Norway at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Table:
Medal

Name

Sport

Event

Date

Gold

Marit Bjørgen

Cross-country skiing

Women's sprint

17 February

Gold

Tora Berger

Biathlon

Women's individual

18 February

Gold

Emil Hegle Svendsen

Biathlon

Men's individual

18 February

Gold

Aksel Lund Svindal

Alpine skiing

Men's super-G

19 February

Gold

Marit Bjørgen

Cross-country skiing

Women's 15 km pursuit

19 February

Gold

Øystein Pettersen
Petter Northug

Cross-country skiing

Men's team sprint

22 February

Gold

Vibeke Skofterud
Therese Johaug
Kristin Størmer Steira
Marit Bjørgen

Cross-country skiing

Women's 4 x 5 km relay

25 February

Gold

Halvard Hanevold
Tarjei Bø
Emil Hegle Svendsen
Ole Einar Bjørndalen

Biathlon

Men's relay

26 February

Gold

Petter Northug

Cross-country skiing

Men's 50 km classical

28 February

Silver

Emil Hegle Svendsen

Biathlon

Men's sprint

14 February

Silver

Aksel Lund Svindal

Alpine skiing

Men's downhill

15 February

Silver

Ole Einar Bjørndalen

Biathlon

Men's individual

18 February

Silver

Kjetil Jansrud

Alpine skiing

Men's giant slalom

23 February

Silver

Hedda Berntsen

Freestyle skiing

Women's ski cross

23 February

Silver

Martin Johnsrud Sundby
Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset
Lars Berger
Petter Northug

Cross-country skiing

Men's 4 x 10 km relay

24 February

Silver

Marit Bjørgen

Cross-country skiing

Women's 30 km classical

27 February

Silver

Thomas Ulsrud
Torger Nergård
Christoffer Svae
Håvard Vad Petersson
Thomas Løvold

Curling

Men's tournament

27 February

Bronze

Marit Bjørgen

Cross-country skiing

Women's 10 km freestyle

15 February

Bronze

Petter Northug

Cross-country skiing

Men's sprint

17 February

Based on the accompanying table along with the textual context listed at the end.

Answer the following question: How many times did the gold medalist in women 's cross-country sprint skiing at the Olympic Games of 2010 obtain medals in the Olympics ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Do not introduce information beyond the provided sources.

