Aksel Lund Svindal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Aksel Lund Svindal

Alpine skier
Svindal in February 2011
Disciplines	Downhill, super-G, giant slalom, combined
Club	Nero Alpin
Born	(1982-12-26) 26 December 1982 (age 42)
Height	189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
World Cup debut	28 October 2001 (age 18)
Retired	9 February 2019 (age 36)
Website	aksellundsvindal.com
Olympics
Teams	4 – (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Medals	4 (2 gold)
World Championships
Teams	8 – (2003–15, 2019)
Medals	9 (5 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	17 – (2002–14, 2016–19)
Wins	36 – (14 DH, 17 SG, 4 GS, 1 SC)
Podiums	80
Overall titles	2 – (2007, 2009)
Discipline titles	9 – (2 DH, 5 SG, 1 GS, 1 K)
Medal record International alpine ski competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 1 1 World Championships 5 2 2 World Cup race podiums Event 1st 2nd 3rd Slalom 0 0 0 Giant 4 2 4 Super-G 17 6 7 Downhill 14 8 10 Combined 1 2 4 Parallel 0 1 0 Olympic Games Gold 2010 Vancouver Super-G Gold 2018 Pyeongchang Downhill Silver 2010 Vancouver Downhill Bronze 2010 Vancouver Giant slalom World Championships Gold 2007 Åre Downhill Gold 2007 Åre Giant slalom Gold 2009 Val-d'Isère Combined Gold 2011 Garmisch Combined Gold 2013 Schladming Downhill Silver 2005 Bormio Combined Silver 2019 Åre Downhill Bronze 2009 Val-d'Isère Super-G Bronze 2013 Schladming Super-G Junior World Ski Championships Gold 2002 Tarvisio Combined Silver 2002 Tarvisio Super-G Bronze 2002 Tarvisio Downhill Bronze 2002 Tarvisio Slalom

Aksel Lund Svindal is a famous former alpine ski racer from Norway. He was born on December 26, 1982. Aksel is known for being one of the best skiers ever. He won many big competitions, including two overall World Cup titles in 2007 and 2009.

He also won two gold medals at the Olympics. One was in super-G at the 2010 Winter Olympics and the other in downhill at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Aksel also became a World Champion five times in different skiing events. He was the first male alpine skier to win titles in four World Championships in a row!

Many people think Aksel is the best Norwegian alpine skier ever. He retired from skiing in February 2019 after the 2019 Ski World Championships.

Aksel's Skiing Journey

Aksel Lund Svindal had an amazing career. He won nine medals at the World Championships and four medals at the Olympics, including two gold. He also won two overall World Cup titles and nine smaller titles in specific skiing events like downhill and super-G. In total, he won 36 World Cup races. When he was younger, in 2002, he also won four medals at the World Junior Championships, including a gold.

A Big Crash and a Strong Comeback

In November 2007, Aksel had a very serious crash during a training run in Beaver Creek, Colorado. He crashed into a safety fence and got badly hurt. He broke bones in his face and had a deep cut on his body. Because of this, he couldn't ski for the rest of the 2008 season.

But Aksel is a fighter! He worked hard to recover and returned to racing in October 2008. His first two wins after his injury were in Beaver Creek, on the very same course where he had crashed. This showed how determined he was.

Svindal's silver medal downhill run at the 2010 Olympics at Whistler

Winning the World Cup and Olympic Medals

In 2009, Aksel won a gold medal in the super combined event at the World Championships. He continued his amazing comeback by winning his second overall World Cup title that year. It was a very close race!

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Aksel won a silver medal in the downhill race. He was incredibly close to gold, missing it by just 0.07 seconds. A few days later, he won his first Olympic gold medal in the super-G event. This was a huge moment for him!

Aksel kept winning. He successfully defended his world title in the super combined in 2011.

More Injuries and Triumphs

In October 2014, Aksel got another injury, this time to his Achilles tendon. He missed the entire 2015 World Cup season. However, he still competed in the World Championships in February 2015 and finished well in his races.

He had a fantastic start to the 2016 season, winning seven World Cup races. But then, he got another knee injury in Austria, which ended his season early. He also missed most of the 2017 season due to injury.

Despite these challenges, Aksel made another incredible comeback. He won another Olympic gold medal in the downhill event at the 2018 Winter Olympics. This made him the oldest alpine skiing gold medalist ever!

In his very last race, the downhill at the 2019 World Championships, Aksel finished second. He was just two hundredths of a second behind his teammate, Kjetil Jansrud. It was a great way to end his amazing career.

Aksel's Life Outside Skiing

Aksel Lund Svindal has a personal life outside of skiing. He dated American alpine racer Julia Mancuso for three years.

Since 2020, Aksel has been in a relationship with Amalie Iuel, who is a hurdler from Denmark and Norway. They welcomed their first child, a son, in September 2023. A month later, they announced their engagement.

In his free time, Aksel enjoys freeskiing. He has even appeared in several freeskiing film documentaries. One of his best friends is his teammate, Kjetil Jansrud.

Aksel's Major Wins

Aksel won many titles during his career. Here are his main season titles:

World Championship Medals

Aksel won 9 medals at the World Championships:

Olympic Medals

Aksel won 4 medals at the Winter Olympics:

See also

In Spanish: Aksel Lund Svindal para niños