Birger Ruud (23 August 1911 – 13 June 1998) was a Norwegian

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

and

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

Career

Born in

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

, Birger Ruud, with his brothers

Sigmund In Norse mythology, Sigmund ( non, Sigmundr , ang, Sigemund) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod. Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the dr ...

and

Asbjørn Asbjørn is a Norwegian and Danish male given name. In 2013, there were more than 7,000 men in Norway with this name. In Norway it reached the peak of its popularity between 1910 and 1930, during which period approximately 1% of children were given ...

, dominated international jumping in the 1930s, winning three

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1931, 1935 and 1937. Ruud also won the Olympic gold medal in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, the first repeat winner of ski jumping gold. He also was an accomplished

, winning a bronze medal in the combined at the 1935

. Ruud won the

Holmenkollen ski jump Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jumping hill located at Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway. It has a hill size of HS134, a construction point of K-120, and a capacity for 70,000 spectators. Holmenkollen has hosted the Holmenkollen Ski Festival since 1 ...

ing competition in 1934 and shared the Holmenkollen medal in 1937 with

Olaf Hoffsbakken Olaf Hoffsbakken (2 September 1908 – 23 November 1986) was a Norwegian Nordic skier who competed in the 1930s. He won two silver medals at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in both the Nordic combined and the 4 × 10 ...

and Martin P. Vangsli. In 1943, during the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

, Ruud was incarcerated at

Grini concentration camp '', '' no, Grini fangeleir'', location=Bærum, Viken, Norway, location map=Viken#Norway, built by=Norway, original use=Constructed as a women's prison, operated by=Nazi Germany, notable inmates= List of Grini prisoners, liberated by=Harry Söderma ...

for expressing his anti-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

sentiments. After his release in 1944, he joined the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

. He also competed in the 1948 Olympics, winning the ski jumping silver medal at age 36, though he was initially only at the Games as assistant coach of Norway’s ski jumping team. This accomplishment he personally held in the highest regard; it made him the first ski jumper to medal in three different Olympics. Twice he set ski jumping world records: 76.5 m (250.98 ft) in

Odnesbakken Flubergbakken (also ''Odnesbakken'') was a HS117 ski jumping hill located between Fluberg and Odnes in Norway, opened in 1926. It was part of Odnes Ski Senter and owned by Fluberg IL Ski Club. Hill was renovated in 1955, 1985, 2002, then demoli ...

in 1931, and 92 m (301.84 ft) in

Planica Planica () is an Alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking d ...

in 1934. Later in life, Birger Ruud, with his friend

Petter Hugsted Petter Hugsted (11 July 1921 – 19 May 2000) was a Norwegian ski jumper who won the gold medal in the individual large hill event at the 1948 Olympics. Hugsted won junior competition at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1940. His career was imp ...

, the 1948 gold medalist, participated in the creation of the

Kongsberg Skiing Museum Kongsberg Skiing Museum ( no, Kongsberg Skimuseum) is a museum of skiing, located at Kongsberg in Viken county, Norway. It was initially created by two Olympic champion ski jumpers, Birger Ruud and Petter Hugsted. The museum focuses on ''the ...

. In 1987, a bronze sculpture of Birger Ruud, by the Norwegian sculptor

Per Ung Per Ung (5 June 1933 – 20 June 2013) was a Norwegian sculptor and graphic artist. Biography Ung was born in Oslo, Norway. He was the son of Per Ohlsen (1907–85) and Randi Tangen (1905-89). He was schooled in the conservative sculptural ...

, was set up in Ruud’s native town of Kongsberg, and in 1991 he was awarded the

Egebergs Ærespris The Egebergs Ærespris ("Honorary Prize of Egeberg") is a prize awarded to Norwegian athletes who excel in more than one sport. The prize was created by Ferdinand Julian Egeberg, and consists of a bronze statuette modelled by sculptor Magnus Vigr ...

for his achievements in ski jumping and alpine skiing. Ruud was selected to

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

the

Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...

at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics in Norway, but had to withdraw due to heart complications immediately before the event. He died in 1998, aged 86.

Ski jumping world records

Not recognized! Crash at world record distance.

References

External links

*
Birger Ruud's Memorial Fund

* . Alpine skiing profile * . Ski jumping profile * * * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruud, Birger 1911 births 1998 deaths Ski jumpers at the 1932 Winter Olympics Ski jumpers at the 1936 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1936 Winter Olympics Ski jumpers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Holmenkollen medalists Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Norwegian male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of Norway Norwegian male ski jumpers Olympic ski jumpers of Norway Olympic gold medalists for Norway Olympic silver medalists for Norway Grini concentration camp survivors Norwegian resistance members Olympic medalists in ski jumping FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in ski jumping Medalists at the 1932 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics Kongsberg IF ski jumpers People from Kongsberg Sportspeople from Viken (county)