Marit Bjørgen ( born 21 March 1980 ) is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier who is the most decorated athlete , male or female , in Winter Olympics history with 15 medals . She is ranked first in the all-time Cross-Country World Cup rankings with 114 individual victories . Bjørgen is also the most successful sprinter in Cross-Country World Cup history , with 29 victories . She headed the medal table at the 2010 Winter Olympics by winning five medals , including three gold . A five-time Olympian , her five Olympic medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games brought her total number of medals up to a record 15 , the most by any athlete ( female or male ) in Winter Olympics history . On 6 April 2018 , she announced her retirement from cross-country skiing following the 2017-18 season .
The cross-country skiing competition of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were held at Whistler Olympic Park . The events were held between 15 and 28 February 2010 .
The Women 's sprint cross-country skiing competition in the classical technique at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada was held on 17 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia . Canada 's Chandra Crawford was the defending Olympic champion in this event , though that event was in the freestyle technique . Italy 's Arianna Follis was the defending world champion in this event which was also held in freestyle technique . Alena Procházková of Slovakia won the test event that took place at Olympic venue on 16 January 2009 . The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 Games in this format took place on 6 February 2010 in Canmore , Alberta and was won by Poland 's Justyna Kowalczyk . Follis did not qualify for the event at the Winter Olympics . Crawford and Procházková were eliminated in the quarterfinals . Kowalczyk won silver . It was Bjørgen 's second medal at these Olympics and first gold for her . Majdič won her first Olympic medal and the first for Slovenia in cross-country skiing . During the warm-up she crashed down a bank , into an unprotected 3 m ( 9.8 ft ) deep gorge and landed on ice and rocks , sustaining five broken ribs and a pneumothorax . In spite of agonizing pain , she finished third in the sprint a few hours later , winning the first individual Winter Olympic medal for Slovenia in 16 years and its first ever in cross-country skiing at the Winter Olympics .
Tora Berger ( born 18 March 1981 ) is a retired Norwegian biathlete and Olympic champion .
The biathlon competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics were held at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia . The events were held between the 13th and 26 February 2010 . The men 's individual biathlon was notable for the awarding of two silver medals due to two competitors finishing with a tie ( 48:32.0 ) . No bronze medal was awarded in this event .
The Women 's 15 kilometre individual biathlon competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia on 18 February 2010 .
Emil Hegle Svendsen ( born 12 July 1985 ) is a retired Norwegian biathlete . He has won eight medals at Winter Olympics ( four gold ) and five individual gold medals and seven relay gold medals at World Championships . He skis with Trondhjems Skiskyttere , based in Trondheim .
The men 's individual competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia on February 18 , 2010 . Two silver medals were awarded for a second-place tie . No bronze medal was awarded .
Aksel Lund Svindal ( born 26 December 1982 ) is a Norwegian former World Cup alpine ski racer . Born in Lørenskog in Akershus county , Svindal is a two-time overall World Cup champion ( 2007 and 2009 ) , an Olympic gold medalist in super-G at the 2010 Winter Olympics and in downhill at the 2018 Winter Olympics , and a five-time World Champion in downhill , giant slalom , and super combined ( 2007 Åre , 2009 Val-d'Isère , 2011 Garmisch , and 2013 Schladming ) . With his victory in the downhill in 2013 , Svindal became the first male alpine racer to win titles in four consecutive world championships . With his successes many consider him the best Norwegian alpine skier ever . While the great Kjetil Andre Aamodt has been more successful at the Olympics , Svindal is by far the most successful on the World Cup circuit . In late-January 2019 , he announced his retirement from alpine skiing following the 2019 Ski World Championships .
Alpine skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held in Canada at Whistler Creekside in Whistler , British Columbia , north of Vancouver . The ten events were scheduled for February 13-27 ; weather delayed the first event , the men 's downhill , two days until Monday , February 15 .
