Einar Bergsland (11 December 1909 – 12 July 1982) was a Norwegian Nordic skier who later became a promoter for the Holmenkollen ski festival, for

alpine skiing 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 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

, and for the FIS. As a Nordic skier, Bergsland once beat the legendary

Johan Grøttumsbråten Johan Hagbart Pedersen Grøttumsbraaten (24 February 1899 – 24 January 1983) was a Norwegian skier who competed in Nordic combined and cross-country. Dominating both events in the 1920s and early 1930s, he won several medals in the early Wint ...

in competition. He also was national champion in

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

, and dogsled racing. Later, Bergsland introduced alpine skiing to Norway, and was involved on the Holmenkollen organizing committee for 35 years, including 14 as president. From 1945 to 1951, he was Secretary-General of the

International Ski Federation The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...

( FIS), later serving on the Council until 1969. Bergsland was also President of the Commission from 1951 to 1953 and served as an honorary member of the ( FIS) until his 1982 death. He also wrote many skiing books, including one about 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 19 ...

Oslo 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 ...

(1951). For his lengthy and diverse service in skiing, Bergsland received the Holmenkollen medal in 1973 (shared with Ingolf Mork and Franz Keller).

References

FIS Secretary General profile of BergslandHolmenkollen medalists
- click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file
Olympic Review (Jan.-Feb., 1984 digitzed version. p. 6.4 (p. 14 of 48 in digitized version)Preview of the 1952 Winter Olympics (1951)
1909 births 1982 deaths Holmenkollen medalists Norwegian male Nordic combined skiers 20th-century Norwegian people {{nordic-skiing-bio-stub