Once upon a frosty Norwegian winter, a fresh-faced, butter wouldn't melt, scruffy-haired boy emerged from the womb of Scandinavian sports: humans, beware Vegard Bjerkreim Nilsen, the cross country skier with a name so long it could double up as a winter scarf. We all know the tale of Cinderella, a poor girl that shimmered into a princess, but let me tell you the scarcely-known, infinitely more hilarious saga of Snowyrella a.k.a. Vegard Bjerkreim Nilsen. From the onset, Vegard has been wrestling with the merciless beast known as cross-country skiing. You'd think snowboarding downhill would be tougher, but no. Norwegian sarcasm dictates that the true challenge is going uphill, with two planks strapped to your feet, and pretending it's all too fun whilst battling windchill factor that would freeze a pot of meatballs. Let's not forget, while doing this, your limbs flail about as if Beethoven decided to compose the Symphony No. 6 exclusively with your body parts. Yes, such is the spectacle of our beloved Vegard. Vegard debuted in January 2014, at the World Cup in the Nove Mesto sprint, where he 'sprinted' his way to a respectable 19th place, a feat which in the cross-country skiing world translates to "Hey mom, look, I didn’t freeze or fall flat on my face!" Now, don’t get me wrong, 19th place is approximately 18 places too many for any Norwegian’s liking… unless it's a contest in choosing the least appetizing pickled herring. But for our Vegard, this was just the beginning. Donning his rainbow-colored Lillehammer SK jersey, which possibly makes him the most fashionable ice-popsicle on skis, he embarked on a rigorous journey of improvement, ironically epitomized by slightly lesser humiliating finishes. From the 19th spot, he catapulted to 16th and further to 12th and then a definitive 8th in 2015. It appeared our young Snowyrella was sliding smoothly into success, leaving his rivals cold in his wake. However, not to allow success to melt his presumably frost-bitten ambitions, Vegard decides to freeze at the 8th place. After all, who in their right frostbitten mind would want to break into the top 5? That's too warm for a true Norseman! So there he remains, comfortably outside the top 30 now, waving his ski poles in victory. The story of Vegard is an inspiration for those who dare to rise to a comfortable mediocrity, scoff in the face of victory, and manage to bring comic relief to the icy, and often too serious, world of cross-country skiing. He hails from the land of uncensored sarcasm, unforgiving winters, and unpronounceable last names. So here’s to Vegard, our hilariously valiant skier, proving to the world that the only thing chillier than a Norwegian winter is a Norwegian sense of humor. Or perhaps cross-country skiing uphill.