Thomas Ulsrud (21 October 1971 – 24 May 2022) was a Norwegian
curler from
Oslo.
He won a silver medal at the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
,
one
World Curling Championship
The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and mixed doubles championships, as well as men's an ...
, two
European Curling Championships, and fourteen Norwegian titles (
Norwegian Men's Curling Championship The Norwegian Men's Curling Championship ( no, Norgesmesterskap i curling for herrer) is the national championship of men's curling in Norway. It has been held annually since 1957. It is organized by the Norwegian Curling Association ( no, Norges Cu ...
and
Oslo Cup). He was also known for being the
skip
Skip or Skips may refer to:
Acronyms
* SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene
* Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol
* SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aidin ...
of the team that competed while wearing colourful harlequin trousers at the
Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
. Team Ulsrud's combined showmanship and sportsmanship became iconic and contributed to reviving worldwide interest in curling until 2019.
Career
Early career
Ulsrud began competing from 1983.
In his second
World Junior Curling Championship
The World Junior Curling Championships are an annual curling bonspiel featuring the world's best curlers who are 21 years old or younger. The competitions for both men and women occur at the same venue. The men's tournament has occurred since 19 ...
in 1988, Ulsrud skipped Norway to a bronze medal.
In 1997, he skipped in his first
European Curling Championships, finishing in seventh place. Team Ulsrud competed again in 2000–2003, 2006–2009, winning bronze in 2002, silver in 2007, and bronze in 2009.
In his first
World Curling Championship
The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and mixed doubles championships, as well as men's an ...
in 1998, Ulsrud skipped Norway to fifth place. After serving as the alternate for
Pål Trulsen's team in 1999, he returned again as skip in 2006–2009, making the playoffs for the first time in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
and then defeated USA's
Team Pete Fenson to win the bronze medal. Two more bronze medals followed in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
.
Between 2007 and 2010, Team Ulsrud won six
World Curling Tour events, namely, the 2007 and 2009
Lucerne Curling Trophies,
2008 Baden Masters
The 2008 Baden Masters was the fourth time the Baden Masters curling event was held. It was held from September 5–7, 2008 and was the first event of the 2008-09 World Curling Tour season.
Competing Teams
* Tormod Andreassen
* Andrey Drozdov
* ...
, 2008
Radisson SAS Oslo Cup
The Oslo Cup (formerly the Norway Cup, the Radisson SAS Oslo Cup, the Weber Oslo Cup and the Radisson Blu Oslo Cup) is an annual curling tournament, held in September in Bærum, a suburb of Oslo. It is one of the events on the Nordic Curling Tou ...
, 2009
Swiss Cup Basel
The Swiss Cup Basel (formerly the Swiss Cup) is an annual curling tournament held in October in Basel, Switzerland. It is one of the earlier curling tournaments of the World Curling Tour season.
Past champions
References
External linksWebsi ...
, and 2009
Bern Open.
2010-2015

At the
2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
, Team Ulsrud attracted worldwide attention, not only for introducing
Loudmouth Golf
Loudmouth Golf is an American sportswear company based in Sonoma County, California, known for colorful trousers.
The company was established in 2000 by Scott "Woody" Woodworth, then a graphic designer. His first design involved a children's fab ...
's colourful harlequin pants to the arena,
but also for winning the silver medal after the final game against Canada's
Team Kevin Martin.
Immediately at the start of the
2010 World Curling Championship in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Ulsrud had to return home for family reasons. With
Torger Nergård
Torger Nergård, also spelled Nergaard (born 12 December 1974) is a Norwegian curler from Oslo."Torger Nergaard, Curling" (Curling > Athletes). Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Retrieved 12 Februar ...
acting as skip, Ulsrud's teammates took first place at the end of round-robin games (10–1 score) and won the silver medal.
Team Ulsrud began the
2010-11 curling season
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
by winning their first
European Curling Championship gold medal in Champéry, Switzerland.
The team topped the season off by finishing fourth at the
2011 Ford World Men's Curling Championship
The 2011 World Men's Curling Championship (branded as Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2011 presented by Richardson for sponsorship reasons) was held in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada from April 2–10, 2011. In the final, Jeff Stoughton skipp ...
.
