Career
Bergendahl"s Holmenkollen 50 km cross country skiing victories have only been exceeded by one skier (Thorleif Haug) while his Holmenkollen Nordic combined victories have been matched by three others (Johan Grøttumsbråten, Rauno Miettinen, and Bjarte Engen Vik). Lauritz Bergendahl was the first skiing star, Nordic or Alpine, anywhere. He was called simply the "ski king".
Born in 1888, he was nearly lost to skiing through religious revivalistm, but his other vocation was too strong.
His stardom arose from the lack of national heroes in the aftermath of independence and the poor calibre of politicians. Bergendahl was probably the first sporting figure, anywhere, faut de mieux, to do duty as national icon.
He was the first skier to train methodically. He systematically developed both speed and stamina.
He was a pioneer of tempo training.
In particular, he was interested in coordination of sticks and skis. He was a pioneer in adapting the Finnish double heave on the sticks as part of an innovative tactical adjustment of technique to terrain. By trade he was a forester, like most of the early Nordic skiers, mainly because of the strength and suppleness developed in wielding axe and saw.
The first free heel toe binding to go into production was the Selmer"s "Bergendahl" binding.
Norway 1913.
