Marit Bjørgen

This Norwegian obsession with Petter Northug is slightly ridiculous. For such a sleaze, he sure gets a lot of attention. Whether it be roller-skiing without a helmet or playing poker in Vegas, Northug seems to find his way into the spotlight one way or another.

From the sports page to loaves of bread at the grocery, Petter's face is everywhere. His pompous, "All-About-Me" attitude is fed by the cheering Norwegian crowds. Yes, it is exciting to have a winner on your team! But I think Norwegian fans are focusing on the wrong athlete. The real hero of the Norwegian skiing scene is Marit Bjørgen.

photo courtesy of NRK

This woman gives a new definition to the word fast. Marit Bjørgen has won five of the six races she has competed in this season. She won the most medals in Vancouver, three out of the five of which were gold. She won the World Cup in 2005 and has a bucketful of World Championship medals. 

photo courtesy of VG

On Sunday in Davos, Switzerland, ski legend Bjørn Dæhlie said he was "very impressed" by Bjørgen, and gave this compliment:

"I do not think I've ever seen a female skier who has gone so fast."

Marit's goal is to beat Dæhlie's record of 46 World Cup victories, and she is well on her way, with 41 under her belt as of yesterday.

American skier (and my personal ski idol) Kikkan Randall said she was looking forward to "testing herself" against Bjørgen, calling her “perhaps the greatest female skier of all time.”

“She’s definitely firing really well—it’ll be fun,” Randall said in an interview with Fasterskier.

Podium at Davos sprint, 2010 (Arianna Follis, Marit Bjørgen, Kikkan Randall)
photo courtesy of Fasterskier

In an interview with Fischer Sports, Marit was asked to describe her position on the Norwegian team. Her response shows how much of a team player she is:

 "I don’t think I have any special position on the Norwegian team. Sure, I had some good results, but so did the others. We're a group that treats all its members equally and we all work together." 

Just this last weekend, that cooperative spirit came through. In the 10km Classic race, Bjørgen caught Polish competitor Justyna Kowalczyk with a couple of kilometers to go, but with her win already solidified, she didn't pass her. After the race, Marit told NRK that she "didn’t want to give Kowalczyk an extra boost" that could have helped her beat her teammate, Norwegian Therese Johaug.

Need some motivation to train? (Photo from La Crete Noire)

So this season let's turn the Norwegian spotlight on the person that deserves it. Northug's results have been less than impressive this year and his attitude seems to be stuck in pretentiousness. Bjørgen is the one bringing home the hardware. She is an incredibly strong competitor and an equally strong teammate. 

2010 Vancouver Olympics
photo courtesy of LA Times Olympics Blog