Stein Eriksen

Stein Eriksen (born 11 December 1927) is a former alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist.^[1]

Background

Stein Eriksen was born in Oslo, Norway. His parents were Marius Eriksen (1886-1950) and Birgit Heien (1900-1996). Stein's father, Marius Eriksen competed in the 1912 Olympic Games as a gymnast. His brother, Marius Eriksen, Jr., was an alpine skier and during World War II became a fighter ace in the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Stein Eriksen was the best slalom skier in Norway Championship in 1949 and took bronze in the slalom in the World 1950.

Sports career

Eriksen won the gold medal in the Giant Slalom event at the 1952 Winter Olympics, which were held in Oslo, Norway. He also won a silver medal in the slalom race. Eriksen was the first skier from outside the Alps to win an Olympic men's alpine gold medal. He also won three gold medals at the 1954 World Championships in Åre, Sweden, and a bronze medal at the 1950 World Championships in Aspen, Colorado.^[2]

Some of his other accomplishments include the fact that he is credited with devising "aerials", a freestyle skiing event, and he helped revolutionize the world of alpine skiing, especially in America, where he has served as a ski instructor at many different ski schools. At Sugarbush, each Sunday afternoon, combining his gymnast background and his skiing, Stein would demonstrate a flip on skis. For his Olympic medals, Eriksen earned the Holmenkollen medal in 1952 (Shared with Torbjørn Falkanger, Heikki Hasu, and Nils Karlsson).^[3]

It is said that Eriksen was skiing's "first superstar", since he was handsome, stylish, and charismatic. Despite his fame, he maintained a very down-to-Earth personality. For example, he is quoted as saying, "Be tough, be confident. But you will never be a whole and happy person if you aren't humble".^[4]

Life in the US

Shortly after his success in the 1952 Olympics, Eriksen moved to America where he continues to live. He worked as a ski-instructor and ski school-director at various ski schools such as Sugarbush in Vermont, and Aspen in Colorado. He is currently director of skiing at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah, and also serves as host of the Stein Eriksen Lodge, a ski lodge in Deer Valley, Utah (the Lodge was named in honor of Eriksen, but is not owned by him). Stein is married to Francoise and has five children, Ava, Stein Jr., Julianna, Anja and Bjorn. He currently calls both Utah and Montana home.

In 1997, Eriksen was honored by the King of Norway. He was knighted with the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit for his contribution to Norway, the highest honor that the Norwegian government can give to people living outside Norway.

On 15 December 2007, Stein Eriksen celebrated his 80th birthday in Deer Valley.^[5]

References

External links

• Stein Eriksen at the International Ski Federation
• Stein Eriksen Ski Films