Alpine skiing-Attacking Viking McGrath hunts gold to honour late grandfather

BORMIO, Italy, Feb 12 : When Norway's slalom specialist Atle Lie McGrath pushes out of the start gate seeking to plunder more Olympic gold for the nation's fabled 'attacking Vikings' he will do so in memory of the grandfather who inspired his sporting journey.

The 25-year-old was told the news he dreaded on the night of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony: that his grandfather Svein Lie had died, aged 83, after a battle with dementia.

"I'm not religious or spiritual, and nor was he, but it almost made me become spiritual because the timing of it was unbelievable," McGrath, 12th in the team combined but whose big medal shot will be in Monday's slalom, told Reuters from the team hotel in Bormio.

"I'm at least very happy I'm able to talk about it now because a couple days ago it was too tough. It's helped, but it put a lot of things in perspective for me."

McGrath was born in Vermont but moved to Norway aged two with his parents, father Felix, who raced on the U.S. ski team and Norwegian mother Selma Lie, a cross-country skier.

There he formed a close bond with his sports‑mad grandfather, a renowned cross-country skier who also played in the Wimbledon junior tennis championships as a youth.

"He was one of the best men I knew. He was the one who got my mum into cross-country skiing and also me into cross-country skiing. He really loved it," a proud McGrath said.

Birkebeinerrennet, Norway's famous mass‑participation cross-country ski race, was Svein's passion.

"If you're better than average in your age group, you get a mark (medal). He had over 50. He competed 50 years consecutively!" McGrath said. "He was a huge inspiration and the one who made me fall in love with sports, even if he didn't know much about Alpine skiing."

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