I grew up in Senja (an island in the North of Norway), started playing volleyball indoor when I was 13 years old for the local team Finnsnes. I have always loved sports and tried a lot of different things as a child. I was the captain of the local soccer-team, did cross-country skiing and compeeted in gymnastics before I started my career as a volleyball-player.
I played in the top Norwegian division in Harstad when I was only 16 years old, and moved to Oslo when I was 17. I was selected to play on the junior national team at the age of 17, where I played for two years. I was elected captain the last season. I played for KFUM Oslo two years and was on the senior national team when I was 19. I studied at Wang sports-school for two years and got an award (NetCom-prisen) as the best student to combine sports and studies in 1999. After that I played one season for Koll, one of the best teams in Norway and became Norwegian Champion 99/00.
I started playing beachvolleyball at the age of 16 and became Norwegian Champion for juniors when I was 18. After that, I decided to play more beachvolley and less indoor. From January to April 2000 I was in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil where I got to practice with Leão, one of the best Brazilian coaches and play with Yukiko and Mika, two Japanese girls who became 4th in the Olympics in Sydney 2000. This inspired me so much that I decided to try to become one of the best myself.
| Family: | Wenche (mom), Torleif (dad), Kent Ove (brother), Flávio (husband) | |||
| Education: | A degree in English and Portuguese from the University of Oslo | |||
| Favorites: | ||||
| Food: | Sushi | |||
| Music: | Skunk Anansie, Eagle Eye Cherry, Alanis Morrissette, Metallica, Alicia Keys, Beyonce Knowles, 50 Cent, Eminem, Nickelback, The Nixons, REM, Musica Popular do Brasil +++ | |||
| Movies: | As good as it gets, Notting Hill, Charlies Angels | |||
| Actors: | Jack Nickolson, Cameron Diaz, Hugh Grant | |||
| Books: | Prince of the tides, Wild Swans, About a Boy | |||
| TV: | Sex and the city, Friends, MTV | |||
| Hobbies: | Guitar, computer, reading, friends, travelling, fishing, hiking, enjoying nature, movies and dancing (samba and salsa) | |||
| Languages spoken fluently: | Norwegian, English, Portuguese | |||
| Languages understood: | German, Spanish, Swedish, Danish | |||
| City: | Rio de Janeiro. There's only one city I've gone to that's totally taken my breath away. Rio has everything you can imagine. It has beautiful landscapes including beaches, mountains, forests, rivers, modern buildings and shanty towns. | |||
| Beaches: | Ipanema (Rio), Ferradurinha (Búzios), Ilha Grande | |||
| Places on the World Tour: | My favorite is Stavanger-Norway because of the fantastic crowd. Each day more than 70 000 people visit the arena where we play, and it's an amazing atmosphere. I also like Gstaad-Switzerland because of its beauty, surrounded by the Alps, and the friendly Swiss people. | |||
| Moments on the court: | Becoming junior champion of Norway, qualifying to the Main Draw in Crete, playing the World Championships in Brazil | |||
| Moments outside the court: | Rafting in Switzerland, participating in the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, driving jeeps on mountains of sand in Cumbuco (Fortaleza) and watching the midnight sun in Norway | |||
| Athlete: | Bjorn Daelie (cross-country) | |||
| Beachvolleyball player: | Shelda and Emanuel | |||
| Coach | Leão | |||
| Phrase: | Never take "no" for an answer. It's just the beginning of a "yes". | |||