| Thomas Ulsrud | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1971-10-21)21 October 1971 Oslo, Norway |
| Died | 24 May 2022(2022-05-24) (aged 50) Oslo, Norway |
| Team | |
| Curling club | Snarøen 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 | |
Thomas Ulsrud (21 October 1971 – 24 May 2022) was a Norwegiancurler fromOslo.[1][2][3] He won a silver medal at the2010 Winter Olympics,[4] oneWorld Curling Championship,[5] twoEuropean Curling Championships,[6][7] and fourteen Norwegian titles (Norwegian Men's Curling Championship andOslo Cup).[8] He was also known for being theskip of the team that competed while wearing colourful harlequin trousers at theVancouver 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] In 2024, he was posthumously inducted into theWorld Curling Hall of Fame.[15]
Ulsrud began competing from 1983.[4] In his secondWorld Junior Curling Championship in 1988, Ulsrud skipped Norway to a bronze medal.
In 1997, he skipped in his firstEuropean 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.[16]
In his firstWorld Curling Championship in 1998, Ulsrud skipped Norway to fifth place. After serving as the alternate forPål Trulsen's team in 1999, he returned again as skip in 2006–2009, making the playoffs for the first time in2006 and then defeated USA'sTeam Pete Fenson to win the bronze medal. Two more bronze medals followed in2008 and2009.[17]
Between 2007 and 2010, Team Ulsrud won sixWorld Curling Tour events, namely, the 2007 and 2009Lucerne Curling Trophies,2008 Baden Masters, 2008Radisson SAS Oslo Cup, 2009Swiss Cup Basel, and 2009Bern Open.[2]
At the2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Team Ulsrud attracted worldwide attention, not only for introducingLoudmouth Golf's colourful harlequin pants to the arena,[9] but also for winning the silver medal after the final game against Canada'sTeam Kevin Martin.[10]
Immediately at the start of the2010 World Curling Championship in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Ulsrud had to return home for family reasons. WithTorger 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.[18]
Team Ulsrud began the2010-11 curling season by winning their firstEuropean Curling Championship gold medal in Champéry, Switzerland.[16] The team topped the season off by finishing fourth at the2011 Ford World Men's Curling Championship.
The rink won a second straight European Championships by winning the gold medal at the2011 European Curling Championships. Later that season they would once again finish 4th at the2012 World Men's Curling Championship. That season, the team won one WCT event, the 2012European 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 the2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship, finishing in 5th place. The rink represented Norway once again at the2014 Winter Olympics, where they finished 5th, with a 5-5 record. They lost in a tie-breaker match to Great Britain, skipped byDavid Murdoch. On the World Curling Tour, the team won one event in 2013-14, the2013 Swiss Cup Basel. The team capped off their season by winning a gold medal at the2014 World Men's Curling Championship.
The World champion Ulsrud rink began the2014–15 curling season by winning the first WCT event of the year, the2014 Baden Masters. That season, he won another silver medal at the2014 European Curling Championships and won a silver medal at the2015 World Men's Curling Championship, losing to Sweden'sNiklas Edin rink in the final. The next season, Ulsrud led his team to a silver medal at the2015 European Curling Championships and a disappointing sixth place finish at the2016 World Men's Curling Championship.
In 2016, Ulsrud won another silver medal at theEuropean Curling Championships, which he followed up by winning theQinghai China Men's International on the tour the next month. Later in the season, he lost in a best-of-five challenge againstSteffen Walstad which would have qualified his team for the 2017 World Championships. Team Ulsrud did get to represent Norway one last time at the2017 European Curling Championships, where they finished in fourth place.
