Sondre Norheim, born Sondre Auverson, (10 June 1825 – 9 March 1897) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

skier and pioneer of modern

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

. Sondre Norheim is known as the father of

Telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is na ...

Background

Sondre Auverson was born at Øverbø, a little cotter's farm and raised in

Morgedal Morgedal is a village in the municipality of Kviteseid, Telemark, Norway. The village gas been described as the "cradle of skiing". Morgedal, Norway is a village whose most famous residents were Sondre Norheim, known to be the father of modern sk ...

in the municipality of

Kviteseid Kviteseid is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative ...

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

, Norway. Skiing was a popular activity in Morgedal. Sondre took to

downhill skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping), w ...

as a recreational activity, rising to local fame for his skills. He made important innovations in skiing technology by designing new equipment, such as different bindings and shorter skis with curved sides to facilitate turns. He also designed the Telemark ski, which is the prototype of all those now produced. Sondre Norheim was regarded by his contemporaries as a master of the art of skiing. He combined ordinary skiing with jumping and slalom. In 1868 he won the first national skiing competition in Christiania, beating his younger competitors by a large margin. His reputation grew, and eventually made

words like

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

and slalåm ( slalom) known worldwide.

Personal life

On 15 January 1854 Sondre Norheim married Rannei Åmundsdotter from a cotter's farm at Øyfjell, a neighbouring village. In March 1854 their first daughter, Ingerid, was born. The next year little Hæge came, but she died at 15 weeks old. The next year Olav was born, and then another daughter they called Hæge, then Anne, Auver, Åmund and Talleiv. Sondre and Rannei lost a second child when Auver died at age 12. The family moved around to different places in Morgedal. Their last place was called "Norheim", which Sondre took as a new family name.

Emigration

On 30 May 1884 Sondre and Rannei left Norway together with three of their children– Anne (21), Åmund (14) and Talleiv (12). Their son Olav and daughter Hæge had left home previously, and their eldest daughter Ingerid decided to stay back home. Norheim followed in the footsteps of many of his neighbors in Morgedal and emigrated from Norway to 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 ...

. After having first settled in Minnesota, they moved to

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

, near Villard in McHenry County. He continued to ski when he could, though the climate and flat topography of the Dakota prairie offered few opportunities for downhill skiing. It was said he always had a pair of skis placed outside his door. Norheim grew more religious with age and helped build a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

church in Villard. He died in 1897 and was buried in Denbigh,

McHenry County, North Dakota McHenry County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,345. Its county seat is Towner. McHenry County is part of the Minot, ND Micropolitan Statistical Area. History The Dakota Territory l ...

Legacy

Sondre Norheim was honored during opening ceremonies at the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...

in Oslo, at the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...

in Squaw Valley, California and at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

Lillehammer, Norway Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

. His grave was originally unmarked, but a memorial stone now marks its spot. During the week of

Norsk Høstfest Norsk Høstfest (Norwegian language: "''Norwegian Autumn Festival''") is an annual festival held each fall in Minot, North Dakota, US. It is North America's largest Scandinavian festival. History The event is held on the North Dakota State Fair gr ...

, held in Minot, N.D., groups visit the grave site and hold a commemorative service in memory of Sondre Norheim. The movie, ''Frikaren på ski – The history of Sondre Norheim, the Father of Modern Ski Sport'' was produced by

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 1970. In 1984, Norheim was inducted into th
Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame
as the first class of inductees. A statue of Sondre Norheim by Norwegian sculptor Knut Skinnarland (1909-1993) was unveiled in 1987 in the

Scandinavian Heritage Park Scandinavian Heritage Park is a park located in the Upper Brooklyn neighborhood of Minot, North Dakota. Scandinavian Heritage Park features remembrances and replicas from each of the Scandinavian countries: Norway, Sweden and Denmark, as well a ...

, in

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 20 ...

. During 1988, an identical statue was unveiled in Morgedal, Norway by

King Olav V Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Nor ...

. During 1993, the Sondre Norheim Eternal Flame Monument was added to the

. Lars Berge Haugan, a skier representing

, lit the flame.''A Torch for the XVII Olympic Winter Games'' (Lillehammer, Norway, 1994)
/ref>

Ski jumping world record

Set on the first ever official ski jumping competition.

References

External links

Sondre Norheim – The Skiing Pioneer of Telemark
* ttps://archive.today/20130113052024/http://www.scandinavianheritage.org/sondrenorheim.htm Scandinavian Heritage Association - Sondre Norheim Statuebr>Morgedal - Sondre Norheim
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norheim, Sondre 1825 births 1897 deaths Norwegian male alpine skiers People from Kviteseid People from North Dakota Norwegian emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Vestfold og Telemark