Roald Larsen

{{short description|Norwegian speed skater}} {{Infobox speed skater | name = Roald Larsen | caption = | headercolor = #d7ecff | country = Norway | club = | birth_date = {{birth date|1898|2|1|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{death date and age|1959|7|28|1898|2|1|df=y}} | death_place = | height = | weight = | turnedpro = | retired = 1928 | pb = | website = | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Men's speed skating}} {{Medal|Country|{{NOR}}}} {{Medal|Competition|Olympic Games}} {{Medal|Silver|1924 Chamonix|1500 m}} {{Medal|Silver|1924 Chamonix|Allround}} {{Medal|Bronze|1924 Chamonix|500 m}} {{Medal|Bronze|1924 Chamonix|5000 m}} {{Medal|Bronze|1924 Chamonix|10000 m}} {{Medal|Bronze|1928 St.Moritz|500 m}} {{Medal|Competition|World Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|1924 Helsinki|Allround}} {{Medal|Silver|1922 Kristiania|Allround}} {{Medal|Silver|1926 Trondheim|Allround}} {{Medal|Bronze|1925 Oslo|Allround}} {{Medal|Competition|European Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|1924 Kristiania|Allround}} {{Medal|Silver|1925 St. Moritz|Allround}} {{Medal|Bronze|1923 Hamar|Allround}} {{Medal|Bronze|1928 Oslo|Allround}} {{Medal|Bronze|1929 Davos|Allround}} }} '''Roald Morel Larsen''' (1 February 1898 – 28 July 1959) was a World Champion speed skater from Norway. He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo). Roald Larsen's parents were Hans Jacob Larsen, a glazier born in Kristiania in 1870, and Lydia Larsen, born in Porsgrunn in 1865. They had four children, all sons: Jaan Harald (1891), Lyder Ragnar (1895), Roald Morel (1898), and Gelgjermo Stone (1899).{{citation-needed|date=August 2022}}

Representing ''Kristiania Skøiteklub'' (now ''Oslo Skøiteklub''), Larsen had his best year in 1924, when he became World Allround, European Allround, and Norwegian Allround Champion, in addition to winning two silver and three bronze medals at the 1924 Winter Olympics of Chamonix. One of those Olympic silver medals was on the ''allround'' event, a combination of the results of the 500 m, the 1500 m, the 5000 m, and the 10000 m – the only time in Olympic history that there was an allround event. Larsen won several more medals in the years that followed, including another bronze medal at the 1928 Winter Olympics of St. Moritz.

Larsen often had to admit defeat to Clas Thunberg. This is illustrated by the fact that at none of the six events in which Larsen won an Olympic medal he managed to finish ahead of Thunberg. After 1928, Larsen's appearances and successes quickly became less, although he kept competing occasionally until 1936.

After retiring from speed skating, Larsen followed in his father's footsteps and became a full-time glazier. He founded the glazier company ''Roald Larsen AS'' in Oslo in 1937. Larsen died in 1959, at the age of 62. {{As of|2018}}, ''Roald Larsen AS'' still exists, and is a full-service construction company.

==Medals== An overview of medals won by Larsen at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each: {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! Championships ! style="background-color:gold" | Gold medal || style="background-color:silver" | Silver medal || style="background-color:#cc9966" | Bronze medal |- | align="left" | Winter Olympics || – || 1924 (1500 m) 1924 (Allround) || 1924 (500 m) 1924 (5000 m) 1924 (10000 m) 1928 (500 m) |- | align="left" | World Allround || 1924 || 1922 1926 || 1925 |- | align="left" | European Allround || 1924 || 1925 || 1923 1928 1929 |- | align="left" | Norwegian Allround || 1922 1924 || 1921 1923 1925 1927 1928 || 1926 |} Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com<ref name=Results>{{cite web|title=Roald Larsen|url=http://www.speedskatingstats.com/index.php?file=skater&code=1898010201|publisher=SpeedSkatingStats.com|accessdate=25 August 2012}}</ref> & Skoyteforbundet.no<ref name=NSA-results>{{cite web|title=Skoyteforbundet Allround results|url=http://www.skoyteforbundet.no/filarkiv/statistikk/nm_medaljer.pdf|publisher=skoyteforbundet.no|accessdate=27 March 2012}}</ref>

==Record==

===World records=== Over the course of his career, Larsen skated one world record: {| class="wikitable" |- !Distance!!Time!!Date!!Location |- |500 m||43.1||4 February 1928||align="left"|Eisstadion Davos, Davos |} Source: ISU.org<ref>{{cite web|title=Historical World Records|url=http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-181536-198754-94643-0-file,00.pdf|publisher=ISU|accessdate=28 March 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205184935/http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-181536-198754-94643-0-file,00.pdf|archivedate=5 February 2012}}</ref>

===Personal records=== {{PersonalRecordsTop}} {{PersonalRecordsSport|Men's speed skating}} {{PersonalRecordsMiddle|500 m|43.1|4 February 1928|Eisstadion Davos, Davos|World record until beaten by Clas Thunberg on 19 January 1929.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.speedskatingstats.com/index.php?file=records&g=m&event=500 |title = Evolution of the world record 500 meters Men |publisher = www.speedskatingstats.com |accessdate = 29 March 2015 }}</ref>}} {{PersonalRecordsMiddle|1000 m|1:31.8|3 February 1929|Hamar stadion, Hamar|}} {{PersonalRecordsMiddle|1500 m|2:21.3|1 January 1928|Frogner stadion, Oslo|}} {{PersonalRecordsMiddle|3000 m|5:21.7|5 March 1935|Tønsberg|}} {{PersonalRecordsMiddle|5000 m|8:34.4|10 February 1924|Idrætspladsen (Skytterbanen), Kongsberg|}} {{PersonalRecordsMiddle|10000 m|17:40.3|17 February 1924|Frogner stadion, Kristiania|Oslo was called Kristiania before 1925.}} {{PersonalRecordsBottom}}

Larsen's personal record on the 1000 m equalled Oscar Mathisen's 20-year-old world record on that distance.

Larsen has an Adelskalender score of 194.655 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a second place.

==References== {{reflist}} * [http://www.speedskatingstats.com/index.php?file=skater&code=1898010201 Roald Larsen at SpeedSkatingStats.com] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070212091729/http://web.telia.com/~u46130641/adel.htm Evert Stenlund's Adelskalender pages] * [http://www.desg.de/skater.php?anzeige=skater&skater=3895 Roald Larsen] from ''Deutsche Eisschnelllauf Gemeinschaft e.V.'' (the German Skating Association) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930084419/http://www.roaldlarsen.no/om_oss.html Om Roald Larsen AS (About Roald Larsen Corp.)] from ''Roald Larsen AS – Glassmesterforretning'' (Roald Larsen Corp. – Glazier Association)

{{S-start}} {{s-ach|rec}} {{s-bef|before=Himself with {{flagicon|USA}} Charles Jewtraw, {{flagicon|NOR}} Oskar Olsen and {{flagicon|FIN}} Clas Thunberg}} {{s-ttl|title=Athlete with the most medals at Winter Olympics|years=26 January 1924 – 14 February 1928|with=Clas Thunberg}} {{s-aft|after={{flagicon|FIN}} Clas Thunberg}} {{s-bef|before=First medal}} {{s-ttl|title=Athlete with the most medals at Winter Olympics|years=26 January 1924 – 26 January 1924|with=Charles Jewtraw|with2=Oskar Olsen|with3=Clas Thunberg}} {{s-aft|after=Himself and {{flagicon|FIN}} Clas Thunberg}} {{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Roald}} Category:1898 births Category:1959 deaths Category:Norwegian male speed skaters Category:Speed skaters at the 1924 Winter Olympics Category:Speed skaters at the 1928 Winter Olympics Category:Olympic speed skaters for Norway Category:Medalists at the 1924 Winter Olympics Category:Medalists at the 1928 Winter Olympics Category:Olympic medalists in speed skating Category:Olympic silver medalists for Norway Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Norway Category:World record setters in speed skating Category:Speed skaters from Oslo Category:World Allround Speed Skating Championships medalists Category:20th-century Norwegian sportsmen