Karl Alfred Ingvald Næss (26 April 1877 – 6 July 1955) was a Norwegian

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

. He set the men's

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for 500 meter

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marath ...

on 5 February 1893 at 49.4 seconds in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He then broke his own

21 days later on 26 February 1893 at 48.0 seconds, then lowered it to 47.0 seconds on 24 February 1894 at Hamar. He was the youngest European champion of all time, in 1895 he was 17 years and 276 days when he won the

European Speed Skating Championships for Men The International Skating Union has organised the European Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial championships were held in the years 1891–1892. History Program * In the years 1891–1892, three distances had to be skated: � ...

Biography

He was born on 26 April 1877 to Anne Jette Jensen (1847–?) of

Kragerø Kragerø () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. ...

Skåtøy ''Skåtøy is the largest island in Kragerø municipality in Telemark county, Norway. Skåtøy was formerly a municipality. Skåtøy was separated from Sannidal January 1, 1882. It was merged with Kragerø January 1, 1960. Skåtøy is the bigg ...

; and Kristian Andersen Næss (1848–?) of

Grue, Norway Grue is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Solør. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kirkenær. Other villages in the municipality include Bergesida, Grinder, ...

. He was baptized as "Karl Alfred Ingvald Næss" on 27 May 1877 in the Garnison Menighet, in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

, but he always used the name "Alfred Næss". His father, Christian, was an army sergeant. Alfred had two siblings: Carl Albert Næss (1874–?); and Alvilde Marie Magdalene Næss (1875–1933) who married Thorvald Martin Tandberg (1874–1970). Næss grew up in Vika. On 6 February 1897 in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada, he competed against Canadian

Jack McCulloch John K. "Jack" McCulloch (August 15, 1872 – January 26, 1918) was a Canadian speed skater and ice hockey player. He won several Canadian amateur speed skating championships and one world championship. Sports career An amateur skater from 1890 ...

in the 1,500-meter race, McCulloch and Næss tied, invoking a run-off. McCulloch won the run-off by two-fifths of a second. Also on 6 February 1897 Næss equaled the world record of 46.8 seconds set by Wilhelm Mauseth on 3 February 1895 in

Trondheim, Norway Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most pop ...

, but on 7 February 1897 the record was broken by

Peder Østlund Peder Østlund (7 May 1872 – 22 January 1939) was a Norwegian speed skater. Peder Østlund held the first position on the Adelskalender ranking during two periods, for a total of almost 10 years (3,644 days). He became World Allround Champion ...

with a time of 46.6. After Montreal he visited his sister in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, and gave a demonstration on 17 February 1897. Næss won the

Norwegian Allround Championships The Norwegian Allround Championships are organized by the ''Norges Skøyteforbund The Norwegian Skating Association ( no, Norges Skøyteforbund, NSF) is the main skating authoritative body in Norway. It oversees speed skating, figure skating, shor ...

in Oslo in 1898, with gold medals in the 500 meter and the 1,500 meter, and a silver medal in the 5,000 meter. He set world records on three occasions in the 500 meter at Akersvika on

Lake Mjøsa A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Hamar, Norway Hamar is a town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the traditional region of Hedmarken. The town is located on the shores of Mjøsa, Norway's largest la ...

. His best time was 47.0 in the European championships in 1894. Næss was in three European championships and three world championships, and he won the 500 meter race in two European championships and two world championships. He went on the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

circuit doing ice skate tricks on ice he would create in the theaters. In 1913 Næss returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He married Agnes Mjolstad on 18 September 1919 in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

and in 1920 he was living in a rented room in Manhattan.

Alfred Næss Karl Alfred Ingvald Næss (26 April 1877 – 6 July 1955) was a Norwegian speed skater. He set the men's world record for 500 meter speed skating on 5 February 1893 at 49.4 seconds in Hamar, Norway. He then broke his own world record 21 days late ...

in the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

draft He died on 6 July 1955 in Austria and was buried in Austria.

Legacy

*Næss was the maternal uncle of

Carl Frederick Tandberg Carl Frederick Tandberg (March 22, 1910 – August 26, 1988), was a bassist who recorded with Glen Campbell and Frankie Ortega. Biography He was born on March 22, 1910, in Dorchester, Boston where his father, Thorvald Martin Tandberg I (187 ...

, the bass musician. *His partner in paired skating was Freda Maier-Westorgaard of Frankenberg (c. 1890 – 1976) who died in Strasshof an der Nordbahn,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, in 1976.

Personal bests

Tournament results

Between 1894 and 1900 he competed in seven tournaments:

Personal 500 meters progression

Between 1893 and 1894 he lowered his record in the 500 meter skate from 50.0 seconds to 46.8 seconds, setting three world records:

References

External links

Alfred Naess
at SpeedSkatingStats.com Alfred Næss
at desg.de-->
Alfred Næss
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Naess, Alfred 1877 births 1955 deaths Norwegian male speed skaters World record setters in speed skating Vaudeville performers Norwegian emigrants to the United States Norwegian emigrants to Austria Sportspeople from Oslo