Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal (born 14 June 1990) is a Norwegian middle-, long-distance and steeplechase runner. She is a

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

gold medallist in

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

, silver medallist in

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

and bronze medallist in

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

and

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

. Grøvdal is a four-time Olympian and represented Norway at the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

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Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. Grøvdal won the gold medal in the

and the silver medal in the

at the 2024 European Championships, and the bronze medal in the

at the 2016 European Championships and the

at the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburg ...

. She has earned ten individual medals, including four golds, at the European Cross Country Championships, an unsurpassed record by a female athlete in the meet history. Grøvdal won the bronze medal in the 2000 m steeplechase at the 2007 World Youth Championships and the gold medal in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2007 European Junior Championships. At the 2009 European Junior Championships, she won gold medals in the 5000 m and 3000 m steeplechase. She holds four Norwegian records ( One mile, indoor 3000 m, 5000 m, 3000 m steeplechase) plus two bests ( 2000 m, 2000 m steeplechase). She has won 18 individual senior national titles.

Career

Karoline Grøvdal gained her first international experience as a 16-year-old in June 2006, winning 3000 m steeplechase race at the European Cup Second League held in

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

, Slovakia. In August that year, she placed fifth in the event at the World Under-20 Championships, and in December, she capped her season with the silver medal for the U20 race at the European Cross Country Championships. In June 2007, still 16, Grøvdal broke Norwegian senior records in the 3000 m steeplechase in

Neerpelt Neerpelt (, ) is a town in Pelt (municipality), Pelt and a former Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg. In 2018, the municipality had a total population of 17,174. The total ...

, Belgium with a time of 9:33.19. The following month, she finished third in the 2000 m steeplechase at the World U18 Championships, and won the 3000 m steeplechase event at the European U20 Championships, breaking the European under-20 record. In 2009, after she won three gold medals altogether at the European Junior and Cross Country Championships (U20 race), she was voted

European Athletics The European Athletic Association (EAA, more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for Sport of athletics, athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. E ...

Female Rising Star of the Year. Injuries and illness characterized the start of Grøvdal's senior career. She started to achieve better results from 2015. At senior level, she won the bronze medal at the 2015 European Cross Country Championships, bronze in

at the

2016 European Athletics Championships The 2016 European Athletics Championships was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, between 6 and 10 July 2016. It was the first time the Netherlands hosted the event. Due to 2016 being an Olympic year, there was no racewalking and the marathon competi ...

, bronze medals at

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

European Cross Country Championships, bronze in the 3000 m steeplechase at the

2018 European Athletics Championships The 2018 European Athletics Championships were held in Berlin, Germany, from 6 to 12 August 2018. The championships were part of the first European Championships with other events happening in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Grea ...

, silver at the 2019 European Cross Country Championships, and eventually a gold at the 2021 European Cross Country Championships. She defended her European cross country title in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. In December 2023 she won a gold medal at the 2023 European Cross Country Championships in Brussels, her third title in a row. Grøvdal competed at the 2012 London, 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. She qualified for the final in

at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in Paris. In June 2016 at the home

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bislett ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, at about two months before the Rio Summer Olympics, Grøvdal broke

Grete Waitz Grete Waitz (, 1 October 195319 April 2011) was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz ...

' 38-year-old Norwegian mile record with a time of 4:26.23. During 2021 she improved her personal bests at several distances, including

1500 Year 1500 ( MD) was a leap year starting on Wednesday in the Julian calendar. The year 1500 was not a leap year in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. The year 1500 was the last year of the 15th century and the first year of the 16th century. ...

3000 3000 or 3000s usually refers to: * 3000 (number), the decimal number * 3000 AD/CE, the first year of the 31st century * 3000 BC(E), a year in the 3rd millennium BC * 3000s AD/CE, a decade, century, millennium in the 4th millennium * 3000s BC(E), ...

, 5000 and 10,000 metres. Participating in a

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

event in

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in September, she set her personal best at the 5000 metres in a time of 14:43.26. She beat that mark on the Diamond circuit at the home Bislett Games in Oslo the following year, breaking

Ingrid Kristiansen Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the maratho ...

’s almost 36-year-old Norwegian record by six seconds with a time of 14:31.07. In October 2024 she won her ninth victory in the road race , which also earned her a national title.

Statistics

International competitions

Personal bests

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

– 4:03.07 (

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

2021) * One mile – 4:26.23 (

2016) *

2000 metres The 2000 metres or 2000-metre run is a track running event where five laps are completed around an outdoor 400 m track, or ten laps around a 200 m indoor track - the distance is 11.68 meters short of 1¼ miles. The global governing body World At ...

– 5:41.04 ( Florø 2018) *

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

– 8:27.02 (

2024) ** 3000 metres indoor – 8:44.68 (

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

2019) *

– 14:31.07 (

2022) *

– 30:50.84 (

2021) * 2000 metres steeplechase – 6:21.39 (

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

2008) *

– 9:13.35 (

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest municipality in Norway, and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sand ...

2017) ;Road * 5 km – 15:00 (

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

2021) * 10 km – 30:32 (

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...

2020) *

Half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

– 1:08:07 (

New York, NY New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

2022)

National track titles

Norwegian Athletics Championships The Norwegian Athletics Championships () is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Norwegian Athletics Association, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Norway. Royal trophies (''Kongepokal'') are given ...

: 2013, 2015 **

: 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2021 ** 3000 m steeplechase: 2006, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2019

References

External links

*
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grovdal, Karoline Bjerkeli 1990 births Living people Norwegian female cross country runners Norwegian female steeplechase runners Olympic athletes for Norway Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Norway European Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Rising Star of the Year winners Norwegian Athletics Championships winners Sportspeople from Ålesund Athletes from Møre og Romsdal 21st-century Norwegian sportswomen