Since 1959, the Oscar Mathisen Award (also known as the Oscar Mathisen Memorial Award, the Oscar Mathisen Memorial Trophy, and sometimes the Skating Oscar) is awarded annually for outstanding

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skati ...

performance of the season. The award was introduced by

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Skøiteklub (Oslo Skating Club, OSK) to commemorate the legendary

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 ...

speed skater Oscar Mathisen (1888–1954). Until 1967, speed skaters could not win the award more than once and until 1987, women were not eligible to win the award. The winner is awarded a miniature of the

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

of Oscar Mathisen created by the sculptor Arne Durban. The statue is placed outside

Frogner Frogner is a residential and retail borough in the West End of Oslo, Norway, with a population of 59,269 as of 2020. In addition to the original Frogner, the borough incorporates Bygdøy, Uranienborg and Majorstuen. The borough is named af ...

Stadium in Oslo, the venue of many of Oscar Mathisen's most memorable victories. {, class="wikitable" , + Oscar Mathisen Award winners , - ! Year !! Winner !! Nationality , - , 1959 , , Knut Johannesen , , , - , 1960 , , Boris Stenin , , , - , 1961 , ,

Henk van der Grift Hendrik ("Henk") van der Grift (born 25 December 1935) is a retired Dutch speed skater. At the 1960 Winter Olympics van der Grift finished 10th on the 500 m and fell on the 1500 m. Not satisfied with training facilities in the Netherl ...

, , , - , 1962 , ,

Jonny Nilsson Erling Martin Jonny Nilsson (9 February 1943 – 22 June 2022) was a Swedish competitive speed skater. He was the men's Olympic champion in the 10 000 m skating in 1964. Biography Aged 19 Nilsson made his international debut at the European ...

, , , - , 1963 , ,

Nils Aaness Nils Egil Aaness (born 31 January 1936) is a former speed skater from Norway. __NOTOC__ Aaness competed on the Norwegian national team from 1959 to 1965, and thus became part of the ''Norwegian speedskating revolution'' under the trainer Stein J ...

, , , - , 1964 , ,

Ants Antson Ants Antson (11 November 1938 – 31 October 2015) was an Estonian speed skater who competed for the Soviet Union. Biography Antson trained at the Kalev Voluntary Sports Society. Coached by former World, Olympic, and European Champion Boris ...

, , , - , 1965 , , Per Ivar Moe , , , - , 1966 , ,

Kees Verkerk Cornelis Arie "Kees" Verkerk (born 28 October 1942) is a former speed skater from the Netherlands.

, , , - , 1967 , ,

Kees Verkerk Cornelis Arie "Kees" Verkerk (born 28 October 1942) is a former speed skater from the Netherlands.

, , , - , 1968 , ,

Fred Anton Maier Fred Anton Maier (15 December 1938 – 9 June 2015) was a speed skater from Norway. He was among the dominating skaters throughout the 1960s, specialising in the longer distances. __NOTOC__ Maier won four Olympic medals: silver on the 10,000&nb ...

, , , - , 1969 , ,

Dag Fornæss Dag Fornæss (born 30 June 1948) is a former speed skater from Norway who won the Norwegian, European, and World Allround Championships in 1969. He was born in Hamar. Biography Representing Hamar Idrettslag (Hamar Sports Club), Fornæss had his ...

, , , - , 1970 , , Ard Schenk , , , - , 1971 , , Ard Schenk , , , - , 1972 , , Ard Schenk , , , - , 1973 , , Göran Claeson , , , - , 1974 , ,

Sten Stensen Sten Einar Stensen (born 18 December 1947) is a former speed skater. Together with Amund Sjøbrend, Kay Stenshjemmet, and Jan Egil Storholt, he was one of the legendary ''four S-es'' ("four aces" in Norwegian), contemporary Norwegian top skat ...

, , , - , 1975 , , Yevgeny Kulikov , , , - , 1976 , ,

, , , - , 1977 , ,

Eric Heiden Eric Arthur Heiden (born June 14, 1958) is an American physician and a former long track speed skater, road cyclist and track cyclist. He won an unprecedented five individual gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at th ...

