Frode Estil
Encyclopedia
Frode Estil (born May 31, 1972 in Lierne
in Nord-Trøndelag
, Norway
) is a retired Norwegian
cross-country skier
. He currently lives in Meråker
with his wife Grete whom he married in the summer of 2001. They have two sons, Bernhard, born in August 2002, and Konrad. Estil was classical specialist and also a specialist at succeeding in World Championships and Olympics. While Estil only won four World Cup races, he won one individual Olympic Gold and one individual World Championship gold. In addition, he won three team events in the World Championships and another team gold in the Olympics.
. His best standing at the end of a season was during 2001/02 when he finished 5th. Estil has been competing in the World Cup since 1995/96, in which he finished the season in 42nd place, and in 1996/97 he finished 63rd. The year after however he jumped up to 12th. The following two years he finished 19th and 12th. Finally in the 2000/01 season he finished inside the top ten of the world, finishing 8th. The next season (2001/02) was even better for Estil, not only did he get married in the summer but he finished in 5th place overall, his ever highest overall ranking. The next two seasons he finished in 6th. After the 2002/03 season he stopped competing in the sprint events after finishing the season in 58th, he had finished the sprint seasons in 48th (1996/97), 18th (1997/98), 18th (1998/99), 32nd (1999/00), and 39th in 2001/02. In 2003/04 he finished 3rd in the distance standings. 2004/05 was a poor season, finishing 14th in the distance, and 25th in the overall. Estil finished the 2005/06 season in 9th place in the FIS World Cup standings, 456 points behind winner Tobias Angerer
. Estil finished 4th in the distance, 420 points behind Angerer, and again did not compete in the sprints.
Estil has had 18 World Cup podium finishes. Four of them in 1st place, six in 2nd place and eight in 3rd place. His wins came in 1999/00, 2002/03 and two in 2003/04. The most podium finishes he has had in a single season was in 2002/03, where he had four (one win, two 2nd, and one 3rd). He had three podiums in the seasons either side of that season. All of his wins have been in the classic style, except one double pursuit (in which the first half of the race is in the classical technique).
The 15 km is his most successful event in terms of numbers of podium finishes. Through the years he has had one win, three second places and three third places. His most successful event in terms of wins is the 30 km, where he has had three victories (also one second and one third).
At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2003, held in Val di Fiemme
, Estil won a gold in the 4 x 10 km relay and bronze in the 15 km and 30 km.
At the 2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
in Oberstdorf
, Estil won gold in the 50 km race, and the 4 x 10 km relay. In the 50 km race he won in a time of 2:30:10.1, beating Anders Aukland
by 0.7 seconds, and Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset
came third making it a Norwegian sweep. A characteristic of Estil is to start slow and then come through the pack towards the end of the race, he was 23rd after 12.5 km, and 11th after 27.5 km, but by 42.5 km he was 3rd, and came through to win. In the relay, Norway (Hjelmeset, Estil, biathlete
Lars Berger
, and Tore Ruud Hofstad
) won, with Germany second and Russia third. Norway finished 17.7 seconds ahead of the Germans, with Estil skiing Norway's second fastest leg (behind Berger). He also won a bronze medal in the 15 km + 15 km double pursuit, in a time of 1:19:21.3, 0.8 seconds behind winner Vincent Vittoz
, and losing silver to Giorgio Di Centa
in a photo finish
.
At the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
in Sapporo, Estil won only one medal. He lost the gold at the finish line of the 50 km event to fellow Norwegian Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset. Estil has nine World Championship medals as of the Sapporo championships with four gold, two silver, and three bronze.
In the 10 km + 10 km combined pursuit, Estil tied with fellow Norwegian Thomas Alsgaard
for second place, with Johann Mühlegg
winning the race. However Mühlegg was found guilty of doping
and disqualified by the IOC
in February 2004, therefore upgrading Estil and Alsgaard to joint gold medalists. Alsgaard and Estil clocked times of 49:48.9, 4 seconds ahead of Per Elofsson
.
In the same Olympic Games, he also won a silver medal in the 15 km Classic race, and a gold medal in the 4 x 10 km relay together with Alsgaard, Kristen Skjeldal
and Anders Aukland
. Estil finished the 15 km race in 37:43.4, 36 seconds behind Andrus Veerpalu
of Estonia
, and 7.4 seconds ahead of Jaak Mae
also of Estonia. Estil also took part in the 50 km classic, but finished ninth, in a time of 2:10:44.8, 4:22.0 behind winner Mikhail Ivanov of Russia.
