Thorill Gylder (born 5 May 1958) 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 ...

female former

racewalking Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Referee, Race judges careful ...

athlete and speaker. A member of Vansjø/Svinndal IL sports club, she competed from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. She competed three times at the

IAAF World Race Walking Cup The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships is a racewalking event organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It has been held since 1961, and generally on a biennial basis. Women first entered the 1979 edition. ...

and after a fourth-place finish in 1975 she took the 5 km walk bronze medal in 1979. She broke several

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

in walking during her career. She took the 20 kilometres walk world record with a time of 1:43:20 hours in 1978. This stood for nearly two years until it was beaten by

Sue Cook Sue Cook (born Susan Lorraine Thomas, 30 March 1949) is a British television presenter and author. She is best known for co-presenting (with Nick Ross) the BBC One factual crime show ''Crimewatch'' from 1984 until 1995. Early life Sue Cook ...

. She twice broke the 10 km walk world record, setting a time of 48:40 minutes in 1978 before knocking over a minute off that with 47:24 minutes in 1979. Sue Cook was again the athlete to better Gylder's record, doing so in 1980. She also broke the

5000 metres race walk The 5000 metres race walk is a racewalking event. The event is competed as a track race and was part of the athletics programme for men at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics until 1993. It is also an event in the World Masters Athle ...

world record at

Bislett Stadium 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 ...

in 1978. Gylder gained her first international experiences at regional level. She was a minor medallist at junior level at the

Nordic Race Walking Championships The Nordic Race Walking Championships ( no, Nordisk mesterskap i kappgang) is an annual racewalking competition between athletes from the Nordic countries organised by Nordic Athletics. Established in 1957, it was a biennial competition until 20 ...

in 1973 and 1975, behind Sweden's

Siv Gustavsson Siv Gustavsson (born 9 July 1957) is a Swedish former racewalking athlete. She was the gold medallist at the 1981 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, making her the second ever female world champion in the sport. Gustavsson also won a bronze at the 198 ...

and Monica Karlsson. She took her first senior medal at the competition (a bronze) in 1975 behind Swedes Margareta Simu and Elisabeth Olsson –this made her only the second Norwegian to medal after 1971 winner Thorhild Sarpebakken. She also took a silver medal indoors in the 3000 m walk at the 1978

Nordic Indoor Race Walking Championships The Nordic Indoor Race Walking Championships ( no, Nordisk mesterskap i kappgang innendørs) was a biennial one-day competition in indoor racewalking between athletes from the Nordic countries organised by Nordic Athletics. Established in 1974, ...

, with Simu again topping the podium. Gylder was the dominant female walker nationally during her career, taking six consecutive

titles from 1975 to 1980 and seven straight titles in the

10 kilometres race walk The 10 kilometres race walk, or 10-kilometer racewalk, is a racewalking event. The event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supporting leg must remain straight until the raised leg passes it ...

discipline. Her victories followed on from those of her sister, Gerd Gylder, who was also an international walker for Norway.Norwegian Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-04-17.

International competitions

National titles

* Norwegian Athletics Championships **5000 m walk: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 **10 km walk: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gylder, Thorill Living people 1958 births Norwegian female racewalkers World record setters in athletics (track and field)