Ole Kristian Furuseth honored with Norwegian Alpine Sports Honorary Award

Ole Kristian Furuseth (59) was honored with the Norwegian Alpine Sports Honorary Award on alpine night during the World Cup in Kvitfjell.

The Norwegian Alpine Sports Association's honorary award is awarded to people who have made extraordinary efforts to promote and develop alpine sports in Norway.

The honorary award can be awarded to athletes who have achieved outstanding results at national and international level. Coaches, managers or others who have contributed significantly to the development of alpine sports. People who have shown long-term and dedicated commitment to alpine sports in Norway And the very first award went to Ole Kristian Furuseth.

Aksel Lund Svindal had the honor of presenting the award. He said, among other things, that Furuseth was the greatest source of inspiration for one of the evening's presenters, Kjetil André Aamodt.

"Ole Kristian broke through the “sound barrier”. He was fearless, trained hard and went his own way. Ole Kristian achieved the placements and victories that make us the alpine nation we are today. Not least, the way Ole Kristian did it defined much of the culture that today is what we know as the “Attacking Vikings culture”. There is no one who deserves this award more than you, said Lund Svindal, among others."

The prize winner himself was in tears when he accepted the award.

"This means a lot to me. I am touched by such an introduction. I must especially thank my parents who took me out into nature to ski, first cross-country skiing and then alpine skiing. Thanks to my club, Ullensaker Ski Club and to the Norwegian Ski Association for allowing me to be on the national team for 15 years, this has been a strong part of my life. The continuity in the commitment of the Ski Association was impressive, and it is an honor to receive such an award," said Furuseth in his acceptance speech.

The award winner also mentioned many of the coaches and enthusiasts who meant a lot to him.

Nina Løseth and Kjetil Andre Aamodt were the evening's conference hosts. The jury for the Honorary Award consisted of Anne Cathrin Enstad (board of the Norwegian Ski Association), Roar Karlsen (chairman of the Alpine Committee), Nina Løseth (representative of the actives) and Ole Kristian Kirkerud (CEO of the event company Hafjell-Kvitfjell Alpin AS).

The award was created by the organizing company Hafjell-Kvitfjell Alpin AS in collaboration with the Norwegian Ski Association.