, , , - , 1978 , ,

, , , - , 1979 , ,

, , , - , 1980 , ,

, , , - , 1981 , ,

Amund Sjøbrend Amund Martin Sjøbrend (born 1 December 1952) is a former ice speed skater from Norway. Together with Sten Stensen, Kay Stenshjemmet, and Jan Egil Storholt, Amund Sjøbrend was one of the legendary ''four S-es'' (which sounds like "four aces" i ...

, , , - , 1982 , ,

Tomas Gustafson Sven Tomas Gustafson (born 28 December 1959) is a retired Swedish speed skater, and one of the most successful distance skaters of the 1980s. Early career Born in Katrineholm, he won the World Junior Championships title, in Grenoble, France, i ...

, , , - , 1983 , ,

Rolf Falk-Larssen Rolf Falk-Larssen (born 21 February 1960) is a former speed skater. __NOTOC__ Representing Trondhjems Skøiteklub, Rolf Falk-Larssen made his international debut at the European Allround Championships of 1982 and he was in the lead after three ...

, , , - , 1984 , ,

Gaétan Boucher Gaétan T. Boucher, (born May 10, 1958), is a Canadian former speed skating Olympic champion. Biography Boucher first trained in ice hockey, the leading sport in Canada but then changed to speed skating after winning a national title in 1972. ...

, , , - , 1985 , ,

Hein Vergeer Henricus Coenradus Nicolaas "Hein" Vergeer (born 2 May 1961) is a Dutch former speed skater who became both European and World Allround Champion in both 1985 (in which year he also became National Sprint Champion) and 1986 (in which year he als ...

, , , - , 1986 , ,

Geir Karlstad Geir Karlstad (born 7 July 1963) is a Norwegian former speed skater and national team speed skating coach. Biography Although best at the longest distances (the 5,000 m and the 10,000 m), Geir Karlstad became Junior World Allround Champ ...

, , , - , 1987 , ,

Nikolay Gulyayev Nikolay Alekseyevich Gulyayev (russian: Николай Алексеевич Гуляев, born 1 January 1966) is a former speed skater, considered among the world's best in the 1980s. Biography Nikolay Gulyayev trained at Armed Forces sports ...

, , , - , 1988 , ,

, , , - , 1989 , ,

Leo Visser Leendert "Leo" Visser (born 13 January 1966) is a Dutch former speed skater, who in 1989 won the World Allround championships and European championships. At the 1988 Olympics in Calgary he won a silver medal in the 5000 m and a bronze medal ...

, , , - , 1990 , ,

Johann Olav Koss Johann Olav Koss, (born 29 October 1968) is a former speed skater from Norway. He won four Olympic gold medals, including three at the 1994 Winter Olympics in his home country. Biography Johann Olav Koss was born in Drammen, Buskerud County, N ...

, , , - , 1991 , ,

, , , - , 1992 , ,

Bonnie Blair Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speed skater. She is one of the top skaters of her era, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, winning ...

, , , - , 1993 , ,

Falko Zandstra Falko Zandstra (born 27 December 1971) is a former Dutch speed skater. Because of his thin legs he was also called ''de Gespierde Spijker'' which translates to ''the Muscular Nail''. Biography Zandstra was born in Heerenveen, Friesland. He was a ...

, , , - , 1994 , ,

, , , - , 1995 , ,

Gunda Niemann Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann (née Kleemann, born 7 September 1966) is a German former speed skater. She is a three-time Olympic gold medallist, winning the 3000 metres in 1992 and 1998 and the 5000 metres in 1992. She won a total of eight Olympic m ...

, , , - , 1996 , ,

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, , , - , 1998 , ,

Ådne Søndrål Ådne Søndrål (born 10 May 1971) is a former Norwegian speed skater. Søndrål, representing Hol IL, was one of the best 1500 m skaters through most of the 1990s. He placed 2nd in the 1992 Winter Olympics and 4th in the 1994 Olympics. H ...

, , , - , 1999 , , Rintje Ritsma , , , - , 2000 , ,

Gianni Romme Gianni Petrus Cornelis Romme (born 12 February 1973) is a Dutch marathoner and a former long track speed skater. He won two gold medals at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano and was the World all-round champion in 2000 and 2003. Romme has been a ...

