Stein Eriksen (11 December 1927 – 27 December 2015) was an alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Norway. Following his racing career, he was a ski school director and ambassador at various

resorts A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

in the United States.

Background

Eriksen was born 11 December 1927, in Oslo. His parents were Marius Eriksen (1886–1950) and Birgit Heien (1900–1996). Marius Eriksen competed in the 1912 Olympic Games as a

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. His brother, Marius Eriksen, Jr. (1922–2009), was an alpine skier and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

became a fighter ace in the

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) () is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximately 2,430 employees (officers, enlisted ...

. Stein Eriksen was the top slalom racer in Norway in 1949 and took bronze in the slalom at the 1950 World Championships in

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Sports career

Eriksen won the gold medal in the

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant sl ...

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 ...

, which was held in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( or ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a populat ...

. He also won a silver medal in the slalom. Eriksen was the first male alpine ski racer from outside the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

to win an Olympic gold medal. He also won three gold medals at the 1954 World Championships in

Åre Åre () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 3,200 inhabitants in 2018. It is, however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpe ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Other accomplishments included being credited with devising "aerials", a

freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...

event, and helping revolutionize the world of alpine skiing in the United States, where he served as a ski instructor at many different ski schools. At Sugarbush Resort in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, each Sunday afternoon, combining his gymnastics background and his skiing, Stein would demonstrate a flip on skis. For his Olympic medals, Eriksen earned the Holmenkollen Medal in 1952. 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".

Life in the United States

Shortly after his success in the 1952 Olympics, Eriksen moved to the United States where he lived until his death. While ski racing for Norway, he was a ski instructor at Sun Valley in Idaho. Following his racing career, he was the ski school director at various resorts, such as Boyne Mountain and Pine Knob, both in Michigan, Sugarbush in Vermont, Heavenly Valley in California, Snowmass and

in Colorado, and Park City in Utah. At the time of his death he was the director of skiing at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah, and also served as host of the ''Stein Eriksen Lodge,'' a ski lodge in Deer Valley (not owned by Eriksen, but named in his honor). Eriksen was married to Gerrysue Eriksen then to Françoise and had five children: Julianna Eriksen, Ava, Stein Jr., Anja and Bjørn. He called both Utah and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

home. In 1997, Eriksen was honored by the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty king ...

. He was knighted with the

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livin ...

for his contribution to Norway, the highest honor that the Norwegian government can give to people living outside Norway. Eriksen celebrated his 80th birthday December 2007 in Deer Valley. He died on 27 December 2015, sixteen days after his 88th birthday, in his Park City, Utah home.Stein Eriksen, skiing pioneer, dies at 88 in Park City home
KSL.com (27 December 2015). Retrieved on 2016-09-11.

Major championship results

From

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

through

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

were also the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

for alpine skiing.

References

External links

*
Stein Eriksen Ski Films
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eriksen, Stein 1927 births 2015 deaths American male alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics Holmenkollen medalists Norwegian male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for Norway Norwegian emigrants to the United States Olympic gold medalists for Norway Olympic silver medalists for Norway Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Medalists at the 1952 Winter Olympics Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Skiers from Park City, Utah Alpine skiers from Oslo 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen