Thomas Ulsrud
Curler
Born(1971-10-21)21 October 1971
Oslo, Norway
Died24 May 2022(2022-05-24) (aged 50)
Team
Curling clubSnarøen CC,
Oslo, NOR
Curling career
World Championship
appearances		12 (1998, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
European Championship
appearances		17 (1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019)
Olympic
appearances		3 (2010, 2014, 2018)
Medal record
Curling
Representing  Norway
Winter Olympics
Silver medal – second place 2010 Vancouver
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Beijing
Silver medal – second place 2015 Halifax
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Lowell
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Grand Forks
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Moncton
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Champéry
Gold medal – first place 2011 Moscow
Silver medal – second place 2007 Füssen
Silver medal – second place 2008 Örnsköldsvik
Silver medal – second place 2012 Karlstad
Silver medal – second place 2013 Stavanger
Silver medal – second place 2014 Champéry
Silver medal – second place 2016 Renfrewshire
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Grindelwald
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Aberdeen
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Esbjerg
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Füssen

Thomas Ulsrud (21 October 1971 – 24 May 2022) was a Norwegian curler from Oslo.[1][2][3] He won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics,[4] one World Curling Championship,[5] two European Curling Championships,[6][7] and fourteen Norwegian titles (Norwegian Men's Curling Championship and Oslo Cup).[8] He was also known for being the skip of the team that competed while wearing colourful harlequin trousers at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Team Ulsrud's combined showmanship and sportsmanship became iconic and contributed to reviving worldwide interest in curling since then.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Career

Early career

Ulsrud began competing from 1983.[4] In his second World Junior Curling Championship in 1988, Ulsrud skipped Norway to a bronze medal.

In 1997, he skipped in his first European Curling Championships, finishing in seventh place. Team Ulsrud competed again in 2000–2003, 2006–2009, winning bronze in 2002, silver in 2007, and bronze in 2009.[15]

In his first World Curling Championship in 1998, Ulsrud skipped Norway to fifth place. After serving as the alternate for Pål Trulsen's team in 1999, he returned again as skip in 2006–2009, making the playoffs for the first time in 2006 and then defeated USA's Team Pete Fenson to win the bronze medal. Two more bronze medals followed in 2008 and 2009.[16]

Between 2007 and 2010, Team Ulsrud won six World Curling Tour events, namely, the 2007 and 2009 Lucerne Curling Trophies, 2008 Baden Masters, 2008 Radisson SAS Oslo Cup, 2009 Swiss Cup Basel, and 2009 Bern Open.[2]

2010-2015

Ulsrud calling line at the 2010 Winter Olympics

At the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Team Ulsrud attracted worldwide attention, not only for introducing Loudmouth Golf's colourful harlequin pants to the arena,[9] but also for winning the silver medal after the final game against Canada's Team Kevin Martin.[10]

Immediately at the start of the 2010 World Curling Championship in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Ulsrud had to return home for family reasons. With Torger Nergård acting as skip, Ulsrud's teammates took first place at the end of round-robin games (10–1 score) and won the silver medal.[17]

Team Ulsrud began the 2010-11 curling season by winning their first European Curling Championship gold medal in Champéry, Switzerland.[15] The team topped the season off by finishing fourth at the 2011 Ford World Men's Curling Championship.

The rink won a second straight European Championships by winning the gold medal at the 2011 European Curling Championships. Later that season they would once again finish 4th at the 2012 World Men's Curling Championship. That season, the team won one WCT event, the 2012 European Masters.

The Ulsrud rink would continue their domination at the European championship by winning the silver medal at both the 2012 and 2013 events. They were less successful at the 2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship, finishing in 5th place. The rink represented Norway once again at the 2014 Winter Olympics, where they finished 5th, with a 5-5 record. They lost in a tie-breaker match to Great Britain, skipped by David Murdoch. On the World Curling Tour, the team won one event in 2013-14, the 2013 Swiss Cup Basel. The team capped off their season by winning a gold medal at the 2014 World Men's Curling Championship.

The World champion Ulsrud rink began the 2014–15 curling season by winning the first WCT event of the year, the 2014 Baden Masters. That season, he won another silver medal at the 2014 European Curling Championships and won a silver medal at the 2015 World Men's Curling Championship, losing to Sweden's Niklas Edin rink in the final. The next season, Ulsrud led his team to a silver medal at the 2015 European Curling Championships and a disappointing sixth place finish at the 2016 World Men's Curling Championship.

