Marit Bjørgen
Marit Bjørgen is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier. She is ranked first in the all-time cross- country World Cup rankings, with 114 individual victories. Marit is also the most successful sprinter in cross-country World Cup history, with 29 victories. She led the medal table at the 2010 Winter Olympics by winning five medals, including three Gold. Being a five-time Olympian as well as five Olympic medals won at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games brought her a total number of 15 medals, the highest number of medals won by any athlete in Winter Olympics history.
Marit initially excelled at the sprint events, and seven victories in that event was enough to give her second place overall in the 2003–2004 FIS Cross-Country World Cup season. However, in the 2004–2005 season, Marit became an accomplished distance skier. She has 18 World Championship Gold medals, 12 of them individual.
She was also awarded the International Fair Play Mecenate Award in 2014. The jury of the Fair Play Mecenate consists of members from all continents and represents the international sports media and various international sports organisations. The jury states that the Fair Play Mecenate was awarded for ethical and fair play behaviour that Marit has always displayed, both in her agonistic career as well as in her demonstrations of great sportsmanship and solidarity.
On 6 April 2018, Marit announced her retirement following the 2017–2018 season. Marit lives with her partner, Fred Børre Lundberg, a former Olympic champion in Nordic combined, in Holmenkollen, Oslo. In 2015, Marit announced that she was pregnant and would not compete in the coming season, aiming for a return in the 2017 season. Her first son was born on 26 December 2015. After having retired at the end of the 2018 season, Marit gave birth to a second son in March 2019.
