Ivar Mathisen (14 June 1920 – 7 October 2008) was a Norwegian

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water. Overview Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. Canoe sprints are som ...

who competed in the 1940s and early 1950s. He received a silver medal in the K-2 10000 m event at the

1948 Summer Olympics in London The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

with

Knut Østby Knut Østby (12 November 1922 – 6 August 2010) was a Norwegian sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. Participating in three Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in the K-2 10000 m event at London in 1948 and ano ...

. Mathisen finished fourth in the K-2 1000 m event at those same games.

Early life

He was a member of the canoeing club

Bærum KK Bærum Kajakklubb is a sports club from Bærum, Norway. Established in 1935, its only sport is canoe racing. It is based at Kalvøya outside of Sandvika, and has shared the locality with the rowing club Bærum RK since 1972. Well-known members i ...

from an early age. During the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

, which started before Mathisen's twentieth birthday, the club was dissolved, but several members continued training. In the autumn of 1940 Mathisen and nine others also became involved in the

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

organization

Milorg Milorg (abbreviation of militær organisasjon – military organization) was the main Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Resistance work included intelligence gathering, sabotage, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of ...

, in ''group 13321''. They held meetings on islands in the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

during the summer, and held paramilitary exercises in the

Vestmarka Vestmarka is a forested and hilly area in Asker, Bærum and Lier, Norway, Lier which constitutes part of Marka, Oslo, Oslomarka, Norway. The land is owned by Løvenskiold Vækerø and is a popular recreational area. It was the site of Braathens S ...

forested area. Often, they would pick up crates dropped by British pilots. His place of work, the paper factory at Hamang, was also the site of exercises. Laborers practised shooting with

Sten submachine gun The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cost ...

s and Bren light machine guns in the cellar. Once, Mathisen told in an interview, they had stacked targets in front of an exit door, and their rounds went through the targets and the door, possibly revealing the shooting for onlookers. However, Mathisen was never discovered; according to his own statement he was never even controlled by soldiers or

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

Sporting career

Mathisen profited from his World War II physical activity. He took his first Norwegian national title in 1946, and eight more titles would follow, the last in 1953. Five of the titles came in relay races. He competed in the

1948 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 1948 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in London, Great Britain. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation, formed in 1946 from the Internationale Repräsentantenschaft Kanusport (IRK). The men's ...

, and received a silver medal in K-1 4 x 500 metres relay, together with teammates

Ivar Iversen Ivar Iversen (24 August 1914 – 19 August 2012) was a Norwegian sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1930s to the late 1940s. He won a gold medal in the K-1 4 x 500 m event at the 1948 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Lond ...

Hans Martin Gulbrandsen Hans Martin Gulbrandsen (31 January 1914 – 4 February 1979) was a Norwegian sprint canoeist. He competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London where he finished 4th in the K-1 1000 m event, and at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, w ...

and

Eivind Skabo Eivind Skabo (August 17, 1916 – April 18, 2006) was a Norwegian sprint canoeist who competed in the late 1940s. He won a bronze medal in the K-1 10000 m event at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London London is the capital and ...

. Before the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

, Mathisen and his teammate

(also from Bærum) were considered as having the highest medal hopes in the Norwegian canoeing squad. Mathisen and Østby proceeded to win the silver medal in the K-2 10000 m event and finished fourth in the K-2 1000 m. Mathisen then received a silver medal in K-2 1000 m at the

1950 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 1950 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Copenhagen, Denmark. This event was held under the International Canoe Federation. The men's competition consisted of four Canadian (single paddle, open boat) and nine kayak A kayak is ...

, with Knut Østby. At the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, he finished fifth in both the K-2 1000 m and K-2 10000 m events. Mathisen resided in

Vøyenenga Vøyenenga is a village in Viken, 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 ...

until his death in October 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathisen, Ivar 1920 births 2008 deaths Norwegian male canoeists Canoeists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists of Norway Olympic silver medalists for Norway Norwegian resistance members Sportspeople from Bærum Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics