Norwegian Language Blog

For those of you who have been watching as much of the Olympics as I have, you may have noticed that Norway has gradually made her way up the ranks to 3rd in the overall medal count, behind Germany and the United States.  Norway has 12 medals, while Germany has 16, and the United States has a whopping 24.  Norway has 5 gullmedaljer, 3 sølvmedaljer, og 4 bronsemedaljer (5 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 4 bronze medals). 

As I’m writing this post, I am watching Audun Groenvold of Norway lead the round in Ski Cross.  He took the bronsemedalje.  As most of you have probably gathered, nordmenn excel especially in skiing events.  Husker du?  Do you remember?  Nordmenn fødes på ski på beina (Norwegians are born with skis on their feet).   People love to joke about that.  But for real, I think I’ve said before, that I was passed by both old and young, male and female (and I consider myself an athletic person) when I gikk på ski (went skiing) in Norway.  So I understand the humor behind the joke because the statement might as well be true. 

Ok, as I’m sitting here recovering from a cold few days sailing in Tampa Bay (attempting to return to reality), I’m watching the Olympcs and surfing the internet for interesting stories about Norway in the Vancouver Olympics.  Check out the antrekk (attire) worn by the Norwegian men’s curling team.

In a sport where uniformer are typically mørke og kjedelige (dark and boring), these uniformer are quite flashy.  I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say they are fasjonable (fashionable), but certainly iøynefallende (eye-catching)!  If you want a pair too, it seems you can purchase them from a company called Loudmouth Golf for $89.95. 

In case that doesn’t interest you, perhaps imagining the 2018 Winter Olympics in Tromsø does?  The Norwegians are ecstatic that Sochi, Russia was chosen as the host for the 2014 Winter Olympics, because Sochi surely would have been a candidate for the 2018 winter games otherwise.  The Norwegians were also pleased that Sochi was chosen over Salzburg, Austria because had Salzburg been chosen, it would be unlikely that Norway would be a contender for the 2018 Winter Olympics due to the International Olympic Committee’s desire to spread the hosting cities out geographically. 

More to come on Norway in the Olympics this week!

1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. 

Da jeg besøkte Norge en gang, (when I visited Norway one time), reiste jeg med tog (I traveled by train) til Lillehammer.  I was shocked that this small town hosted the Olympics!  In 2009, the population census counted just over 26,000 people.  The Olympics must have generated enough tourist revenue for decades!  Lillehammer’s winning bid was made public at the 1988 summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.  Lillehammer was selected over Anchorage, Alaska; Östersund, Austria; and Sofia, Bulgaria. 

One thing that was particularly significant about the 1994 Olympics was the lack of summer Olympics.  This was the first time that the two (summer and winter) were not held together.  Another thing you may remember about the 1994 Olympics are two names: Tonya and Nancy.  That is, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.  Both kunstløpere (figure skaters), Tonya’s ex-husband and a cohort attacked Kerrigan during practice one day.  In Oslo, drama ensued when tyver stjal (thieves stole) Edvard Munch’s The Scream from the National Museum.  Some stats:  1.2 million billetter (tickets) were sold and an additional 500,000 spectators viewed the games along the courses.  With a total of 26 medaljer, Norway placed second in the overall competition, behind Russia.  President of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), Juan Antonio Savaranch, stated that ”the 1994 Olympics were the best winter games ever”-this statement has not been made since then.

Also of significant importance  was Norway’s environmentally friendly approach to hosting the olympics.  The planners of the event worked with environmentalist groups to focus on four things-

1) use of natural materials as much as possible

2) energy conservation in heating and cooling systems

3) recycling system for the entire area hosted by the Olympics

4) arenas to blend in and work with their surrounding natural environment

The 1994 Vinter-OL in Lillehammer were the first winter games to be recognized for being ”green.”  In fact, the IOC was so impressed that it revised it’s procedures for choosing cities to host the games. 

Gå grønn!  Go green!

�

1952 Winter Olympics.  As you all know, Vinter-OL are in full swing!  Jeg elsker å se på OL, både sommer og vinter (I love to watch the Olypics, both summer and winter).  I would really love if they occurred annually, but I suppose that would be mye arbeid (a lot of work) and veldig dyrt (very expensive), not to mention take a lot of the excitement and hype out of the whole event.  Norway has hosted the Vinter-OL twice, once in Oslo in 1952 and once in Lillehammer in 1994. 

The decision to grant the city of Oslo the privilege of hosting the 1952 Vinter-OL was made public 5 years prior in Stockholm, Sweden.  Oslo won over two other cities, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy and Lake Placid, New York.  Oslo was the first capital city of a nation to host Vinter-OL.  30 land (30 countries) participated in these winter games, totaling 694 participants (very male-heavy with 585 men and 109 women).   Amerikaner (American) Andrea Mead Lawrence vant 2 gullmedaljer (won 2 gold medals) in slalåm (slalom) and  storslalåm (giant slalom); she was the first Amerikaner and the first female to have ever won 2 gullmedaljer in a single Olympics.  Norwegian Hjalmar Andersen won 3 gullmedaljer in hurtigløp (speed skating).

The following is a list of all the events at the 1952 Vinter-OL: 

-alpinski or alpint(alpine skiing)

-kunstløp (figure skating)

-ishockey (ice hockey)

-langrennski (nordic)

                   hopp (jumping), kombinert (combined)

-hurtigløp (speed skating)

and -bob (bobsleigh)

Definitely no snøbrett (snowboarding) yet.

Bandy was a demonstration sport, similar to football on ice, which has never evolved into an Olympic sport.

Møtestedene (the venues) that were used included Holmenkollen, Lillestrøm stadion, Frognerseteren, Bislett stadion, og Norefjell.

Here is a picture of the emblem of the 1952 Vinter-OL in Oslo.  It is an image of the new Oslo town hall.

