Oddvar Brå (born 16 March 1951) is a Norwegian former

cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

. He was among the best skiers in Norway, the three-times winner of the World Cup (1972–73, then named "World ranking", 1974–75 and 1978–79) and the winner of 16 national championships. His success in the major international championships was more modest.

Career

Brå participated in the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...

and the 1991 Holmenkollen ski festival, but his first individual major international win was at the 1982 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo, where he won the 15 km event. In this championship, he also tied for the gold medal with

Alexander Zavyalov Alexander Alexandrovich Zavyalov (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Завья́лов; born 2 June 1955) is a former Soviet/Russian cross-country skier who competed in the early 1980s, training at Armed Forces ...

of the Soviet Union in the relay after a dramatic finish in which his pole broke. This event remained in the memory of most Norwegians, leading to the popular all-Norwegian expression "Hvor var du da Brå brakk staven?" ("Where were you when Brå’s pole broke?"). Brå also won three relay medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a gold in 1982 and bronzes in 1974 and 1978. Brå additionally won two silver medals in the 4 × 10 km relay at the

and the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

, the 15 km at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1980 and 1982, and the 50 km in 1975, 1979, and 1981. In 1975, Brå was awarded the Holmenkollen medal (shared with Gerhard Grimmer and Ivar Formo). Brå's best individual achievement in the Olympics was a fourth place in the 15 km event in the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, Mohkínsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts� ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

. He received the Egebergs Ærespris in 1987 for his accomplishments in cross-country skiing and athletics.

Cross-country skiing results

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

Olympic Games

* 2 medals – (2 silver)

World Championships

* 4 medals – (2 gold, 2 bronze)

World Cup

Season standings

Individual podiums

* 2 victories * 4 podiums

Team podiums

* 1 victory * 1 podium Note: Until the 1999 World Championships, World Championship races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

References

* - click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file * - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bra, Oddvar 1951 births Cross-country skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1976 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1980 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1984 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics Holmenkollen medalists Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Living people Norwegian male cross-country skiers Olympic cross-country skiers of Norway Olympic silver medalists for Norway Place of birth missing (living people) Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics People from Melhus Sportspeople from Trøndelag