Sverre Farstad (8 February 1920 – 27 March 1978) was a Norwegian speed skater representing Sportsklubben Falken, Trondheim, as part of the Falken Trio also including Henry Wahl and Hjalmar Andersen. Farstad won one Olympic gold medal and one European Championship in his three-year international career.[1]
Before World War II, Farstad was active in workers races, and came second in the Norwegian Workers' Championship on the 5,000 m in 1940. During the war, he trained weightlifting and gymnastics in Trondheim, and returned to international competition by winning bronze at the European Championship 1947, where he won the 1,500 metres, and silver at the World Championship, where he won both 500 and 1,500 m, and was 2.2 seconds from becoming world champion by virtue of winning three distances. Instead, he finished second in the overall standings after finishing 30.9 seconds behind Lassi Parkkinen on 10,000 metres.[1]
Farstad was selected for the Norwegian team at the 1948 Winter Olympics at St. Moritz, and was a favourite on the 1,500 m. He won the race with a time of 2:17.6; though Swede Åke Seyffarth in a later pair was ahead on all three laps before the finish, but Farstad's final lap of 37.6 seconds was unbeatable, and Seyffarth finished 0.5 seconds behind. Farstad became the first person from Trøndelag to win Olympic gold.[2] He also finished sixth on the 500 metres event. After the olympics, he received an overwhelming welcome in Trondheim, along with silver medalist Thomas Byberg and the other olympic skaters from Trøndelag.[2]
Two weeks after the Games, Farstad took part in the European Championships at Hamar, finishing fourth after placing 11th and 12th on the two longest distances, though he won the 1,500 m again. He had a 22-second lead on Reidar Liaklev after three distances, but failed to hold on to it after Liaklev's race of 17:24.9. At the World Championships in Helsinki two weeks later, however, Farstad fell down to seventh on the 1,500, two seconds behind winner John Werket, and finished eleventh in the allround standings.
Post St. Moritz
Farstad receives an award
Farstad never became Norwegian Champion; in 1949 he was beaten by Reidar Liaklev and finished second. However, returning to the canton of Graubünden where he had already won one Olympic medal, Farstad won the 1949 European Championships. Farstad started by skating the 500 metres in 41.8 seconds, equalling Hans Engnestangen's world record,[2] and beating his closest competitor by 1.6 seconds. He was beaten by Kornél Pajor on the 5,000 metres, who set a new world record, but still led by 2.2 points after the first day. By winning the 1,500 metres by 2.5 seconds, in a time one tenth of a second behind the world record, he had taken a lead of 3.03 points, more than a minute, before the final 10,000 metres. Thus, finishing eleventh out of twelve finishers did not matter; he won the championship by nearly a point, bettered the previous world best mark by two points, and set the first official world record for the big combination. The record stood for six years.
Two weeks later, Farstad, who had been taken ill after the European Championship, failed to qualify for the 10,000 metres at the World Championship in Oslo, which were arranged in warm weather. He was seventh after three distances, but his 16th place on the 5,000 meant he was not qualified for the final distance. That was his last international allround championship, but he won the 500 metres in the Norwegian Championship in 1950, as well as winning the 500 metres in national matches against Sweden in 1950 and 1951. This was combined with full-time work as a journalist for Arbeiderbladet, a job he kept until his death in 1978. He was also part-time national coach of the Italian team between 1957 and 1960, coaching Renato De Riva to become the first Italian to qualify for the 10,000 metres in an international championship after World War II.[1]
World record
Over the course of his career, Farstad skated one world record:
Note that Farstad was the first world record holder on the big combination since this was the first time that the big combination was an official world record event, as decided by the International Skating Union.
Personal records
To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Farstad skated his personal records.
Remarkably, Farstad's personal record on the big combination (188.958) is the same as his Adelskalender score. This is because at the 1949 European Championships, he skated new personal records on all four big combination distances, an achievement that also made him the first official world record holder on the big combination. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a third place.
