Hallgeir Brenden (10 February 1929 – 21 September 2007) was a former 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...

 from Tørberget

Tørberget

Tørberget is a small village in Trysil municipality, Norway.Hallgeir Brenden was from there....

 in Trysil

Trysil

Trysil is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Innbygda...

.

He won Olympic gold medals in the 18 km event at the 1952 Winter Olympics

1952 Winter Olympics

The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952. Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city wanted to host the 1948 Games, but World War II made that impossible...

 and in the 15 km event 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...

, and an Olympic silver medal in the 4 x 10 km relay at the 1952 Winter Olympics. Brenden also won at 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 (18 km: 1952 and 15 km: 1956 and 1963). He is the only person to win the Olympic, 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...

 and Holmenkollen events at both 18 km and 15 km. In 1955, Brenden was 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....

 (shared with King Haakon VII, Veikko Hakulinen

Veikko Hakulinen

Veikko Johannes Hakulinen was a Finnish forestry technician and cross country skier, triple champion in both the olympics and world championship competition in cross country skiing...

, and 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...

).

Brenden also competed on national level in athletics

Athletics (track and field)

Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

, and won the Norwegian championships in 3000 metre steeplechase

Steeplechase (athletics)

The steeplechase is an obstacle race in athletics, which derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing.-Rules:The length of the race is usually 3000 m; junior events are 2000 m, as women's events formerly were. The circuit has four ordinary barriers and one water jump. Over 3000 m, each...

 in 1953 and 1954. He competed for IK Tjalve

IK Tjalve

Idrettsklubben Tjalve is a Norwegian athletics club from Oslo, founded on 27 December 1890. It is named after Þjálfi in Norse mythology.It is one of the most prominent athletics clubs in Norway, and numerous members have represented Norway in international competitions.IK Tjalve uses the Bislett...

.

Brenden received the Egebergs Ærespris

Egebergs Ærespris

The Egebergs Ærespris is a prize awarded to Norwegian athletes who excel in more than one sport. The prize was created by Ferdinand Julian Egeberg, and consists of a bronze statuette modelled by sculptor Magnus Vigrestad.-History:...

in 1952. He died in 2007