Håkon Brusveen (15 July 1927 – 21 April 2021) was a Norwegian cross-country skier. He competed in the individual 15 km and 4 × 10 km relay events at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won two medals in 1960: a gold in the 15 km and a silver in the relay; in 1956 he placed fifth and fourth, respectively. In 1958 he was awarded the Holmenkollen medal, and in 1960 the Morgenbladet Gold Medal. A freelance sports broadcaster for

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

for 35 years, he was a pioneering

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

of cross-country skiing events.

Career

Brusveen had chronic asthmatic

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

and took up skiing to improve his condition. In 1952, he placed fifth in the Olympic trials and was selected as a reserve for the Olympic skiing team. He won the national 30 km title in 1953, 1957 and 1958, and around that time opened a sport shop in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

. Brusveen was originally selected as a substitute member for the 1960 Norwegian Olympic team, but performed well shortly before the Olympics, and was included in the main team upon personal recommendation from King

Olav V of Norway Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of ...

. At the Olympics he won the 15 km race, beating

Sixten Jernberg Edy Sixten Jernberg, known as "Sixten", (6 February 1929 – 14 July 2012) was a Swedish cross-country skier and one of the most successful cross-country skiers of all time. Between 1952 and 1964 he took part in 363 ski races, finishing within ...

by 3 seconds at the finish, but lost by 0.8 seconds to

Veikko Hakulinen Veikko Johannes Hakulinen (4 January 1925 – 24 October 2003) was a Finnish cross-country skier, triple champion in both the Olympics and World Championships. He also competed in biathlon, orienteering, ski-orienteering, cross-country running, ...

in the last leg of the 4 × 10 km relay, despite having a 20 second lead at the start. After the 1960 Olympics Brusveen changed to

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

, but failed to qualify for the 1964 Olympics by a small margin. From the 1960s onwards he became a popular radio commentator of cross-country skiing events for

Norsk Rikskringkasting The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norway, Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirt ...

. He was a freelance

for

for 35 years starting in 1963, and labeled the first such in Norway. He often collaborated with Bjørge Lillelien on live broadcasting of cross-country events. As a cross-country expert, his reporting style was pioneering at the time; situated somewhere out by the tracks, he commented on skiers' speed, technique, and look when they passed. His last assignment as a sports reporter was the winter season of 1997. Brusveen was awarded the Holmenkollen Medal in 1958, jointly with

Inger Bjørnbakken Inger Bjørnbakken (28 December 1933 – 13 February 2021) was a Norwegian Alpine skiing, alpine skier. Career She was born in Bærum and represented the club Bærums SK. She finished tied for sixth place (with fellow Norwegian Astrid Sandvik) ...

, and the Morgenbladet Gold Medal in 1960. He was portrayed by Arvid Møller in 1965, in the book ''3–2–1–Gå. Håkon Brusveen forteller til Arvid Møller''. On his 90th birthday in 2017, a Brusveen exhibition opened at the Norwegian Olympic Museum. Brusveen died at the age of 93 in Lillehammer on 21 April 2021.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

* 2 medals – (1 gold, 1 silver)

World Championships

References

External links

* * – click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brusveen, Hakon 1927 births 2021 deaths People from Lillehammer Norwegian male cross-country skiers Cross-country skiers at the 1956 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic cross-country skiers for Norway Olympic gold medalists for Norway Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Norway Holmenkollen medalists Color commentators Norwegian sports broadcasters Norwegian biathletes 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen