Toralf Engan

Toralf Engan had his national breakthrough as a ski jumper at age 18 when we won the junior class at Holmenkollen in 1955. Even though he failed to qualify for the 1960 Olympics, he placed second at Holmenkollen that year, beaten only by Olympic Champion Helmut Recknagel by a scant margin, In 1961 Engan won the Norwegian Championship, his only national title. He had a great season in 1962, winning 22 out of 26 competitions, and was crowned as World Champion on the normal hill in Zakopane. In 1963 Engan won the Four-Hills Tournament in Austria/Germany, winning three of the four competitions. At the 1964 Winter Olympics, he won the large hill competition after a close battle with the Finnish jumper Veikko Kankkonen, but had to be content with silver on the normal hill behind the Finn. Engan, known for his stylish jumps, ended his career after the 1966 season. He was Norwegian national coach from 1967-69, and settled in Trondheim with his family.