The Bromma Express

We are now passing the small village of Bromma which used to be a stop on the Bergen line. One man who grew up in Bromma was so good at skiing that he won both world championship and Olympic gold medals. He kept such a great pace that he was nicknamed the “Bromma Express” perhaps a metaphor for the Bergen train, which wizzes past every day. Pål Gunnar Mikkelsplass represented Bromma and Norway in the 1980s and was later the Norwegian national team coach. In Norway the world ski championships are as exciting as the football world cup is for Italians. During the Oslo Winter Olympics of 1982 the whole of the Norwegian population were glued to their TV screens. The “Bromma Express” was taking the third stage of the relay when he fell! The whole of Norway held their breath. Taking the last leg was the legendary Oddvar Brå and when he broke a ski pole in the final sprint in a dual with the Russian Aleksandr Zavjalov, the whole of Norway went crazy. Brå fought until the end and Norway and Russia ended up sharing the gold medal, in a TV moment which was for many as memorable as Neil Armstrong taking the first steps on the moon. In Norway, people will ask “where were you when Oddvar Brå broke his pole?’’ And everyone over the age of 50 will answer without hesitation – try it!