The men 's super-G competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at Whistler Creekside in Whistler , British Columbia , on Friday , February 19 . The defending Olympic champion was Kjetil André Aamodt of Norway , since retired , and the reigning world champion was Didier Cuche of Switzerland . Norway 's Aksel Lund Svindal was the defending World Cup Super-G champion and led the current season , ahead of Michael Walchhofer of Austria and Cuche . Svindal won the gold medal , Bode Miller of the United States took the silver , and the bronze medalist was U.S. teammate Andrew Weibrecht ; Cuche was tenth and Walchhofer was 21st . Svindal and Miller had both medaled in the downhill , each one place lower , behind Didier Défago , who was fifteenth in the super-G . The vertical drop of the Dave Murray Super-G course was 615 m ( 2,018 ft ) , starting at an elevation of 1,440 m ( 4,724 ft ) above sea level , with a length of 2.200 km ( 1.37 mi ) . Svindal 's winning time of 90.34 seconds yielded an average course speed of 87.669 km/h ( 54.5 mph ) , with an average vertical descent speed of 6.808 m/s ( 22.3 ft/s ) . The course was labelled as technically difficult , and eighteen did not finish the race . Patrik Järbyn of Sweden crashed badly during the race , flying in the air and landing heavily on his back . He suffered a concussion and was transferred to a hospital .
The women 's 7.5 kilometre + 7.5 kilometre double pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada was held on 19 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia at 13:00 PST . The 15 km double pursuit format has been competed at the world championship level since 2005 and at the Winter Olympic level since 2006 . Estonia 's Kristina Šmigun-Vähi was the defending Olympic champion . Poland 's Justyna Kowalczyk was the defending world champion . Kowalczyk also won the test event that took place at the Olympic venue on 17 January 2009 . The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 Games in this format took place on 23 January 2010 in Rybinsk , Russia and was won by Kowalczyk . The pursuit consisted of a 7.5 kilometre section raced in the classical style , followed by a 7.5 kilometre portion raced freestyle . In between the sections , each skier takes time ( approximately 30 seconds ) to change skis and poles in a pit stop .
Øystein Pølsa Pettersen ( born 19 January 1983 in Linderud ) is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed since 2002 . He has four World Cup podiums , his best finish being second in individual sprint events ( 2006 : Germany , 2009 : Estonia ) . He and Petter Northug won gold in the team sprint event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada . In the Individual Sprint he was one of three Norwegians to reach the six-man final .
Petter Northug Jr. ( born 6 January 1986 ) is a Norwegian former cross-country skier and double Olympic champion . He won a total of 13 World Championship and 2 Winter Olympic gold medals with 20 medals overall ( 2 gold , 1 silver and 1 bronze at the Olympics , 13 gold and 3 silver at the World Ski Championships ) , and 18 individual FIS Cross-Country World Cup wins with 13 podium places . He is also the record holder for most stage wins ( 13 ) in Tour de Ski . By winning his ninth gold medal in the Nordic World Ski Championships in 4 x 10 km relay in Val di Fiemme 2013 he leveled [ citation needed ] the achievement of Bjørn Dæhlie who had been the most successful World Champion male skier up to that point .
The men 's team sprint cross-country skiing competition in the freestyle technique at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada was held on 22 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia . The Swedish team of Björn Lind and Thobias Fredriksson were the defending Olympic champions when the technique was classical . The defending world champions were the Norwegian duo of Ola Vigen Hattestad and Johan Kjølstad when the technique was also classical . Sweden 's team of Emil Jönsson and Robin Bryntesson won the test event that took place at the Olympic venue on 18 January 2009 . The last World Cup event in this format prior to the 2010 Games took place in Rybinsk , Russia on 24 January 2010 and was won by the Russian duo of Nikolay Morilov and Alexey Petukhov .
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 . She set a new record time , 4.08,24 , more than 8 minutes faster than the previous record from 1998 . 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 , but her results were less than satisfactory . [ citation needed ] 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 . She retired from cross-country skiing in 2015 .
Therese Johaug ( born 25 June 1988 ) is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed for the clubs Tynset IF and IL Nansen . In world championships she has won seven individual gold medals along with three gold medals in relays and she is a three-time Olympic medallist . In October 2016 Johaug tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug clostebol and was suspended for a period of 18 months .
Kristin Størmer Steira ( born 30 April 1981 ) is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier . She competed from 2002 to 2015 , and won six individual World Cup victories and five individual medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and Winter Olympic Games . She also won four gold medals with the Norway relay team . In Norwegian media , Steira was dubbed the eternal fourth due to her many finishes in fourth place .
