Thomas Maloney Westgård

Thomas Hjalmar Maloney Westgård (born 10 October 1995) is a Norwegian-Irish cross-country skier who competes for Ireland internationally.[1][2]

Thomas Maloney Westgård
Thomas Maloney Westgård during the World Championships in Seefeld in Tirol, Austria, in February 2019
Country Ireland  Norway
Full nameThomas Hjalmar Maloney Westgård
Born (1995-10-10) 10 October 1995
Leka, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
Ski clubSteinkjer SK
World Cup career
Seasons7 – (2017–present)
Indiv. podiums0
Indiv. starts85
Team starts0
Overall titles0 – (59th in 2023)
Discipline titles0
Updated on 29 March 2023.

Westgård was born and grew up in Leka, Norway.[3] His father is Norwegian, and his mother is Irish, and he is a dual citizen of Ireland and Norway. He began skiing competitively in Norway at age 16 or 17. In the summer of 2016, he began representing Ireland in the World Cup.[3][4] Westgård had begun his nationality transfer process in 2014,[5] and was assisted in the process by Rory Morrish, the head of the Irish Skiing Federation.[6] In local competitions in Norway, he represents the ski club Steinkjer SK in Steinkjer, Norway.[5][7] Westgård's mother's family name is Maloney,[8] and the Snowsports Association of Ireland refer to him as Thomas Maloney Westgaard.[2]

Westgård lives in Meråker, Norway, and is being trained by the retired champion cross-country skier Frode Estil. Since joining the Irish skiing team, Westgård has participated in the 2016–17 FIS Cross-Country World Cup, débuting for Ireland in Lillehammer, Norway, on 2 December 2016 and also taking part in further World Cup races in Estonia and Sweden.[2][3][4]

He competed for Ireland at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 in Lahti, Finland, one of five Irish participants in the championships.[9] In his world championship début in the Men's sprint on 23 February 2017, Westgård ranked as number 77,[1][10] while at the Men's 30 kilometre pursuit on 25 February 2017, he came in last of the participating contestants.[11] He achieved his best result of the championship in the Men's 15 kilometre classical on 1 March 2017, ranking as 49th.[8] Westgård brought a three-man team to the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017, including his father as a helper and Irish cross-country skier Dominic McAleenan as team manager.[12]

Westgård participated in the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics, representing Ireland.[3][13]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[14]

Olympic Games
 Year   Age   15 km 
 individual 		  30 km 
 skiathlon 		  50 km 
 mass start 		  Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 		  Team 
 sprint 
2018226360DNS62——
202226144329[a]———

a Distance reduced to 30 km due to weather conditions.

World Championships
 Year   Age   15 km 
 individual 		  30 km 
 skiathlon 		  50 km 
 mass start 		  Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 		  Team 
 sprint 
2017214760—75——
20192335505565—26
20212541322544——
20232726301847——

Season standings
 Season   Age  Discipline standings Ski Tour standings
Overall Distance Sprint U23 Nordic
Opening		 Tour de
Ski		 Ski Tour
2020		 World Cup
Final
201721NCNCNCNC76———
201822NCNCNCNC————
20192312788NC—77———
2020249762NC——4844—
202125735890—6138——
202226142NCNC——43——
2023275939NC——37——

References
  1. Thomas Maloney Westgård at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
  2. "Cross Country Skiing and Biathlon". snowsports.ie. Snowsports Association of Ireland. 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  3. Bugge, Mette (19 February 2017). "Trønderen er ikke god nok for Norge: – Jeg skal delta i ski-VM for et u-land". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  4. Holberg, Jonas A. (29 November 2016). "Thomas fra Leka går verdenscup i helga – for Irland". Trønder-Avisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  5. Hovd, Svein Tore (20 January 2014). "Her går Irlands nye OL-håp". Namdalsavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  6. Sandmo, Andreas Bugge (10 August 2016). "Skiløperen fra Leka har fått irsk statsborgerskap – Må utnytte muligheten". Namdalsavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  7. Malmo, Erlend (25 January 2014). "KM i langrenn i bilder". Trønder-Avisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  8. Joakimsen, Trygve Strand; Sae-Khow, Nareas (2 March 2017). "Thomas fra Leka byttet nasjon for å få gå i VM" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  9. "Distriktsnyheter Midtnytt: Halvtrønder går for Irland i VM" (in Norwegian). NRK. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  10. Hovd, Svein Tore (23 February 2017). "Thomas utslått i VM-debuten". Namdalsavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  11. Alstad, Bastian Øien (25 February 2017). "Westgård fikk det tøft i VM". Namdalsavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  12. Ringstad, Emil (21 February 2017). "17 nordtrøndere med sentrale roller under VM". Trønder-Avisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  13. "Athletic profile - Thomas Maloney Westgaard". pyeongchang2018.com. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  14. "MALONEY WESTGAARD Thomas". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
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