In 2018, Ulsrud and his team represented Norway at thePyeongChang Winter Olympics, placing sixth.[19][20] They began the2018–19 curling season by winning theBaden Masters for the third time in their career. Ulsrud paired up withKristin Skaslien at thethird leg of the 2018–19 Curling World Cup in the mixed doubles event. The pair made it to the final, losing to Canada'sKadriana Sahaidak andColton Lott. It was Ulsrud's first experience in mixed doubles.[21]
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.[22][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".[23] Afterwards, Ulsrud formed a new team withSteffen Walstad,Markus Høiberg andMagnus Vågberg, and they represented Norway at the2019 European Curling Championships, holding a 5–4 record and missing the playoffs.[24][25] It was Ulsrud's final European Championship appearance. Later in the season, the team finished second at theNorwegian Men's Curling Championship, which was Ulsrud's fifth straight second place finish.
His team were set to represent Norway at the2020 World Men's Curling Championship but it was cancelled due to theCOVID-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.
Ulsrud became interested in curling at age 10 when his stepfather introduced him to the sport.[26] When not being an athlete, Ulsrud was self-employed.[3] He was married to Elin Grødal, and they had one son, Jesper.[3][citation needed]
Ulsrud died on 24 May 2022 from cancer, aged 50.[27] A memorial service was held on 3 June 2022 atUllern Church, Oslo.[28] His former teammates remembered him for his friendship and his "inclusiveness" during their years of travelling and competing together.[28] Tributes also came from theWorld 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][29]
| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Alternate | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–85 | Bjørn Ulshagen | Bjarte Nilsen | Terje Strand | Thomas Ulsrud | 1985WJCC | |
| 1987–88 | Thomas Ulsrud | Thomas Due | Krister Aanesen | Mads Rygg | 1988WJCC | |
| 1988–89 | Thomas Ulsrud | Bent Ånund Ramsfjell | Krister Aanesen | Mads Rygg | 1989WJCC | |
| 1991–92 | Thomas Due | Torger Nergård | Mads Rygg | Johan Høstmælingen | Thomas Ulsrud | 1992WJCC |
| 1997–98 | Thomas Ulsrud | Johan Høstmælingen | Thomas Due | Torger Nergård | Rolf Andreas Lauten | 1997ECC |
| 2000–01 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Thomas Due | Johan Høstmælingen | Flemming Davanger | 2000ECC |
| 2002–03 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Thomas Due | Johan Høstmælingen | Thomas Løvold | 2002ECC |
| 2003–04 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Thomas Due | Jan Thoresen | Thomas Løvold | 2003ECC |
| 2005–06 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Thomas Due | Jan Thoresen | Christoffer Svae | 2006WCC |
| 2006–07 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Thomas Due | Jan Thoresen | Christoffer Svae Petter Moe Thomas Løvold | 2006ECC, 2007WCC |
| 2007–08 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Thomas Due | 2007ECC, 2008WCC |
| 2008–09 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Thomas Due Thomas Løvold | 2008ECC, 2009WCC |
| 2009–10 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Thomas Løvold | 2009ECC, 2010OG |
| 2010–11 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Markus Høiberg | 2010ECC, 2011WCC |
| 2011–12 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Markus Høiberg | 2011ECC, 2012WCC |
| 2012–13 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Thomas Løvold Markus Høiberg | 2012ECC, 2013WCC |
| 2013–14 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Markus Høiberg | 2013ECC, 2014OG, 2014WCC |
| 2014–15 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Sander Rølvåg Markus Høiberg | 2014ECC, 2015WCC |
| 2015–16 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Sander Rølvåg Markus Høiberg | 2015ECC, 2016WCC |
| 2016–17 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Sander Rølvåg | 2016ECC |
| 2017–18 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | Sander Rølvåg Markus Høiberg | 2017ECC,2018 OG |
| 2018–19 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Christoffer Svae | Håvard Vad Petersson | ||
| 2019–20 | Thomas Ulsrud | Steffen Walstad | Markus Høiberg | Magnus Vågberg | Magnus Nedregotten | 2019ECC |
| 2020–21 | Thomas Ulsrud | Torger Nergård | Markus Høiberg | Magnus Vågberg |
| 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 |