The rink won a second straight European Championships by winning the gold medal at the
2011 European Curling Championships
The 2011 Le Gruyère European Curling Championships were held in Moscow, Russia from December 2 to 10.[2012 World Men's Curling Championship
The 2012 World Men's Curling Championship was held from March 31 to April 8, 2012 at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland. The 2012 World Men's Championship was one of the curling events that is a qualifier for the curling tournament at the 2014 ...](_blank)
. That season, the team won one WCT event, the 2012
European Masters.
The Ulsrud rink would continue their domination at the European championship by winning the silver medal at both the 2012 and 2013 events. They were less successful at the
2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship
The 2013 World Men's Curling Championship (branded as the Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2013 for sponsorship reasons) was held from March 30 to April 7, 2013 at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. This m ...
, finishing in 5th place. The rink represented Norway once again at the
2014 Winter Olympics
, ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'')
, nations = 88
, events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, athletes = 2,873
, opening = 7 February 2014
, closing = 23 February 2014
, opened_by = President Vladimir Putin
, cauldron =
, stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
, where they finished 5th, with a 5-5 record. They lost in a tie-breaker match to Great Britain, skipped by
David Murdoch. On the World Curling Tour, the team won one event in 2013-14, the
2013 Swiss Cup Basel. The team capped off their season by winning a gold medal at the
2014 World Men's Curling Championship
The 2014 World Men's Curling Championship was held from March 29 to April 6 at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China.
Norway's Thomas Ulsrud defeated Sweden's Oskar Eriksson in the final with a score of 8–3, securing his first world tit ...
.
The World champion Ulsrud rink began the
2014–15 curling season
The 2014–15 curling season began in August 2014 and ended in May 2015.
''Note: In events with two genders, the men's tournament winners are listed before the women's tournament winners.''
Curling Canada sanctioned events
This section lists ev ...
by winning the first WCT event of the year, the
2014 Baden Masters
The 2014 Baden Masters were held from August 29 to 31 at the Curling Center Baden Regio in Baden, Switzerland as part of the 2014–15 World Curling Tour and the European Curling Champions Tour. The event was the first tournament of the season ...
. That season, he won another silver medal at the
2014 European Curling Championships
The 2014 European Curling Championships were held November 22 to 29 at the Palladium de Champéry in Champéry, Switzerland. Switzerland last hosted the European Curling Championships in 2010, when it was also held in Champéry. The Group C com ...
and won a silver medal at the
2015 World Men's Curling Championship
The 2015 World Men's Curling Championship (branded as Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2015 for sponsorship reasons) was held from March 28 to April 5 at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It marked the first time that a ...
, losing to Sweden's
Niklas Edin rink in the final. The next season, Ulsrud led his team to a silver medal at the
2015 European Curling Championships
The 2015 European Curling Championships were held from November 20 to 28 in Esbjerg, Denmark. Denmark last hosted the European Curling Championships in 1996 in Copenhagen. The Group C competitions were held during October in Champéry, Switzer ...
and a disappointing sixth place finish at the
2016 World Men's Curling Championship
The 2016 World Men's Curling Championship was held from April 2 to 10 at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.
Qualification
The following nations are qualified to participate in the 2016 World Men's Curling Championship:
* (host country)
*Two te ...
.
2016-2020
In 2016, Ulsrud won another silver medal at the
European Curling Championships, which he followed up by winning the
Qinghai China Men's International
The Changan Ford International Curling Elite (known formally as the Qinghai Curling Elite, Qinghai International and originally as the Qinghai China International) is an annual bonspiel, or curling tournament, held in Xining, Qinghai, China. It h ...
on the tour the next month. Later in the season, he lost in a best-of-five challenge against
Steffen Walstad
Steffen Walstad (born February 10, 1989 in Oppdal) is a Norwegian curler from Oppdal. He currently skips his own team.
Career Juniors
Walstad played in three World Junior Curling Championships, from 2008 to 2010 inclusive. At the 2008 World J ...
which would have qualified his team for the 2017 World Championships. Team Ulsrud did get to represent Norway one last time at the
2017 European Curling Championships
The 2017 European Curling Championships was held from November 17 to 25 in St Gallen, Switzerland. The Group C competitions was held in May in Andorra.
At the conclusion of the championships, the top eight women's teams will go to the 2018 Ford ...
, where they finished in fourth place.
In 2018, Ulsrud and his team represented Norway at the
PyeongChang Winter Olympics, placing sixth. They began the
2018–19 curling season
The 2018–19 curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four play ...
by winning the
Baden Masters
The Baden Masters is an annual men's curling tournament, held in early September/late August in Baden, Switzerland. It is the first curling tournament of the European Curling Champions Tour (CCT) season and is part of the World Curling Tour. It w ...
for the third time in their career. Ulsrud paired up with
Kristin Skaslien
Kristin Moen Skaslien (born 18 January 1986) is a Norwegian curler from Fornebu. She currently throws fourth stones on Team Marianne Rørvik.
