Norwegian Curling Team Bring Back Fan-Favorite Pants to Honor Former Curler Who Died of Cancer

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Norway's Martin Sesaker at the 2026 Winter Olympics
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NEED TO KNOW​

• Norway's curling team revived their popular "fun" pants at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday, Feb. 17
• The bold trousers were made famous by Thomas Ulsrud's team in 2010, but the Norwegian curlers discontinued the trend after Ulsrud died of cancer in 2022
• Curler Magnus Ramsfjell said he and his teammates had the idea "in the back of our minds" to bring them back after they qualified for the 2026 Milan Games

Norway's curling team brought back their fan-favorite pants for a heartwarming reason at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

For their match against Sweden on Tuesday, Feb. 17 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the male Norwegian curlers revived their colorful pants in Norway's red, white and blue flag colors. The trousers were originally made famous by Thomas Ulsrud's team at the Vancouver Games in 2010 and then again in the 2014 and 2018 Games.

After Ulsrud passed away from cancer in 2022, the tradition of wearing the fun pants stopped, according to The Guardian and Grand Slam of Curling.

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Team Norway on Feb. 17, 2026
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Curler Magnus Ramsfjell told reporters, "When we qualified for the Olympics, it was always in the back of our minds, ‘Oh, we should really bring back the pants,' " according to both outlets.

But he also said his team "kind of came to the conclusion that, well, it was Team Ulsrud's thing" and "we should try to make our own."

Ramsfjell, 28, revealed that his team "asked [Ulsrud’s teammates] and they said, 'Of course, if you want to go for it, go for it.’ "

The current Norwegian curlers "had the compromise that one game, honoring the whole Ulsrud team and wearing the fully Norwegian outfits out there on the ice, that would be be just amazing for all parties," said Ramsfjell.

He also acknowledged the element of silliness that makes the fans love the quirky uniforms. Ramsfjell told the Guardian, “It’s something about curling being a bit silly, and then people showing up looking a bit silly. I feel like it’s a perfect synergy.”

Ramsfjell called Ulsrud "an incredible guy, incredible curler" and said the late athlete's "passion for curling is something that I wish everyone can try to carry forward."

"Just his energy in general, just fantastic, fun, and an amazing curler," he added.

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Magnus Ramsfjell, Bendik Ramsfjell and Martin Sesaker of Team Norway
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The Norwegians played Sweden during the match on Tuesday, including Swedish curler Niklas Edin, who competed against Ulsrud in 2010, per the Guardian. Edin, 40, jokingly described his opponents' look on Tuesday as "four clowns coming up and down the ice."

Edin told the outlet Ulsrud's team were "some of our best friends for the better part of two decades out there" and said the current Norwegian team is "the same to be honest," describing Ramsfjell and his teammates as "super nice personalities."

"We always had a good laugh," Edin said. "Fantastic memories with those teams."

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

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