Magne Myrmo

Magne Myrmo
Myrmo in January 1972
Personal information
Born30 July 1943 (1943-07-30) (age 81)
Rennebu, Norway
Height177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb)
Sport
SportCross-country skiing
ClubLyn, Oslo
Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Representing  Norway
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1972 Sapporo 50 km
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1974 Falun 15 km
Bronze medal – third place 1974 Falun 4 × 10 km relay

Magne Gunnbjørn Myrmo (born 30 July 1943) is a former Norwegian cross-country skier who competed during the 1970s. He won a silver medal at the 1972 Winter Olympics in the 50 km. Myrmo won two medals at the 1974 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun with a gold in the 15 km and a bronze in the 4 × 10 km relay.[1]

A major equipment revolution in cross-country skiing took place during 1973-74 where fiberglass skis (and later from more complex composite materials) replaced a nearly 3,000 year tradition of skis constructed of wood. The Norwegians were behind their competitors in this transition, which caught up with them at the 1974 championships in Falun. Myrmo won the 15 km less than a second ahead of East Germany's Gerhard Grimmer, who was using fiberglass skis, and it became historic, as the last world champion on wooden skis.[2]

His biggest successes were at the Holmenkollen ski festival where Myrmo won twice at 15 km (1970 and 1972) and once at the 50 km (1974). Myrmo earned the Holmenkollen medal in 1972 (shared with Rauno Miettinen), and was named the 1974 Norwegian Athlete of the Year. After retiring from competitions he coached the national women's cross country team from 1978 to 1980.[1]

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Magne Myrmo". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  2. ^ Kirkebøen, Stein Erik (15 April 2003). "Magne Myrmo siste VM-vinner på treski" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 9 November 2019.