Stein Eriksen (11 December 1927 – 27 December 2015) was an alpine ski racer and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medalist from Norway. Following his racing career, he was a

ski school A ski school is an establishment that teaches skiing, typically in a ski resort. The modern version of the ski school was invented by the Austrian ski pioneer Hannes Schneider in the early 1920s when he formalized instruction methods and establi ...

director and ambassador at various

resorts A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort' ...

in the United States.

Background

Eriksen was born 11 December 1927, in Oslo. His parents were

Marius Eriksen Emil Marius Eriksen (9 December 1886 – 14 September 1950) was a Norwegian gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was born in Barbu, Norway and died in Oslo. He was the father of Marius Eriksen, Jr. and Stein Eriksen St ...

(1886–1950) and Birgit Heien (1900–1996). Marius Eriksen competed in the 1912 Olympic Games as a

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. His brother,

Marius Eriksen, Jr. Marius Eriksen (8 December 1922 – 6 July 2009) was a Norwegian skier, fighter pilot, model and actor. Eriksen was born on 8 September 1922 in Kristiania (now Oslo) in Norway. His father, also called Marius Eriksen, was a gymnast who compe ...

(1922–2009), was an alpine skier and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

became a fighter ace in the

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...

. Stein Eriksen was the top slalom racer in Norway in 1949 and took bronze in the slalom at the 1950 World Championships in

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Sports career

Eriksen won the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 1952 Winter Olympics, which was held in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

. He also won a silver medal in the slalom. Eriksen was the first male alpine ski racer from outside the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

to win an Olympic gold medal. He also won three gold medals at the 1954 World Championships in

Åre Åre () is a locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 3,200 inhabitants in 2018. It is, however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpen. 25% of the local eco ...

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 ...

. Other accomplishments included being credited with devising "aerials", a freestyle skiing event, and helping revolutionize the world of alpine skiing in the United States, where he served as a ski instructor at many different ski schools. At Sugarbush Resort in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, each Sunday afternoon, combining his gymnastics background and his skiing, Stein would demonstrate a flip on skis. For his Olympic medals, Eriksen earned the Holmenkollen Medal in 1952. It is said that Eriksen was skiing's "first superstar", since he was handsome, stylish and charismatic. Despite his fame, he maintained a very down-to-Earth personality. For example, he is quoted as saying, "Be tough, be confident. But you will never be a whole and happy person if you aren't humble".

Life in the United States

Shortly after his success in the 1952 Olympics, Eriksen moved to the United States where he lived until his death. While ski racing for Norway, he was a ski instructor at Sun Valley in Idaho. Following his racing career, he was the ski school director at various resorts, such as

Boyne Mountain Boyne Mountain Resort is a ski resort with a collection of accommodations in Northern Michigan located near Boyne City operated by Boyne Resorts. The center piece is an upscale resort called The Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa. Boyne Mountain has c ...

and

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, both in Michigan, Sugarbush in Vermont, Heavenly Valley in California, Snowmass and

in Colorado, and

Park City Park City may refer to: a city in Utah. Places * National Park City, London, England, UK; see parks and open spaces in London in the United States * Park City, Illinois * Park City, Kansas * Park City, Kentucky * Park City, Montana * Park City, ...

in Utah. At the time of his death he was the director of skiing at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah, and also served as host of the ''Stein Eriksen Lodge,'' a ski lodge in

Deer Valley Deer Valley is an alpine ski resort in the Wasatch Range, located east of Salt Lake City, in Park City, Utah, United States. The resort, known for its upscale amenities, is consistently ranked among the top ski resorts in North America. Deer ...

(not owned by Eriksen, but named in his honor). Eriksen was married to Gerrysue Eriksen then to Françoise and had five children: Julianna Eriksen, Ava, Stein Jr., Anja and Bjørn. He called both Utah and

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

home. In 1997, Eriksen was honored by the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

. He was knighted with the

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livi ...

for his contribution to Norway, the highest honor that the Norwegian government can give to people living outside Norway. Eriksen celebrated his 80th birthday December 2007 in Deer Valley. He died on 27 December 2015, sixteen days after his 88th birthday, in his Park City, Utah home.Stein Eriksen, skiing pioneer, dies at 88 in Park City home
KSL.com (27 December 2015). Retrieved on 2016-09-11.

Major championship results

From 1948 through 1980, the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

were also the

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, ...

for alpine skiing.

References

External links

*
Stein Eriksen Ski Films
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eriksen, Stein 1927 births 2015 deaths American male alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics Holmenkollen medalists Norwegian male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of Norway Norwegian emigrants to the United States Olympic gold medalists for Norway Olympic silver medalists for Norway Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Medalists at the 1952 Winter Olympics Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal People from Park City, Utah Alpine skiers from Oslo