Athlete profile: Kristinn Bjørnsson

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

Athlete notes

You might think that a country called Iceland would have its share of winter sports heroes...but never a Winter Olympic medal has Iceland won and until November, no skier from the land of thermal energy had ever stood on a podium at a World Cup skiing Events...skiing out of the 49th position in the Park City slalom, Bjørnsson finished 17th to make the first cut of his World Cup career...he then skied an incredible second run to finish in second place, just one-tenth of a second behind 1994 Olympic slalom gold medalist Thomas Stangassinger of Austria...Bjørnsson's second-run time of 49.13 was .59 faster than any other skier..."This is unbelievable," said Bjørnsson after capturing his country's first World Cup podium in the first race he ever completed; he skied off course in all four slaloms he competed in last season. "In the future, anything is possible. Right now, I just want to enjoy this moment"...unknown before the Park City slalom -- the public address announcers in Park City thought that his country's code, ISL, stood for Israel -- Bjørnsson's smooth skiing impressed none other than Stangassinger, who noted that, "I just think he skis with very good rhythm. And he was so relaxed"...in the season's second slalom, Bjørnsson returned to his old form, skiing out in the first run at Val d'Isére...while Bjørnsson's early season success has opened the eyes of many observers, he refuses to raise his expectations unreasonably for the rest of the year's schedule, including the Olympics..."Before the season, my goal was to be in the top 30," admits Bjørnsson. "I still can't expect to be in the top 10 but maybe now I just hope to be in the top 20"...Nagano will actually be Bjørnsson's second Olympics -- he skied of course in the Lillehammer slalom's first run...Bjørnsson hails from the small town of Olafsfjordur, population 1,200, located on the northern coast of Iceland..."Skiing is very popular there," says Bjørnsson, who grew up only 200 meters from the slopes. "I skied everyday"...he also hails from a ski-happy family..."My whole family was skiing," says Kristinn. "My father did cross-country and jumping and my brother was Iceland national champion in nordic combined and ski jumping"...his father, named Bjørn -- "That's why my name is Bjørnsson," laughs Kristinn -- is a teacher while his mother, Margaret, works in a shop...indeed all men in Iceland have their last names end in ‘son' -- son of - and all girls in ‘tochter' -- daughter of...due to the lack of top-level training facilities in Iceland, Bjørnsson has largely been a nomad for the past eight years...Iceland is not covered with ice the entire year -- infact, the Vikings misnamed Greenland (which is covered in ice) and Iceland (which has its share of green) for strategic reasons to ward off any invaders...Kristinn went to a special ski school in Norway when he was 17...he trained in Austria for two years in 1995 and '96 and last year, though he took up a residence in Lillehammer, he skied with the Finnish national team..."I'm the only one from Iceland with the Finnish team," says Bjørnsson. "There are four boys and three girls who train with Norway. It's great to be with these guys. They treat me like my own team. There's not so much money on our team so I need help from my neighbors"...Bjørnsson used to compete in the Super G as well as the slalom until he seriously injured an Achilles tendon two years ago, ending his hopes for a career in the speed disciplines...Bjørnsson is an avid soccer player...a midfielder, he uses the sport to help him stay in shape during the summers...he also likes to go hunting and fishing...he considers Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark, the all-time leader in World Cup victories with 86, his idol...Bjørnsson speaks English...