The women 's 4 x 5 kilometre relay cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada was held on 25 February at Whistler Olympic Park at 11:15 PST . Russia was the defending Olympic champion with the team of Natalia Baranova-Masolkina , Larisa Kurkina , Yuliya Chepalova , and Yevgeniya Medvedeva-Arbuzova . Baranova-Masolikina retired following the 2006 Winter Olympics while Chepalova retired in August 2009 after testing positive for recombinant erythropoietin ( EPO ) doping ( She would be banned from the International Ski Federation ( FIS ) for two years in a decision rendered on 23 December 2009 that would run until 20 August 2011. ) . The defending world champions were the Finnish team of Pirjo Muranen , Virpi Kuitunen , Riitta-Liisa Roponen , and Aino-Kaisa Saarinen ( The same foursome also won the event at the 2007 championships . ) The last World Cup competition for this event prior to the 2010 Games took place 22 November 2009 in Beitostoelen , Norway and was won by the Swedish team of Anna Olsson , Sara Lindborg , Anna Haag , and Charlotte Kalla . Each team used four skiers who each compete over two separate 2.5 km circuits with classical using the red circuit while freestyle using the blue circuit . The first two raced in the classical technique , and the final pair of skiers raced freestyle technique .
Halvard Hanevold ( 3 December 1969 - 3 September 2019 ) was a Norwegian biathlete .
Tarjei Bø ( born 29 July 1988 ) is a Norwegian professional biathlete . Bø debuted in the Biathlon World Cup on 26 March 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk , Russia , and won his first World Cup victory on 10 December 2010 . In the 2010 Winter Olympics he earned his first gold medal in the 4 × 7.5 km biathlon relay . On 10 December 2010 he won the sprint race in Hochfilzen , earning his first world cup victory . He also won the following pursuit race and anchored the winning relay team . Bø is the older brother of biathlete Johannes Thingnes Bø . He won the overall 2010/11 biathlon World Cup . He finished five points ahead of his teammate Emil Hegle Svendsen .
Ole Einar Bjørndalen ( born 27 January 1974 ) is a retired Norwegian professional biathlete and coach , often referred to by the nickname , the King of Biathlon . With 13 Winter Olympic Games medals , he is second on the list of multiple medalists behind Marit Bjørgen who has won 15 medals . He is also the most successful biathlete of all time at the Biathlon World Championships , having won 45 medals , more than double that of any other biathlete except Martin Fourcade . With 95 World Cup wins , Bjørndalen is ranked first all-time for career victories on the Biathlon World Cup tour , more than twice that of anyone else but Fourcade . He has won the Overall World Cup title six times , in 1997-98 , in 2002-03 , in 2004-05 , in 2005-06 , in 2007-08 and in 2008-09 . In 1992 , he won his first career medal at the junior world championships . A year later in 1993 , after winning three junior world championship titles , a medal haul only previously achieved by Sergei Tchepikov , Bjørndalen made his Biathlon World Cup debut . His breakthrough came in 1994 when he featured on his first World Cup podium in a sprint race held in Bad Gastein , Austria . Bjørndalen first competed in the Olympic Games at the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics , held in his home country of Norway . He obtained his first major victory on 11 January 1996 in an individual competition held in Antholz-Anterselva , Italy . On 20 February 2014 , Bjørndalen was elected to an eight-year term at the International Olympic Committee 's athlete commission . He resigned from this role in 2016 as he elected to continue his career .
The men 's relay competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia on February 26 , 2010 . The race consisted of four laps of cross-country skiing , each lap a total of 7.5 km . Every 2.5 km there would be a shooting zone , the first one is prone and the second one is standing . Any misses in the shooting zones count as penalties which must be completed by going around a penalty loop right after the second shooting zone . There were four racers per team , each completing one lap . As all the teams started together , the team that crossed the finish line first would win .
The men 's 50 kilometre classical cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada was held on 28 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia at 09:30 PST . on the final day of the Games . The 50 kilometre has been skated as a mass start event at the World Championships since 2005 and since the 2006 Winter Olympics . Italy 's Giorgio Di Centa was the defending Olympic champion though that event was held in the freestyle technique . Norway 's Petter Northug was the reigning world champion though that was also in the freestyle technique . The last World Cup event in the 50 km classical took place in Trondheim , Norway on 14 March 2009 and was won by Sami Jauhojärvi of Finland . All three medalists of the shorter 30 kilometre event were scheduled to participate in the 50 km race ; in that race , Marcus Hellner of Sweden came first , Petter Northug was 11th , Giorgio Di Centa was 12th , and Sami Jauhojärvi failed to finish .
