On Sunday, the 15th, the 800 people set out at the start of the ride the Race. At the same time, now comes the news that one of the people who changed the competition into the ground, has been lost.
On January 3, 2020 went to Bridget Westhed away.
" We don't know for sure why she died, but it was most likely a heart attack, said his son, Richard Westhed.
" No one was prepared for it. She was 80 years old, but it was still working, and I was very keen. She was a very social person and liked to get out and meet new people.
It was 42 years ago that a friend of theirs, Gary Dohsé made the world as it is spoken of to this day.
in 1978, it was still forbidden for women to ride the Race. Why is that? According to the organizer, it could be ”dangerous for their health.”
even though there were Brigid Westhed and british Dohsé the top of the boot. Bridget was wearing a lösmustasch, a Briton, had been a false beards, and they were entered under the wrong name.
" I thought it was terrible that we didn't get to choose what race we are going. It was a sad thing, I think, told him Bridget Westhed of 4 of the documentary ”Vasaloppskuppen” in the last year.
Son: ”She was a proud”
the Coup was uncovered in the course, and Bridget was interviewed in a live broadcast by Swedish television SVT's reporter, Jan Svanlund. She stopped, then to move on, while the Brit managed to take it all the way to the finish line.
the next Day, where Bridget and Gary in the headlines. And more and more began to question why women are not allowed to ride the Race.
in 1981, it changed to the end of the rules.
"It is clear that, by their coup, and that meant a lot," says Ronald Fields, who is an expert in Vasaloppets history.
" They were certainly not the first woman to have found their way into the race, but there was a big difference, and that was that, they were able to generate very much attention to the issue, through the setting up of the interviews. That was why the debate was so great.
Richard Westhed says to Bridget, only saw the coup as ”a fun thing”, and it took a while before she realized what she was, in fact, contributed to it.
"But then, she was proud to have been involved and changed the rules of the Race," he said.
" a very, Very, very much. She had a special relationship to the Race in the light of what happened in 1978, and her love for cross-country skiing. She was also in the running, cycling and swimming. She was a very active one.
to Hear the meteorologist Johan Groth of söovädret of Vasaloppsåkarna in the late afternoon and into the evening.
in the Race to 2020 – the only guide you'll need for this year's skidklassiker.
It's the celebrities that go Between by 2020.
Date Of Update: 01 March 2020, 22:00
