March 11, 2014 – The world’s best cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen has signed a 4-year contract with the Swedish functional sportswear brand Craft. The freshly signed contract means that the Norwegian superstar will use Craft’s training and racing clothes as of May 2014 until the 2018 Olympics in South Korea.

”I have always paid great attention to the quality of the equipment I use,” says Marit Bjørgen. “So when choosing a new provider of training and racing clothes it was important for me to choose a partner I could trust and that has the quality required to perform optimally. It’s no accident that my choice fell on Craft. In order for me to continue winning ski races, I must work out with the best, be on the best team and have the best training and racing clothes.”

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Craft is of course very pleased with signing the world’s best cross-country skier.  ”We are very proud to have reached this agreement, and I must admit that I am very happy that Marit has shown this trust in us. That she has chosen us because of our product quality proves that we are doing a good job. At the same time, I am incredibly impressed with Marit’s professional attitude,” says Anders Corwin Bristol, a very satisfied sales and marketing director at Craft Norway.

INSPIRED BY KALLA
Over the last years Marit has trained closely together with Swedish star Charlotte Kalla, who is also part of Craft’s cross-country skiing campaign. During this time the two skiers have exchanged experiences regarding training and equipment, and there is no doubt that Marit has been influenced in her choice of a new provider.

”Charlotte has shown me a lot of the functionality of Craft’s clothes and told me how she works closely with the company. Now I also get to be part of the development and actively participate in the testing of products, which I am looking forward to,” says Marit.

“This is very exciting news for Craft.  Having both Charlotte Kalla and now Marit Bjorgen wearing Craft really speaks to the brand’s quality and functionality,” says Katie Swenson, Nordic sales manager for Craft Sportswear North America. “It’s absolutely fantastic to have such talented athletes wearing Craft.”

AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Former Olympic sprint champion Björn Lind is responsible for Craft’s cross-country collection, and he has big plans for the colla­boration with Marit. ”For us it’s important to collaborate with the best athletes in order to develop the best clothes. Elite athletes spend many hours in their training clothes and have huge demands when it comes to functionality and comfort. We use their feed­back in the development of our design, technology and quality. Marit will play an important part in this process,” says Björn Lind.