Aksel Lund Svindal

Aksel Lund Svindal (born December 26, 1982, in Lørenskog, Norway) is a World Cup alpine ski racer from Kjeller. He is a two-time winner of the overall (2007 and 2009), an Olympic gold medalist in Super G at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and a four-time World Champion in downhill, giant slalom, and super combined (2007 Åre, 2009 Val d'Isère, and 2011 Garmisch-Partenkirchen).

Career

As of late February 2011, Svindal has won six World Championship medals, three Olympic medals, four World Cup discipline titles (in combined, super-G, and giant slalom), and 14 World Cup races. Additionally, he won four medals at the 2002 World Junior Championships, including gold in combined. He won his first overall World Cup title in 2007.

On November 27, 2007, during the first training run for the Birds of Prey downhill race in Beaver Creek, USA, Svindal crashed badly after landing a jump. He somersaulted into a safety fence and was taken to Vail Valley Medical Center with broken bones in his face and a six inch (15 cm) laceration to his groin and abdominal area. He missed the remainder of the 2008 season, and returned to World Cup racing in October 2008. His first two victories following his return were a downhill and a super-G in Beaver Creek, on the same Birds of Prey course where he was injured the year before.

At the 2009 World Championships, Svindal won the gold in the Super Combined. Fulfilling his comeback during the 2009 season, Svindal won his second...
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