Lasse Kjus

Lasse Kjus of Norway is the man who wouldn't give up. Like the Vikings of his heritage, Kjus keeps coming back for more, and more. A very unpredictable champion, the Norwegian has achieved some incredible comebacks in his career marked by severe injuries and serious health problems.

His last great season, 1998/1999 was quite exceptional despite health problems which forced him to the sidelines for several races. Last winter, he was again plagued by a bad virus which obliged him to skip the greatest part of the season. Yet what didn't kill him just made him stronger.

He didn't lose his time last winter and launched his own winter sports clothing lines which is now distributed by Odlo. Working hard during the summer, he is confident to find back his position among the world leaders, at least in the speed events.

In February 1999, Kjus wrote one of the most brilliant chapters in ski racing's legend at Vail when he became the first racer in modern alpine competition to reach the podium in all five events at the same FIS World Championships.

A month later, he celebrated his second title in the Overall World Cup standings after a tough battle with his teammate and friend Kjetil Aamodt and Austria's Hermann Maier, overall winners in 1994 and 1998 respectively. In fact, Lasse had to sweat it out through the last giant slalom in Sierra Nevada at the World Cup finals to nail down his second Crystal Globe.

His first came on home soil in Lillehammer in 1996 after a strong season start and a dramatic crash at Kitzbuhel. In Sierra Nevada, he could only win a modest silver medal in combined that year despite finish all his races among the top-10. He was 4th in downhill and in GS.

An excellent technical skiers in his younger years, Kjus is best known as a cool downhiller with eight career victories. Four of these were on the "Classical" courses of Val d'Isere, Val Gardena, Wengen and Kizbuhel, a feat not done since the great 1974/75 season of the "Kaiser" Franz Klammer of Austria. A very tactical skier, Lasse is mostly looking for the smoothest line down the mountain and he always try to remain perfectly in total control of his skis. His greatest strength is his ability to perfectly focus on the coming race.

A junior World Champion as his pal Aamodt at Zinal in 1990, Kjus made history in 1994 as the first Norwegian to win Olympic gold in the alpine combined at Lillehammer. Just a year earlier after his victory at the FIS Worlds in Morioka in the same event. Despite that, he didn't win his first World Cup race until November 1995 -- a Super-G in Vail. Lasse won two other competitions in GS and downhill but in 1996 before his a terrible crash while training on the "Streif" at Kitzbuhel. He needed several years to come back to his best form, both physically and mentally.
Winner of two downhills in Kvitfjell in 1996 and 1997, he also clinched five silver medals in 1997 and 1998 before his terrific accomplishments at the Vail World's in 1999.

Lasse has won a total of 13 medals (4 in gold) since 1993 and he aims for more until 2002. Then, he plans to retire and cruise around the world with a sailing boat.

During the summer, Lasse spends most of his free time on a small Swedish Island near the Norwegian boarder rebuilding some old fishermen's houses and enjoying life with his friends. An avid golfer on mainland, he practices all kinds of water sports there but he enjoys mostly listen to exotic music, cook fine meals and cruise on the sea by night.

Patrick Lang