Borghild Niskin is a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 alpine skier

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

 who finished 7th in the women's giant slalom at the 1956 Winter Olympics

1956 Winter Olympics

The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This celebration of the Games was held from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, beat out...

 at Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...

. For that honor, Niskin became the first woman awarded the Holmenkollen medal

Holmenkollen medal

The Holmenkollen medal is Norwegian skiing's highest award for competitors. It signifies top placings in international championships and other international events, including the Holmenkollen events....

 that same year (Shared with fellow Norwegians Arnfinn Bergmann

Arnfinn Bergmann

Arnfinn Bergmann was a ski jumper from Norway.He was born in Trondheim and represented the clubs SK Freidig and SFK Lyn. He won a gold medal in the normal hill event at the 1952 Winter Olympics, accompanied on the podium by Torbjørn Falkanger who won the silver medal...

 and Arne Hoel

Arne Hoel

Arne Hoel was a Norwegian ski jumper who competed in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in Drammen.Hoel won the ski jumping event at the Holmenkollen ski festival three times...

.). Niskin is one of only eleven non-Nordic skiers

Nordic skiing

Nordic skiing is a winter sport that encompasses all types of skiing where the heel of the boot cannot be fixed to the ski, as opposed to Alpine skiing....

 to ever win the Holmenkollen medal (Stein Eriksen

Stein Eriksen

Stein Eriksen is a former alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist.-Background:Stein Eriksen was born in Oslo, Norway. His parents were Marius Eriksen and Birgit Heien . Stein's father, Marius Eriksen competed in the 1912 Olympic Games as a gymnast...

, King Haakon VII, Inger Bjørnbakken

Inger Bjørnbakken

Inger Bjørnbakken is a former alpine ski racer. She finished tied for 6th in the women's slalom at the 1956 Winter Olympics at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Two years later, Bjørnbakken won the women's slalom at the 1958 World Championships in Bad Gastein, Austria...

, Astrid Sandvik

Astrid Sandvik

Astrid Sandvik is a Norwegian Alpine skier who finished tied for sixth dog in the women's slalom at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. In 1963, Sandvik almost earned the Holmenkollen medal...

, King Olav V, Erik Håker

Erik Håker

Erik Håker is a Norwegian alpine skier from Oppdal who finished 5th in the men's downhill at the 1972 Winter Olympics at Sapporo. That same year, Håker became the first Norwegian to win a World Cup Alpine event. He would win two more World Cup events, his last in 1979. For his Alpine World Cup...

, Jacob Vaage

Jacob Vaage

Jakob Vaage was a Norwegian skier and historian.Vaage was an active skier for Ullern SK, and participated in summer sports for Bestum IF. He was admitted to the exclusive skiing club SK Ull in 1947, and became an honorary member in 1983...

, King Harald V, and Queen Sonja

Queen Sonja of Norway

Queen Sonja of Norway is the wife of King Harald V of Norway.-Prior to marriage:Sonja was born in Oslo on 4 July 1937 as the daughter of clothing merchant Karl August Haraldsen and Dagny Ulrichsen .Queen Sonja grew up in the district of Vinderen in Oslo and completed her lower secondary schooling...

 (all from Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

), and Ingemar Stenmark

Ingemar Stenmark

Jan Ingemar Stenmark is a Swedish former skier, active during the 1970s and 1980s. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish sportsmen, and as the greatest slalom and giant slalom specialist of all time. He competed for Fjällvinden Tärnaby.Stenmark was born in the province of Lappland...

 (Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

) are the others.).

She also finished fifth in the alpine combined event at the Alpine World Skiing Championships

Alpine World Skiing Championships

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are organized by the International Ski Federation . The first world championships in alpine skiing were held in 1931. During the 1930s, the event was held annually in Europe, until interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, preventing a 1940 event...

 in 1956, an extraordinary event from the Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo.