Marit Bjørgen

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Lore & Background

Marit Bjørgen initially excelled at sprint events, and seven victories in that event was enough to give her second place overall in the 2003–04 FIS Cross-Country World Cup season. However, in the 2004–05 season, Bjørgen became an accomplished distance skier. On 19 March 2006 in Sapporo, Japan, Bjørgen claimed her second FIS World Cup title. Bjørgen led the overall World Cup by 66 points, ahead of Canada's Beckie Scott going into the final race of the season, the 2 x 7.5 km double pursuit. Scott needed to win the race and for Bjørgen to finish no higher than eighth to claim the title. Scott did win the race but Bjørgen came fourth, winning the crystal globe with 1036 points to Scott's 1020. Bjørgen also won the sprint title for the season, 6 points ahead of Norway's Ella Gjømle, making the 2005–06 season the fourth season in a row that Bjørgen won the sprint title. Bjørgen now has 70 podium finishes, 46 of them in first place, 13 in second and 11 in third. 22 of her victories have been in the sprint, which is by far her most successful event. Bjørgen has eighteen World Championship gold medals, twelve of them individual. Her first gold medal in the World Championships came in the individual sprint in Val di Fiemme in 2003. In Holmenkollen 2011 she won the individual sprint, the pursuit, the 10 km classical, the 4 × 5 km, and a silver in the 30km. In the 2013 Val di Fiemme World Championships she won the individual sprint, the double pursuit, the 4 x 5 km, the 30 km, and a silver in the 10 km freestyle. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Bjørgen finished third in the 10 km freestyle event, before winning her first Olympic gold medal in the sprint. She won her second gold in the 2 × 7.5-kilometre on 19 February 2010. Bjørgen was also part of the 4 × 5 km relay team that won gold on 25 February 2010. She closed out her trip in Vancouver by taking silver 0.3 seconds behind Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk in the women's 30 km event. Bjørgen won gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in the 15 km skiathlon, the Team sprint and the 30km freestyle race. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang she won her 11th–15th Olympic medals, the highest number of medals won by any athlete in Winter Olympics history.

Reader's Guide

Marit Bjørgen's significance lies in her record as the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time with 15 medals, and her all-time Cross-Country World Cup rankings lead with 114 individual victories. She dominated both sprint and distance events, winning the World Cup overall title multiple times and earning 18 World Championship gold medals. Her career spanned from 2000 to 2022, with a brief retirement announced on 6 April 2018, a return in May 2020 with Team Ragde Eiendom focusing on Vasaloppet in March 2021, and a final retirement on 28 April 2022. Bjørgen's Olympic performances include five medals at the 2010 Vancouver Games (three gold, one silver, one bronze) and five more at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She also won the Holmenkollen medal and the International Fair Play Mecenate award for 2014. In the 2009–2010 season Bjørgen had a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for the asthma medication Symbicort. Bjørgen's career set a benchmark for excellence in cross-country skiing.

Did You Know?

• Bjørgen is the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time with 15 medals, and the third-most decorated Olympian of all time.
• She won the World Cup sprint title for four consecutive seasons from 2002–03 through 2005–06.
• Bjørgen won her first Tour de Ski in 2015 after nine attempts, defeating reigning champion Therese Johaug by over one and a half minutes.
• She won a record seventh 30 km event at Holmenkollen on 11 March 2018.
• Bjørgen was awarded the International Fair Play Mecenate award for 2014 for her ethical and fair play behavior.