Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Fossavatn Ski Marathon

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Status
  
active

Date(s)
  
April–May

Location(s)
  
Ísafjörður

Genre
  
sporting event

Frequency
  
annual

Country
  
Iceland

Fossavatn Ski Marathon is an annual ski marathon held in Ísafjörður, northwestern Iceland. It debuted in 1935 and is 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 the marathon was 20 km long but in 1987 a shorter distance of 10 km was added, and in 1989 a 7 kilkometre course which made, designed to attract children and beginners. The longest course, the 50 km race, has only been held since 2004 and due to its challenges and difficulties has increasingly attracted international professional skiers, particularly Norwegians. In 2005 the 50 km marathon was added to the FIS and 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 Fossavant Ski Marathon in Iceland.

The most successful athlete to compete in the marathon since its inception in 1935 is a local skier named Kristjan Rafn Gudmundsson, 12 times winner of the Fossavatn Ski Marathon in the 1960s and 1970s. The most prolific competitor is another local named Sigurdur Jonsson, who first competed in 1938.

References

Fossavatn Ski Marathon Wikipedia