Pål Sverre Benum (3 August 1935 – 23 September 2021) was a Norwegian long-distance runner. He specialized in the longest track distances,

5000 5000 or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * A.D. 5000, the last year of the 5th millennium CE, an exceptional common year starting on Wednesday * 5000 BCE, a year in the 5th millennium BC * 5000s AD, a decade, century, millennium in the 6th ...

and

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 race ...

, eventually competing at the 1964 Olympic Games. He also competed in

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

. On the track he became national champion three times, in addition to nine titles in cross-country. After his active career he became a professor of medicine.

Athletic career

He was born in

Verdal Verdal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra. Some villages in the municipality include Forbregd/Lein, Lysthaugen, Stiklest ...

as an older brother of historian

Edgeir Benum Edgeir Reidar Benum (born 13 October 1939) is a Norwegian historian. He was born in Verdal, and is the younger brother of athlete Pål Benum. He graduated from the University of Oslo with a cand.philol. degree in 1967, and worked as a scholarshi ...

. He moved to Oslo and represented the club IL i BUL. His personal best times were 8:09.6 in the

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 3000m shoul ...

(1964), 9:19.2 in the

3000 metre steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ...

(1963), 14:06.6 in the 5000 metres (1964) and 29:13.6 in the 10,000 metres (1964). In middle distance races he had 1:54.8 in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

(1959), 3:47.6 in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') 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 Athletic ...

(1959) and 4:13.1 in the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

(1959). His only international outing came at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

, where he placed nineteenth in the 10,000 metres. On the track he became Norwegian champion in the 5000 metres in 1962 and 1964. He also won a bronze medal in 1959 and silver in 1961. He won the 10,000 metres in 1963 ahead of reigning champion

Magnar Lundemo Magnar Lundemo (4 March 1938 in Meråker – 7 January 1987 in Meråker) was a Norwegian cross-country skier and track and field athlete. As a skier he participated in two Olympic Games and placed fourth at the 1962 World Championships. In t ...

, and then took a bronze medal in 1964. By 1964/1965, his teammate and competitor

Thor Helland Thor Helland (10 December 1936 – 2 August 2021) was a Norwegian long-distance runner who specialized in the 5000 metres. Helland was born in Sørfold, Nordland. At the 1964 Summer Olympics he finished eighth in the 5000m final in 13:57.0 min ...

had established himself as dominant in the 5000 and 10,000 metres in Norway. Benum also co-held the Norwegian club record in the 4 x 1500 metres relay. With his club IL i BUL he broke IK Tjalve's record in September 1958 at Bislett stadion with the time of 15:53.4 minutes. Benum and BUL later smashed their own record, clocking in 15:40.0 in July 1959 at the same track. Tjalve later reclaimed it with the time 15:28.4 in 1965. Benum dominated Norwegian cross-country running in the early 1960s. He won the 3 kilometre cross-country championship in 1959, 1962, 1963 and 1964 and took the silver in 1961. In the now-defunct 8 kilometre event he won Norwegian titles in 1962, 1963 and 1964. He also won the road relay Holmenkollstafetten with IL i BUL. As a teenager, Benum was also a decent speed skater with personal bests of 49.1 in the 500 metres (1954), 2.38.8 in the 1500 metres (1952).

Medical career

Unlike his brother who became a professor of history, Benum studied medicine in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

and

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. He took the doctorate, the

dr.med. Doctor Medicinae, also spelled Doctor Medicinæ and abbreviated Dr. Med., is a higher doctoral degree (a research doctorate) in medicine awarded by universities in Denmark and formerly in Norway. It is officially translated as Doctor of Medical S ...

degree, in 1974 and specialized in orthopedics. From 1982 he was a professor of medicine at the St. Olav Hospital, connected to the

Norwegian University of Science and Technology 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 the ...

. Here he headed the Orthopedics Department for many years, and for his achievements he was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 2006. He was a fellow of the

Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences The Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences ( no, Norges Tekniske Vitenskapsakademi, NTVA) is a learned society based in Trondheim, Norway. Founded in 1955, the academy has about 500 members. It is a member of the International Council of Aca ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benum, Pal 1935 births 2021 deaths People from Verdal Norwegian male long-distance runners Norwegian male steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Norway Norwegian orthopedic surgeons University of Oslo alumni University of Bergen alumni Academic staff of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Members of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences Sportspeople from Trøndelag