Reidar Kristofer Liaklev (15 July 1917 – 1 March 2006) was a

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marath ...

from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

who won the gold medal in the 5000 m event at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (; ; ; ) and commonly known as St. Moritz 1948 (; ), were a winter multi-sport event held from 30 January to 8 February 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the ...

. Liaklev was a long distance specialist, yet he won the European Allround Championships in 1948. Liaklev won bronze at the junior Norwegian Championships in 1939, and as for most athletes of his time, his career was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His first international senior tournament was the 1947 World Allround Championships, where he finished third on the 5,000 m, won the 10,000 m event, and placed fourth overall. In the first Winter Olympics after World War II, in February 1948, Liaklev won the 5000 m in a time of 8:29.4. He also participated in the 10,000 m, but failed to finish due to breathing problems at high altitudes. Two weeks later, he won the European Championships in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

. In 1949, he became Norwegian Allround Champion. The following year he won a silver medal at the European Allround Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, and won the 10,000 m event there. Liaklev represented ''Brandbu Idrettsforening'' (

Brandbu Brandbu is a village in Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in Hadeland, along the eastern shore of the large lake Randsfjorden, about to the northwest of the capital city of Oslo. Brandbu and its neighboring ...

Sports Association). He retired around 1950 and became a speed skating coach and member of the Norwegian Skating Association board. He also worked as a post master and a beekeeper in his home village of Jaren, and served on the community council.Reidar Liaklev
sports-reference.com

Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the ''WR'' column lists the official world records on the dates that Liaklev skated his personal records. Liaklev has an Adelskalender score of 191.578 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a ninth place.

References

External links

Reidar Liaklev at SkateResults.com

Reidar Liaklev
''Deutsche Eisschnelllauf Gemeinschaft e.V.'' (German Skating Association).

Historical World Records
''International Skating Union''.
National Championships results
''Norges Skøyteforbund'' (Norwegian Skating Association). {{DEFAULTSORT:Liaklev, Reidar 1917 births 2006 deaths Norwegian male speed skaters Speed skating coaches Olympic speed skaters for Norway Olympic gold medalists for Norway Speed skaters at the 1948 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in speed skating Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics People from Gran, Norway Speed skaters from Innlandet 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen