Tord Asle Gjerdalen

Tord Asle Gjerdalen (born 3 August 1983) is a Norwegian cross-country skier

Career In his early career, he finished ninth in the 30 km event at the 2003 Junior World Championships. He made his debut in the World Cup in February 2004 in Trondheim, where he finished 67th in the sprint race. He also competed in the 50 km event in Oslo the same month, where he finished 50th. In a Marathon Cup race in March 2005 in Mora, he finished sixth. Already at the 2005–06 World Cup opener in Beitostølen, in November 2005, he collected his first World Cup points with a twelfth place in the 15 km event. He followed up with a thirteenth and a fifteenth place in December, in Canmore and Nové Město respectively. In January 2006 in Lago di Tesero he finished among the top ten for the first time, with a seventh place in the 30 km event. He finished among the top five for the first time with a fourth place in March 2006 in Falun. At the 2006 Winter Olympics he finished seventeenth in the 2 × 15 km pursuit, and fifteenth in the 50 km freestyle event. He also became a part of the Norwegian national cross-country skiing squad. He had been offered a team spot twice before, but rejected both times, as it would interfere with his medicine studies.

In the 2006–07 World Cup he did not compete often. Except for relay events, his best placement was tenth in the 50 km event at Holmenkollen in March 2007. In the 2007–08 World Cup, however, he opened with a seventh place at Beitostølen, and recorded a ninth place in Rybinsk right before the Tour de Ski. He performed well here, with two fourth places, one sixth place and a ninth place, and he ended up in fourth in the overall standings. He recorded an eleventh and a sixteenth place in January 2008 in Canmore, and finished on the podium for the first time. He was runner-up both in Falun in February and Bormio in March. He ended eleventh in his last race for the season.

Cross-country skiing results All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games Year Age 15 km individual 30 km skiathlon 50 km mass start Sprint 4 × 10 km relay Team sprint 2006 22 — 17 15 — — — 2010 26 28 19 — — — — 2014 30 — 20 21 — — —

World Championships 4 medals – (2 gold, 2 bronze) Year Age 15 km individual 30 km skiathlon 50 km mass start Sprint 4 × 10 km relay Team sprint 2009 25 — 14 20 — — — 2011 27 — 17 Bronze — Gold — 2013 29 Bronze 12 6 — Gold —

World Cup Season standings Season Age Discipline standingsSki Tour standingsOverallDistanceSprintNordicOpeningTour deSkiWorld CupFinal 2004 20 2006 22 34 22 — 2007 23 85 51 — — 2008 24 4 9 18 4 7 2009 25 40 32 66 22 44 2010 26 39 35 86 13 2011 27 33 24 73 — 16 — 2012 28 150 96 30 — — 2013 29 50 41 — 21 29 2014 30 30 36 — 6 — 2015 31 — — —

Individual podiums

2 podiums (2 )

Team podiums

1 victory – (1 ) 6 podiums – (6 )

Personal life Gjerdalen is the brother of fellow skiers Gard Filip Gjerdalen and Njål Tage Gjerdalen. formerly represented the local sports club IL Holeværingen before changing club to Fossum IF. He is known for his trademark aviator glasses, which he chooses over the more specialised winter-sports eyewear of his rivals.