April 14, 2012 (Norway) – The global Nordic community was sad to learn that legendary Norwegian cross-country skiing coach, Inge Braten, passed away on Friday after a brief illness. Braten, 63, had a brilliant career coaching some of the world’s best xc skiers including Vegard Ulvang and Bjoern Daehlie during the early 90s as head coach of the Norwegian national team.

With Bråten at the helm Norway earned 15 Olympic and World Championships gold medals with golden success at both the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville as well as the 1994 Games in Lillehammer. Bråten is credited with re-establishing Norway as a powerhouse in cross-country skiing.

Later he was recruited by the Swedish National team from 2005-2007 and joined Cross Country Canada in 2009 in the lead up to the Vancouer 2010 Winter Games. He suffered a freak accident soon after at the World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland injuring his leg but was able to rejoin the team just prior to the Games where Canada’s men delivered some of their best Olympic results ever with seven top-10 performances. Devon Kerhsaw and Alex Harvey were fourth in the team sprint while Kershaw went on to finish 4th in the men’s 50km classic.

Following the Games Braten departed and later became the head coach of the Swiss National Cross-country Team but it was a short stint for the venerable coach who also worked as a sports commentator.

SkiTrax joins the Nordic community around the world in saluting Braten’s stellar career and sending condolences to his family and friends.