1,500 metres, Men

The metric mile in St. Moritz was predicted to be a Swedish-Norwegian affair. At both major Championships in 1947, the 1500 m had been won by Norway’s Sverre Farstad. On both occasions, he beat Sweden’s Åke Seyffarth, the 1947 European Champion. But neither had been undefeated in the 1948 season. Although Farstad had won his distance at the Norwegian Championships, he had been defeated by Odd Lundberg and Gunnar Konsmo, while Seyffarth had been bested by compatriot Göthe Hedlund. Hedlund had in fact clocked the best time of the season, setting 2.18,4 in a test race in St. Moritz shortly before the Games.

Again, the weather in St. Moritz was ideal, still and sunny, allowing for fine ice conditions and fast times. The first favorite in competition was Farstad. He sped to an excellent 2.17,6, shattering the Olympic Record as well as his personal best. This time seemed hard to beat. While Lundberg could go under 2.20 with 2.18,6, Hedlund couldn’t approach his time from earlier in the week and only managed 2.20,7. Then Seyffarth started in pair 14. He went all out from the start, with the fastest opening of the day. At the bell, he was still leading over Farstad, but then started to fade. Farstad’s final lap had been strong, and Seyffarth couldn’t match it, finishing half a second behind the Norwegian. There was one more skater that beat 2.20 – World Champion Lassi Parkkinen – but his time was not good enough for a podium spot.

Hjalmar Andersen, Henry Wahl, and Sverre Farstad were known as the “Falken Trio”, named after their Trondheim club, SK Falk. Farstad was the first person from Trondheim and the Trøndelag county to win an Olympic title. Apart from speed skating, he also excelled in other sports. He was twice runner-up in Norwegian weightlifting championships, and won a bronze in rowing.