Perhaps The Greatest XC Competitor Of All Time?
This week’s challenge might be very difficult for some, easy for others. Why? Because not as many people follow the fortunes of cross-country competitors compared to their Alpine counterparts. Everyone knows Karli Schranz, Jean-Claude Killy, Bode Miller, and the rest. But how about Sverre Stenersen, who consistently won medals in the Olympics and World Championships through the 50s? Remember what Jessica Diggins and Kikkan Randall did just a few years ago in the team sprint at the PyeongChang Olympics? Curious? Check it out here.
This week we are presenting a photo of an xc racer who some have called the very best. If you know who he is, comment in Leave A Reply below.
Okay, that’s a nice pic, but hard to identify the person. How about this one?
Last Week
This is ski jumper Anders Haugen wearing his 1924 Chamonix Olympics coat. Norwegian-born Haugen came to the States in 1909 and started ski jumping with his brothers in the Milwaukee area. Between 1910 and 1920, Anders and his brothers won the US Championship 11 times. As captain of the US team at the inaugural Winter Games, Haugen wound up placing fourth behind three Norwegians.
However, in 1974, a sports statistician noticed that Haugen’s score was incorrectly calculated. After verification by the International Olympic Committee, Anders Haugen, at 85 years old, was awarded a bronze medal. Thus, he became the first American Winter Olympics medalist and the only US athlete to win an Olympic medal in ski jumping.
As for this fantastic coat, it was created for the US team by the Hudson Bay Co. of Canada and is called a Capote.
The 1924 Olympic capote is made of felted, twill-weave wool. It is white or natural color with printed bold stripes in black, yellow, red and green-blue. There is fringe along the top of the shoulders and sleeves and along the top front opening of the coat made of the same wool fabric, along with a tall, pointed hood.
It’s none other than Norway’s great Bjorn Daehlie. None better!