Linda Medalen (born 17 June 1965) is a former Norwegian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. She is one of Norway's most celebrated former footballers, finishing her international career with 152 caps, scoring 64 goals. She was on the Norway team that won the

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in Sweden and won by Norway women's national football team, Norway, who became the first European nation to win the Women's World Cup. The tournament fea ...

. She played most of her career in Norway with Asker Fotball, and retired in 2006, at 41 years old. She also spent seven seasons in Japan with Nikko. She started her career as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

, but as her career progressed, she moved further back on the field, and was playing toward the end of her career in central defence. Apart from playing football, Medalen worked as a

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

officer. In 2007, she was elected to serve as a local politician in Asker municipality council for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. Medalen is openly

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, coming out in a ''

Se og Hør ''Se og Hør'' (; "See and Hear") is a TV guide and celebrity journalism magazine published in three independent versions in Denmark, Norway and Sweden (where it is called ''Se & Hör'' ) by the Danish company Aller Media. The Danish version is t ...

'' article in June 1999. On 16 June 2012, Medalen married Trude Flan. She stands at .

Club career

In August 2000 Medalen revealed that she was considering an approach from the

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first Women's association football, women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000 in sports, 2000, the league began its first se ...

(WUSA), following contact from the nascent American professional league's vice president of playing personnel

Lauren Gregg Lauren Gregg (born July 20, 1960) is an American soccer coach and retired soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder. She made one appearance for the United States women's national soccer team in 1986. She was the first-ever female ass ...

. Medalen was sent-off at

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

in the 2001 Norwegian Women's Cup final, for slapping away

Gøril Kringen Gøril Kringen (born 28 January 1972) is a Norwegian former football player and coach, who has also worked as the Football Association of Norway's (NFF) head of women's football. As a player, she was an Olympic champion with the Norway women's n ...

's hand during a disagreement. The disappointment from Asker's 3–2 defeat was compounded as the final was intended to be Medalen's farewell appearance before her retirement from football. In the

2003 Toppserien The 2003 season of the ''Toppserien'', the highest women's football (soccer) league in Norway, began on 16 April 2003 and ended on 2 November 2003. 18 games were played with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Number nine and ten were relega ...

Medalen returned to Asker as a player-coach. In 2006 41-year-old Medalen made another playing comeback and was selected for Asker's 3–2 Norwegian Women's Cup final defeat by

Røa IL Røa IL is a Norwegian sports club from Røa in the borough of Vestre Aker, Oslo. It was founded on 11 November 1900, and has sections for football, gymnastics, bandy, and cross-country skiing. Football, bandy, and Nordic skiing have been domina ...

International career

Medalen made her debut for the Norway women's national football team on 7 October 1987, in a 1–0

1989 European Competition for Women's Football qualifying The qualification for the 1989 European Competition for Women's Football was held between September 10, 1987, and December 17, 1988. The winners of the quarter-finals qualified. Group stage Group 1 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ...

defeat by Denmark women's national football team at the Ullevaal Stadion. At the

1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament The 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament, or International Women's Football Tournament, was organised by FIFA in China from 1 to 12 June 1988. The competition was a test to study if a global women's World Cup was feasible following the experie ...

, Medalen scored her first two national team goals in her fourth appearance; Norway's opening 4–0 win over

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Jiangmen Jiangmen (), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Kongmoon, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province in southern China. As of the 2020 census, its three urban districts, plus Heshan City being conurbated, with 2,657,662 inhabitants ar ...

. She scored again in a 3–0 win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, then scored the only goal in the final win over

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

at the Tianhe Stadium in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

. Medalen was named to the tournament All-Star team. Norway rebounded from their qualifying defeat by Denmark to qualify for the

1989 European Competition for Women's Football The 1989 European Competition for Women's Football took place in West Germany. It was won by the hosts in a final against defending champions Norway. Again, the competition began with four qualifying groups, but this time the top two countries q ...

tournament. Medalen's first-minute goal in the 2–1 semi-final win over Sweden helped set up a final meeting with the West German hosts in Osnabrück, but reigning European champions Norway were beaten 4–1. At UEFA Women's Euro 1991, Medalen's Norway reached the final again but were beaten by Germany, this time 3–1 after extra-time. This placing secured qualification for the inaugural

1991 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It took place in Guangdong, China from 16 to 30 November 1991. FIFA, football's international gove ...

in China. Medalen scored six goals, including two in the semi-final win over Sweden and an equaliser in the 2–1

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

defeat by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She was awarded FIFA's "Bronze Ball" as the tournament's third best player. In Norway's opening

UEFA Women's Euro 1993 qualifying The qualification for the UEFA Women's Euro 1993 was held between September 21, 1991 & November 14, 1992. The winner of the quarter-finals qualified. First round Group 1 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Group 2 ---- ---- ---- ---- --- ...

fixture, Medalen scored four times in a 10–0 win over

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. At the UEFA Women's Euro 1993 final tournament Norway recaptured their European title, beating hosts

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

1–0 in the final. In UEFA Women's Euro 1995 Norway missed out on a fifth successive final appearance, being eliminated in the semi-finals by Sweden, 7–5 on

aggregate Aggregate or aggregates may refer to: Computing and mathematics * collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...

