NY Times · Feb 12, 2018
The Ski Pole That Norway Will Never Forget
Oddvar Bra skiing in the hills near Furnes, Norway, last month. Bra is one of the country’s most famous cross-country skiers. Andrew Testa for The New York Times VANG, Norway — It seems an unlikely event to be emblazoned in a nation’s collective memory. But if you’re from Norway, and you’re over 50, you almost certainly have a vivid recollection of this:
A man named Oddvar Bra is skiing the final segment of the men’s 4x10-kilometer cross-country relay at the 1982 world championships in Oslo. Surging up a hill, he passes and sideswipes the only person ahead of him, Alexander Savyalov of the Soviet Union.