother Kjetil disappeared without a trace on a frosty night on a 25 km route near his parents' house in Kirkenes . Despite one of Norway's largest rescue operations, the search for the physiotherapist, who himself was one of the 100 best skiers in his country, remained fruitless. Norway took part in the family tragedy that paralyzed Ulvang from a sporting perspective. At the following Winter Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994 , he spoke the Olympic oath . However, he did not succeed in defending his Olympic victories from Albertville; he won only one silver medal with the Norwegian relay. A few days later, the four-month search for his brother was stopped.

In the following World Cup years, Ulvang could not build on previous successes and ended his career in 1997 at the home world championships in Trondheim , where he did not get beyond the role of substitute.

After retiring from top-class sport, Ulvang began studying medicine in Oslo and later advanced to become an athlete representative in the international ski association FIS . He was also successful as a businessman. When he sold his shares in Elite Sport in January 2004, he received between 25 and 35 million Norwegian kroner (3.1 to 4.4 million €) according to the Norwegian financial portal Hegnar.no .

In May 2006 Ulvang was unanimously elected chairman of the FIS cross-country skiing committee. Together with the Swiss Jürg Capol , Ulvang created the concept of the Tour de Ski , which was carried out for the first time in 2006/07.

Private

Ulvang is married to the former Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier Grete Ingeborg Nykkelmo .

successes

winter Olympics

World championships

Norwegian championships

  • 1985 : Silver with the relay
  • 1986 : Bronze with the relay
  • 1987 : Silver over 30 km
  • 1988 : Gold over 30 km
  • 1989 : Gold over 30 km, silver over 15 km
  • 1990 : Bronze with the relay
  • 1991 : Gold over 30 km, gold over 50 km, silver over 15 km
  • 1992 : Gold over 30 km, gold with the relay, silver over 15 km
  • 1993 : Gold over 30 km, bronze over 15 km, bronze with the relay
  • 1994 : Silver over 50 km
  • 1995 : Gold over 30 km, bronze over 15 km
  • 1996 : Gold over 10 km, gold over 15 km
  • 1997 : Silver over 30 km

World Cup victories in individual

No. date place discipline
1. 0January 7, 1989 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Kawgolowo 15 km classic
2. 0March 4th 1989 NorwayNorway Oslo 50 km freestyle
3. March 16, 1991 NorwayNorway Oslo 50 km classic
4th 0December 7, 1991 CanadaCanada Silver Star 10 km classic
5. 0December 8, 1991 CanadaCanada Silver Star 25 km classic
6th February 10, 1992 FranceFrance Albertville 1 30 km classic
7th February 13, 1992 FranceFrance Albertville 1 10 km classic
8th. March 14, 1992 NorwayNorway Vang 50 km classic
9. December 12, 1992 AustriaAustria Ramsau am Dachstein 10 km freestyle

1 1992 Winter Olympics.

World Cup overall placements

season total Long distance sprint
Points space Points space Points space
1983/84 16 38. - - - -
1984/85 11 46. - - - -
1985/86 43 8th. - - - -
1986/87 74 4th - - - -
1987/88 64 7th - - - -
1988/89 154 2. - - - -
1989/90 145 1. - - - -
1990/91 105 3. - - - -
1991/92 196 2. - - - -
1992/93 576 3. - - - -
1993/94 346 6th - - - -
1994/95 208 16. - - - -
1995/96 253 12. - - - -
1996/97 87 31. 65 19th 22nd 45.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Christopher Clarey: OLYMPICS: Vegard Ulvang's Lonely Quest. In: The New York Times December 13, 1993, Section C; P. 2; Sp. 1; Sports desk
  2. ↑ a b c cf. Ulvang in Nansen's footsteps. In: Volker Kluge : 100 Olympic Highlights Winter Sports. Sportverl., Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-328-00757-1 , p. 115.
  3. ↑ a b cf. Vegard Ulvang. In: International Sports Archive . 35/1997 of August 18, 1997.
personal data
SURNAME Ulvang, Vegard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian cross-country skier
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Kirkenes , Norway