cross-country skier Nordic combined skier
In Trondheim. Elden was relatively strong in cross country skiing as well, spending his final years of competition as a ski sprinter. He later coached the American national skiing team He is the brother of the Nordic combined skier Bård Jørgen Elden.
At the 1989 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti, he became the youngest world champion ever, fifteen days after his nineteenth birthday. At Falun in 1993, he won a bronze medal in the 15 km individual event. Additionally, Elden won two medals in the 3 x 10 km team event at the Nordic skiing world championships with a gold in 1989 and a silver in 1993. Elden also won the Nordic combined event twice at the Holmenkollen ski festival (1989, 1991). In 1991, Elden received the Holmenkollen medal (which he shared with Vegard Ulvang, Ernst Vettori, and Jens Weißflog). He would also win silver in the 3 x 10 km team event at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. Elden received the Egebergs Ærespris in 2004.
