Torjus Hemmestveit (13 November 1860 – 7 June 1930) was a Norwegian Nordic skier who shared the Holmenkollen medal with his brother, Mikkjel Hemmestveit in 1928.

Career

Torjus and Mikkjel Hemmestveit were born in Kviteseid in

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

county, Norway. They were from the village of Morgedal, whose most famous resident was

Sondre Norheim Sondre Norheim, born Sondre Auverson, (10 June 1825 – 9 March 1897) was a Norwegian skier and pioneer of modern skiing. Sondre Norheim is known as the father of Telemark skiing. Background Sondre Auverson was born at Øverbø, a little ...

, commonly referred to as the father of modern skiing. The brothers had a key role in the development of

Telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is n ...

by creating the world's first skiing school in 1881 at

Christiania, Norway 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 o ...

(now

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 ...

). The brothers emigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and ran several ski schools there. They changed the spelling of their surname to Hemmestvedt in the United States. They competed in The Aurora Ski Club in

Red Wing, Minnesota Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. The population was 16,547 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County. This city is named for early 19th-century Dakota Sioux c ...

. Torgus Hemmestvedt died on 7 June 1930 in

Pennington County, Minnesota Pennington County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,992. Its county seat is Thief River Falls. History The Wisconsin Territory was established by the federal gover ...

. On 15 January 1893, he beat his brothers' previous ski jumping

world record 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 ...

distance at 103 feet (31.4 metres) on

McSorley Hill McSorley Hill (also: Bush Street Ski Jump) was a K30 ski jumping hill located in Red Wing, Minnesota, United States, opened in 1887. History On 8 February 1887, a ski jumping hill owned by Aurora Ski Club opened with ski jumping competition of ...

in Red Wing,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Ski jumping world record

References

External links

Holmenkollen medalists
- click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file 1860 births 1930 deaths People from Kviteseid Holmenkollen medalists Norwegian emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Vestfold og Telemark {{Nordic-skiing-bio-stub