Björn Lind

Björn Johan Lind (born 22 March 1978 in Ljusterö, community Österåker ) is a Swedish cross-country skier.

Since 2000, Lind starts regularly in the World Cup and since then has been always the podium candidates. After a few World Cup races in the 2001/ 02 season, get the Sprinter results in the top ten, in the same winter he also celebrated his first podium result. Already in 2002, he reached as best runners Sweden a fourth place in the Olympic sprint final, the same result he succeeded in Welmeisterschaftsfinale 2005. His career peaked Lind when he was in Turin double Olympic champion in 2006, with victories in the individual and team sprint. In the 2005/06 season, in which fell his Olympic victories, the Swede also won three individual sprints and later with a significant margin the overall Sprint World Cup. The following years were less successful, but he posted another World Cup victory in the team sprint and again in fourth place in the World Cup Sprint 2007. Together with Thobias Fredriksson counts Björn Lind of Sweden's most sprinters of the 2000s.

• 4.1 Single Cup 4.1.1 Single sprints
• 4.1.2 Team sprint
• 4.1.3 squadrons
• 4.1.4 Distance Race

Career

Beginnings and education at Skigymnasium (1994-2000)

In his youth, spent Lind in his home region Roslagen in eastern Sweden, he held various sports before moving onto the Skigymnasium in western Sweden Torsby 1994; From now on, he focused on biathlon and cross country skiing. Although he would rather have trained cross-country skiing, biathlon, he started, as he thought, to have not enough talent for his favored discipline. After completing his school career, he had military service in Sportzug in the garrison Sollefteå, then he moved in 1999 to Umeå, where he has lived ever since. However, he did not join the local club IFK Umeå, as this at that time many talents as the eventual World Champion and overall World Cup winner Per Elofsson promoted and Lind saw no place for themselves. Instead, he became a member of Hudiksvalls IF, which is in the Hudiksvall 380 km from Umeå distant home.

First World Cup races and establishment in the Top Ten (2000-2003)

Lind's international career began in February 2000, when he was in Umeå his first FIS races - but only with Swedish participation - denied. His first competitions were distance race over 15 kilometers as he ran sprints rarely. At that distance, however, in the Continental Cup he managed an eleventh rank, by which he qualified for the World Cup. He failed in his first two sprints in Engelberg early in the prologue, so he started again only when unterklassigen race until the end of 2001. In December 2001, he became the Italian Cogne his next chance in the highest competition class. This time he surprised positively with the fastest time in qualifying, which he ran together with Cristian Zorzi. In the following quarter-finals after a fall, he missed a three- tenth but a place in the semi-finals, the race eventually won Zorzi. Even in the two sprints sat Lind 's fastest time in the prologue and placed once on the fourth and once in the ninth. At the competition in Asiago he missed the podium by only just because he was überspurtet in the finals at the end of the German Andreas Schlütter. Also in the rest of the season convinced Lind on the short courses, so the Swedish Federation as one of the three sprinters in the country he was nominated to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Also in the Olympic Sprint, the Swede showed his skills and kept the two compatriots Thobias Fredriksson and Jörgen Brink at a distance. In the finale, which was attended by only four runners, but he had to admit defeat and ultimately its competitors remained therefore medaillenlos. A podium finish, his first in the World Cup, he reached the other hand, the post-Olympic sprint in Stockholm, where he finished third. The season ended the Olympic Fourth with two national distance race in Gällivare, where he also had a respectable performance.

Rather weak the 2002/03 season began for the Sprint Cup Seventh of last winter. At the first World Cup of Clusone he left already in the prologue than 22 from the subsequent competition he finished in ninth place after all. After he had only become eleventh in Linz, Lind took a two-month World Cup break, during which he won an FIS race and a second denied in second. In the Swedish Championship in late January / early February 2003, he managed a seventh place in the 10 -kilometer race, his remaining starts ended further back. On his return to the World Cup, the Swede made ​​the leap back into the top ten, in Drammen, he won again the qualification, fell in the sprint itself, however, to seventh place, which was his best result of the season. At the World Cup Falun Lind also ran for the first time in the Swedish season of the historical province of Hälsingland, but the finished only 14th place in 17 seasons. The winter decided the Swede with the National Sprint Championships, where he won the bronze medal behind Brink and Fredriksson. Overall, he deteriorated in the sprint to the twelfth grade, although he collected only 20 points less than last year.