2016-2020

In 2016, Ulsrud won another silver medal at the European Curling Championships, which he followed up by winning the Qinghai China Men's International on the tour the next month. Later in the season, he lost in a best-of-five challenge against Steffen Walstad which would have qualified his team for the 2017 World Championships. Team Ulsrud did get to represent Norway one last time at the 2017 European Curling Championships, where they finished in fourth place.

In 2018, Ulsrud and his team represented Norway at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, placing sixth.[18][19] They began the 2018–19 curling season by winning the Baden Masters for the third time in their career. Ulsrud paired up with Kristin Skaslien at the third leg of the 2018–19 Curling World Cup in the mixed doubles event. The pair made it to the final, losing to Canada's Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott. It was Ulsrud's first experience in mixed doubles.[20]

In 2019, after a light curling season where they did not play in any Grand Slam events, Team Ulsrud announced that they would be disbanding at the end of the season.[21][13] In their farewell message, they humorously thanked "Team Niklas Edin, Team David Murdoch, Team Kevin Martin, Team Kevin Koe and Team Sven Michel for turning those nine potential golds into beautiful silver medals".[22] Afterwards, Ulsrud formed a new team with Steffen Walstad, Markus Høiberg and Magnus Vågberg, and they represented Norway at the 2019 European Curling Championships, holding a 5–4 record and missing the playoffs.[23][24] It was Ulsrud's final European Championship appearance. Later in the season, the team finished second at the Norwegian Men's Curling Championship, which was Ulsrud's fifth straight second place finish.

His team were set to represent Norway at the 2020 World Men's Curling Championship but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Torger Nergård rejoined with Ulsrud as third, replacing Walstad, and the team played in only three domestic events because of continuing COVID-19 restrictions. It would be Ulsrud's final season, as he was diagnosed with cancer in December 2020.

Personal life

Ulsrud became interested in curling at age 10 when his stepfather introduced him to the sport.[25] When not being an athlete, Ulsrud was self-employed.[3] He was married to Elin Grødal, and they had one son, Jesper.[3]

Ulsrud died on 24 May 2022 from cancer, aged 50.[26] A memorial service was held on 3 June 2022 at Ullern Church, Oslo.[27] His former teammates remembered him for his friendship and his "inclusiveness" during their years of travelling and competing together.[27] Tributes also came from the World Curling Federation, notably, President and Scottish curler, Kate Caithness, who praised Ulsrud and Team Norway for raising the status and popularity of curling, "They were huge ambassadors for the sport".[11][28]

Teams

Season Skip Third Second Lead Alternate Events
1984–85 Bjørn UlshagenBjarte NilsenTerje StrandThomas Ulsrud1985 WJCC
1987–88 Thomas UlsrudThomas DueKrister AanesenMads Rygg1988 WJCC
1988–89 Thomas UlsrudBent Ånund RamsfjellKrister AanesenMads Rygg1989 WJCC
1991–92 Thomas DueTorger NergårdMads RyggJohan HøstmælingenThomas Ulsrud1992 WJCC
1997–98 Thomas UlsrudJohan HøstmælingenThomas DueTorger NergårdRolf Andreas Lauten1997 ECC
2000–01 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdThomas DueJohan HøstmælingenFlemming Davanger2000 ECC
2002–03 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdThomas DueJohan HøstmælingenThomas Løvold2002 ECC
2003–04 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdThomas DueJan ThoresenThomas Løvold2003 ECC
2005–06 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdThomas DueJan ThoresenChristoffer Svae2006 WCC
2006–07 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdThomas DueJan ThoresenChristoffer Svae
Petter Moe
Thomas Løvold		2006 ECC, 2007 WCC
2007–08 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonThomas Due2007 ECC, 2008 WCC
2008–09 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonThomas Due
Thomas Løvold		2008 ECC, 2009 WCC
2009–10 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonThomas Løvold2009 ECC, 2010 OG
2010–11 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonMarkus Høiberg2010 ECC, 2011 WCC
2011–12 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonMarkus Høiberg2011 ECC, 2012 WCC
2012–13 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonThomas Løvold
Markus Høiberg		2012 ECC, 2013 WCC
2013–14 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonMarkus Høiberg2013 ECC, 2014 OG, 2014 WCC
2014–15 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonSander Rølvåg
Markus Høiberg		2014 ECC, 2015 WCC
2015–16 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonSander Rølvåg
Markus Høiberg		2015 ECC, 2016 WCC
2016–17 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonSander Rølvåg2016 ECC
2017–18 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonSander Rølvåg
Markus Høiberg		2017 ECC, 2018 OG
2018–19 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad Petersson
2019–20 Thomas UlsrudSteffen WalstadMarkus HøibergMagnus VågbergMagnus Nedregotten2019 ECC
2020–21 Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdMarkus HøibergMagnus Vågberg

