Terje Håkonsen facts for kids

Terje Håkonsen (born October 11, 1974) is a famous professional snowboarder from Norway. Many people think he is one of the most important snowboarders ever. He helped change the sport in many ways.

Terje was amazing at freestyle snowboarding competitions in the 1990s. He won the International Snowboarding Federation (ISF) World Championship in halfpipe three times. He also won the European Championship in halfpipe every time he competed! Terje won the US Open Halfpipe Finals three times and the Mt. Baker Banked Slalom seven times. In 2007, he even set a world record for the highest air. He jumped 9.8 meters (about 32 feet) above the top of a quarterpipe!

Terje Håkonsen is known for his smooth style and how good he is on all kinds of snow. Even though he started in halfpipe competitions, he also became famous through snowboard films. These films showed him riding freely in deep snow, on big mountains, and in "big air" competitions. These big air events were like the slopestyle competitions you see today.

Early Life and Background

Terje Håkonsen grew up in a mountain village called Åmot in Norway. As a child, he was very good at sports. He played football, did cross-country skiing, and downhill skiing. People even called him "little Maradonna" because he was so skilled at football! He could have become a professional football player, but he chose snowboarding instead.

Terje lives in Oslo today.

Snowboarding Career

Terje started snowboarding in 1987. He bought his first board in February 1988. Just one month later, he won the Nordic Championship in the junior class! He quickly joined the team for Burton Snowboards, a big snowboard company.

In 1989, Terje met Craig Kelly, who was the world's best snowboarder at the time. Terje looked up to Kelly as a mentor. Kelly saw Terje's talent and helped him get in touch with Burton and Oakley. When Terje was just 15, he traveled to the USA by himself to sign his first professional contracts! Because of these contracts, he decided not to go to high school.

Terje made his international debut in February 1990. He finished fifth in halfpipe at the World Cup in St. Moritz. He also did well at the US Open and the world championships that year.

At first, Terje competed in both freestyle and alpine snowboarding. But he didn't like the strict rules of alpine competitions. He wanted more fun and freedom. So, he decided to focus only on halfpipe and freeriding. He even used his freestyle board in alpine events to show his protest!

From 1991 onwards, Terje was the best in freestyle snowboarding. In the 1991-1992 season, he won 14 international competitions in a row! People said he became like a "rock-n-roll hero" in snowboarding. After 1994, he stopped focusing on winning the overall World Cup. He felt there wasn't enough time for freeriding, which he loved more than competitions.

Terje appeared in many snowboard films. In 1996, a film about him called Subjekt Haakonsen was made. He also appeared in the 2005 documentary First Descent. In this film, he was the first person to snowboard down peak 7601 in Alaska.

When the halfpipe became an Olympic event at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Terje chose not to compete. Many snowboarders, including Terje, were unhappy. They felt that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose the wrong organization (the International Ski Federation, FIS) to run the event instead of their own snowboard federation (ISF). Terje felt this was unfair to the sport of snowboarding.

Life After Competitions

Terje Håkonsen never officially retired, but he competed less often in the late 1990s. He didn't like the usual competition rules. So, in 2000, he created his own competition called The Arctic Challenge. His idea was to make a competition that was fair and fun for snowboarders.

In 2002, The Arctic Challenge helped start the Ticket to Ride World Snowboard Tour. This tour is now known as the World Snowboard tour. It is the biggest and most important international snowboard tour in the world.

Terje is still a professional snowboarder today. He spends most of his time making films and working with his sponsors. He still sometimes competes. In 2012, he won the Mt. Baker Banked Slalom for the seventh time. In March 2015, he won the Sudden Rush Banked Slalom in Switzerland.

In 2015, Terje made some controversial comments on social media. These comments were widely criticized by other snowboarders. In an interview, Terje said he was misunderstood and that some people were too sensitive.

In recent years, Terje has also become a spokesperson for healthy eating and organic food in Norway. He has appeared on TV and in newspapers to talk about it. He also spoke out against Oslo hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Helping Others

Terje Håkonsen also works to help others. He co-founded two organizations: the Funkisstiftelsen foundation and Greener Events.

• The Funkisstiftelsen foundation helps people with physical disabilities enjoy activities on snow.
• Greener Events helps sports and cultural events be more friendly to the environment.

Awards and Recognition

Terje Håkonsen has received many awards for his amazing snowboarding:

• Mickey Mouse club Hall of fame, 1991
• Rider of the year, Transworld's snowboarding reader's awards, 1998
• Piperider of the year, Transworld's snowboarding reader's awards, 1999
• Best overall rider, Transworld's snowboarding reader's awards, 2000
• Best Overall rider, Transworld's snowboarding reader's awards, 2001
• Reader's choice, Transworld's snowboarding reader's awards, 2001
• NEA Snowboarding award, 2001
• Standout of the year, Transworld's snowboarding reader's awards, 2008
• Vinje Municipality Cultural Prize, 2009

Films and TV Appearances

Terje Håkonsen has been featured in many snowboarding films and TV shows. Here are some of them:

• Pocahontas (1991)
• Riders on the storm (1992)
• Project 6 (1993)
• Totally Board 2 A new way of thinking (1992)
• Totally Board 3 Coming Down The Mountain (1993)
• Carving the white'' (1993)
• Roadkill (1993)
• Alive we ride (1993)
• Upping the Ante (1993)
• Totally Board 4 Run To The Hills (1994)
• MTV Sports (1994)
• The garden (1994)
• Meltdown Project (1995)
• Freestyle swing (1995)
• Milk (1995)
• Totally Board 6 Carpe Diem (1996)
• Subjekt Haakonsen (1996)
• I Know What You Did Last Winter (1998)
• The Haakonsen Faktor'' (1999)
• Extreme (1999)
• Luminous Llama (2000)
• Mt. Baker's Legendary Banked Slalom (Video) (2002)
• Notice To Appear (2002)
• White Balance (2003)
• White Space (TV Short) (2003)
• Først & sist (TV Series) (2003)
• Big Youth Happening Two (2003)
• Escramble (2006)
• First Descent (2005)
• AK and Beyond (2005)
• Escramble (2006)
• Ticket to Ride (TV Series) (2006)
• For Right or Wrong (2006)
• Terje's season pass (2007)
• That's It, That's All (2008)
• It's Always Snowing Somewhere: Part 1 (2008)
• Standing Sideways (2011)
• We Ride: The Story of Snowboarding (2012)
• Jeremy Jones' Further (2012)
• Supervention (2013)
• Veeco (2014)
• True to this (2014)
• Snowboarding For Me (2014)
• Supervention II (2016)

See also

In Spanish: Terje Håkonsen para niños