Vibeke Skofterud

Vibeke Skofterud
Vibeke Skofterud in May 2015
Country Norway
Full nameVibeke Westbye Skofterud
Born(1980-04-20)20 April 1980
Askim, Norway
Died29 July 2018(2018-07-29) (aged 38)
Arendal, Norway
Ski clubSlitu IF
World Cup career
Seasons15 – (2000–2014)
Indiv. starts191
Indiv. podiums15
Indiv. wins0
Team starts35
Team podiums23
Team wins17
Overall titles0 – (11th in 2002, 2012)
Discipline titles0
Medal record
Women's cross-country skiing
Representing  Norway
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver 4 × 5 km relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Oberstdorf 4 × 5 km relay
Gold medal – first place 2011 Oslo 4 × 5 km relay
Silver medal – second place 2003 Val di Fiemme 4 × 5 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Sapporo 4 × 5 km relay
Junior World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Štrbské Pleso 4 × 5 km relay

Vibeke Westbye Skofterud (20 April 1980 – 29 July 2018) was a Norwegian cross-country skier. She won gold in the 4 × 5 km relay at Vancouver in 2010. Her best individual finish at the Winter Olympics was eighth in the 30 km event at Salt Lake City in 2002.

Skofterud won a complete set of 4 × 5 km relay medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (gold: 2005, gold: 2011, silver: 2003, bronze: 2007) and earned her best individual finish of 13th in the 5 km + 5 km double pursuit in 2003.

Her first individual victory came in a pursuit race in Norway in 2006.

In 2012, Skofterud became the first Norwegian to win the Vasaloppet official ladies class.[1] She set a new record time, 4.08,24, more than 8 minutes faster than the previous record from 1998.[1] This was the first time ever she competed in a race as long as 90 km.[citation needed]

The 2012/2013 World Cup season proved to be difficult for Skofterud, due to illness and injuries, and she was forced to quit the season halfway through. She made a comeback on the national team the following winter. After failing to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics, Skofterud announced her retirement from the national team, in favour of a career in ski marathon.[2]

She retired from cross-country skiing in 2015.[3]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[4]

Olympic Games

  • 1 medal – (1 gold)
 Year   Age   10 km   15 km   Pursuit   30 km   Sprint   4 × 5 km 
 relay  		 Team 
 sprint 
2002 21 — 28 28 8 21 — —
2010 29 22 — DNF — — Gold —

World Championships

  • 4 medals – (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
 Year   Age   10 km   15 km   Pursuit   30 km   Sprint   4 × 5 km 
 relay  		 Team 
 sprint 
2001 20 — — 36 CNX[a] 16 — —
2003 22 22 — 13 — — Silver —
2005 24 — — 15 — 37 — Gold
2007 26 21 — 13 — 33 Bronze —
2011 30 9 — — 6 — Gold —
a. 1 Cancelled due to extremely cold weather.

World Cup

Season standings

 Season   Age  Discipline standings Ski Tour standings
Overall Distance Long Distance Middle Distance Sprint Nordic
Opening 		Tour de
Ski 		World Cup
Final
2000 20 83 — NC — 58 — — —
2001 21 43 — — — 28 — — —
2002 22 11 — — — 14 — — —
2003 23 21 — — — 13 — — —
2004 24 13 13 — — 27 — — —
2005 25 28 23 — — 30 — — —
2006 26 43 31 — — 69 — — —
2007 27 15 11 — — 75 — 9 —
2008 28 30 20 — — 79 — DNF —
2009 29 57 37 — — — — — —
2010 30 18 12 — — 59 — DNF 27
2011 31 27 17 — — 31 6 — DNF
2012 32 11 6 — — 33 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) — DNF
2013 33 23 18 — — NC 7 — —
2014 34 56 33 — — NC 21 DNF —