At the 2006 Olympics in Turin
, Italy
, Estil won the silver medal in the men's 15 km + 15 km double pursuit competition despite taking a fall and breaking a ski at the start of the race which put him in last place. Eugeni Dementiev
of Russia won the race, 1.6 seconds ahead of Estil, who finished the race in 1:17:01.8, 0.3 seconds ahead of Pietro Piller Cottrer
who came third. In the same Games Estil also took part in the 15 km classical, and the 50 km freestyle mass start, but finished 17th and 28th respectively. Estil's results mirrored those of the Norwegian cross-country team who failed to win a single Gold medal in Turin, owing to stomach illness and waxing mistakes made by Norway's eight man strong service team.
Estil's Olympic medals include two golds and two silvers..
Lierne
Lierne is a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region, and it is the largest municipality in Trøndelag. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sandvika. Other villages include Inderdal, Sørli, and Tunnsjø senter...
in Nord-Trøndelag
Nord-Trøndelag
is a county constituting the northern part of Trøndelag in Norway. As of 2010, the county had 131,555 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-least populated county. The largest municipalities are Stjørdal, Steinkjer—the county seat, Levanger, Namsos and Verdal, all with between 21,000 and...
, 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...
) is a retired 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...
cross-country skier
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
. He currently lives in Meråker
Meråker
Meråker is a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Stjørdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Midtbygda which is about west of Storlien in Sweden and east of Stjørdalshalsen in Stjørdal. Other villages in Meråker include Gudåa,...
with his wife Grete whom he married in the summer of 2001. They have two sons, Bernhard, born in August 2002, and Konrad. Estil was classical specialist and also a specialist at succeeding in World Championships and Olympics. While Estil only won four World Cup races, he won one individual Olympic Gold and one individual World Championship gold. In addition, he won three team events in the World Championships and another team gold in the Olympics.
World Cup
Estil's first World Cup victory was in 1999 in the 30 km event at DavosDavos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
. His best standing at the end of a season was during 2001/02 when he finished 5th. Estil has been competing in the World Cup since 1995/96, in which he finished the season in 42nd place, and in 1996/97 he finished 63rd. The year after however he jumped up to 12th. The following two years he finished 19th and 12th. Finally in the 2000/01 season he finished inside the top ten of the world, finishing 8th. The next season (2001/02) was even better for Estil, not only did he get married in the summer but he finished in 5th place overall, his ever highest overall ranking. The next two seasons he finished in 6th. After the 2002/03 season he stopped competing in the sprint events after finishing the season in 58th, he had finished the sprint seasons in 48th (1996/97), 18th (1997/98), 18th (1998/99), 32nd (1999/00), and 39th in 2001/02. In 2003/04 he finished 3rd in the distance standings. 2004/05 was a poor season, finishing 14th in the distance, and 25th in the overall. Estil finished the 2005/06 season in 9th place in the FIS World Cup standings, 456 points behind winner Tobias Angerer
Tobias Angerer
Tobias Angerer is a German cross country skier, and skies with the SC Vachendorf club. He graduated from the Skigymnasium Berchtesgaden in 1996. His occupation is "Sports Soldier"...
. Estil finished 4th in the distance, 420 points behind Angerer, and again did not compete in the sprints.
Estil has had 18 World Cup podium finishes. Four of them in 1st place, six in 2nd place and eight in 3rd place. His wins came in 1999/00, 2002/03 and two in 2003/04. The most podium finishes he has had in a single season was in 2002/03, where he had four (one win, two 2nd, and one 3rd). He had three podiums in the seasons either side of that season. All of his wins have been in the classic style, except one double pursuit (in which the first half of the race is in the classical technique).
The 15 km is his most successful event in terms of numbers of podium finishes. Through the years he has had one win, three second places and three third places. His most successful event in terms of wins is the 30 km, where he has had three victories (also one second and one third).
World championships
Estil's first gold medal in an international championship was in the relay in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2001 in Lahti, where he also took silver in the 30 km.At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2003, held in Val di Fiemme
Val di Fiemme
thumb|300px|Location of the Fiemme Valley in [[Trentino]].thumb|300px|The [[Lagorai]] seen from [[Passo Lusia]].Fiemme Valley is a valley in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region in northern Italy located in the Dolomites mountain region....
, Estil won a gold in the 4 x 10 km relay and bronze in the 15 km and 30 km.