Grand Slam record

Key
C Champion
F Lost in Final
SF Lost in Semifinal
QF Lost in Quarterfinals
R16 Lost in the round of 16
Q Did not advance to playoffs
T2 Played in Tier 2 event
DNP Did not participate in event
N/A Not a Grand Slam event that season
Event 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18
Tour Challenge N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A DNP SF DNP
Masters DNP DNP Q SF Q Q Q Q Q Q DNP Q
The National Q DNP DNP DNP DNP QF Q DNP DNP QF DNP DNP
Canadian Open Q DNP QF SF Q DNP DNP Q DNP DNP DNP Q
Players' Championships DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP QF DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

References

  1. ↑ About Team Ulsrud at the Wayback Machine (archived 2010-08-23)
  2. 1 2 Thomas Ulsrud at the Wayback Machine (archived 2011-07-18)
  3. 1 2 3 "Athletes: Thomas Ulsrud". Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  4. 1 2 Thomas Ulsrud, Curling at the Wayback Machine (archived 2010-02-23)
  5. ↑ "CPT World Men's Curling Championship 2014". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  6. ↑ "Le Gruyère European Curling Championships 2010". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  7. ↑ "Le Gruyère European Curling Championships 2011". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  8. ↑ "Thomas Ulsrud: Events". Curling Zone. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  9. 1 2 Sawyer, Diane. "The conversation: Pants from the curlers of Norway, Diane Sawyer chats with Christoffer Svae from Norway's curling team". ABC News. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  10. 1 2 Men's Gold medal game at the Wayback Machine (archived 2010-02-26)
  11. 1 2 "Thomas Ulsrud Obituary". World Curling Federation. 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  12. ↑ Belam, Martin (2018-02-19). "Norway's curlers and their incredible Winter Olympic trousers – ranked". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  13. 1 2 Williams, Rob (2019-05-10). "The wacky pants-wearing Norwegian curling team is breaking up". Offside.
  14. ↑ Schwartz, David Asa (2021). Modern sports around the world: History, geography, and sociology. California, United States: ABC-CLIO. p. 95. ISBN 9781440868801.
  15. 1 2 Results/Statistics at the Wayback Machine (archived 2010-05-06)
  16. ↑ Championships at the Wayback Machine (archived 2010-05-12)
  17. ↑ "Capitol One World Men's Championship – Day 6". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  18. ↑ "PyeongChang 2018: Curling Men results". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  19. ↑ "Flamboyant Ulsrud back on the medal trail". International Olympic Committee. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  20. ↑ Another chance for Walstad – And Ulsrud tries mixed doubles! at the Wayback Machine (archived 2019-05-11)
  21. ↑ Sussman, Matt (2019-05-08). "Thomas Ulsrud's Norwegian team is disbanding after 12 years of curling, 10 years of outrageous pants". Deadspin.
  22. ↑ Karrys, George (2021-03-16). "The Pants farewell anniversary: Will curling fans witness style like that again?". The Curling News. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  23. ↑ "Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships 2019". World Curling Federation. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  24. ↑ "Norway forfeits game at European Championships due to broom rule". The Sports Network (TSN). Canada. 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  25. ↑ Thomas Ulsrud - Skip - Team Norway (2010 & 2011 European Champions) on YouTube
  26. ↑ Jarlsbo, Øystein (2022-05-25). "Curling-legenden Thomas Ulsrud er død" [Curling legend Thomas Ulsrud has died]. VG. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  27. 1 2 "Ulsrud 'Fantastic front figure for our team'". The Curling News. 2022-06-03. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  28. ↑ "Thomas Ulsrud, 1971-2022". The Curling News. 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
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