Lars Thomas Wassberg (born 27 March 1956) is a Swedish former cross-country skier. A fast skating style – push for every leg – is still called "Wassberg" after him in several countries. Wassberg's skiing idols when growing up were Sixten Jernberg and Oddvar Brå. He has described his mental strength and physical fitness as his greatest abilities as a skier, with his main weakness being a lack of sprinting ability.
Wassberg won four Olympic gold medals: in 15 km (1980), 50 km (1984), and the 4 × 10 km relay (1984, 1988), and served as the Olympic flag bearer for Sweden in 1988.Sweden. sports-reference.com At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, he earned three golds (50 km: 1982, 30 km: 1987, and 4 × 10 km relay: 1987), three silvers (15 km: 1985, 1987; 50 km (1987), and one bronze (4 × 10 km relay: 1985). Additionally, Wassberg won the 50 km at the Holmenkollen ski festival three times (1980, 1982 and 1987) and the 15 km twice (1979, 1985).
At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, Wassberg edged out Finland's Juha Mieto by 0.01 seconds in the 15 km, the closest cross-country ski race in Olympic history. Wassberg subsequently suggested to Mieto that the gold medal should be split between them "as one one-hundredth of a second is nothing in a 15-kilometer race". This incident led the International Ski Federation (FIS) to change their timing to the nearest one-tenth of a second. It also resulted in an apocryphal urban legend that Wassberg and Mieto's medals were cut in half and re-welded into half-gold, half-silver medals. At the 1984 Winter Olympics, Wassberg beat out fellow Swede Gunde Svan by 4.9 seconds in the 50 km, the closest margin of victory ever in that event until Giorgio Di Centa edged out Yevgeny Dementyev by 0.8 seconds at the 2006 Winter Olympics though the 2006 event was a mass start event while the 1984 event was an interval start event.
He won the World Cup in 1977, and in 1980 was awarded the Holmenkollen medal. For some reason his teammate Sven-Åke Lundbäck did not receive the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1978. In protest to this decision Wassberg refused to accept his Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1980.Thomas Wassberg. Swedish Olympic Committee
According to Bengt Erik Bengtsson, Chief of the Nordic Office of the FIS from 1984 to 2004, Wassberg was the first to suggest in 1984 the splitting of the sport of cross country skiing into classic and freestyle disciplines. This was subsequently implemented by FIS in 1986.
After retiring from competitions Wassberg worked as a sports reporter for Swedish Radio and a cross-country skiing coach for his club Åsarna IK. In 2009 he appeared on Swedish television in the show contests Mästarnas mästare, and in 2016 participated in Let's Dance 2016 which was broadcast on TV4. In the 2010s he oversaw the preparation of ski tracks for Åsarna IK, organized bird hunting events for tourists and worked as a forester.
Cross-country skiing results All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Olympic Games 4 medals – (4 gold) Year Age 15 km 30 km 50 km 4 × 10 km relay 1976 19 15 — — 4 1980 23 Gold 4 — 5 1984 27 — 14 Gold Gold 1988 31 — 42 Gold
World Championships 7 medals – (3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze) Year Age 15 km 30 km 50 km 4 × 10 km relay 1982 25 18 16 Gold 5 1985 28 Silver 4 26 Bronze 1987 30 Silver Gold SilverGold
World Cup Season standings Season Age Overall 1982 25 1983 26 5 1984 27 1985 28 1986 29 15 1987 30 1988 31 19
Individual podiums 6 victories 18 podiums No. Season Date Location Race Level Place1 1981–82 9 January 1982 Reit im Winkl, West Germany 15 km Individual World Cup 3rd2 16 January 1982 Le Brassus, Switzerland 15 km Individual World Cup 2nd3 27 February 1982 Oslo, Norway 50 km Individual World Championships 1st4 12 March 1982 Falun, Sweden 30 km Individual World Cup 3rd5 19 March 1982 Štrbské Pleso, Czechoslovakia 15 km Individual World Cup 2nd6 1982–83 26 February 1983 Falun, Sweden 30 km Individual World Cup 2nd7 27 March 1983 Labrador City, Canada 30 km Individual World Cup 3rd8 1983–84 19 February 1984 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia 50 km Individual Olympic Games1st9 25 February 1984 Falun, Sweden 30 km Individual World Cup 2nd10 2 March 1984 Lahti, Finland 15 km Individual World Cup 2nd111984–85 22 January 1985 Seefeld, Austria 15 km Individual World Championships 2nd12 9 March 1985 Falun, Sweden 30 km Individual World Cup 3rd13 14 March 1985 Oslo, Norway 15 km Individual World Cup 1st14 1985–86 8 March 1986 Falun, Sweden 30 km Individual C World Cup1st15 1986–87 12 February 1987 Oberstdorf, West Germany 30 km Individual C World Championships1st16 15 February 1987 15 km Individual C World Championships 2nd17 21 February 1987 50 km Individual F World Championships 2nd18 21 March 1987 Oslo, Norway 50 km Individual C World Cup 1st
Team podiums 7 victories 10 podiums No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates11983–84 16 February 1984 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia 4 × 10 km Relay Olympic Games1st Kohlberg / Ottosson / Svan2 26 February 1984 Falun, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay World Cup 1st Östlund / Ottosson / Svan3 1984–85 24 January 1985 Seefeld, Austria 4 × 10 km Relay World Championships 3rd Östlund / Eriksson / Svan4 10 March 1985 Falun, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay World Cup 2nd Östlund / Mogren / Svan5 17 March 1985 Oslo, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay World Cup 1st Eriksson / Danielsson / Svan6 1985–86 13 March 1986 Oslo, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay F World Cup 3rd Majbäck / Håland / Danielsson7 1986–8717 February 1987 Oberstdorf, West Germany 4 × 10 km Relay F World Championships 1st Östlund / Svan / Mogren 8 8 March 1987 Falun, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Östlund / Mogren / Majbäck9 19 March 1987 Oslo, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Ottosson / Mogren / Eriksson 10 1987–8824 February 1988 Calgary, Canada 4 × 10 km Relay F Olympic Games 1st Ottosson / Svan / Mogren
Note: Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Winter Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.
References
External links
Holmenkollen medalists – click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file Holmenkollen winners since 1892 – click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file Wassberg tar emot Bragdguldet – efter 33 år