Athlete profile: Trine Bakke

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

Athlete notes

Though she hails from the town that hosted last year's World Nordic Ski Championships, Bakke has developed into a fine alpine skier as the Norwegian women's team makes its claim to stand alongside its more celebrated male counterparts...strictly a slalom skier, Bakke left an early mark this World Cup season with a fifth-place finish at the first slalom in Park City, Utah..."It was a very nice start," says an obviously pleased Bakke. "I was not expecting to finish so high, maybe only in the top 15"...her quick start this year comes on the heels of a strong finish to last year's campaign...Bakke placed eighth in the slalom at the World Championships in Sestriere, Italy last February and finished in the top 10in two other World Cup races..."It was very fun," says Bakke of her second World Championships' appearance; she went off course in the first run in the 1996 Worlds in Sierra Nevada. "I qualified the week before with the sEventsh in Laax. I knew that I could ski fast but I didn't have the confidence"...while the Norwegian men, known as the "Attacking Vikings," have claimed two of the last four World Cup overall titles and won six medals at last year's World Championships, the women's team has also been putting up strong results of late...in addition to Bakke's fifth in Park City, Andrine Flemmen and Ingeborg Helen Marken have each mounted a podium this season in the giant slalom and downhill, respectively..."There are not so many alpine skiers in Norway as in Austria," admits Bakke. "But there's been some good results (for the women) in years before, too"...Bakke has not always been a slalom specialist and still does the giant slalom in training to improve her slalom skiing..."I don't want to quit the GS (at least in training) because it helps for the slalom too in the technique,"explains Bakke. "But I always have better results in the slalom and I am only competing in that. I like to have short, hard pressure on the skis and (in the slalom) I can have the pressure earlier in the turn. I don't like speed so much. That's why I don't train in Super G or downhill"...she does not rule out future competition in the giant slalom...four years ago, Bakke was a surprise addition to the team that represented Norway in their home country..."It was quite a big surprise because the year before I had a knee injury and I got out of the national team," she recalls. "I trained with the Europa Cup team and I only started competing in World Cups in January 1994"...she competed in both the Olympic slalom and giant slalom, missing a gate in the first slalom run but finishing 19th in the giant slalom..."It was the slalom that was the main reason I was there," admits Bakke...later that year, Bakke finished eighth in the slalom at the World Junior Championships...unlike Lillehammer, where Bakke was just happy to be a part of the festivities, she has higher expectations for Nagano..."This year I will have some higher goals," says Bakke. "I want to become one of the best skiers in the world. The first time (in the Olympics) I was happy just to be there and experience it. Now I want to do well in every race but I learned last year not to be nervous"...to continue her successes of a season ago, Bakke believes she must improve he technique at the bottom of the slalom runs..."I like steeps better, my technique is not so good in the flat parts," she says...Bakke first began to ski when she was six years old... "My brother was skiing alpine and I just followed him up the hill," explains Trine, referring to 27 year-old Trond...Trine also has a sister, 14 year-old Tonje, who is a ballet dancer...Trine herself did ballet between the ages of three and 14 due to the influence of her mother, a former ballet teacher who now works as a nurse...her father is a scientist for an oil company...though 23, Trine is still in the midst of completing her high school education..."It's my eighth year in the ski gymnasium," explains Bakke. "It's supposed to take three years but I just take two courses (at a time) so I can get okay marks"...since she is away from home much of the year, Trine enjoys nothing more than to see her friends and boyfriend when in Trondheim...she speaks English...