Arvo Pärt is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in part inspired by Gregorian chant. His most performed works include Fratres (1977), Spiegel im Spiegel (1978), and Für Alina (1976). From 2011 to 2018, and again in 2022, Pärt was the most performed living composer in the world, and the second most performed in 2019, after John Williams. The Arvo Pärt Centre, in Laulasmaa, was opened to the public in 2018.
Pål Bjarne Tyldum is a retired cross-country skier from Norway. Specializing in the longer distances, he won a gold medal in the 50 km event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, he won a gold medal in the 4 × 10 km relay. Additionally, he won three Olympic silver medals and seven national cross-country championships. His best result at the world championships was fourth place in the 30 km and 4 × 10 km relay in 1970.
Estonia sent 27 athletes to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Half of them competed in cross-country skiing, where Estonia won all of their three Turin Olympic medals. Olympic champion Andrus Veerpalu participated on his 5th Winter Olympics.
Yelena Valeryevna Välbe is a Russian former cross-country skier. She won a record 14 gold medals at the FIS World Championships, including all five golds in the 1997 edition. She also won three Olympic gold medals and four bronze medals in various Winter Olympic Games as well as four World Cup Crystal Globes.
The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and association have been headquartered in Park City, Utah.
Giorgio Di Centa is an Italian former cross-country skier who won two gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics, including the individual 50 km freestyle race. He is the younger brother of Olympic gold medalist, cross-country skier Manuela Di Centa.
Alpina is a Slovenian footwear manufacturing company founded in 1947 after several private shoe making workshops with long tradition merged in the town of Žiri. Initially named "Žiri Shoe Factory", it was renamed "Alpina" in 1951. In 1985, the company employed almost 2,000 people. Alpina operates as a joint stock company, with approximately a thousand employees producing over 1.7 million pairs of shoes and boots each year. The greater part of production is sold abroad under their own brand name.
Odd-Willy Martinsen is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier who competed during the 1960s and 1970s. He won three medals at the Winter Olympics, a gold in the 4 × 10 km relay (1968) and silvers in the 30 km (1968) and the 4 × 10 km relay (1976). Martinsen won five medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, a gold in the 4 × 10 km relay (1966), a silver in the 15 km (1970), and bronzes in the 15 km (1966), 30 km (1970), and 4 × 10 km relay (1974). At the 1969 Holmenkollen ski festival, he won the 15 km race. For his cross-country skiing successes in Norway and abroad, Martinsen received the Holmenkollen medal in 1969. Thirty-two years later, his daughter, Bente Skari, received the Holmenkollen medal, making them the only father-daughter combination to ever win the prestigious honor.
Veli Selim Saarinen was a Finnish cross-country skier who competed in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics.
Arvo Albert Viitanen was a Finnish cross-country skier who competed in the 1950s. He won a silver medal in the 4 × 10 km relay at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. He was born in Uurainen, Central Finland and died in Myllykoski.
Bjarne Lennart "Ödeshögarn" Andersson was a Swedish cross-country skier who won a 4 × 10 km relay silver medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics; he finished sixth in the individual 15 km race.
Merrell is an American manufacturing company of footwear products. It was founded by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell, and John Schweizer in 1981 as a maker of high-performance hiking boots. Since 1997, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolverine World Wide. Products currently commercialized by Merrell include hiking boots, athletic shoes, sandals, jackets, knit caps, gloves, t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, and socks. Other accessories include backpacks, stuff sacks, and bags.
Estonia team have competed at the Special Olympics World Games since after regaining independence in 1991 and have won over 100 medals at the games.
Maria Canins is an Italian racing cyclist who twice won the Tour de France Féminin in 1985 and 1986, as well as winning the inaugural Giro d'Italia Femminile in 1988. She rode for Italy at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics.
Skiing in Australia takes place in the Australian Alps in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as well as in the mountains of the island state Tasmania, during the Southern Hemisphere winter.
Brazil sent a delegation to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, held from 12–28 February 2010. The Brazilian team consisted of five athletes competing in three sports.
Skiing in New South Wales takes place in the high country of the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales during the Southern Hemisphere winter.
The 1969 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at Mount Werner ski area near Steamboat Springs, Colorado at the 16th annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and ski jumping in the United States.
Mati Alaver is a former Estonian skier and sport coach.