At the 2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2005 took place February 16-27, 2005 in Oberstdorf, Germany for the second time after hosting it previously in 1987. The ski jumping team normal hill returned after not being held in 2003...
in Oberstdorf
Oberstdorf
Oberstdorf is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in southwest Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps.At the center of Oberstdorf is a church whose tall spire serves as a landmark for navigating around town. The summits of the Nebelhorn and Fellhorn provide...
, Estil won gold in the 50 km race, and the 4 x 10 km relay. In the 50 km race he won in a time of 2:30:10.1, beating Anders Aukland
Anders Aukland
Anders Aukland is a professional Norwegian cross-country skier who has won both Olympic and World Championship gold medals. He lives in Oslo....
by 0.7 seconds, and Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset
Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset
Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed since 1993.A classical technique specialist, Hjelmeset's biggest success is the gold medal in the 50 km event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 in Sapporo...
came third making it a Norwegian sweep. A characteristic of Estil is to start slow and then come through the pack towards the end of the race, he was 23rd after 12.5 km, and 11th after 27.5 km, but by 42.5 km he was 3rd, and came through to win. In the relay, Norway (Hjelmeset, Estil, biathlete
Biathlon
Biathlon is a term used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines. However, biathlon usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting...
Lars Berger
Lars Berger
Lars Berger is a Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier. Fellow biathlete Tora Berger is his sister. Berger's family moved to Lesja, Oppland, in 1985. At the age of six, Berger started cross-country skiing, but during his teens he decided to try out the biathlon.Berger joined the national...
, and Tore Ruud Hofstad
Tore Ruud Hofstad
Tore Ruud Hofstad is a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed from 1998 to 2010. A freestyle specialist, Hofstad is best noted as a member of the Norwegian relay team during three successful FIS Nordic World Ski Championship campaigns...
) won, with Germany second and Russia third. Norway finished 17.7 seconds ahead of the Germans, with Estil skiing Norway's second fastest leg (behind Berger). He also won a bronze medal in the 15 km + 15 km double pursuit, in a time of 1:19:21.3, 0.8 seconds behind winner Vincent Vittoz
Vincent Vittoz
Vincent Vittoz is a French cross-country skier. He grew up in the town of La Clusaz in the Northern French Alps and has been competing since 1982...
, and losing silver to Giorgio Di Centa
Giorgio Di Centa
Giorgio Di Centa is an Italian cross country skier who won two gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics, including the individual 50 km freestyle race...
in a photo finish
Photo finish
A photo finish occurs in a sporting race, when two competitors cross the finishing line at near the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to discriminate between which of the competitors crossed the line first, a strip photo, a series of rapidly triggered photographs, or a video taken at the...
.
At the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 took place February 22 - March 4, 2007 in Sapporo, Japan. This was the second time this city has hosted these championships, doing so previously at the 1972 Winter Olympics, having been voted at the 43rd FIS World Congress in Portorož, Slovenia on June 6,...
in Sapporo, Estil won only one medal. He lost the gold at the finish line of the 50 km event to fellow Norwegian Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset. Estil has nine World Championship medals as of the Sapporo championships with four gold, two silver, and three bronze.
Olympics
Estil has competed in two Winter Olympics. In the 2002 Games Estil won golds in the 10 km + 10 km combined pursuit, and the 4 x 10 km relay; and won a silver in the 15 km. In the 2006 Olympics he won a silver medal in the 15 km + 15 km double pursuit.In the 10 km + 10 km combined pursuit, Estil tied with fellow Norwegian Thomas Alsgaard
Thomas Alsgaard
Thomas Alsgaard is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier. Alsgaard is regarded by many as the best performer of the skate-style in cross-country skiing and many of today's best skiers have studied his technique...
for second place, with Johann Mühlegg
Johann Mühlegg
Johann Mühlegg is a Spanish top level cross-country skier who has competed in international competitions first representing Germany and then Spain, after becoming a Spanish citizen in 1999...
winning the race. However Mühlegg was found guilty of doping
Doping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
and disqualified by the IOC
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
in February 2004, therefore upgrading Estil and Alsgaard to joint gold medalists. Alsgaard and Estil clocked times of 49:48.9, 4 seconds ahead of Per Elofsson
Per Elofsson
Per Eilert Elofsson is a Swedish cross-country skier who competed from 1997 to 2004. He won a bronze medal in the 10 km + 10 km combined pursuit at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
.