sverre, farstad, february, 1920, march, 1978, norwegian, speed, skater, representing, sportsklubben, falken, trondheim, part, falken, trio, also, including, henry, wahl, hjalmar, andersen, farstad, olympic, gold, medal, european, championship, three, year, int. Sverre Farstad 8 February 1920 27 March 1978 was a Norwegian speed skater representing Sportsklubben Falken Trondheim as part of the Falken Trio also including Henry Wahl and Hjalmar Andersen Farstad won one Olympic gold medal and one European Championship in his three year international career 1 Sverre FarstadFarstad in 1949Personal informationBorn 1920 02 08 8 February 1920Trondheim NorwayDied27 March 1978 1978 03 27 aged 58 SportCountryNorwaySportSpeed skatingClubSportsklubben FalkenAchievements and titlesPersonal best s 500 m 41 8 1949 1000 m 1 29 7 1950 1500 m 2 13 6 1949 3000 m 4 59 2 1949 5000 m 8 15 4 1949 10 000 m 17 39 7 1949 Medal record Representing NorwayOlympic Games1948 St Moritz 1 500 mWorld Championships1947 Oslo AllroundEuropean Championships1949 Davos Allround1947 Stockholm Allround Contents 1 Pre St Moritz 2 1948 St Moritz 3 Post St Moritz 4 World record 5 Personal records 6 References 7 Further readingPre St Moritz EditBefore World War II Farstad was active in workers races and came second in the Norwegian Workers Championship on the 5 000 m in 1940 During the war he trained weightlifting and gymnastics in Trondheim and returned to international competition by winning bronze at the European Championship 1947 where he won the 1 500 metres and silver at the World Championship where he won both 500 and 1 500 m and was 2 2 seconds from becoming world champion by virtue of winning three distances Instead he finished second in the overall standings after finishing 30 9 seconds behind Lassi Parkkinen on 10 000 metres 1 He was awarded Egebergs AErespris in 1947 having won two silver medals in Norwegian weightlifting championships and he also won a bronze in rowing Farstad also competed in boxing cycling sport shooting swimming and amateur wrestling 1 1948 St Moritz EditFarstad was selected for the Norwegian team at the 1948 Winter Olympics at St Moritz and was a favourite on the 1 500 m He won the race with a time of 2 17 6 though Swede Ake Seyffarth in a later pair was ahead on all three laps before the finish but Farstad s final lap of 37 6 seconds was unbeatable and Seyffarth finished 0 5 seconds behind Farstad became the first person from Trondelag to win Olympic gold 2 He also finished sixth on the 500 metres event After the olympics he received an overwhelming welcome in Trondheim along with silver medalist Thomas Byberg and the other olympic skaters from Trondelag 2 Two weeks after the Games Farstad took part in the European Championships at Hamar finishing fourth after placing 11th and 12th on the two longest distances though he won the 1 500 m again He had a 22 second lead on Reidar Liaklev after three distances but failed to hold on to it after Liaklev s race of 17 24 9 At the World Championships in Helsinki two weeks later however Farstad fell down to seventh on the 1 500 two seconds behind winner John Werket and finished eleventh in the allround standings Post St Moritz Edit Farstad receives an award Farstad never became Norwegian Champion in 1949 he was beaten by Reidar Liaklev and finished second However returning to the canton of Graubunden where he had already won one Olympic medal Farstad won the 1949 European Championships Farstad started by skating the 500 metres in 41 8 seconds equalling Hans Engnestangen s world record 2 and beating his closest competitor by 1 6 seconds He was beaten by Kornel Pajor on the 5 000 metres who set a new world record but still led by 2 2 points after the first day By winning the 1 500 metres by 2 5 seconds in a time one tenth of a second behind the world record he had taken a lead of 3 03 points more than a minute before the final 10 000 metres Thus finishing eleventh out of twelve finishers did not matter he won the championship by nearly a point bettered the previous world best mark by two points and set the first official world record for the big combination The record stood for six years Two weeks later Farstad who had been taken ill after the European Championship failed to qualify for the 10 000 metres at the World Championship in Oslo which were arranged in warm weather He was seventh after three distances but his 16th place on the 5 000 meant he was not qualified for the final distance That was his last international allround championship but he won the 500 metres in the Norwegian Championship in 1950 as well as winning the 500 metres in national matches against Sweden in 1950 and 1951 This was combined with full time work as a journalist for Arbeiderbladet a job he kept until his death in 1978 He was also part time national coach of the Italian team between 1957 and 1960 coaching Renato De Riva to become the first Italian to qualify for the 10 000 metres in an international championship after World War II 1 World record EditOver the course of his career Farstad skated one world record Discipline Time Date LocationBig combination 188 958 6 February 1949 DavosSource SpeedSkatingStats com 3 Note that Farstad was the first world record holder on the big combination since this was the first time that the big combination was an official world record event as decided by the International Skating Union Personal records EditTo put these personal records in perspective the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Farstad skated his personal records Event Result Date Venue WR500 m 41 8 5 February 1949 Davos 41 81 000 m 1 29 7 18 January 1950 Gjovik 1 28 41 500 m 2 13 9 6 February 1949 Davos 2 13 83 000 m 4 59 2 12 February 1949 Trondheim 4 45 75 000 m 8 15 4 5 February 1949 Davos 8 13 710 000 m 17 39 7 6 February 1949 Davos 17 01 5Big combination 188 958 6 February 1949 Davos noneRemarkably Farstad s personal record on the big combination 188 958 is the same as his Adelskalender score This is because at the 1949 European Championships he skated new personal records on all four big combination distances an achievement that also made him the first official world record holder on the big combination His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a third place References Edit a b c d Sverre Farstad sports reference com a b c Tor Berre Sverre Farstad NRK 9 February 2006 in Norwegian Sverre Farstad SpeedSkatingStats com Retrieved 28 August 2012 Further reading Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sverre Farstad Olympiske vinterleketer 1924 2006 Age Dalby Jan Greve Per Jorsett Akilles forlag 2006 ISBN 82 7286 162 3 pp 93 101 in Norwegian Skoytesportens stjerner Knut Bjornsen Per Jorsett J W Cappelens forlag 1971 pp 88 91 in Norwegian Sverre Farstad at SpeedSkatingStats com Evert Stenlund s Adelskalender pages Historical World Records from the International Skating Union National Championships results from Norges Skoyteforbund the Norwegian Skating Association AwardsPreceded byGodtfred Holmvang Egebergs AErespris1947 Succeeded byMartin Stokken Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sverre Farstad amp oldid 1128022061, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, 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