Espen Bredesen

Last updated
Espen Bredesen
Espen Bredesen.JPG
CountryFlag of Norway.svg  Norway
Born (1968-02-02) 2 February 1968 (age 56)
Oslo, Norway
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Personal best 210 m (689 ft)
Planica, 22 March 1997
World Cup career
Seasons 19891999
Starts156
Podiums21
Wins8
Overall titles1 (1994)
Four Hills titles 1 (1994)
Medal record
Men's ski jumping
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1994 Lillehammer Individual NH
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1994 LillehammerIndividual LH
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1993 Falun Individual LH
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1993 Falun Team LH
Men's ski flying
FIS Ski Flying World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1994 Planica Individual
Updated on 10 February 2016.

Espen Bredesen (born 2 February 1968) is a Norwegian former ski jumper.

Contents

Career

At World Cup level he won gold and silver medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer.

At the 1992 Winter Olympics, he performed badly, coming last in the normal hill and 57th out of 59 on the large hill. He had converted from the parallel technique to the V-style just a month previously. His poor performance gave him the nickname "Espen the Eagle", based on British ski jumper Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards. [1]

At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1993 in Falun, he won gold medals both in the team large hill and the individual large hill events. In the 1993/94 season, he won the Four Hills Tournament. He won gold and silver medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, and won a silver medal at the FIS Ski-Flying World Championships 1994 in Planica. Bredesen twice beat the world ski flying record with jumps of 209 meters (1994) and 210 meters (1997).

Bredesen also won the ski jumping competition at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1993. He was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1994 (shared with Ljubov Egorova and Vladimir Smirnov).

World Cup

Standings

 Season Overall4HSFNTJP
1989/90 N/AN/A
1990/91 342123N/AN/A
1991/92 342618N/AN/A
1992/93 5335N/AN/A
1993/94 Gold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svgN/AN/A
1994/95 152113N/AN/A
1995/96 132110N/A13
1996/97 1620113119
1997/98 43452655
1998/99 1015599
1999/00 7976

Wins

No.SeasonDateLocationHillSize
1 1992/93 11 March 1993   Flag of Norway.svg Lillehammer Lysgårdsbakken K120LH
214 March 1993   Flag of Norway.svg Oslo Holmenkollbakken K110LH
328 March 1993   Flag of Slovenia.svg Planica Bloudkova velikanka K120LH
4 1993/94 11 December 1993   Flag of Slovenia.svg Planica Srednja Bloudkova K90NH
51 January 1994   Flag of Germany.svg Garmisch-Partenkirchen Große Olympiaschanze K107LH
66 January 1994   Flag of Austria.svg Bischofshofen Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze K120LH
715 January 1994   Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Liberec Ještěd B K120LH
8 1994/95 5 February 1995   Flag of Sweden.svg Falun Lugnet K90 (night)NH

Ski jumping world record

DateHillLocationMetresFeet
18 March 1994   Velikanka bratov Gorišek K185 Planica, Slovenia 209686
22 March 1997   Velikanka bratov Gorišek K185 Planica, Slovenia 210689

WR statement

Bredesen's statement after his first world record in Planica 1994 when he jumped 209m:

Without any doubt this is my greatest life and career achievement. Nothing can compare with this world record. Not even my Olympic or world championships gold. Now I know how birds feel when they fly in the air.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Małysz</span> Polish ski jumper

Adam Henryk Małysz is a Polish former ski jumper and rally driver. He competed in ski jumping from 1995 to 2011 and is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport. His many accomplishments include four World Cup titles, four individual Winter Olympic medals, four individual World Championship gold medals, 39 individual World Cup competition wins, 96 World Cup podiums, and being the first male ski jumper to win three consecutive World Cup titles. He is also a winner of the Four Hills Tournament, the only three-time winner of the Nordic Tournament, and a former ski flying world record holder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jens Weißflog</span> German former ski jumper (born 1964)

Jens Weißflog is an East German and later German former ski jumper. He is one of the best and most successful ski jumpers in the history of the sport. Only Finns Matti Nykänen and Janne Ahonen, Poles Adam Małysz and Kamil Stoch and Austrians Gregor Schlierenzauer and Stefan Kraft have won more World Cup victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bjørn Wirkola</span> Norwegian ski jumper (born 1943)

Bjørn Tore Wirkola is a Norwegian former ski jumper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birger Ruud</span> Norwegian ski jumper

Birger Ruud was a Norwegian ski jumper and alpine skier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berit Aunli</span> Norwegian cross-country skier

Berit Kristine Aunli, née Kvello, is a Norwegian former cross-country skier. She won her first international championship medal as a member of the Norwegian team that won the bronze medal at the 4 × 5 km relay at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roar Ljøkelsøy</span> Norwegian former ski jumper (born 1976)

Roar Ljøkelsøy is a Norwegian former ski jumper who competed from 1993 to 2010, and twice finished runner up in the World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazuyoshi Funaki</span> Japanese ski jumper (born 1975)

Kazuyoshi Funaki is a Japanese former ski jumper. He ranked among the most successful sportsmen of its discipline, particularly in the 1990s. Funaki is known for his special variant of the V-style, in which the body lies flatter between the skis than usual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyubov Yegorova (cross-country skier)</span> Russian cross-country skier

Lyubov Ivanovna Yegorova, name also spelled Ljubov Jegorova, is a Russian former cross-country Olympic ski champion, multiple world champion, winner of the World Cup (1993) and Hero of Russia. Lyubov Yegorova is an honorary citizen of Seversk (1992), Saint Petersburg (1994), and Tomsk Oblast (2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernst Vettori</span> Austrian ski jumper

Ernst Vettori is an Austrian former ski jumper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vladimir Smirnov (skier)</span> Kazakh cross-country skier

Vladimir Mikhaylovich Smirnov is a Kazakh former cross-country skier of Russian descent who raced from the 1982 until 1991 for the USSR and, later, for Kazakhstan. He is the first Olympic champion from independent Kazakhstan and the most decorated Olympian in history of Kazakhstan. He is also a vice president of the International Biathlon Union. Smirnov is a former member of International Olympic Committee.

Andreas Felder is an Austrian former ski jumper. During this period he dominated the sport, together with contemporaries Jens Weißflog and Matti Nykänen. He finished in the top three overall six times in the World Cup and won the 1990/91 overall. He won his first international championship medal at the 1982 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo with a silver medal in the team large hill event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armin Kogler</span> Austrian ski jumper

Armin Kogler is an Austrian former ski jumper.

Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi is a Finnish former cross-country skier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brit Pettersen</span> Norwegian cross-country skier

Brit Pettersen Tofte is a Norwegian former cross-country skier who competed during the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odd Martinsen</span> Norwegian cross-country skier

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reidar Andersen</span> Norwegian ski jumper

Reidar Andersen was a Norwegian ski jumper who competed in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmut Recknagel</span> East German ski jumper

Helmut Recknagel is an East German former ski jumper who was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toni Innauer</span> Austrian ski jumper (born 1958)

Anton Innauer is an Austrian former ski jumper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lasse Ottesen</span> Norwegian ski jumper

Lasse Ottesen is a Norwegian former ski jumper who competed from 1991 to 2002.

Christof Duffner is a West German/German former ski jumper.

References

Records
Preceded by World's longest ski jump
18 March 1994 – 22 March 1997
Succeeded by