Sverre Stenersen was born on a small farm in Målselv in the northern part of Norway. He was a promising skier in his youth, and decided to move to the Oslo area in the late 1940s to pursue a skiing career, working as a lumberjack to earn money for his living. He had his national breakthrough in 1951, and was selected for the Norwegian Nordic Combined team 1952, winning a bronze medal. In 1954 he had a great season, winning the World Championship in Falun. But the top of his career was definitely the 1956 season. Besides being Olympic Champion, he won both the Norwegian Championships, and the most prestigious international competitions in Falun and Lahti. Stenersen ended his career after the 1960 season, being selected for his 3rd winter Olympics. Stenersen was Norwegian Champion five times in a row, from 1954 to 1958, was 3 times winner in Holmenkollen (1955, 1956 and 1959) and four times in Lahti (1956, 1957, 1959 and 1960). He ran a sport store in his home community for several years, after that he worked as secretary for culture and sport in the municipality of Målselv until his retirement. Stenersen was the first Olympic Champion from the county of Troms, and was a very popular athlete and a great sporting hero for youths living in the northern part of Norway. After that the county has produced two more Olympic Champions, Fred Børre Lundberg (1994) and Bjarte Engen Vik (1998), both in Nordic Combined.
Norway