Ole Imerslun Reistad (26 June 1898 – 22 December 1949) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

military officer and accomplished sports person. He competed at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

, and also became Norwegian champion in the sport. He competed in

military patrol Military patrol was a team winter sport in which athletes competed in cross-country skiing, ski mountaineering and rifle shooting. It was usually contested between countries or military units. The military patrol competition encompassed 25 ki ...

at the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

, winning the competition. During World War II he was leader of the training camp

Little Norway Little Norway ( no, Lille Norge), officially (FTL, "Air Force Training Camp"), was a Norwegian Army Air Service/Royal Norwegian Air Force training camp in southern Ontario during the Second World War. Origins When Nazi Germany attacked Norway o ...

in Canada.

Personal life

Reistad was born in Aker; the son of Christen Reistad and Gudborg Imerslun. He was married to Bergljot Huseby from 1927. He died in Oslo in 1949, only 51 years old.

Sports career

In the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

he finished fourteenth at the

and became Norwegian champion in 1922. He also participated in the 1928 Olympic Winter Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in the demonstration event

. He was also the Norwegian

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

at the opening ceremony. In 1922, he was awarded the prestigious Norwegian sports award - the ''

Egebergs Ærespris The Egebergs Ærespris ("Honorary Prize of Egeberg") is a prize awarded to Norwegian athletes who excel in more than one sport. The prize was created by Ferdinand Julian Egeberg, and consists of a bronze statuette modelled by sculptor Magnus Vigr ...

'' - for achievements in multiple sports.

Military career

During the campaign following

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's assault on Norway on 9 April 1940, Reistad was an air unit commander and led the operations from Bardufoss Air Station against the German forces. Shortly before his death, he was appointed a Commander with Star of the Order of St. Olav.

Literature

* Ole Reistad, "The Spirit of Little Norway" (Biography), Edvard Omholt-Jensen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reistad, Ole 1898 births 1949 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics Military patrol competitors at the 1928 Winter Olympics Norwegian pentathletes Norwegian Army Air Service personnel of World War II Norwegian Army personnel Norwegian military patrol (sport) runners Olympic athletes of Norway Olympic biathletes of Norway Norwegian male athletes