Knut Hjeltnes (born December 8, 1951) is a former college coach and track & field athlete from
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 remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
Hjeltnes, who was born in
Øystese
Øystese is a village in the municipality of Kvam in Vestland county, Norway. It is located along the Hardangerfjord about east of the municipal centre of Norheimsund. Norwegian County Road 7 passes through the village. The village had a populat ...
, has won 20 National Championships; 11 in
Discus throw, in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980–84, 1986, 1988, and 1989; and 9 in
Shot Put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
, in 1975–1978 and 1980–1984.
Hjeltnes was ranked 2nd through 7th in the world in the discus for twelve years from 1976–1988. He still holds the Norwegian national record in discus with 69.62 meters (228 feet, 5 inches), achieved in 1985. He also has a personal best shot put of 20.55 meters (67 feet, 5 inches), achieved in 1980.
He was a 4x Olympian in the discus (1976, 1980-boycott, 1984, 1988). His best
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
placings were 4th place in 1984, and 7th place in 1976 and 1988. He narrowly missed the medals in 1984, throwing only 18cm short of
John Powell’s bronze medal throw. His best World Championship placing was 9th in 1983. His best European Championship placing was 4th in 1986.
He attended Western Maryland College (now
McDaniel College),
Penn State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...
and
Brigham Young University. While attending BYU, he was coached by former world record holder
Jay Silvester
L. Jay Silvester (born August 27, 1937) and participated in college athletics at Utah State University from 1956 to 1959 is an American retired athlete who mainly competed in the discus throw. In this event he finished in fourth, fifth, second ...
.
Hjeltnes is currently ranked #33 on the world all-time list for discus. As a Masters-level athlete, he has an all-time world ranking of 8th in the men's 35-39 age class.
Hjeltnes coached athletes at the United States Military Academy at
West Point, NY from 1999 until 2013. While coaching at USMA West Point, his athletes produced 40 Patriot League Championships, 3 NCAA All-Americans, 30 NCAA Regional Qualifiers, and 2 Academic All-Americans.
Hjeltnes was hired as the throws coach at Auburn University in 2013.
Hjeltnes coached at the NCAA Division I level for about 20 years, producing a number of All-Americans and conference champions. He retired from full-time coaching at the end of the 2016 outdoor season.
Hjeltnes tested positive for
anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...
s at
Bislett Stadium on July 6, 1977, and was suspended. The suspension was reduced on appeal, allowing him to participate in the 1978 European Championships. He was the first Norwegian ever to test positive. Hjeltnes publicly admitted to have been doping, and he also cooperated with Jan Hedenstad to write a book about it, called ''Dopet'' ("Doped"), published in 1979 ().
Achievements
See also
*
List of Pennsylvania State University Olympians
References
External links
*Associated Press. Star-News
Norwegian Sets Discus Record May 13, 1979.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hjeltnes, Knut
1951 births
Living people
Pennsylvania State University alumni
Doping cases in athletics
Norwegian sportspeople in doping cases
Norwegian male discus throwers
Norwegian male shot putters
Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes of Norway
Goodwill Games medalists in athletics
Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games
People from Kvam
Sportspeople from Vestland