Fossavatnsgangan is an annual ski marathon held in Ísafjörður, in the Westfjords of Iceland. The event has been a part of Worldloppet since 2014.
It is the oldest ski race in Iceland, held since 1935. Although it was cancelled several times in the 1940s and 1950s, the race has been held every year since 1956.
Initially a 20 km race, a shorter distance of 10 km was added in 1987, and in 1989 a 7 kilometre course followed to attract children and beginners. The currently longest race over the distance of 50 km has only been held since 2004 and due to its challenges and difficulties has increasingly attracted international professional skiers, particularly Norwegians. In 2005 this 50 km marathon was added to the FIS, and that same year Fossavatn became a founding partner of the FIS Nordic Ski Marathon Cup, a series which includes the Holmenkollen Skimaraton in Norway, Tornedalsloppet in Sweden, Oulun Tervahiihto in Finland and the Fossavatn Ski Marathon in Iceland.
The most successful athlete of the marathon since its inception in 1935 is a local skier named Kristján Rafn Guðmundsson, 12 times winner of the Fossavatn Ski Marathon in the 1960s and 1970s. The most prolific competitor is another local named Sigurður Jónsson who first competed in 1938.
Winners
Men Year Name Nation 1994 – 21 kmGísli Einar Árnason Iceland1995 – 21 kmEinar Ólafsson Iceland1996 – 21 kmGísli Einar Árnason Iceland1997 – 21 kmEinar Ólafsson Iceland1998 – 21 kmMagnús Eiríksson Iceland1999 – 21 kmMagnús Eiríksson Iceland2000 – 21 kmÓlafur Thorlacius Árnason Iceland2001 – 21 kmMarkús Þór Björnsson Iceland2002 – 21 kmÓlafur Thorlacius Árnason Iceland2003 – 21 kmÓlafur Thorlacius Árnason Iceland2004Ólafur Thorlacius Árnason Iceland2005Atle Bjerkli Norway2006Jørgen Aukland Norway2007Oskar Svärd Sweden2008Svein Tore Sinnes Norway2009Oskar Svärd Sweden2010Markus Jönsson Sweden2011Vadim Gusev Lithuania2012Markus Jönsson Sweden2013Toni Livers Switzerland2014Petter Soleng Skinstad Norway2015Ilia Chernousov Russia2016Markus Ottosson Sweden2017Petter Northug Norway2018Ilia Chernousov Russia2019Morten Eide Pedersen Norway2020Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic 2021Snorri Einarsson Iceland2022Snorri Einarsson Iceland2023Mathias Aas Rolid Norway 2024Magnus Waaler Norway
Women Year Name Nation 1995 – 21 kmVigdís Harðardóttir Iceland1996 – 21 kmHelga Margrét Malmquist Iceland1997 – 21 kmStella Hjaltadóttir Iceland1998 – 21 kmSigrún Sólbjört Halldórsdóttir Iceland1999 – 21 kmStella Hjaltadóttir Iceland2000 – 21 kmKatrín Árnadóttir Iceland2001 – 21 kmStella Hjaltadóttir Iceland2002 – 21 kmSanda Dís Steinþórsdóttir Iceland2003 – 21 kmJóna Lind Karlsdóttir Iceland2004Linda Ramsdell United States2005Linda Ramsdell United States2006Mary Beth Tuttle United States2007Susanne Nyström Sweden2008Lina Andersson Sweden2009Kim Rudd United States2010Mary Beth Tuttle United States2011Hólmfríður Vala Svavarsdóttir Iceland2012Aino-Kaisa Saarinen Finland2013Seraina Boner Switzerland2014Mary J Young Canada2015Riitta-Liisa Roponen Finland2016Justyna Kowalczyk Poland2017Britta Johansson Norgren Sweden2018Maria Gräfnings Sweden2019Marine Dusser France2020Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic 2021Iris Pessey France2022Andrea Kolbeinsdóttir Iceland2023Nadja Kaelin Switzerland2024Anikken Gjerde Alnæs Norway
References
External links
Official site