The men 's sprint competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia on February 14 , 2010 .
The Men 's Downhill competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at Whistler Creekside in Whistler , British Columbia . The competition was scheduled for Saturday , February 13 , but was postponed due to rain and warm temperatures ; it was held on Monday , February 15 . The defending Olympic champion was Antoine Dénériaz of France and the reigning world champion was John Kucera of Canada ; neither competed as Dénériaz had retired and Kucera was out for the season with a broken leg . Austrian Michael Walchhofer was the defending World Cup downhill champion and Didier Cuche of Switzerland led the current season , ahead of teammate Carlo Janka and Walchhofer . Switzerland 's Didier Défago won the gold medal , Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway took the silver , and the bronze medalist was Bode Miller of the United States ; Cuche was sixth , Walchhofer tenth , and Janka eleventh . The vertical drop of the Dave Murray Downhill course was 853 m ( 2,799 ft ) , starting at an elevation of 1,678 m ( 5,505 ft ) above sea level , with a length of 3.105 km ( 1.929 mi ) . Défago 's winning time of 114.31 seconds yielded an average course speed of 97.787 km/h ( 60.8 mph ) , with an average vertical descent speed of 7.462 m/s ( 24.5 ft/s ) . This was the seventeenth edition of the men 's downhill at the Olympics and the time margins between the medalists were the closest in history ; only 0.09 seconds separated gold and bronze .
Kjetil Jansrud ( born 28 August 1985 ) is a Norwegian World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic champion . He races in all alpine disciplines apart from slalom , and his best event used to be the giant slalom where he has 6 World Cup podiums and an Olympic silver medal . However , since 2012 he has become more of a speed specialist , having won all but two of his World Cup victories in the speed events . At the 2014 Olympics in Sochi , he won the Super-G and placed third in the Downhill . At the World Championships in 2019 at Åre , Jansrud won gold in the downhill . Born in Stavanger , Jansrud hails from Vinstra in Gudbrandsdalen , about forty kilometres ( 25 miles ) from Kvitfjell .
The men 's giant slalom competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at Whistler Creekside in Whistler , British Columbia . Originally scheduled for February 21 , it was rescheduled to February 23 , due to delays of preceding alpine events . Carlo Janka of Switzerland won the gold , with Kjetil Jansrud of Norway taking the silver medal . Fellow countryman Aksel Lund Svindal won the bronze , his third medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics .
Hedda Berntsen ( born 24 April 1976 ) is a Norwegian sportsperson who has competed internationally in telemark skiing , alpine skiing , freestyle skiing and skicross . She is world champion in Telemark classic from 1997 . She later concentrated on the alpine slalom , her career peaking in the 2000-01 season with consistent performances in the World Cup as well as a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships . She later switched to skicross , receiving a silver medal at the 2008 Winter X Games . In the Vancouver Winter Olympics on 23 February 2010 she won the silver medal in the women 's skicross competition .
The freestyle skiing competition of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at Cypress Mountain . The events took place between the 13 and 25 February 2010 , and included a new event for these Olympics , ski cross .
The women 's ski cross event in freestyle skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada , took place on 23 February at Cypress Bowl Ski Area .
Martin Johnsrud Sundby ( born 26 September 1984 ) is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed since 2003 . He is the silver medalist of the 2010 Winter Olympics in the team relay and the bronze medalist of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the 30 km skiathlon . In 2014 , he became the first Norwegian to win the Tour de Ski .
Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset ( born December 6 , 1971 in Nordfjordeid ) is a former Norwegian cross-country skier who competed from 1993 to 2011 . A classical technique specialist , Hjelmeset 's biggest success is the gold medal in the 50 km event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 in Sapporo . At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships he won eight medals ( all in the classical style ) . This includes five gold medals ( 50 km : 2007 , 4 × 10 km relay : 2001 , 2005 , 2007 , 2009 ) and three bronze medals ( 1999 : 10 km , 2001 : 15 km , and 2005 : 50 km ) . Hjelmeset has also competed on the national level in athletics , and won the bronze medal at the Norwegian championships in the 3000 metre steeplechase in 1996 and 1999 . The 2007 season was Hjelmeset 's best . He won two gold medals at the World Championships in Sapporo , then a World Cup race in Lahti , before winning the 50 km individual start in Holmenkollen where he had won the sprint event in 2000 . Hjelmeset was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 2007 ( Shared with Frode Estil , King Harald V , and Queen Sonja ) . He retired after he failed to qualify for the 2011 Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo . He last World Cup race was the 50 kilometre at the 2012 Holmenkollen Ski Festival , where he finished 52nd .
Lars Berger ( born 1 May 1979 ) is a former Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier .
The men 's 4 x 10 kilometre relay cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada , was held on 24 February at Whistler Olympic Park at 11:15 PST . Italy was the defending Olympic champion with the team of Fulvio Valbusa , Giorgio Di Centa , Pietro Piller Cottrer and Cristian Zorzi . Valbusa retired following the 2006 Winter Olympics . The defending world champions were the Norwegian team of Eldar Rønning , Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset , Tore Ruud Hofstad and Petter Northug . The last World Cup competition for this event prior to the 2010 Games took place 22 November 2009 in Beitostoelen , Norway , and was won by the Norwegian team of Rønning , Martin Johnsrud Sundby , Ronny Hafsås and Northug . Each team used four skiers , who competed over one 3.3 km circuit in classical and a second 3.3 km circuit in freestyle . The first two raced in the classical technique , and the final pair of skiers raced freestyle technique .
The women 's 30 kilometre classical cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada was held on 27 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia at 11:45 PST .
Thomas Ulsrud ( born 21 October 1971 ) is a Norwegian curler from Oslo . He is the skip of the 2014 World champion Norwegian national team , a two-time European champion and Olympic silver medalist . Ulsrud is also the current holder of the record for most wins by a skip at the World Men 's Curling Championship [ citation needed ] .
Torger Nergård , also spelled Nergaard ( born 12 December 1974 in Trondheim ) is a Norwegian curler from Oslo .
Christoffer Svae ( born 21 March 1982 ) is a Norwegian curler from Oslo . He is best known as the former second for Team Thomas Ulsrud . At Junior level , Svae played second for Team Thomas Løvold and won gold medals at the 2002 and 2003 World Junior Curling Championships B tournaments . Svae formally joined Team Ulsrud in 2007 having played alternate since 2005 . During the 2005-2010 seasons , Svae and his team won six World Curling Tour events , three European Curling Championship medals ( silver in 2007 and 2008 ; bronze in 2009 ) , four World Curling Championship medals ( bronze in 2006 , 2008 and 2009 ; silver in 2010 ) , and silver at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics . It was Svae who selected Loudmouth Golf 's colorful argyle pants ( Dixie and Red & Gray ) as Team Norway 's uniform at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics because they came close to matching the Norwegian flag colors - red , white and blue . The pants brought Team Norway unprecedented popularity as shown by the surge in sales at Loudmouth Golf as well as the number of followers at the Facebook 's Norwegian Olympic Curling Team 's Pants fan page exceeding over 600,000 by the end of the 2009-10 curling season .
Håvard Vad Petersson ( born 5 January 1984 in Oslo ) is a Norwegian curler from Arendal who currently plays lead for Team Thomas Ulsrud . At Junior level , Petersson played lead for Team Thomas Løvold and won gold medals at the 2002 and 2003 World Junior Curling Championships B tournaments . In 2004 , he competed as skip for the first time at the World Junior Curling Championship , finishing in sixth place . With Team Ulsrud during the 2007-2010 seasons , Petersson won six World Curling Tour events , three European Curling Championship medals ( silver in 2007 and 2008 ; bronze in 2009 ) , three World Curling Championship medals ( bronze in 2008 and 2009 ; silver in 2010 ) , and silver at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics . His shooting accuracy proved to be consistently high in the 80-90 percentiles during the 2009-10 season , which significantly contributed to his team 's top round-robin standings at the 2009 European Curling Championship and 2010 World Curling Championship . Petersson 's ability to achieve athletic excellence despite being able to see out of only one eye is often a topic of discussion for sports commentators .
