Sverre Øyvind Sørnes (born 20 February 1945) is 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 the ...

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who specialized in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...

. He competed at the 1971 European Championships, the 1972 Olympic Games and the 1974 European Championships without reaching the final. He represented the clubs Strandebarm IL and

IL Gular Idrottslaget Gular is a Norwegian athletics club from Bergen, founded in 1946. In the past it has had sections for handball, skiing, gymnastics and football. The athletics section cooperates on youth level with local clubs Bergens TF and TIL Hov ...

. In his main event, 3000 metres steeplechase, he became Norwegian champion in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976 and 1977, and also won silver medals in 1969 and 1970. His main competitors were

Arne Risa Arne Risa (born 5 May 1944) is a former Norwegian long-distance runner who specialized in 3000 metres steeplechase and 10,000 metres. He represented IL Gular. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, he finished eighth in the 3000 m SC final in 9:09.98 minute ...

, Ståle Engen,

Jan Voje Jan Voje (born 5 December 1942) is a Norwegian long-distance runner. He specialized in the 3000 metre steeplechase, in which he also competed at 1972 Olympic Games. He represented the club Gjerpen IF, along with his twin brother Andor Voje. His p ...

and

Knut Kvalheim Knut Kvalheim (born 14 June 1950) is a retired Norwegian long-distance runner. He is the brother of Arne Kvalheim. He finished fourteenth at the 1974 European Championships (5000 m), ninth at the 1976 Summer Olympics (5000 m) and ninth at the 1 ...

. Sørnes also became Norwegian

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 ...

champion (3 kilometres, short course) in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974. In 1971 Sørnes overtook Ståle Engen as Norwegian record holder in the steeplechase, running 8:26.4 at

Bislett stadion Bislett Stadium ( no, Bislett stadion) is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here ...

. He improved to 8:26.0 at

Stockholm Olympic Stadium Stockholm Olympic Stadium ( sv, Stockholms Olympiastadion), most often called Stockholms stadion or (especially locally) simply Stadion, is a stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. Designed by architect Torben Grut, it was opened in 1912; its original use ...

in June 1972. Sørnes lost his record to Knut Kvalheim in 1973. In the other running events, Sørnes clocked 1:51.3 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 ...

(1971); 3:42.9 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 ...

(1971); 4:07.2 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 ...

(1969); 8:01.6 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 ...

(1970); 14:04.0 in the

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 stan ...

(1973) and 30:54.8 in the

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 ...

(1973).

References

1945 births Living people People from Hordaland Norwegian male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Norway Norwegian male steeplechase runners Sportspeople from Vestland {{Norway-athletics-bio-stub