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by Peter Boltz Leif Odmark has a lot of memories to look back on. His accomplishments include world-class cross-country and alpine skier, former U.S. Olympic Nordic ski coach, the author of two books and founder of the Sun Valley Nordic Ski School and Touring Center. But one thing missing from his resume is his experience as a biathlete. The son of a Norwegian mother and a Swedish father, Odmark grew up in Sweden in Ornskoldsvik (Eagle Fjord) on the Gulf of Bothnia across from Finland. This connection to Norway would later draw Odmark into helping the Norwegian under-ground during World War II. By the time Nazi Germany had occupied Norway and was testing Sweden’s neutrality, Odmark was an accomplished skier. In 1940, he and two of his skiing buddies decided to join a Swedish army unit that would allow them to keep skiing. It was the A-4 Kungliga Artilliriet (the King’s Artillary) based in Osterund, Sweden. The army trained Odmark how to combine skiing and shooting—the essential skills of the biathlon. He put those skills to use both as a soldier and as an army intramural athlete. Odmark doesn’t remember the rifle he used, but during his time in service, the Swedish army was using a 6.5 mm Swedish Mauser or a German Mauser rebored for 8 mm. Biathlon competitions of the time typically used larger caliber military rifles, not the .22 caliber of today’s competitions. The origins of the biathlon are in hunting and warfare in the Scandinavian countries. Pictographs of hunters on skis with bow and arrow, found in Roedoev, Norway, date to about 3000 B.C. The Scandinavian countries and Russia had skiing regiments by the 1500s, and by the end of the 19th century, Germany, Austria and Switzerland had soldiers on skis.
Odmark described the equipment he used in his training for Swedish army intramural biathlon competitions. Everything was white, Odmark said. White clothing, white pack, white skis and even a white cover for the rifle. “We used a wooden ski,” he said, “and at the time we didn’t have the pin binding. It was a toe plate that you stuck your foot into with a leather strap over the toe. “A cable around the heel allowed the heel to come up, or it could be snapped down to make downhill turns. “See, you don’t ski the flat all the time. In war games, you ski into the mountains with everything you needed including your rifle and ammunition. You had to ski all kinds of terrain.” The history of Sweden’s neutrality during World War II can be viewed from several perspectives. Some view it in a porcupine metaphor. The Swedes told the warring nations that whoever threatened their sovereignty would find Swedish resistance a painful and costly one. But if their sovereignty were left alone, they’d be peaceful porcupines, minding their own business. Others, especially the warring nations, viewed Swedish neutrality as a matter of the Swedes doing just about anything to avoid open warfare. The Allies were upset with Sweden for allowing German troop transports to cross it to Norway. Odmark disputes that part of history, saying the Swedes only allowed the Germans to transport their wounded out of Norway. The Axis was upset with Sweden for giving safe harbor to Allied soldiers and Jews. Odmark remarked that damaged American bombers frequently found their way to Sweden. The Axis would also have been upset with the Swedish army’s unofficial help to the Norwegian underground. Odmark said he and other Swedes who had Norwegian family would travel to Stockholm to the Norwegian Embassy. There they would receive instructions and pick up radio equipment essential for the Norwegian underground to stay in contact with England. From Stockholm, Odmark and the others would journey to Osterund, then take a bus to a place near the border via the small village of Jarpen. He said they would ski across the border at night, dressed in white so they were difficult to detect by German patrols that were also on skis. Years later, Odmark became good friends with Herman Primus when they both taught at the Sun Valley Ski School. Primus was an Austrian who came to Sun Valley after the war. Odmark recalls that even after 15 years of friendship, the two of them never talked about the war, until one night the two had a drink together at a party. “Suddenly,” Odmark said, “Herman asked me what I did during the war. Primus’s only remark was “Oh.” Then, Odmark said he asked Primus what he did, adding that he will never forget the answer. “I was in the Austrian ski troops in Norway,” said Primus, “looking Copyright © 2000 Express Publishing Inc. All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. |
The first time the biathlon made it as an official Olympic competition was in Squaw Valley, Calif., in 1960, but the sport made it to the first Winter Olympics in 1924 as a military ski patrol race. It was included again as a demonstration sport in the Winter Olympics of 1928, 1936 and 1948.