
Audun Groenvold, Olympic ski cross medallist, dies after lightning strike
OSLO, Norway (AP) — Olympic ski cross medalist Audun Groenvold has died after being struck by lightning, the Norwegian ski federation announced Wednesday. He was 49.
Article content
Groenvold won bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Article content
Article content
'It is with great sadness that we have received the news of Audun Groenvold's untimely passing,' the federation said. 'The former national Alpine skier and ski cross athlete was recently struck by lightning during a cabin trip.'
Article content
The federation said Groenvold was 'quickly taken to hospital and received treatment for the injuries he sustained in the lightning strike' and then died Tuesday night.
Article content
Groenvold was a member of Norway's Alpine skiing team before he moved into freestyle and ski cross. He had one podium finish as a World Cup Alpine skier, finishing third in a downhill in Sierra Nevada, Spain, in 1999.
Article content
He also won a bronze medal in ski cross at the 2005 world championships, and the overall ski cross cup in 2007.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Caufield invited to U.S. orientation camp, Hutson left out
Cole Caufield (13) of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal against the Washington Capitals with teammates Lane Hutson (48) and Juraj Slafkovsky (20) during the second period of a Stanley Cup playoff game in Montreal on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi) Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield has been invited to the U.S. men's Olympic hockey orientation camp ahead of the Milan-Cortina Games, USA Hockey announced Tuesday. Caufield is among 44 players invited to the camp, which will be held Aug. 26 and 27 in Plymouth, Mich. Canadiens star defenceman Lane Hutson was not included on the list. 'This is largely an administrative and team-building event and does not include any formal on-ice activity or public component,' USA Hockey said in a news release. In addition to Caufield, players such as Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes are among those invited. Caufield scored 37 goals and added 33 assists in 82 games with Montreal last season. He also had three goals and one assist in five playoff games in 2024–25. Hutson won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year last season after recording six goals and 60 assists in 82 games. He added five assists in five playoff games. He became the first Canadiens player to win the Calder since goaltender Ken Dryden in 1972. All 23 players who represented the U.S. at the Four Nations Face-Off were invited to the orientation camp. The final 25-man roster for the Olympics is expected to be unveiled in early January 2026. The men's Olympic hockey tournament will run from Feb. 11 to 22, 2026. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 19, 2024.


National Post
8 hours ago
- National Post
Canucks: Conor Garland, Team USA Olympian?
Quinn Hughes we know will get an Olympic look from USA Hockey. Whether any other of the Vancouver Canucks ' clutch of Americans might also get a look has been up in the air. Article content At least for now, the only other Yankee Canuck with a chance for an Italian plane ticket is Conor Garland. Article content Article content It's a credit to Garland, who has been a consistent, steady winger for the Canucks since he arrived here in the infamous Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade in 2021. Article content Garland was a head-turning performance for the Americans at last spring's World Championships, helping to lead his national team to their first IIHF senior men's title in 65 years. Article content It's been a busy four years for Garland in Vancouver, one almost exclusively full of personal ascendancy. The Canucks had high hopes for him when they landed him in the trade that sent a first-round pick plus broken-down veterans Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel and Loui Eriksson to Arizona for Ekman-Larsson and Garland. Article content Ekman-Larsson was the headliner in that 2021 deal, a veteran defenceman who was once an underrated game manager but who was past his prime by the time he landed in Vancouver. Article content Garland, though, has proved to be exactly as advertised. He is crafty and relentless. A true competitor, he's won over Canucks fans — and coaches too. Article content Article content After the trade came down in the summer of 2021, then-head coach Travis Green called me to sing Garland's praises. Yes, he was pumped about adding what management believed would be a No. 1 defenceman in OEL, but don't discount Garland, he added. He could be a real diamond in the rough. Article content Article content Given how the OEL era went, the bar Garland had to clear to be the better player in the deal wasn't that high. Article content He has been far better than that. Green was gone before Garland's first Christmas in blue and green, but his successor Bruce Boudreau proved to be just as much of a fan of the Massachusetts-born winger. Article content 'He drags us into the fight,' Boudreau crowed more than once. Boudreau's aggressive hockey suited Garland to a T, with Garland scoring 16 points in April as the Canucks chased an improbable playoff spot. Article content They didn't make the post-season in the end, but Garland did everything he could to get them there. Article content His energetic play carried on under Rick Tocchet, and again especially in crunch time. He had 19 points in March and April 2024, a key player down the stretch as the Canucks won their first division title in a decade. Article content Even this past season, as the Canucks staggered from one crisis to another, as their top two centres underwhelmed, Garland was a constant.


