Thomas Ulsrud received a lot of attention not only for his team’s flashy pants at the Winter Olympics, but also for his legendary skills in the sport of curling. Ursled died at the age of 50 after the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) reported a long-term illness on Tuesday evening.
“This is very tragic,” Pål Trulsen, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Curling Federation, told NRK after confirming Ursled’s death. “We were all looking forward to learning more from him as trainers and coaches in the future. He had a lot to contribute and wanted to contribute.”
Curling does not receive the large amount of funding that other winter sports do in Norway. Also, it is not always easy for Ursled himself to commit to a popular sport. “He was in the same situation as a new player,” said Ulsrud, noting that Ulsrud took curling to a whole new level in Norway.
“He sold all his tanning studios and trained a couple of times a day so he could play curling full time,” Trulsen said. “He was the most serious player we had at the time (early 2000s).”
Ulsrud helped the Norwegian team win a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver as part of the “Curling Pierrot”, which was featured in many media in unusually patriotic outfits. did. They also became European champions in 2010 and 2011. Ulsrud himself received a special award from the International Curling Federation for his best presentation of “traditional curling values” such as fair play and being a gentleman.
“He’s the most victorious skip in the international championships and probably the best curling spirer ever,” Trusen said. “This is very sad news. He will be missed both domestically and internationally.”
newsinenglish.no staff
