Gunder Gundersen
Encyclopedia
Gunder Gundersen was a Norwegian
nordic combined
skier and sports official. During his active career he won two individual FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
medals (1954: silver, 1958: bronze) and the Holmenkollen ski festival
three times (1952, 1959 (shared with Sverre Stenersen
, and 1960).
Gundersen was also the Technical Director of the Nordic combined
individual event at the 1980 Winter Olympics
in Lake Placid, New York
. He finished 11th in the Nordic combined event at the 1960 Winter Olympics
in Squaw Valley.
His most significant impact on Nordic combined was creating the "Gundersen method
", in use since 1985. This method recalculated the ski jumping
points into cross country skiing start times with the athletes then starting at staggered times with the winning ski jumper starting first. For the 15 km individual and the 7.5 km sprint, the difference between the competitors at the start of the cross country portion of the event was one ski jumping point equaling four seconds. For the 4 × 5 km team event, one ski jumping point equaled 3 seconds, but this was changed in 1995 to one point equaling 1.5 seconds, then in 2005 to one point equaling one second, and then again in 2009 to one point equaling 1.33 seconds.
Gundersen received the Holmenkollen medal
in 1959.
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...
nordic combined
Nordic combined
The Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in both cross-country skiing and ski jumping.- History :While Norwegian soldiers are known to have been competing in Nordic skiing since the 19th century, the first major competition in Nordic combined was held in 1892 in Oslo at the...
skier and sports official. During his active career he won two individual FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and since 1954 for women. Championship events include nordic skiing's three disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined...
medals (1954: silver, 1958: bronze) and the Holmenkollen ski festival
Holmenkollen ski festival
The Holmenkollen Ski Festival is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. It takes place in March and has been arranged every year since 1892, except for 1898 and during World War II...
three times (1952, 1959 (shared with Sverre Stenersen
Sverre Stenersen
Sverre Stenersen was a Norwegian Nordic combined skier who dominated the event throughout the 1950s. His biggest triumphs were winning individual golds both at the 1956 Winter Olympics and the 1954 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships...
, and 1960).
Gundersen was also the Technical Director of the Nordic combined
Nordic combined at the 1980 Winter Olympics
-Men's event:Wehling is the first man to win three consecutive gold medals in the same individual Winter Olympics event.-References:*...
individual event at the 1980 Winter Olympics
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...
in Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
. He finished 11th in the Nordic combined event at the 1960 Winter Olympics
1960 Winter Olympics
The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...
in Squaw Valley.
His most significant impact on Nordic combined was creating the "Gundersen method
Gundersen method
The Gundersen method is a method in the Nordic combined developed by Gunder Gundersen, a Nordic combined athlete from Norway, that was first used in the 1980s...
", in use since 1985. This method recalculated the ski jumping
Ski jumping
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...
points into cross country skiing start times with the athletes then starting at staggered times with the winning ski jumper starting first. For the 15 km individual and the 7.5 km sprint, the difference between the competitors at the start of the cross country portion of the event was one ski jumping point equaling four seconds. For the 4 × 5 km team event, one ski jumping point equaled 3 seconds, but this was changed in 1995 to one point equaling 1.5 seconds, then in 2005 to one point equaling one second, and then again in 2009 to one point equaling 1.33 seconds.
Gundersen received 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....
in 1959.