Bernt_Evensen
Bernt Evensen
Norwegian speed skater and cyclist
Bernt Sverre Evensen (18 April 1905 – 24 August 1979) was a Norwegian speed skater and racing cyclist who competed in skating at the 1928 and 1932 Winter Olympics.
In 1928 he became the first Norwegian skater to win an Olympic gold medal by winning the 500 m event (first place shared with Clas Thunberg). At the same Olympics, he also won silver in the 1500 m and bronze over 5,000 m. He was in second place in the 10,000 m event, 0.1 seconds behind Irving Jaffee, when the competition was cancelled because the ice had started thawing.
At the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid, Evensen won a silver medal in the 500 m. Evensen and compatriot Ivar Ballangrud were the only European Olympic speed skating medalists during those games. This can mostly be attributed to the fact that the races were skated in pack-style (having all competitors skate at the same time), a format that most European skaters were not familiar with.
At the World Allround Championships, Evensen finished first in 1927 and 1934, second in 1931, and third in 1926, 1928, and 1932. At the European Allround Championships, Evensen won the gold medal in 1927 and silvers in 1928 and 1935. As a cyclist, he won 11 Norwegian championships. For his achievements in speed skating and cycling, he was awarded the Egebergs Ærespris in 1928. After World War II, he was a speed skating coach for Oslo Skøiteklub (OSK) before the speed skating revolution in 1962–1963. His grandson Stig Kristiansen became an Olympic cyclist.[1]
