Sondre Norheim, born Sondre Auverson, (10 June 1825 – 9 March 1897) was a Norwegian skier and pioneer of modern

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

. Sondre Norheim is known as the father of

Telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine skiing, Alpine and Nordic skiing, Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only ...

Background

Sondre Auverson was born at Øverbø, a little cotter's farm and raised in Morgedal in the municipality of

Kviteseid Kviteseid is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Vest-Telemark and Upper Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kviteseidbyen. Other villages in Kviteseid ...

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

, Norway. Skiing was a popular activity in Morgedal. Sondre took to

downhill skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

as a recreational activity, rising to local fame for his skills. He made important innovations in skiing technology by designing new equipment, such as different bindings and shorter skis with curved sides to facilitate turns. He also designed the Telemark ski, which is the prototype of all those now produced. Sondre Norheim was regarded by his contemporaries as a master of the art of skiing. He combined ordinary skiing with jumping and slalom. In 1868 he won the first national skiing competition in Christiania, beating his younger competitors by a large margin. His reputation grew, and eventually made Norwegian words like ski and slalåm ( slalom) known worldwide.

Personal life

On 15 January 1854 Sondre Norheim married Rannei Åmundsdotter from a cotter's farm at

Øyfjell Øyfjell is a village in Vinje Municipality in Telemark county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of ...

, a neighbouring village. In March 1854 their first daughter, Ingerid, was born. The next year little Hæge came, but she died at 15 weeks old. The next year Olav was born, and then another daughter they called Hæge, then Anne, Auver, Åmund and Talleiv. Sondre and Rannei lost a second child when Auver died at age 12. The family moved around to different places in Morgedal. Their last place was called "Norheim", which Sondre took as a new family name.

Emigration

On 30 May 1884 Sondre and Rannei left Norway together with three of their children– Anne (21), Åmund (14) and Talleiv (12). Their son Olav and daughter Hæge had left home previously, and their eldest daughter Ingerid decided to stay back home. Norheim followed in the footsteps of many of his neighbors in Morgedal and emigrated from Norway to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. After having first settled in Minnesota, they moved to

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

, near Villard in McHenry County. He continued to ski when he could, though the climate and flat topography of the Dakota prairie offered few opportunities for downhill skiing. It was said he always had a pair of skis placed outside his door. Norheim grew more religious with age and helped build a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church in Villard. He died in 1897 and was buried in

Denbigh Denbigh ( ; ) is a market town and a community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. It was the original county town of the Denbighshire (historic), historic county of Denbighshire created in 1536. Denbigh's Welsh name () translates to ...

McHenry County, North Dakota McHenry County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,345. Its county seat is Towner. McHenry County is part of the Minot, ND Micropolitan Statistical Area. History The Dakota Territ ...

Legacy

Sondre Norheim was honored during opening ceremonies at the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Discussions about Oslo hosting ...

in Oslo, at the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Valley ...

in Squaw Valley, California and at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

Lillehammer, Norway Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

. His grave was originally unmarked, but a memorial stone now marks its spot. During the week of Norsk Høstfest, held in Minot, N.D., groups visit the grave site and hold a commemorative service in memory of Sondre Norheim. The movie, ''Frikaren på ski – The history of Sondre Norheim, the Father of Modern Ski Sport'' was produced by

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

in 1970. In 1984, Norheim was inducted into th
Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame
as the first class of inductees. A statue of Sondre Norheim by Norwegian sculptor Knut Skinnarland (1909-1993) was unveiled in 1987 in the Scandinavian Heritage Park, in

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

. During 1988, an identical statue was unveiled in Morgedal, Norway by

King Olav V Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wa ...

. During 1993, the Sondre Norheim Eternal Flame Monument was added to the Scandinavian Heritage Park. Lars Berge Haugan, a skier representing Morgedal, lit the flame.

Ski jumping world record

Set on the first ever official ski jumping competition.

References

External links

Sondre Norheim – The Skiing Pioneer of Telemark
*
Morgedal - Sondre Norheim
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norheim, Sondre 1825 births 1897 deaths Norwegian male alpine skiers People from Kviteseid People from North Dakota Norwegian emigrants to the United States Skiers from Telemark