Heartwarming Story Behind Norwegian Curling Team's Attention-Grabbing "Clown" Pants

Norwegian Men's Curling Team at the Winter Olympics
Make Headlines in Pants Reminiscent of a Clown Costume
A Tribute to a Player Lost to Cancer... Honored Even by Their Rivals

The uniforms of the Norwegian men's national curling team at the Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 Winter Olympics are drawing attention.

On the 17th (local time) in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Norwegian players are competing in the men's curling round session at the Winter Olympics. AP Yonhap

On the 17th (local time), the Norwegian team took to the ice in pants reminiscent of a clown costume for their round-robin game against Sweden at the Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The design features a repeating pattern of small navy, red, and white diamonds.

According to Yonhap News, these outfits, which could easily look comical at first glance, carry a touching story. The players are said to have worn the pants in honor of former national team skip Thomas Ulsrud, who died of cancer in May 2022 at the age of 50.

Ulsrud, the star of Norwegian curling, wore these pants at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, where he won a silver medal and became a global sensation. At the time, interest was so great that King Harald V of Norway even received a pair of the pants as a gift. The tradition of wearing fun pants continued at the Sochi 2014 Olympics and the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics.

The Norwegian team, which wore ordinary pants at the Beijing Olympics four years ago, had been wearing black pants at this tournament as well, but brought back the colorful pants, saying they wanted to carry on Ulsrud's passion and energy. Norwegian skip Magnus Ramsfjell said, "Ulsrud was a great player full of passion," adding, "We wore these pants to honor him." Norway team member Martin Sesaker said, "We are not very comfortable because we have not played many games in these pants," and added, "From the beginning, we planned to wear them only once as a tribute to Ulsrud."

Coincidentally, the comeback of these pants took place in a game against Sweden's Niklas Edin, who had faced Ulsrud back in 2010. Edin once joked that the Norwegian team looked "like four clowns on the ice," but this time he paid tribute to his old rival, saying, "They were the only team that could look stylish even in such pants."

Norway lost 4-7 to Sweden that day, dropping into a tie for third place, and their advancement to the semifinals will depend on the results of their remaining two games. The Associated Press explained that "the Norwegian team considered marketing activities related to the pants to attract sponsorships and promote curling, but decided not to pursue them out of concern that it could dilute the meaning of the tribute."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.