Vancouver Sun
9 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Games over Galas: She's Got Next looks to unite women leaders through sports
She's Got Next's principle strategy comes in three little words: Games, Not Galas. That is, in fact, also a frequent tagline for the Vancouver-based group started up by Julie Smulders and Jill Tracy, and here's hoping they find time to trademark it, because it's as catchy as it is crafty. They are looking to support women's sport, and looking to give women's leaders with a background in sport a chance to network at something other than a pricey fundraising dinner. She's Got Next had 200 people at the WNBA game Friday at Rogers Arena between the Seattle Storm and Atlanta Dream . They have plans to have a section at every PWHL Vancouver game at the Pacific Coliseum this coming season as well. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The WNBA's Toronto Tempo helped put together the Friday event and they had representatives there, including team president Theresa Resch. Others on hand included director of Sport Hosting Vancouver Michelle Collens, pro golfer and Birdies Babes Golf founder Courtney Campbell, former national team volleyball player Emily Cordonier, and five-time track-and-field Olympian Charmaine Crooks. She's Got Next lists itself as a non-profit professional women's network. 'I love that it brings out a community of female sports champions beyond the rooms of the professional sport teams,' explained Collens, a former volleyball player at UBC. 'You're starting to see women come out of the woodwork, women who you didn't know who work over here or over there. You're seeing so many different communities come together. It's people connecting who otherwise would not have ever met each other. 'Standing there at the game the other night, there were people of all ages. It's not just the people who get invited to the galas.' Tracy is founder and CEO of BSTRO, a digital marketing firm. Smulders is COO of Willoughby Asset Management. She's Got Next started up in April 2024, and it's the product of Smulders and Tracy taking in a UBC women's basketball playoff game that drew a few hundred fans, and then watching a Caitlin Clark University of Iowa game that attracted 19,000. 'We left going, 'We can do something here in Canada. Let's bring a community together here in Canada and amplify this,'' Smulders said. 'Now's the time to do it. I feel like Canada has a passionate sports culture that's maybe not always tapped in. You see it at the Olympics, you see it occasionally when one of our icons rises to the top.' A post shared by SHE'S GOT NEXT (@ Smulders, as it happens, might be the ideal example of the type of person that She's Got Next is trying connect with. She doesn't live in the sports world daily. She was a high school basketball standout at Lord Byng who went on to play at UBC and later did a stint in the pro ranks in the Netherlands. She is the sister of Cobie Smulders, the actress known for her roles in How I Met Your Mother TV show and the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. 'Mainly resiliency,' Julie said when asked what she learned from her time in sport. 'The ability to fail and not have it set you back. You learn from failure. Failure is a part of a life. You go through it pretty much every single game. You make a mistake and you have to just keep going. 'It taught me that and it gave me the amazing role models I have in my life that I wouldn't have otherwise had access to. They gave me examples of leadership, integrity, teamwork. 'With athletes, you grow up understanding that it takes people around you to succeed. And I find that every member who joins our community starts out by saying, 'How can I help?' It's amazing that there's all these people out there who want to be a part of this and raise it up.' Smulders was equal parts 'elated and exhausted,' after the Friday event, and said that the turnout and the energy was better than she and Tracy had hoped for. She's Got Next plans to further their connections with the likes of the WNBA, PWHL Vancouver and the Vancouver Rise of the Northern Super League, and also is now beginning to reach out to the next generation of female athletes. 'As the university seasons kick off, we want to start up scholarship programs and show opportunities for career paths, because athletes are great hires,' Smulders said. 'That is one of our missions: get more women leaders. 'I think most athletes don't put on their resume that they were a varsity athlete, and I think that should be at the top. I would hire you based on those skills alone. You can learn the technical stuff … but the discipline, hard work and the plain showing up on time you get from being an athlete are all really important.' @SteveEwen SEwen@