Sigmund Ruud

The oldest of the three famous Ruud brothers, Sigmund Ruud came to national attention after winning the Junior Class in Nordic combined at Holmenkollen in 1926, where he impressed with his jumping. After his silver medal in the 1928 Olympics, he was World Champion in ski jumping in 1929 and won a bronze medal the following year. After 1930 he stayed several years in Middle Europe, competing in ski jumping and alpine skiing, winning national championship titles in France, Czechoslovakia and Romania. In 1932 he placed a disappointing seventh in the Winter Olympic ski jumping competition, severely hampered by appendicitis. He competed in the Alpine Combination in 1936, but had to withdraw after the downhill due to injury. In 1938 he published a highly acclaimed book on skiing, Skispor Krysser Verden (Ski Tracks Across the World). Ruud was chairman of the FIS Ski Jumping Committee for two periods, 1946-1955 and 1959-1967. He owned and ran a well-known sport shop in Oslo for several years carrying his name.