Thomas Løvold ( born 27 January 1981 ) is a Norwegian curler . At Junior level , Løvold competed as skip and won gold medals at the 2002 and 2003 World Junior Curling Championships B tournaments . He has gained worldwide attention for having played as the alternate for Team Thomas Ulsrud at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and played third for Team Torger Nergård at the 2010 World Curling Championship in Cortina d'Ampezzo , Italy , winning the silver medal at both tournaments . Thomas Løvold also skips his own team on World Curling Tour events . His most successful tournament was the 2009 Lucerne Curling Trophy where his team made it to the semi-finals but lost to Team Ralph Stöckli of Switzerland .
The curling competition of the 2010 Olympics was held at Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre in Vancouver . It is the fifth time that curling was on the Olympic program , after having been staged in 1924 , 1998 , 2002 and 2006 . The competition followed the same format that was used during the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics , with 10 teams playing a round robin tournament , from which the top four teams advance to the semi-finals . The women 's competition concluded on Friday , February 26 , 2010 . In the bronze medal match , the Chinese team made history by becoming the first team from Asia to win an Olympic curling medal . The gold medal match was one of the closest medal games in Olympic competition . Team Canada won the silver medal , their best performance since the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games when Sandra Schmirler skipped the Canadians to gold . Team Sweden won the gold medal . Anette Norberg , Eva Lund , Cathrine Lindahl , and Anna Le Moine ( née Anna Bergström [ Anna Svärd in Torino ] ) became the first curlers to win two gold medals at the Olympic Games . The men 's competition concluded on Saturday , February 27 , 2010 . In the bronze medal match , Markus Eggler of Switzerland became the first male curler to win two Olympic medals . The gold medal final was a rematch between Canada and Norway of the 2002 Olympics men 's final ( although only one athlete from each team participated in both finals ) .
The men 's curling tournament took place at the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre . The draws took place between 16 and 25 February 2010 and the final took place on 27 February 2010 . The preliminary round was a round-robin tournament between all 10 teams ; the top four qualified for the medal round .
The women 's 10 kilometre freestyle cross-country skiing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada was held on February 15 at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia at 10:00 PST . Each skier starts at 30-second intervals , skiing the entire 10 kilometre course . Estonia 's Kristina Šmigun-Vähi was the defending Olympic champion in this event though it was held in the classical style . Aino-Kaisa Saarinen on Finland was the defending world champion though that event was also held in the classical style . The final World Cup event in women 's 10 km freestyle prior to the 2010 Games took place on February 5 at Canmore , Alberta and was won by Sweden 's Charlotte Kalla . Šmigun-Vähi won silver in this event , Saarinen would finish 15th , and Kalla would win gold . Kalla is the Sweden 's first female individual gold medalist in cross-country skiing since Toini Gustafsson 's 5 km win at Grenoble in 1968 .
The Men 's sprint cross-country skiing competition in the classical technique at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada was held on 17 February at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler , British Columbia . Sweden 's Björn Lind was the defending Olympic champion in this event , though the event was in the freestyle technique . Norway 's Ola Vigen Hattestad was the defending world champion in this event which was also held in freestyle technique . Emil Jönsson of Sweden won the test event that took place at Olympic venue on 16 January 2009 . The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 Games in this format took place on 6 February 2010 in Canmore , Alberta and was won by Jönsson . Lind was eliminated in the quarterfinals , Jönsson was eliminated in the semifinals , and Hattestad finished fourth . It is the first Olympic medals for all three finishers . The event ended in a photofinish between Russians Nikita Kryukov and Alexander Panzhinskiy with Kriukov edging out Panzhinsky who had led most of the race .
Håvard Bøkko ( Norwegian : [ ˈhôːvɑr ˈbœ̂kːʊ ] ( listen ) ; born 2 February 1987 ) is a Norwegian speed skater , and the premier skater from his country since 2008 , with 32 national championships and thirteen international medals . He had junior results similar to those of Sven Kramer , Gianni Romme and Eric Heiden from the early 1980s before the clap skate . He is the older brother of Hege Bøkko .
Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at the Richmond Olympic Oval , Richmond , British Columbia , between 13 and 27 February 2010 .
The men 's 1500 metres speed skating competition of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver was held at the Richmond Olympic Oval on 20 February 2010 .