Bjørnar Håkensmoen

Bjørnar Håkensmoen (or Bjoernar Haakensmoen, born July 18, 1969) was the head coach of the Norwegian cross-country skiing team at the 2006 Winter Olympics. He rose to fame after offering Canadian skier Sara Renner his ski pole after hers broke during the Women's team sprint event. ^[1] This act of sportsmanship allowed Renner to go on to claim the silver medal, edging Håkensmoen's Norwegian entry into fourth place.^[2]

Canada responded to this act of kindness with many gifts and gestures, including:

• Over 600 letters, telephone calls and e-mails of thanks were received by the Norwegian Embassy in Canada.^[3]
• Canadian businessman Michael Page donated 8000 cans of maple syrup to the Norwegian Olympic Committee.^[4]
• Renner herself sent Håkensmoen a bottle of wine as a token of her appreciation.

References

1. ↑ Håkensmoen assists Renner.
2. ↑ Canadians hail Norwegian coach's sportsmanship Archived January 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-10-10. Retrieved 2006-04-06. 
4. ↑ Canadians thank Norway for Renner assistance. Archived March 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.