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.

Bernt Evensen
Personal information
Born(1905-04-18)18 April 1905
Kristiania, Oslo, Norway
Died24 August 1979(1979-08-24) (aged 74)
Oslo, Norway
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Sport
CountryNorway
SportSpeed skating
ClubOslo SK
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1928 St. Moritz 500 m
Silver medal – second place 1928 St. Moritz 1,500 m
Bronze medal – third place 1928 St. Moritz 5,000 m
Silver medal – second place 1932 Lake Placid 500 m
World Allround Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1926 Allround
Gold medal – first place 1927 Allround
Bronze medal – third place 1928 Allround
Silver medal – second place 1931 Allround
Bronze medal – third place 1932 Allround
Gold medal – first place 1934 Allround
European Allround Championships
Gold medal – first place 1927 Allround
Silver medal – second place 1928 Allround
Silver medal – second place 1935 Allround

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]

Medals

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An overview of medals won by Evensen at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:

Championships Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal
Winter Olympics 1928 (500 m) 1928 (1,500 m)
1932 (500 m)
1928 (5,000 m)
World Allround 1927
1934
1931 1926
1928
1932
European Allround 1927 1928
1935
Norwegian Allround 1927
1928
1933
1935
1929

Personal records

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To put these personal records in perspective, the last column (Notes) lists the official world records on the dates that Evensen skated his personal records.

Personal records
Men's Speed skating
Event Result Date Location Notes
500 m 43.2 13 January 1934 Davos 42.5
1,000 m 1:31.9 12 February 1937 Oslo 1:28.4
1,500 m 2:20.6 5 February 1928 Davos 2:17.4
3,000 m 5:01.0 6 January 1934 Oslo 4:59.1
5,000 m 8:36.7 14 January 1934 Davos 8:19.2
10,000 m 17:30.2 5 February 1928 Davos 17:22.6

Evensen has an Adelskalender score of 194.246 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a fourth place.

References

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  1. ^ Bernt Evensen. sports-reference.com
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Awards
Preceded by Egebergs Ærespris
1928
Succeeded by