Ivar Eriksen

Ivar Eriksen, hailing from Hamar, was one of the best 1,000 m and 1,500 m skaters at the end of the 1960s. He won an Olympic silver medal in the 1,500 m in 1968, and was a four-time World Record holder in the 1,000 m. He was the first to break the 1:20.0 barrier in that distance when he timed 1:19.5 at Inzell in 1969. He also broke the 3,000 m World Record once, in 1964. Eriksen’s best result in Norwegian Championships was a silver medal in the 1971 Sprint Championships, having placed third the year before. After the 1972 season he joined ISSL, the professional speed skating league, as the only Norwegian sprinter. His best result in this ultimately unsuccessful league was a second place in the 1974 European Sprint Championships, winning both 1,000 metre events. Working as a fireman, Eriksen later became a speed skating coach at ASK, coaching, among others, World Junior Champion Bjørn Nyland.

Personal Bests\: 500 – 39.1 (1971); 1000 – 1:19.2 (1971); 1500 – 2:04.0 (1969); 5000 – 7:55.6 (1967); 10000 – 16:33.4 (1963).