, despite Medalen's second-leg goal in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipali ...

. Medalen was an important player in the Norway team which won the

in Sweden. At the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national soccer teams. It was hosted as well as won by the United States and took place from June 19 to July 10, 1999, at ...

in the United States, Medalen was Norway's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. She also had a new role as a central defender, having struggled to adapt to incoming coach

Per-Mathias Høgmo Per-Mathias Høgmo (born 1 December 1959) is a football manager from Norway and former player. He is the former manager of the Norway national football team. He has previously been head coach of Norway women's national football team and the Tippel ...

's possession-based tactics for his forwards. Medalen felt she had sufficiently recovered from a ligament injury to participate at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. She was disappointed when Høgmo disagreed and left her out. She was also disappointed at the withdrawal of her Norwegian Football Federation central contract worth 3500kr per month: "it was like getting a knife in the back".

International goals

Personal life

Medalen came out as a

in an interview with the ''

'' gossip magazine in 1999, declaring: "I love a girl, it's not worse". She brought her partner Kristin Bitnes to that year's FIFA Women's World Cup in the United States, but the couple separated after eight years together in 2006. Medalen was part of an exceptionally strong Norwegian women's football selection at the

2002 Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was starte ...

in Sydney. Medalen met dance instructor Trude Flan in 2010 and the two were married two years later. Medalen announced their separation in January 2022. In 1997 Medalen posed with a carefully-positioned

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for semi-nude photographs in ''Se og Hør''. It has been reported as evidence of

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

that Medalen earned 70000kr for the photographs but stood to earn only 27500kr if she had won that year's UEFA Women's Championship with Norway. Her cousin

Rune Medalen Rune Medalen (born 13 April 1970) is a retired Norwegian football striker. A first cousin of Linda Medalen, he went from third-tier Ålgård FK in 1992 to being Bryne FK's top goalscorer in 1993 and securing a contract with Viking FK in 1994. In ...

played football for Tippeligaen clubs

Bryne FK Bryne Fotballklubb () is a professional football club in Bryne, Norway, that competes in the 1. divisjon, the second tier of Norwegian football. History Bryne has played a total of 17 seasons in the top flight of Norwegian football since thei ...

and Viking FK. In 2020 Medalen participated in the "Mesternes mester" ( en, master of masters)

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

programme, screened on

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

. In 2011 she had appeared in another reality television series, 71 Degrees North.

TVNorge TVNorge (literally "TVNorway"; originally abbreviated TVN, now just abbreviated N in the logos) is a Norwegian television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. History TVNorge went on the air on 5 December 1988 and was the first adver ...

apologised to Medalen after broadcasting images of her topless without her consent. During her football career, Medalen was relatively outspoken. She enjoyed Norway's rivalry with the United States team, frequently exchanging " trash-talk" with her friend Michelle Akers. While her habit of scoring important goals against neighbours Sweden saw Medalen ruefully

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d "Svenskdöderskan" ( en, the Swede killer) in Sweden.

Honours

, archive-date=26 May 2008

Club

;Asker *

Toppserien The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984. History Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional (South) league in 1 ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Norwegian Women's Cup The Norwegian Women's Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for kvinner) is a knockout cup competition in Norwegian women's football. It has been organised annually since 1978. The final is usually played on a Saturday, the day before the men's ...

: 1990, 1991, 2000 ;Nikko *

L. League The , commonly known as the , is a semi-professional women's association football Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women o ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

* Empress's Cup:

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

International

;Norway *

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalent ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

References

External links

*
Linda Medalen
at the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Medalen, Linda 1965 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players Asker politicians Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Women police officers FIFA Century Club Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Lesbian sportswomen LGBT association football players LGBT law enforcement workers Norwegian LGBT sportspeople Olympic bronze medalists for Norway Olympic footballers of Norway Olympic medalists in football Norway women's international footballers Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Norwegian expatriate women's footballers Norwegian women's footballers Norwegian police officers Norwegian sportsperson-politicians FIFA Women's World Cup-winning players Nikko Securities Dream Ladies players Expatriate women's footballers in Japan Nadeshiko League players Asker Fotball (women) players Klepp IL players Toppserien players People from Sandnes Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Women's association football forwards UEFA Women's Championship-winning players Nadeshiko League MVPs