, , , - , 2001 , , Hiroyasu Shimizu , , , - , 2002 , , Jochem Uytdehaage , , , - , 2003 , ,

Anni Friesinger Anna ("Anni") Christine Friesinger-Postma (born 11 January 1977) is a German former speed skater. Her father Georg Friesinger, of Germany, and mother Janina ("Jana") Korowicka, of Poland, were both skaters; Jana was on the Polish team at the 197 ...

, , , - , 2004 , ,

Chad Hedrick Chad Hedrick (born April 17, 1977) is an American inline speed skater and ice speed skater. He was born in Spring, Texas. Hedrick revolutionized the inline speed skating world with his unique technique, called the double push, or DP. During hi ...

, , , - , 2005 , ,

Shani Davis Shani Earl Davis (; born August 13, 1982) is an American former speed skater. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Davis became the first African American athlete to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Olympic Winter Games, ...

, , , - , 2006 , ,

Cindy Klassen Cindy Klassen, (born August 12, 1979) is a Canadian retired long track speed skater. She is a six-time medallist having achieved one gold, two silver, three bronze at the Winter Olympics. She is the only Canadian Olympian to win five medals in ...

, , , - , 2007 , ,

Sven Kramer Sven Kramer (; born 23 April 1986) is a retired Dutch long track speed skater who has won an all time record nine World Allround Championships as well as a record ten European Allround Championships. He is the Olympic champion of the 5000 mete ...

, , , - , 2008 , , Jeremy Wotherspoon , , , - , 2009 , ,

, , , - , 2010 , ,

Martina Sáblíková Martina Sáblíková () (born 27 May 1987) is a Czech speed skater, specializing in long track speed skating. She is an Olympic gold medal winner and a multiple European and World allround champion. She became the first Czech to win two Olympi ...

, , , - , 2011 , ,

Bob de Jong Bob Johannes Carolus de Jong (born 13 November 1976) is a Dutch former speed skater who specialized in long distances: five and ten kilometers. Speed skating career In 2006, he won the gold medal for the ten kilometer race at the Olympic Games ...

, , , - , 2012 , ,

Christine Nesbitt Christine Nesbitt (born 17 May 1985) is a Canadian retired long track speed skater who currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia. She won the gold medal in the 1000 metres event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. She had previously ...

, , , - , 2013 , ,

Ireen Wüst Irene Karlijn (Ireen) Wüst (; born 1 April 1986) is a Dutch former long track speed skater. Wüst became the most successful speed skating olympian ever by achieving at least one gold medal in each of five consecutive Winter Olympic appearances ...

, , , - , 2014 , ,

Jorrit Bergsma Jacob Jorrit Bergsma (; born 1 February 1986) is a Dutch speed skater and marathon skater. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m. His coach is Jillert Anema. Biography Bergsma has been skating for the BAM team sinc ...

, , , - , 2015 , ,

Brittany Bowe Brittany Starr Bowe (born February 24, 1988) is an American speed skater and former inline skater and basketball player. She has eight gold, one silver, and two bronze medals from the world inline speedskating championships. From her junior years ...

, , , - , 2016 , ,

Ted-Jan Bloemen Ted-Jan Bloemen (born 16 August 1986) is a Dutch-Canadian long track speed skater. He started competing for the Canadian national speed skating team during the 2014–15 season, but before that, he competed for the Netherlands in international c ...

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Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen (/2hoːʋɑr 2hɔlməˌfjuːr 1luːrəntsn̩/; born 2 October 1992) is a Norwegian speed skater specialising in the 500, 1000 and 1500 m distances. Career Lorentzen has a 9th place from the World Cup races in Heerenv ...

, , , - , 2019 , ,

Kjeld Nuis Kjeld Nuis (; born in Leiden 10 November 1989) is a Dutch speed skater. Nuis specializes over the middle distances of 1000 and 1500 meters. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, he won the gold medal at the 1500 m and 1000 m events. At ...

, , , - , 2020 , , Natalya Voronina , , , - , 2021 , ,

Nils van der Poel Nils Göran van der Poel (; born 25 April 1996) is a Swedish speed skater who is the current World and Olympic record holder and reigning World and Olympic champion in the 5,000 m event and the 10,000 m event. Van der Poel won the 20 ...

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, , {{SWE

References

Oscar Winners at Skateresults
Speed skating awards Awards established in 1959