Ernst Willy Larsen (18 July 1926 – 2 December 2015) was a Norwegian

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

, who competed mainly in the

3000 metre steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ...

. He represented

Ranheim IL Ranheim Idrettslag is a Norwegian alliance sports club from Ranheim, Trondheim. It has sections for association football, team handball and track and field. The football club plays in the 1. Divisjon of Norway General history The club was founded ...

. Larsen won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in this event at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia as well as the 1954 European Championships in Athletics. His personal best time was 8:42.4 minutes, achieved in

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

on 5 September 1956. This gives him a 23rd place on the Norwegian all-time performers list.Norwegian all-time performers list

References

1926 births 2015 deaths Norwegian male long-distance runners Olympic bronze medalists for Norway Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Norway Norwegian male steeplechase runners European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) {{Norway-Olympic-medalist-stub