World Class and World Championship medals (2003-2005)

The season opener for the World Cup 2003/ 04 took place in Dusseldorf. The street circuit mastered Lind in the prologue as the fastest, but this performance he could not keep competing and eventually became fourth. In the team sprint, he started together with the weaker Mikael Östberg, reaching tenth the goal. Now the Swede went like last year again to February 2004 in a World Cup break, during which he scored but no further good results. In the competitions in Scandinavia in February and March, he scored more acceptable results, he managed to finish in the top five are not. Only in Lahti the team sprint he showed again a top result, as he had with Mats Larsson just half a second behind the Russian champion and reached the second place. In Pragelato, he missed again in fourth the pedestal where he finished the season with a new personal high score of 211 meters, which he finished ninth in the Sprint Cup. In addition, he placed himself in the World Cup as a 29, which meant his first top 30 placement there. The winter is ended again at the Swedish Championships in Skellefteå, but where he even missed a medal in the sprint.

Even before the first World Cup of the new winter World Cup 2004/ 05 denied Lind October sprinting in Mora, where he defeated the World Cup winner last year, Thobias Fredriksson and put his good form proving. In Dusseldorf, where as last year took place the season opener, the Swede, the eighth rank achieved in the sprint and the fifth in the team sprint. In his first 15 - kilometer race at the highest cross-country class in Gällivare he landed on the other hand far behind on rank 56 After he won two FIS races, he still showed strong at the December World Cup in Bern and Asiago. After a fifth place in the sprint of Bern, and the fourth rank in the local Team Sprint he reached in Asiago even his third podium finish when he classified himself in third place at the finish. In contrast to previous years, he now did not participate in the Swedish Championship, but also went in January in the World Cup at the start. This paid off because the sprint of Nové Město na Moravě he ran Qualifikationsbestzeit and confirmed as the third in Sprint its shape. Also in the team sprint in Pragelato - the dress rehearsal for a year later discharged there Olympics - he placed with partner Tobias Fredriksson in second place. The last competition before his first Nordic World Ski Championships, where he was traded as a favorite, the Swede failed, however, he was only Thirtieth in Reit im Winkl. In the self- Ski Championships Lind confirmed his status as a medal contender by finishing second qualifying behind Vasily Rotschew. In competition, he moved also to the finals, missed there because Skiproblemen fourth but just the medals. Also in the team sprint, he won no precious metal, with partner Fredriksson he placed in ninth place. After the World Cup, he played two World Cup sprint, which he finished in seventh or twelfth. A start in the pursuit he did not finish because he had to retire.

Sprint victories in the World Cup and at the Olympics (2005-2006)

In summer 2005, Lind had his own words no health problems and could therefore run through completely his training schedule. The winter of 2005 /06 was so successful at his today. Dusseldorf, once again the season opener making began with the victory of Sweden in the prologue. In the race, he advanced to fifth place in the team sprint, he was with Fredriksson second. In the following three FIS races he won twice and binned once in second, so it does not surprise came when he first decided in Vernon qualifying for and then was in the race for the first time in a single Sprint World Cup runner-up. In Canmore, he took his first points on the longer distance - his only recipient - by coming to the finish as 25 over 30 kilometers. In the team sprint, he also finished second on the podium. Time he was also exceptionally good form again demonstrated when he first then for the first time in Nove Mesto won the qualification and a World Cup. He accomplished this only slightly, with 0.1 seconds ahead of his compatriot Peter Larsson. A week later, the Swede in the same Otepaeae celebrated his second World Cup success, with unexpectedly large margin ahead of the competition. Lind himself stated that he had run tactically in this race and had only used his full speed in the end due to the heavy course. The competitions of Lago di Tesero and Oberstdorf went for him was not so successful with the season he recorded a fourteenth, in the sprint one eighth. But already in Davos, the last competition before the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, the Swede repeated his success and reached his third triumph. In addition to the form that winter would also fit the material so that it is fast not only in the prologue, he founded the successful series that made ​​him one of the top favorites for Olympic gold. This role he strengthened even in the Olympic team sprint when he takes on the home stretch to secure himself and his partner Thobias Fredriksson victory. In fact, Lind won the qualification of the individual sprints clear as much he won in the quarterfinals. Even the final, he ran from the front and finally he triumphed far ahead of Roddy Darragon. For this purpose, said the most successful after gold medals Swedish athlete of the entire game: "I have filed insanely hard on my technique. " In the sprint, he was only the second Olympic gold medalist, as this had become olympic until 2002, in the team sprint at the Olympic premiere even the first. After the double Olympic champion Sweden's succeeded in the rest of the season no podium finish in the World Cup more, yet he won with 586 points significantly the overall sprint classification. In the World Cup he slotted in fourth place because it was different than most over there placed athletes not an allrounder, but a pure sprinter. At the national championships in March and April 2006, he did not start yet again.

Setbacks (2006-2009)

In the summer of 2006, Björn Lind signed an advertising contract by the equivalent of more than 100,000 euros with a Swedish manufacturer. The total was the highest in the cross-country skiing history. The 2006/07 season began again in Dusseldorf. This time Lind reached there only to eighth place, together with Peter Larsson, who was also eliminated early, he redeemed herself but in the team sprint, the two won - for Lind, the first success in that discipline. The following events in November 2006 did not run well for the Swedes, so he again paused before the inaugural Tour de Ski 2006/2007. The opening sprint from Munich, he finished ninth, the second short distance in Asiago tenth, after he had been second in the qualification. Otherwise, the Swede was almost always quite far back in the distance race in the Tour overall standings, he placed himself as 63 and thus the last of the finish -down athletes. Up to the Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 in Sapporo, he played only a few tournaments, but even in a purely Swedish FIS races he was only ninth. At the World Cup he nevertheless reached the final and fourth place, but this was his best result in an otherwise fairly unsuccessful season. After another World Cup with poor rankings - one exception was the victory in the qualifying for the sprint from Drammen, in which he finished tenth - the winner of the previous year binned in the Sprint World Cup 2006/ 07 only 26

After the weak performances in the winter before, Lind already the two Fredriksson brothers separated as in July 2007 by the Swedish team and trained from now on its own. He also sent from the destination to be no longer a pure sprinter, but all-around runner. In fact, this measure seemed successful in the first World Cup of the season 2007/ 08. In Dusseldorf he placed in second place behind surprise winner Josef Wenzl, in Kuusamo, he won the prologue though, ran in the competition but only in ninth place. After he had slipped in Rybinsk out of the Top Ten, the Swede of the year 2007/2008 to East Asia to contest races in the Far East Cup there. Although there are many world class athletes did not go to the start, it was not enough to a better result than the sixth place in Shangri -La, he was even just 21 In a 30-kilometer FIS race in Changchun, he managed to rank fifth. The World Cup in January / February 2008 went through to grow for Lind. Although he always came a close of the 10th square, a top result, however, did. This he achieved in Lahti, when he finished fourth and missed the podium only just. Overall, he improved in the Sprint World Cup back to eighth place, although he was unable to match the shape of the winter of 2005 /06. At season's end, he even won an FIS race in Falun.

