Bjorn Daehlie
The winningest Winter Olympian
by John Gettings
He's won more medals than Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz,
Eric Heiden, or Sonja Henie
, but until cross-country skiing becomes a national passion in the United States—as it is in
Norway—Bjorn Daehlie will
continue to be overlooked by Americans as one of the greatest athletes in
Olympic history.
The Norwegian nine-time world champion dominated
Olympic cross-country skiing in the 1990s, winning 12 medals: eight gold and
four silver. He has won more gold medals and total medals than any other athlete in
the history of the Winter Games.
The "Nannestad Express" (a nickname
that pays tribute to his hometown) won his first Olympic medal at age 24 and
his last at 30. An injured back, combined with his age, forced Daehlie to
retire in March 2001.
Just before Daehlie burst onto the Olympic
scene, Norway was in need of a spark. At the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, the country
that invented Nordic skiing won just two silver medals in those events.
At the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, Daehlie
and countryman Vegard Ulvang each won three gold medals and a silver, leading
to Norway's sweep of the five men's
cross-country events.
Two years later, in
Lillehammer, Norway, Daehlie won a pair of golds and a pair of silvers,
which included a disappointing, yet thrilling, .4-second loss in the team
relay event.
Norway's Nordic team won five of the country's ten gold
medals in 1994, and the host Norwegians led the Games' final medal standings
for the first time since 1968.
Daehlie continued his mastery at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. He won three more gold
medals and a silver, making it the third consecutive Games in which he led
all male Olympians, with four medals.
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