Career

In his early career, he finished ninth in the 30 kilometres event at the 2003 Junior World Championships. He made his debut in the World Cup

FIS Cross-Country World Cup

The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recognition on the 31...

 in February 2004 in Trondheim

Trondheim

Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...

, where he finished 67th in the sprint race. He also competed in the 50 kilometre event in Oslo the same month, where he finished 50th. In a Marathon Cup race in March 2005 in Mora

Mora, Sweden

Mora is a locality and the seat of Mora Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 10,940 inhabitants in 2005.-History:There are signs of human activity in the surroundings of Mora dating from 4000 B.C. The earliest found buildings in Mora are from the 7th century...

, he finished sixth. Already at the 2005–06 World Cup

2005–06 FIS Cross-Country World Cup

The 2005–06 FIS Cross-Country World Cup started in Düsseldorf on 22 October 2005 and finished in Sapporo on 19 March 2006.-Individual events:-Team events:-Overall:-Distance Cup:-Sprint Cup:-Nations Cup:-Individual events:-Team events:...

 opener in Beitostølen, in November 2005, he collected his first World Cup points with a twelfth place in the 15 kilometre event. He followed up with a thirteenth and a fifteenth place in December, in Canmore

Canmore, Alberta

Canmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately west of the City of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rockies. The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of...

 and Nové Město

Nove Mesto

Nove Mesto, meaning "New Town" in Czech and Slovak, may refer to:* Nové Město , places in the Czech Republic* Nové Mesto , places in Slovakia and Hungary...

 respectively. In January 2006 in Lago di Tesero he finished among the top ten for the first time, with a seventh place in the 30 kilometre event. He finished among the top five for the first time with a fourth place in March 2006 in Falun

Falun

Falun is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 36,447 inhabitants in 2005. It is also the capital of Dalarna County...

. At the 2006 Winter Olympics

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

 he finished seventeenth in the 2x15 kilometre pursuit

Cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Men's 30 kilometre pursuit

The Men's 30 kilometre pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, was held on 12 February at Pragelato....

, and fifteenth in the 50 kilometre freestyle

Cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Men's 50 kilometre freestyle

The Men's 50 kilometre freestyle cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, was held on 26 February, at Pragelato...

 event. He also became a part of the Norwegian national cross-country skiing squad. He had been offered a team spot twice before, but rejected both times, as it would interfere with his medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

 studies.

In the 2006–07 World Cup he did not compete often. Except for relay events, his best placement was tenth in the 50 kilometre event at Holmenkollen

Holmenkollen

Holmenkollen is a neighborhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. In addition to being a residential area, the area has been a ski recreation area since the late 19th century, with its famous, eponymous, ski jump arena hosting competitions since 1892...

 in March 2007. In the 2007–08 World Cup, however, he opened with a seventh place at Beitostølen, and recorded a ninth place in Rybinsk

Rybinsk

Rybinsk is the second largest city of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, which lies at the confluence of the Volga and Sheksna Rivers. Population: It is served by Rybinsk Staroselye airport.-Early history:...

 right before the Tour de Ski

Tour de Ski

Tour de Ski is a cross-country skiing event held annually since 2007 in Central Europe, modeled on the Tour de France of cycling. Races have been held in the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy over eight days. The prize money for the event amounted to 1,055,000 Swiss francs , shared out on both men...

. He performed well here, with two fourth places, one sixth place and a ninth place, and he ended up in fourth in the overall standings

2007-08 Tour de Ski

The 2007–08 Tour de Ski took place from 28 December 2007 until 6 January 2008. The race kicked off in Nové Město, the Czech Republic, and finished in Val di Fiemme, Italy, ten days later...

. He recorded an eleventh and a sixteenth place in January 2008 in Canmore, and finished on the podium for the first time. He was runner-up both in Falun

Falun

Falun is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 36,447 inhabitants in 2005. It is also the capital of Dalarna County...

 in February and Bormio

Bormio

Bormio is a town and comune located in the province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. It has a population of 4,200...

 in March. He ended eleventh in his last race for the season.

The 2008–09 World Cup season was more unstable. He did finish fifth in La Clusaz

La Clusaz

La Clusaz is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-Overview:It is a ski resort in the Alps near the Swiss border. The commune of La Clusaz is part of the Haute-Savoie département. An old village, La Clusaz has been hosting winter sports since 1907...

 in December 2008, but also recorded a 58th, 47th, and 36th place. In the 2008-09 Tour de Ski a twelfth place was his best achievement, and he ended 23rd overall. A sixth place in Rybinsk in January 2009 followed, and at the Nordic World Ski Championships 2009

Cross-country skiing at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009

At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, Czech Republic, twelve cross-country skiing events were held with six for men and six for women. The format of the program has been unchanged since the 2005 World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany...

 he finished fourteenth in the 2x15 kilometre pursuit, and twentieth in the 50 kilometre freestyle event. The rest of his World Cup showings that season, including the World Cup finale in Sweden, were poor. He opened the 2009–10 World Cup

2009–10 FIS Cross-Country World Cup

The 2009–10 FIS Cross-Country World Cup was a multi-race tournament over the season for cross-country skiers. The season started 21 November 2009 in Beitostølen, Norway and ended on 21 March 2010 in Falun, Sweden. The World Cup was organised by the FIS who also run world cups and championships in...

 season with a relay race in Beitostølen.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

, Gjerdalen finished 19th in the 30 km mixed pursuit and 28th in the 15 km events.

At the Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 2011 World Championships Gjerdalen received a bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 in the men's 50 kilometre freestyle

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 – Men's 50 kilometre freestyle

The Men's 50 km freestyle mass start is the final event of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011. It will go underway on 6 March 2011 at 13:00 CET. Norway's Petter Northug is both the defending world and Olympic champion.- Results :...

 and a gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 in the men's 4 x 10 kilometre relay

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 – Men's 4 × 10 kilometre relay

The Men's 4 x 10 kilometre relay was held on 4 March 2011 at 13:00 CET The defending world champions were the Norwegian team of Eldar Rønning, Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset, Tore Ruud Hofstad and Petter Northug while the defending Olympic champions were the Swedish team of Daniel Rickardsson, Johan Olsson,...

, racing the third lap for 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...

.

Personal life

Gjerdalen is the brother of fellow skiers Gard Filip Gjerdalen

Gard Filip Gjerdalen

Gard Filip Gjerdalen is a Norwegian cross-country skier.His only start in the World Cup to date was in March 2006 in Mora, where he finished in a fifteenth place. He also featured in many Marathon Cup races in 2006 and 2007, recording a sixth place over 50 kilometres in January 2006 in...

 and Njål Tage Gjerdalen. He lives in Hole

Hole, Norway

Hole is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Ringerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vik. Hole is located around lake Tyrifjorden and extends to the woodland around Oslo...

, formerly represented the local sports club IL Holeværingen before changing club to Fossum IF

Fossum IF

Fossum Idrettsforening is a Norwegian sports club from Fossum, Grini, Østerås and Eiksmarka in Bærum. It has sections for cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, alpine skiing, Nordic combined, orienteering and football, and was founded on 7 December 1918...

. He is known for his trademark aviator glasses, which he chooses over the more specialised winter-sports eyewear

Eyewear

Eyewear can refer to:*Glasses *Sunglasses*Contact lenses*Eye protection**Goggles...

of his rivals.