Norway’s most famous curler has died of cancer

Thomas Ulsrud, the world champion and Olympic silver medalist skip, passed away on the night of May 24 after an 18-month battle against cancer.

The announcement came from the Team Ulsrud Facebook page, which has been largely inactive since the team split up in 2019.

“Thomas has been fighting cancer since December 2020, but the last week it took a turn for the worst and in the end he was gone very quickly,” said the posting on the page, which is run by former team lead Christoffer Svae.

“We the team are devastated for our loss.

“Being around Ulsrud was always a joy and we will miss our skipper deeply! We’re sending all our love and thoughts to his family who were with him till the end.

“Rest In Peace Thomas.”

Curling fans and stakeholders were quick to follow with their thought on a remarkably popular curling athlete.

Team Ulsrud featured Ulsrud at skip, third Torger Nergard, Svae at second stone and lead Haavard Vad Petersson.

The Norwegian squad became instantly famous when they debuted outrageous pants as competition wear at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, where they won silver behind Kevin Martin’s host team.

The team and their pants remained ubiquitous for the next 10 years. The Facebook page for their pants still has nearly 450,000 followers.

The team appeared in 12 world championships, winning gold in 2014 and four additional medals, 17 European Championships (winning two gold medals, six silver and three bronze) and three Olympic Winter Games.

Ulsrud was a fighter to the end, reportedly enduring nearly 30 chemotherapy sessions as well as embracing naturopathic options.

Ulsrud was 50 years old. He is survived by his wife Elin, and his son Jesper.