She was lead for the Norwegian team at the 2009 Mount Titlis World Women's Curling Championship in Ga ...
at the
third leg of the 2018–19 Curling World Cup in the mixed doubles event. The pair made it to the final, losing to Canada's
Kadriana Sahaidak and
Colton Lott. It was Ulsrud's first experience in mixed doubles.
In 2019, after a light curling season where they did not play in any Grand Slam events, Team Ulsrud announced that they would be disbanding at the end of the season.
In their farewell message, they humorously thanked "Team Niklas Edin, Team David Murdoch, Team Kevin Martin, Team Kevin Koe and Team Sven Michel for turning those nine potential golds into beautiful silver medals".
Afterwards, Ulsrud formed a new team with
Steffen Walstad
Steffen Walstad (born February 10, 1989 in Oppdal) is a Norwegian curler from Oppdal. He currently skips his own team.
Career Juniors
Walstad played in three World Junior Curling Championships, from 2008 to 2010 inclusive. At the 2008 World J ...
,
Markus Høiberg and
Magnus Vågberg
Magnus Trulsen Vågberg (born 23 December 1995) is a Norwegian curler from Bærums Verk. He currently plays lead for the Steffen Walstad rink.
Career Juniors
Vågberg competed for Norway in two World Junior Curling Championships, playing secon ...
, and they represented Norway at the
2019 European Curling Championships
The 2019 Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships was held in 2019 to qualify European curling teams for the 2020 World Curling Championships and World Qualification Event. The A and B division competitions were held from November 16 to 23 a ...
, holding a 5–4 record and missing the playoffs. It was Ulsrud's final European Championship appearance. Later in the season, the team finished second at the
Norwegian Men's Curling Championship The Norwegian Men's Curling Championship ( no, Norgesmesterskap i curling for herrer) is the national championship of men's curling in Norway. It has been held annually since 1957. It is organized by the Norwegian Curling Association ( no, Norges Cu ...
, which was Ulsrud's fifth straight second place finish.
His team were set to represent Norway at the
2020 World Men's Curling Championship
The 2020 World Men's Curling Championship (branded as the 2020 LGT World Men's Curling Championship for sponsorship reasons) was scheduled to be held from March 28 to April 5 at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. On March 14, 2020, the World ...
but it was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Torger Nergård
Torger Nergård, also spelled Nergaard (born 12 December 1974) is a Norwegian curler from Oslo."Torger Nergaard, Curling" (Curling > Athletes). Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Retrieved 12 Februar ...
rejoined with Ulsrud as third, replacing Walstad, and the team played in only three domestic events because of continuing COVID-19 restrictions. It would be Ulsrud's final season, as he was diagnosed with cancer in December 2020.
Personal life
Ulsrud became interested in curling at age 10 when his stepfather introduced him to the sport. When not being an athlete, Ulsrud was self-employed.
He was married to Elin Grødal, and they had one son, Jesper.
Ulsrud died on 24 May 2022 from cancer, aged 50. A memorial service was held on 3 June 2022 at
Ullern Church
Ullern Church ( no, Ullern kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sør-Odal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ullern, Innlandet, Ullern. It is the church for the Ullern parish which is part of ...
, Oslo.
His former teammates remembered him for his friendship and his "inclusiveness" during their years of travelling and competing together.
Tributes also came from the
World Curling Federation, notably, President and Scottish curler,
Kate Caithness
Kate Caithness is a Scottish curler. She served as the President of the World Curling Federation from 2010 to 2022.
Career
Caithness began curling in the 1980s, playing for the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. From 1997 to 1998, she served as th ...
, who praised Ulsrud and Team Norway for raising the status and popularity of curling, "They were huge ambassadors for the sport".
Teams
Grand Slam record
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
World Curling TV: Norway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulsrud, Thomas
1971 births
2022 deaths
Norwegian male curlers
Sportspeople from Oslo
Curlers at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Curlers at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Curlers at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Olympic curlers of Norway
Olympic silver medalists for Norway
Olympic medalists in curling
Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics
World curling champions
Continental Cup of Curling participants
European curling champions
Deaths from cancer in Norway