Håkon Brusveen (15 July 1927 – 21 April 2021) was a Norwegian

cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

. He competed in the individual 15 km and 4 × 10 km relay events at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won two medals in 1960: a gold in the 15 km and a silver in the relay; in 1956 he placed fifth and fourth, respectively. In 1958 he was awarded the Holmenkollen medal, and in 1960 the Morgenbladet Gold Medal. A freelance sports broadcaster for NRK for 35 years, he was a pioneering color commentator of cross-country skiing events.

Career

Brusveen had a chronic asthmatic bronchitis and took up skiing to improve his condition. In 1952 he placed fifth in the Olympic trials and was selected as a reserve for the Olympic skiing team. He won the national 30 km title in 1953, 1957 and 1958, and around that time opened a sport shop in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

. Brusveen was originally selected as a substitute member for the 1960 Norwegian Olympic team, but performed well shortly before the Olympics, and was included to the main team upon personal recommendation from King Olav V of Norway. At the Olympics he won the 15 km race, beating Sixten Jernberg by 3 seconds at the finish, but lost by 0.8 seconds to

Veikko Hakulinen Veikko Johannes Hakulinen (4 January 1925 – 24 October 2003) was a Finnish cross-country skier, triple champion in both the Olympics and World Championships. He also competed in biathlon, orienteering, ski-orienteering, cross-country running, ...

in the last leg of the 4 × 10 km relay, despite having a 20 second lead at the start. After the 1960 Olympics Brusveen changed to biathlon, but failed to qualify for the 1964 Olympics by a small margin. From the 1960s onwards he became a popular radio commentator of cross-country skiing events for Norsk Rikskringkasting. He was a freelance color commentator for NRK for 35 years starting in 1963, and labeled the first such in Norway. He often collaborated with

Bjørge Lillelien Bjørge Lillelien (29 March 1927 – 26 October 1987) was a Norwegian sports journalist and commentator for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. He was considered to be a popular and engaging personality who commentated on many sports, part ...

on live broadcasting of cross-country events. As a cross-country expert, his reporting style was pioneering at the time; situated somewhere out by the tracks, he commented on skiers' speed, technique, and look when they passed. His last assignment as a sports reporter was the winter season of 1997. Brusveen was awarded the Holmenkollen Medal in 1958, jointly with

Inger Bjørnbakken Inger Bjørnbakken (28 December 1933 – 13 February 2021) was a Norwegian alpine skier. Career She was born in Bærum and represented the club Bærums SK. She finished tied for sixth place (with fellow Norwegian Astrid Sandvik) in the women's ...

, and the Morgenbladet Gold Medal in 1960. He was portrayed by

Arvid Møller Arvid Møller (14 October 1939 – 26 September 2020) was a Norwegian journalist and non-fiction writer, born in Strinda. Having worked as journalist for various newspapers, he was eventually assigned with NRK for about forty years. In addition ...

in 1965, in the book ''3–2–1–Gå. Håkon Brusveen forteller til Arvid Møller''. On his 90th birthday in 2017, a Brusveen exhibition opened at the

Norwegian Olympic Museum Norwegian Olympic Museum (''Norges Olympiske Museum'') is located at Maihaugen in Lillehammer, Norway. The Norwegian Olympic Museum shows the history of the Olympic Games in ancient and modern times, with a focus on the 1952 Winter Olympics ...

. Brusveen died at the age of 93 in Lillehammer on 21 April 2021.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

* 2 medals – (1 gold, 1 silver)

World Championships

References

External links

* * – click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brusveen, Hakon 1927 births 2021 deaths People from Lillehammer Norwegian male cross-country skiers Cross-country skiers at the 1956 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic cross-country skiers of Norway Olympic gold medalists for Norway Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Norway Holmenkollen medalists Color commentators Norwegian sports broadcasters Norwegian biathletes