Marit Bjørgen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marit Bjørgen
Marit Bjørgen during a World Cup race in Stockholm, Sweden in March 2013.
Country	Norway
Born	(1980-03-21) 21 March 1980 (age 45) Trondheim, Norway
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Spouse(s)	Fred Børre Lundberg
Ski club	Rognes IL
World Cup career
Seasons	18 – (2000–2015, 2017–2018)
Individual wins	114
Team wins	30
Indiv. podiums	184
Team podiums	37
Indiv. starts	303
Team starts	44
Overall titles	4 – (2005, 2006, 2012, 2015)
Discipline titles	8 – (3 DI, 5 SP)
Medal record Women's cross-country skiing Representing  Norway International nordic ski competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 8 4 3 World Championships 18 5 3 Total 26 9 6 Olympic Games Gold 2010 Vancouver Individual sprint Gold 2010 Vancouver 15 km pursuit Gold 2010 Vancouver 4 × 5 km relay Gold 2014 Sochi 15 km skiathlon Gold 2014 Sochi 30 km freestyle Gold 2014 Sochi Team sprint Gold 2018 Pyeongchang 4 × 5 km relay Gold 2018 Pyeongchang  30 km classical  Silver 2002 Salt Lake City 4 × 5 km relay Silver 2006 Turin 10 km classical Silver 2010 Vancouver 30 km classical Silver 2018 Pyeongchang 15 km skiathlon Bronze 2010 Vancouver 10 km freestyle Bronze 2018 Pyeongchang 10 km freestyle Bronze 2018 Pyeongchang Team sprint World Championships Gold 2003 Val di Fiemme Individual sprint Gold 2005 Oberstdorf Team sprint Gold 2005 Oberstdorf 30 km classical Gold 2005 Oberstdorf 4 × 5 km relay Gold 2011 Oslo Individual sprint Gold 2011 Oslo 15 km skiathlon Gold 2011 Oslo 10 km classical Gold 2011 Oslo 4 × 5 km relay Gold 2013 Val di Fiemme Individual sprint Gold 2013 Val di Fiemme 15 km skiathlon Gold 2013 Val di Fiemme 4 × 5 km relay Gold 2013 Val di Fiemme 30 km classical Gold 2015 Falun Individual sprint Gold 2015 Falun 4 × 5 km relay Gold 2017 Lahti 10 km classical Gold 2017 Lahti 15 km skiathlon Gold 2017 Lahti 4 × 5 km relay Gold 2017 Lahti 30 km  freestyle Silver 2003 Val di Fiemme 4 × 5 km relay Silver 2005 Oberstdorf 15 km skiathlon Silver 2011 Oslo 30 km freestyle Silver 2013 Val di Fiemme 10 km freestyle Silver 2015 Falun 30 km classical Bronze 2005 Oberstdorf 10 km freestyle Bronze 2007 Sapporo Team sprint Bronze 2007 Sapporo 4 × 5 km relay Junior World Championships Bronze 1999 Saalfelden 4 × 5 km relay Bronze 2000 Štrbské Pleso 4 × 5 km relay

Marit Bjørgen (born March 21, 1980) is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier. She is one of the greatest winter athletes of all time. With 15 Olympic medals, she is the most decorated athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics.

Bjørgen has won 114 individual World Cup races, which is more than any other skier. She was also a top sprinter, winning 29 sprint races in the Cross-Country World Cup. She competed in five Olympic Games.

On April 6, 2018, Bjørgen announced she was retiring from professional skiing. She made a brief comeback for long-distance races in 2020. In April 2022, she announced her final retirement from all ski racing.

Career Highlights

World Cup Success

Marit Bjørgen was first known for being a great sprinter. She won seven sprint races in the 2003–04 season. But soon, she also became a champion in longer distance races.

In 2006, she won her second overall World Cup title in a very exciting final race. She beat Canada's Beckie Scott by only 16 points. Over her career, Bjørgen won the overall World Cup four times. This means she was the best skier in the world for those seasons.

Marit Bjørgen in Otepää during the 2005–06 FIS Cross-Country World Cup.

She started competing in the World Cup in 2000. At first, she was not at the top, but she improved quickly. By the 2002–03 season, she was the best sprinter. By 2005, she was winning in all types of races. In 2015, she won the famous Tour de Ski for the first time.

World Championships

Bjørgen has an amazing record at the World Championships. She has won 18 gold medals, with 12 of them in individual races.

Her first gold medal was in the sprint in 2003. At the 2011 World Championships in Oslo, Norway, she was a superstar. She won four gold medals in front of her home crowd. She won another four gold medals at the 2013 championships and four more in 2017.

Her Olympic Journey

Marit Bjørgen celebrates her sprint gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Bjørgen competed in five Olympic Games, from 2002 to 2018. Her Olympic career had both difficult moments and incredible victories.

Early Olympics and a Tough Time in Turin

Bjørgen won her first Olympic medal, a silver, at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, were tough for her. She got sick with bronchitis before the games. She had to pull out of one race and did not perform as well as she had hoped in others. Even so, she still managed to win a silver medal in the 10 km classical race.

Golden Success in Vancouver

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were a huge success for Bjørgen. She won five medals in total.

• Gold in the individual sprint.
• Gold in the 15 km pursuit.
• Gold in the 4 × 5 km relay.
• Silver in the 30 km classical.
• Bronze in the 10 km freestyle.

Her performance made her one of the biggest stars of the Vancouver Games.

More Gold in Sochi and Pyeongchang

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, she won three more gold medals. These wins brought her total to ten Olympic medals.

At her final Olympics in 2018 Pyeongchang, she won five more medals. This included two golds. With a total of 15 medals (8 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze), she became the most successful athlete in Winter Olympics history.

Awards and Recognition

In 2010, Bjørgen was awarded the Holmenkollen medal. This is a very high honor in Norwegian skiing. She won the famous 30 km race at the Holmenkollen ski festival a record seven times.

In 2014, she received the International Fair Play Mecenate Award. The jury praised her for her great sportsmanship and fair play throughout her career.

Asthma Medication

During the 2009–2010 season, Bjørgen used an asthma medication called Symbicort. Some ingredients in this medicine were on a list of substances that athletes usually cannot use. However, Bjørgen had permission from the International Ski Federation (FIS) to use it for her health. This is called a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

Another skier, Justyna Kowalczyk, criticized her for using it. Later, the rules were changed. Athletes no longer needed special permission for this medication if used in a limited dose.

Personal Life

Bjørgen lives in Oslo with her partner, Fred Børre Lundberg. He is also a former Olympic champion in Nordic combined. They have two sons, born in 2015 and 2019.

Career Results

All results are from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

• 15 medals – (8 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze)

World Championships

• 26 medals – (18 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze)

See also

In Spanish: Marit Bjørgen para niños