Athlete profile: Tom Stiansen

Posted: Tue February 3, 1998 at 5:00 PM ET

Athlete notes

Known as the "Attacking Vikings," the Norwegian men's alpine team took at least one medal in every Events at last year's World Championships at Sestriere, Italy...but virtually no one expected that their representative on top of the Sestriere slalom podium would be Stiansen, who has twice been removed from Norway's "A" team over the past four years due to injury and poor performance..."I joined the national team in 1991 for slalom but I did well in Super G," says Stiansen, relating the early stages of his career. "I spent three years doing downhill and Super G but did not like it. Then I dislocated my shoulder in September of '93 in training in New Zealand, and I didn't ski any good. I was kicked off team after'94 season. I came back in '95, but I was kicked off again"...persistence definitely paid off for Stiansen...he spent the latter part of the '95 season on the Europa Cup tour and trained only in the slalom and giant slalom, rejoining the team before the 1996 season...he earned two podium finishes in the giant slalom his first year back, including a second-place at Lillehammer at his home country, where teammate Lasse Kjus clinched the overall World Cup title, but qualified for the '96 Worlds in only the slalom...Stiansen came into his own as a slalom skier last year...he won his first World Cup Events at Breckenridge, Colorado in the slalom before clipping Frenchman Sebastian Amiez by five-hundredths of a second to win the title..."I had a dream about reaching the podium, but I wasn't expecting to win," says a still-ecstatic Stiansen. "Everything went well. I was in good form and had good confidence"...his two wins were Stiansen's only finishes above eighth place last season..."I don't think I improved so much from the year before," he says. "I just had a better start number"...while Stiansen's success at Sestriere has brought him a measure of fame in nordic-wild Norway -- he was featured on the cover of Norway's alpine magazine -- he remains focused on adding consistency to his string of top finishes..."I'm more well-known now but the most important thing is that it helped my confidence," says Stiansen of his championship win. "Now I have to be more consistent and not make too many mistakes. I need more control of my runs. I also really need to push myself a little more in training and make more mistakes in training (as opposed to in races). My expectation is to ski consistently in the top 10 this season"...he finished ninth at the first slalom Events of this season in Park City...Stiansen also does not want to be known merely as a slalom skier..."I think I can ski just as good in the GS," he says...Stiansen began skiing when seven years old at a ski hill near his home..."I didn't play other sports when I was younger," he says, "only skiing"...he joined a special ski school, or "gymnasium," when he was 17..."There were lights on all the ski areas there so we could ski after school," he explains...his father is an accountant while his mother is a homemaker...Tom has one older brother...he moved from Asker to Oslo, where many of his teammates live, three years ago...he has lived with his girlfriend, Hanne, for the past seven years...she works as a policewoman...like many other members of the Norwegian men's alpine team, Stiansen is an avid golfer -- they stayed in the US one extra day after the Park City competition to play golf in Salt Lake City...he has a 12-handicap...Stiansen speaks English well...