{"id":3837,"date":"2015-09-04T16:16:31","date_gmt":"2015-09-04T14:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sporteventgellivare.com\/en\/?page_id=3837"},"modified":"2016-07-14T11:25:54","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T09:25:54","slug":"evolution-of-skiing-cross-country","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sporteventgellivare.com\/en\/evolution-of-skiing\/evolution-of-skiing-cross-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Evolution of Skiing – Cross-Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Skidgymnasiet\u2019s importance to the development of cross-country skiing cannot be overstated\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Malmberget\u2019s Skidgymnasiet celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2011, and could look back on some extremely successful years.
\nThey have developed some huge names in the world of cross-country over the years, including Christer Majb\u00e4ck, Niklas Jonsson, Lina Andersson, and more recently, Charlotte Kalla and local talent Marcus Hellner. Just to name a few\u2026<\/p>\n

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Photo: Yngve Johansson, imega promotion<\/p><\/div>\n

Over 350 students have attended Skidgymnasiet over the years. In addition to those mentioned above, there are a lot of students who have reached some of the highest levels of cross-country in the world. The unique conditions at G\u00e4llivare have nurtured the talent of a number of Olympic and World Cup medalists, at all different levels. A large part of this success is due to Lars-Gunnar Pettersson, who has been an enthusiastic and dynamic teacher at skidgymnasiet for 29 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkidgymnasiet has been important, not just for G\u00e4llivare, but for Swedish skiing in general,\u201d says Lars-Gunnar. \u201cWe\u2019ve been developing talent and supplying top riders through our training throughout the years, and have every reason to feel pleased.\u201d Lars-Gunnar Pettersson has also served as race director for the World Cup competitions in Hellner Stadium on Dundret for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cL-G\u201d and his colleagues at the school have periodically had to fight to maintain Skidgymnasiet\u2019s high status when public opinion changed, or when other schools wanted to challenge Malmberget\u2019s role as an important ski school. L-G and his coworkers have weathered the storms, however, and continued to plan for the best interests of the school. By establishing the tradition of having World Cup competitions on Dundret every year, they\u2019ve created a unique ski environment which is constantly evolving.<\/p>\n

The superstars who got their training at Skidgymnasiet are the ones mentioned above, in addition to today\u2019s international stars, Marcus Hellner and Charlotte Kalla, who have both taken Olympic and World Cup gold. Lina Andersson has won Olympic gold, as well as silver in two World Cups, and bronze in one. Christer Majb\u00e4ack has taken home medals from six international competitions: World Cup gold in relay, two World Cup silver medals and one bronze, and one Olympic bronze. Niklas Jonsson went neck and neck with skiing giant Bj\u00f6rn D\u00e4hlie in Nagano in 1998 for Olympic silver, in an extremely suspenseful fifty kilometer run.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Michael Renstr\u00f6m, imega promotion<\/p><\/div>\n

Marcus Hellner, originally from Lerdala in V\u00e4sterg\u00f6tland, deserves an entire chapter himself, from a G\u00e4llivare perspective. It\u2019s doubtful that he would\u2019ve become a world class skier, with two World Cup golds and two Olympic golds, had he not moved to G\u00e4llivare at a young age. He had applied to numerous ski schools, but had been rejected. His potential was spotted by none other than Lars-Gunnar Pettersson, who welcomed him with open arms. It was a huge stroke of luck, and Marcus himself attributes a lot of his success to his time at Skidgymnasiet. This tough competitor has smashed all records when it comes to scaling Dundret, and he considers himself a true G\u00e4llivare local now, fully adjusted to life in nature.<\/p>\n

Times were not always good for cross-country in the shadow of Dundret, and the 50s and 60s were difficult, mainly due to a lack of leadership, and an increased interest in downhill skiing. There was an upswing in the 70s, however, when Malmberget AIF\u2019s Lena Carlzon-Lundb\u00e4ck, supported by her father and talented ski coach Stig Karlsson, became a member of Sweden\u2019s ski elite. She won eight national competitions, and placed very highly in a number of international contests.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Yngve Johansson, imega promotion<\/p><\/div>\n

High up on H\u00f6kv\u00e4gen in Malmberget, with a lit trail behind the cabins, was Lina Andersson born into a ski family. Her father Hans was a promising skier in his youth, before he prematurely hung up his skis. Lina Andersson is undoubtedly the biggest name in women\u2019s skiing in the area, having competed for many years for Malmberget\u2019s AIF before moving to the Pite\u00e5 Elite. Lina was known for her explosive speed, her technique, and her strong uphill ability, which came in handy when sprint cross-country became popular. As a junior competitor, and then as a senior, she continually took both national and international competitions, and finally retired in 2011 due to injuries and sickness.<\/p>\n

The twin cities of G\u00e4llivare-Malmberget, as well as the villages of Hakkas (thanks to leader and local legend S\u00f6ren Henriksson) and Nattavaara, produced a number of well-known national team members during this time, such as Larry Poromaa, Mikael Edman, and Viola Eriksson. Her brother Gerhard Eriksson was an uncommon talent, but he had an accident during a training camp in Saxn\u00e4s, and his career was unfortunately cut short.<\/p>\n

Footnote: Skidgymnasiet in Malmberget, which has announced plans to move their premises to Dundret, also has an alpine program. A founding member of this program was H\u00e5kan \u00c5sell, a powerful force in alpine skiing, who plucked superstar and son of G\u00e4llivare Thomas Fogd\u00f6 out of the crowd for Skidgymnasiet. Contemporary names such as Anton Lahdenper\u00e4 and Finnish ace Tanja Poutiainen have also developed their careers here.<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/em><\/p>\n

H\u00e5kan Svensson<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Skidgymnasiet\u2019s importance to the development of cross-country skiing cannot be overstated\u2026 Malmberget\u2019s Skidgymnasiet celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2011, and could look back on some extremely successful years. They have developed some huge names in the world of cross-country over the years, including Christer Majb\u00e4ck, Niklas Jonsson, Lina Andersson, and more recently, Charlotte Kalla and… <\/p>\n

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