As a target for the coming winter Lind stated in the summer of 2008, he wanted to stay healthy and focus particularly in the season on the World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec. The winter of 2008/ 09 began for him again bad, until he reached a sixth place in Davos in December. In Dusseldorf he was with his partner Thobias Fredriksson also second in the team sprint, otherwise top results remained further. In order to sufficiently prepare for the Olympic test competitions in Vancouver- Whistler, who stood on the World Cup program mid-January 2009, the Swede was like last year of the Tour de Ski. Another good prologue, which he finished second, followed by the eleventh place in a World Cup race, which had omitted many top sprinter. Even in the final season sprints no longer came Lind to a top result, best finish was another eleventh rank in Valdidentro. Nevertheless, the Olympic champion was nominated as one of four Sweden for the World Ski Championships in Liberec. During his three teammates to qualify for the quarter-finals, Lind retired after a crash on the descent than 61 at 17 seconds back in three minutes runtime from. He said he was " very disappointed " after the error, the cause of which he was " classic Innenskifehler " saw in one. Linds winter culminated in two World Cup races where he since February 2005 did not survive the qualification for the first time.

In summer 2009, the Swede moved for the first time in his career the club. For seven years, from 2002 to 2009 he was a member of the Hudiksvalls IF, for the other World Cup runners like Peter Larsson and Jörgen Brink went to the start. In July 2009 he moved to IFK Umeå, after he had lived for ten years in the city. To keep the most successful athletes of the club financially, you would have had to compromise the junior and youth work, the Chairman declared the Hudiksvalls IF the reasons for leaving Linds.

Private

Björn Lind is the son of two teachers and has an older sister, Sofia Lind, who also started as a cross-country skier in the world cup and marathon races before her career ended in 2006. He is not married, but friends with a photographer. His favorite course in the World Cup is to grow properly Stockholm due to the atmosphere, the hardest he feels the track in Oberhof, because it was hard there.

Linds coach is Ola Rawald, who is also co-and sprint coach of the Swedish national team at the same time and already from 2002 to 2006 held this office - the most successful in Linds time, in which also his double Olympic victory was - before it was changed to China.

Awards

In 2006 Björn Lind received the Victoria Scholarship, an award that is awarded to outstanding Swedish athletes as part of the birthday of Swedish Crown Princess Victoria. In January 2007 he received the title of Athlete of the Year in Sweden. He stood up to the athletes Christian Olsson, the canoeists Markus Oscarsson and the orienteers Emil Wingstedt. In his acceptance speech, Lind said:

" Det här har jag inte förberett riktigt. Det känns ungefär som jag var 12 år och När väntade på prisutdelningen i Roslagsmästerskapet. Då var det som andra skulle ha priser är jag själv men nu och det uppskattar jag. "

"This I have not properly prepared. This feels about as like when I was twelve years old and was expecting the award for the championships of Roslagen. At that time, should other prices get, but now I'm even one and I appreciate that. "

Statistics

Status of all subsequent data is 18th March 2009.

Single Cup

In these tables, all results Björn Lind, which he reached in sprints, team sprints, relays and distance events, called. It is in the first column of each season, followed by the different World Cups of the season. Here are the results of Sweden in the different races. The abbreviation DNS means that he did not participate in that competition.

Overall, Lind was previously reported in 78 World Cup races, at three he did not start, one he ended prematurely. Of the remaining 74 races he competed in 59 Sprint, ten in the team sprint, three in the season and two in distance races. He celebrated four World Cup victories and a total of 13 podium finishes.

General notes:

Individual Sprint

Notes:

Team sprint

Notes:

Stagger

Note:

Distance races

Throughout his World Cup career Lind reached in only two individual races that were longer than five kilometers, destination, and went a total of only three at the start. In another two competitions although he was reported, but not started. In addition, the Swede took part in the Tour de Ski 2006/2007, the Appreciation - and also the individual stages - also entered the overall World Cup standings. There he remained weak and finished last in the ranking.

• Gällivare (Sweden), November 20, 2004: 15 km; 56th rank.
• Falun (Sweden), March 19, 2005: prosecution; DNF.
• Canmore (Canada) 17 December 2005: 30 km, 25 rank.

Ratings in the World Cup

Are shown Linds placements in each discipline World Cups and the World Cup.

• Race: Number of races participated in Operation / Number of races conducted
• Points: Points to the race won
• Place: placing at the end of the World Cup season in the respective discipline rating or the overall World Cup