Individual podiums

  • 15 podiums – (12 WC, 3 SWC)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1 2001–02 8 December 2001 Italy Cogne, Italy 5 km Individual C World Cup 3rd
2 9 December 2001 1.5 km Sprint F World Cup 2nd
3 23 March 2002 Norway Birkebeinerrennet, Norway 58 km Mass Start C World Cup 2nd
4 2003–04 28 November 2003 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 10 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
5 2007–08 24 November 2007 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 10 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
6 8 December 2007 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 10 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
7 2009–10 29 November 2009 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 10 km Individual C World Cup 3rd
8 2011–12 19 November 2011 Norway Sjusjøen, Norway 10 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
9 25 November 2011 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 1.2 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 3rd
10 26 November 2011 5 km Individual F Stage World Cup 2nd
11 27 November 2011 10 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 3rd
12 25–27 November 2011 Finland Nordic Opening Overall Standings World Cup 3rd
13 10 December 2011 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 15 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
14 17 December 2011 Slovenia Rogla, Slovenia 10 km Mass Start C World Cup 2nd
15 2012–13 16 December 2012 Canada Canmore, Canada 7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 3rd

Team podiums

  • 17 victories – (17 RL)
  • 23 podiums – (23 RL)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates
1 2001–02 16 December 2001 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Bay / Skari / Pedersen
2 10 March 2002 Sweden Falun, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Moen / Bjørgen / Pedersen
3 2002–03 24 November 2002 Sweden Kiruna, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Moen / Skari / Sorkmo
4 8 December 2002 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 x 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Skari / Pedersen / Sorkmo
5 2003–04 23 November 2003 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Pedersen / Steira / Bjørgen
6 14 December 2003 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Bjørgen / Stemland / Pedersen
7 11 January 2004 Estonia Otepää, Estonia 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Pedersen / Steira / Bjørgen
8 22 February 2004 Sweden Umeå, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Bjørgen / Steira / Pedersen
9 2004–05 24 November 2004 Sweden Gällivare, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Bjørnås / Pedersen / Bjørgen
10 12 December 2004 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Bjørnås / Pedersen / Bjørgen
11 2005–06 20 November 2005 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Berg / Pedersen / Bjørgen
12 15 January 2006 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Bjørgen / Stemland / Steira
13 2006–07 19 November 2006 Sweden Gällivare, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Pedersen / Steira / Bjørgen
14 4 February 2007 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Jacobsen / Steira / Bjørgen
15 2007–08 25 November 2007 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Jacobsen / Johaug / Bjørgen
16 9 December 2007 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Stemland / Johaug / Steira
17 2009–10 22 November 2009 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Johaug / Steira / Bjørgen
18 2010–11 21 November 2010 Sweden Gällivare, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Johaug / Steira / Bjørgen
19 19 December 2010 France La Clusaz, France 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Johaug / Steira / Bjørgen
20 2011–12 20 November 2011 Norway Sjusjøen, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Johaug / Steira / Bjørgen
21 12 February 2012 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Johaug / Jacobsen / Bjørgen
22 2012–13 25 November 2012 Sweden Gällivare, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Johaug / Hagen / Bjørgen
23 20 January 2013 France La Clusaz, France 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Østberg / Hagen / Jacobsen

Personal life

In 2005, Skofterud turned down an offer to appear in the Norwegian edition of the men's magazine FHM.[5] The rejection came after pressure from the Norwegian Ski Federation.[6]

Skofterud suffered from eating disorders, which she claimed as a reason for canceling many competitions in the previous seasons.[when?][7]

Skofterud confirmed in June 2008 that she was in a committed relationship with a woman. She had previously been in relationships with men.[8]

Skofterud was reported missing in the early morning of 29 July 2018 and was found deceased on an islet. The police stated that she most likely died instantly from injuries after a jetski accident near Arendal.[9] Skofterud was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident, with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.8‰.[10] She was 38 years old.

References

  1. ^ a b "Skofterud med historisk seier i Vasaloppet". www.dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Skofterud gir seg på landslaget". www.vg.no (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  3. ^ "Vibeke Skofterud: Former Olympic champion dies in jet-skiing accident". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  4. ^ "SKOFTERUD Vibeke". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  5. ^ Avlyste lettkledd fotografering
  6. ^ "Five Years Ago Skofterud And Steira Lit Up Internet With This Snap". Daily Skier. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Skofterud Brings Eating Disorders into the Spotlight; 1 in 9 Athletes Affected". Faster Skier. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Skofterud står frem med jentekjæreste". www.vg.no. Verdens Gang. 20 June 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  9. ^ Brodahl, Viljam. "Skofterud omkommet i vannscooterulykke". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  10. ^ AS, TV 2. "Skofterud hadde promille da hun krasjet". TV 2 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2018-09-03.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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