Stein ERIKSEN

Writing Olympic history

Stein was the first skier from outside the Alps to win an Olympic men's Alpine gold medal. At the 1952 Oslo Games, Eriksen won the giant slalom by almost two seconds. A modest champion, he declared, "I had a great advantage over most of the others because I knew the course by heart."

Four days later, he added a silver medal in the slalom. He also finished sixth in the downhill. Handsome, stylish and glamorous, Eriksen was skiing's first superstar. Despite his celebrity, Eriksen had a down-to-earth formula for success: "Be tough, be confident. But you will never be a whole and happy person if you aren't humble".