Born: 14 January 1971

Birthplace: Oslo

Nationality: Norway

Sport: Skiing

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Albertville 1992

Lillehammer 1994

Nagano 1998

Salt Lake City 2002

Turin 2006

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 1

Silver: 3

Bronze: 1

Other results:

World Championships

Gold: 3 (93, 99)

Silver: 8 (96, 97, 99, 03)

Versatile Alpine Champion

An all-around athlete in Alpine skiing, Lasse Kjus won five medals in three different events at four Olympics. In 1991 Kjus crashed during training, tearing the nerve to his left deltoid muscle. To regain the use of his left arm, he had to train the surrounding muscles to do the work the deltoid could no longer do. By 1994, he was strong enough to gain the gold medal in the combined event at the Lillehammer Olympics, leading a Norwegian sweep that brought joy to the hometown crowd. On 13 February 1998, Kjus became the first Alpine skier in Olympic history to earn two medals in one day. In the morning he won a silver medal in the downhill, which had been delayed for five days because of bad weather. That same afternoon he raced in the downhill portion of the combined event and gained a second silver medal. At the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, Kjus earned another silver medal in the downhill and added a bronze in the giant slalom. He also placed fifth in the combined event. For all of his Olympic success, Kjus's greatest achievement may have occurred at the 1999 world championships, when he earned a medal in every one of the five Alpine events - two golds and three silvers.