Viktor Olaf Olsen (5 February 1924 – 21 April 2023) was a Norwegian long-distance runner who specialized in the

marathon race The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road running, road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also w ...

. He finished sixteenth at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, ninth at the 1954 European Championships and finally eighteenth at the 1958 European Championships. Olsen became Norwegian marathon champion in 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959, breaking a four-year dominance of

John Systad John Systad (14 September 1912 – 16 September 1998) was a Norwegian long-distance runner who specialized in the marathon race. He represented TIF Viking in Bergen. He finished twelfth at the 1946 European Championships, eighth at the 1948 Su ...

. He also won a bronze medal in 1950 as well as silver medals in 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1960 and 1961. He also dominated the 25 kilometre road race in the 1950s, winning a bronze in 1949 and 1950; silver in 1958 and gold in 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957. He represented the club

Charlottenlund SK Charlottenlund Sportsklubb is a Norwegian sports club from Charlottenlund in Trondheim, Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhje ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. His personal best time was 2:28:50 hours, achieved in August 1958 in

. Olsen died on 21 April 2023, at the age of 99.

References

1924 births 2023 deaths Sportspeople from Trondheim Norwegian male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Norway {{Norway-athletics-bio-stub