Espen Berg-Knutsen (born 2 October 1969 in
Oslo
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 ...
) is a Norwegian sport shooter. He is also a three-time Olympian, two-time World champion, and world-record holder for the 300 m rifle three positions.
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Shooting career
Since his sporting career began in 1982, Berg-Knutsen is considered one of Norway's most prominent sport shooters, having achieved numerous successes in rifle shooting events at the ISSF World Championships, ISSF World Cup
The ISSF World Cup was introduced by the International Shooting Sport Federation in 1986 to provide a homogeneous system for qualification to the Olympic shooting competitions. It still is carried out in the Olympic shooting events, with four comp ...
, and European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
. He had also won a total of three medals at the ISSF World Championships, including two golds (1998 in Zaragoza, Spain
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
, and 2006 in Zagreb, Croatia
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
). One of the highlights of his career occurred at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships The 49th ISSF World Shooting Championships were held in Zagreb, Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homel ...
, when he set a new world record of 1,181 points in the 300 m rifle three positions.2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, and 2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in Athens, but he neither reached the final round, nor claimed an Olympic medal.
Eight years after competing in his first Olympics, Berg-Knutsen qualified for his third Norwegian team as a 39-year-old at the 2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
by winning the gold medal for the rifle three positions from the World Championships.[ Unlike his previous Olympic games, he competed only for two rifle shooting events, 50 m rifle prone ( FR60PR) and 50 m rifle 3 positions (]STR3X20
50 meter rifle three positions (formerly known as one of four free rifle disciplines) is an International Shooting Sport Federation event, a miniature version of 300 meter rifle three positions. It consists of the kneeling, prone, and standing p ...
).
In his first event, 50 m rifle prone, Berg-Knutsen was able to hit a total of 594 points within six attempts, finishing eleventh in the qualifying rounds. Few days later, Berg-Knutsen competed for the 50 m rifle 3 positions, where he was able to shoot 396 targets in a prone position, 374 in standing, and 390 in kneeling, for a total score of 1,160 points, finishing abruptly in thirtieth place.
Olympic results
References
External links
ISSF Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg-Knutsen, Espen
Norwegian male sport shooters
Living people
Olympic shooters for Norway
Shooters at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Shooters at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Shooters at the 2008 Summer Olympics
ISSF rifle shooters
World record holders in shooting
Sport shooters from Oslo
1969 births