Lars's Story
Fast Facts
Sport: Cross-Country Skiing
Events: Sprint Freestyle, 15km Classic
Olympic History: Beijing 2022, Milano Cortina 2026
Highlights: Making the Beijing 2022 Olympic team
Coach: Ånund Lid Byggland
Year Born: 2001
About Vik
With a Norwegian father and Australian mother, Lars Young Vik grew up on the trails around Oslo’s Holmenkollen ski area, and has long split his life between Norway and Perth, in Western Australia, when he’s home. His uncle Bjarte Engen Vik won four Olympic medals for Norway.
Lars represents Australia internationally while training in Oslo, and has worked with coach Ånund Lid Byggland. Early promise came with steady climbs at Norwegian junior level, moving from 26th in 2018 to 8th in 2019, before pandemic travel limits delayed his first Australian winter with the national team. He instead met the squad in Europe and made his World Cup debut in Ulricehamn in February 2021 in the team sprint.
At Beijing 2022 he switched focus toward sprint events and made his Olympic debut in the men’s sprint freestyle, placing 55th, and also contested the 15 kilometre classic, finishing 76th. He was the second‑best Australian in the sprint behind Phil Bellingham, a benchmark that sharpened his resolve to progress out of qualifying at the sport’s biggest events.
Momentum built in 2023. At the World Championships in Planica, Vik placed 40th in the men’s sprint classic, Australia’s best men’s sprint performance at the Worlds since 2007, and teamed with Seve de Campo for 18th in the team sprint, signalling Australia’s intent to compete in sprint formats at championship level.
The following northern winter added encouraging team results. In January 2024 at the Goms World Cup, Lars anchored Australia’s mixed 4 x 5 km relay to 16th with teammates Ellen Søhol Lie, Rosie Fordham and Seve de Campo - a performance that contributed to Australia’s Nations Cup progress that season.
Between championship and World Cup starts, Lars continued to sharpen speed and race craft at European and Scandinavian events and, when schedule allowed, in Australia. He joined the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia program in 2024, formalising support for his international campaign.
The 2024–25 season marked a clear step up for Lars. At the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim (NOR), February–March, he delivered a career‑best 33rd in the sprint freestyle, missing the top‑30 cut for the finals by just 0.21 seconds. He also paired with Seve for 20th in the men’s team sprint and skied a leg of Australia’s 4 x 7.5 km relay, placing 20th. In the 10 km classic he was 75th. Australia fielded full men’s and women’s teams in both the relay and team sprint for the first time, underlining growing depth that Lars has contributed to.
He closed the season with his best World Cup result to date in Lahti in March 2025, placing 31st in the sprint freestyle and missing the quarter‑finals by two hundredths of a second, Australia’s best men’s World Cup sprint since 2018. He teamed up with Seve for 26th in the team sprint. And also finished 65th in the 50 km mass start classic to round out a busy weekend.
Lars began the 2025-26 northern hemisphere season, ahead of the Olympics, in November with FIS level races in Sweden to prepare for World Cup racing. In Ruka, Finland, his best result was 66th in the sprint. At Trondheim (NOR), he was 75th in the sprint. At the Davos World Cup he raced in three events. He combined with Hugo Hinckfuss to place 22nd in the team sprint, was 55th in the individual sprint (two spots behind Hugo) and in the 10km freestyle he was 85th. In January, he raced at the Norwegian National Championships before another block of training to put the final touches on his Milano Cortina 2026 preparations.
Lars has been recognised for his achievements. Snow Australia named him as its Cross‑Country Male Skier of the Year in 2023 and again in 2025, reflecting his progress from promising newcomer to consistent championship performer.
His blend of sprinting speed, technical control and team‑event experience, along with his grounding between Oslo’s Holmenkollen trails and Australian camps, positions him to keep pushing Australia closer to sprint quarter‑finals at World Cup, World Championship and the Olympics.
Away from the snow he has pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics, a balance he credits with helping him keep perspective through long northern winters and the Australian off‑season.
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