Inger Bjørnbakken is a former alpine ski racer

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...

. She finished tied for 6th (with fellow Norwegian and 1963 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....

ist 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...

) in the women's slalom

Slalom skiing

Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...

 at the 1956 Winter Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics

At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the six alpine skiing events were held from Friday, January 27 to Friday, February 3, 1956.Toni Sailer of Austria won all three men's events to become the first alpine ski racer to win three gold medals in a single Olympics...

 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...

, 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...

. Two years later, Bjørnbakken won the women's slalom at the 1958 World Championships

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958 were held in Bad Gastein, Austria, between February 2–9, 1958.*Toni Sailer, 22, of Austria, won three gold medals and a silver.*Lucille Wheeler, 23, of Canada, won two gold medals and a silver.-External links:...

 in Bad Gastein

Bad Gastein

Bad Gastein is a spa town in the Austrian state of Salzburg, situated at the northern rim of the Hohe Tauern national park. It has 5,838 inhabitants. The name "Bad" means "spa", reflecting the town's history as a health resort. It is located at the head of the Gastein valley, about 1,000 metres ...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. For her alpine world championship, Bjørnbakken earned 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 Norwegian Håkon Brusveen). Bjørnbakken 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, Boghild Niskin, Sandvik, 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...

, 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...

. All were 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...

 except Stenmark, who is from 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....

.