In the same Olympic Games, he also won a silver medal in the 15 km Classic race, and a gold medal in the 4 x 10 km relay together with Alsgaard, Kristen Skjeldal
Kristen Skjeldal
Kristen Skjeldal is an Olympic champion and cross country skier from Norway. He has won three olympic medals: two gold and one bronze. He won his first gold medal in the 4 x 10 km relay at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville...
and Anders Aukland
Anders Aukland
Anders Aukland is a professional Norwegian cross-country skier who has won both Olympic and World Championship gold medals. He lives in Oslo....
. Estil finished the 15 km race in 37:43.4, 36 seconds behind Andrus Veerpalu
Andrus Veerpalu
Andrus Veerpalu is a former and so far the most successful Estonian male cross country skier.On 17 February 2006 he won his second Winter Olympics gold medal , becoming the fourth Estonian to have won two Olympic gold medals Andrus Veerpalu (born 8 February 1971 in Pärnu) is a former and so far...
of Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, and 7.4 seconds ahead of Jaak Mae
Jaak Mae
Jaak Mae is an Estonian cross-country skier who has competed since 1994. He won a bronze in the 15km event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
also of Estonia. Estil also took part in the 50 km classic, but finished ninth, in a time of 2:10:44.8, 4:22.0 behind winner Mikhail Ivanov of Russia.
At the 2006 Olympics in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Estil won the silver medal in the men's 15 km + 15 km double pursuit competition despite taking a fall and breaking a ski at the start of the race which put him in last place. Eugeni Dementiev
Eugeni Dementiev
Yevgeny Alexandrovich Dementyev is a retired Russian cross-country skier. He attended Children and Youth Sports School of Sovetsky District, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, where his first trainer was Valery Ukhov. Dementyev's first international success was in 2001 at the Junior World Championship...
of Russia won the race, 1.6 seconds ahead of Estil, who finished the race in 1:17:01.8, 0.3 seconds ahead of Pietro Piller Cottrer
Pietro Piller Cottrer
Pietro Piller Cottrer is an Italian cross-country skier who won gold medal in the 4 x 10 km relay at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He was born at Sappada, province of Belluno....
who came third. In the same Games Estil also took part in the 15 km classical, and the 50 km freestyle mass start, but finished 17th and 28th respectively. Estil's results mirrored those of the Norwegian cross-country team who failed to win a single Gold medal in Turin, owing to stomach illness and waxing mistakes made by Norway's eight man strong service team.
Estil's Olympic medals include two golds and two silvers..
Medical
- Estil has a high hemoglobinHemoglobinHemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of all vertebrates, with the exception of the fish family Channichthyidae, as well as the tissues of some invertebrates...
level, and has received a blood-certificate by the FISInternational Ski FederationThe International Ski Federation, known by its name in French, Fédération Internationale de Ski is the main international organisation for ski sports...
, so that when his blood is tested the maximum hemoglobin allowed to race is 17.5 grams hemoglobin per 100 ml of blood, compared to 17 grams for men and 16 grams per 100 ml for athletes without this certificate.
Legacy
- Estil has had a hill in Soldier HollowSoldier HollowSoldier Hollow is a cross-country ski resort located southeast of Salt Lake City in Wasatch Mountain State Park, Utah, United States. The resort was created for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and during the games it hosted the biathlon, cross-country skiing and the cross country skiing portion of the...
, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, United States of America (where the cross country skiing and biathlon events of the 2002 Winter Olympics took place) named after him after his three medals.
- Frode Estil was named Norwegian sportsman of the year in 2001.
- Estil received the Holmenkollen medalHolmenkollen medalThe 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....
in 2007 (Shared with Simon AmmannSimon AmmannSimon Ammann is a Swiss ski jumper, and double Olympic Champion at both 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics.Ammann was born in Grabs, Switzerland, to Margit and Heinrich Ammann and raised in Unterwasser, Switzerland. He has two brothers and three sisters. He married Yana Yanovskaya on 25 June 2010...
, Odd-Bjørn HjelmesetOdd-Bjørn HjelmesetOdd-Bjørn Hjelmeset is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed since 1993.A classical technique specialist, Hjelmeset's biggest success is the gold medal in the 50 km event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 in Sapporo...
, King Harald V, and Queen SonjaQueen Sonja of NorwayQueen 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...
).
External links
- Frode Estil's official website &
- Holmenkollen medal presented to Estil and Hjelmeset - Accessed March 21, 2007
- 2007 Holmenkollen medalists announced - Accessed March 18, 2007.
- Short video of Frode being wished good luck by the Leeds manager