Aksel Lund SVINDAL
AKSEL LUND SVINDAL’S SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTSAksel Lund Svindal (born 26 December 1982) is a World Cup alpine ski racer from Skedsmo, Norway now living in Innsbruck, Austria. He is a two-time overall World Cup champion (2007 and 2009), an Olympic gold medalist in Super G at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and a five-time World Champion in downhill, giant slalom, and super combined (2007 Åre, 2009 Val d’Isère, 2011 Garmisch, and 2013 Schladming). With his victory in the downhill in 2013, Svindal became the first male alpine racer to win titles in four consecutive world championships.
Through 10 February 2013, Svindal has won eight World Championship medals, three Olympic medals, five World Cup discipline titles (in combined, super-G, and giant slalom), and 20 World Cup races. Additionally, he won four medals at the 2002 World Junior Championships, including gold in combined. He won his first overall World Cup title in 2007.
On 27 November, 2007, during the first training run for the Birds of Prey downhill race in Beaver Creek, USA, Svindal crashed badly after landing a jump. He somersaulted into a safety fence and was taken to Vail Valley Medical Center. He missed the remainder of the 2008 season, and returned to World Cup racing in October 2008. His first two victories following his return were a downhill and a super-G in Beaver Creek, on the same Birds of Prey course where he was injured the year before.
At the 2009 World Championships, Svindal won the gold in the Super Combined. Fulfilling his comeback during the 2009 season, Svindal won his second overall World Cup over Benjamin Raich of Austria. Entering the last race of the season, a slalom at the World Cup finals in Åre, Sweden, Svindal led Raich by just two points. They had won the two previous races (a downhill and giant slalom respectively), with Svindal leading but Raich was the favorite. Both skiers went off course and did not finish the slalom, so the Norwegian became the overall World Cup winner. He also won his fourth discipline title, his second in super G.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics on 15 February, Svindal won the silver medal in the downhill competition in Whistler, 0.07 seconds behind the winner, Didier Défago of Switzerland, and 0.02 seconds ahead of bronze medalist Bode Miller of the United States. Svindal’s medal was Norway’s hundredth silver medal at the Winter Olympic Games, makingNorway the first nation to win 100 silver medals at the Winter Olympics.
Four days later on 19 February, Svindal won the Super-G competition, his first ever Olympic gold medal – ahead of Americans Bode Miller (+ 0.28 seconds) and Andrew Weibrecht (+ 0.31 seconds).
Svindal successfully defended his World Championship in the Super Combined in 2011 in Garmish-Partenkirchen,Germany.
Disciplines: Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Combined
Club: Nero Alpin
Height: 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
World Cup debut: 28 October, 2001 (age 18)
A FEW WORDS FOR THE FOUNDATION AS AN AMBASSADOR
I am an ambassador because I think it is great that Princess Charlene wishes to use her time and energy to help others. With her background in sports and coming from a different part of our world, I think she has a unique opportunity to make a difference. I wish the Princess and her Foundation lots of luck and hope that I can contribute somehow.
Aksel Lund SVINDAL
http://www.aksellundsvindal.com/