Bjørnar Andersen (born 1978), commonly Bjornar in
English is a
Norwegian refrigerator
A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...
mechanic
A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...
and
dog musher who has won all the long-distance
dog sled races in Norway, and placed fourth in the
2005 Iditarod across the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
, in his rookie outing.
Andersen was born in 1978, and began competing in dog sled races in 1991. He is the nephew of
Robert Sørlie
Robert Walter Sørlie (born 15 February 1958), (pronounced: /sir-lee/) commonly "Sorlie" in English, is a two-time Iditarod champion Norwegian dog musher and dog sled racer from Hurdal Municipality. Together with Kjetil Backen and his nephew, ...
, the 2003 and 2005
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod (), is an annual long-distance sled dog race held in Alaska in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome. Mushers and a team of between 12 and 16 dogs, of which at lea ...
champion, and together with
Kjetil Backen
Kjetil is a Norwegian masculine given name. It may refer to:
*Kjetil Aleksander Lie (born 1980), Norwegian chess player, Norway's eighth International Grandmaster
*Kjetil André Aamodt (born 1971), Norwegian former alpine ski racer
*Kjetil Bang-Ha ...
they form Team Norway.
Andersen placed third in the 300 km (200 mi) Femundløpet dog sled race in 1999, placed second in the 500 km (300 mi) Femundløpet in 2002 and 2004, and won in 2003. Andersen also won the 1,000 km (500 mi) Finnmarksløpet in 2004.
Andersen finished the 1,868 km (1,161 mi) 2005 Iditarod dog sled race in 4th place with a time of 9 days, 19 hours, 50 minutes, and 38 seconds, and won the Rookie of the Year Award. This is the highest position a first-time competitor in the race has won since the first Iditarods in the 1970s, when all or most of the racers were rookies. His uncle Robert Sørlie took first place, for the second time. According to Andersen, "my biggest challenge in the 2005 Iditarod race is the fact that I am a rookie and consequently do not know the trail". (Cabela's, 2005)
Andersen is a full-time refrigeration mechanic, and runs dogs in his spare time. He lives in the forests to the southeast of
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, near
Siggerud.
References
* Cabela's
Bjørnar Andersen Retrieved March 16, 2005.
* Team Norway (March 2, 2005)
Bjørnar Andersen Retrieved March 16, 2005.
External links
Team Norway home page (in English)Finnmarksløpet home page (in Norwegian, English or German)Iditarod home page (in English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Bjornar
1978 births
Living people
Norwegian dog mushers