Øistein Saksvik (7 January 1925 – 10 November 1998) was a Norwegian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. He specialized in the 5,000-metre and the 10,000-metre runs, as well as in

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

. At the 1952 Olympic Games, he competed in the 5,000-meter run. Saksvik became the Norwegian champion twenty times, a national record. In addition, he captured three Norwegian records in long-distance running from

Martin Stokken Martin Stokken (16 January 1923 – 25 March 1984) was a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed at the 1948 and 1952 Summer and 1952 and 1956 Winter Olympics. At the Summer Olympics he ran 5000 m and 10,000 m, finishing fourth in the latter ...

, and held onto them for some years each. In the late-1950s, Saksvik's dominance in Norwegian long-distance running was eclipsed by Tor Torgersen and fellow

Ranheim Ranheim is a neighbourhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Østbyen in Trondheim Municipality. The neighbourhood is approximately to the east of the centre of Trondheim. It comprises Older ...

club member Ernst "Kruska" Larsen, later Thor Helland.

Athletic career

Saksvik competed in several international championships. In his first, the Olympic 5000 metres in 1952, he did not progress from the heats. However, at the 1954 European Championships, he finished seventh in both 5000 and 10,000 metres. He later finished fourteenth in the 10,000 metres at the 1958 European Championships. Saksvik is also known for winning twenty Norwegian championship titles in athletics, a Norwegian record which is tied with thrower Knut Hjeltnes. On the track he became Norwegian champion in the 5000 metres in 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1957, alternating mostly with cityfellows

and Ernst "Kruska" Larsen. He also won silver medals in this distance in 1949, 1951 and 1955. He won the 10,000 metres in 1953, 1954, 1956 and 1957. By winning his first gold medal, Saksvik ended the six-year dominance of

. However, in 1958 Saksvik only won the silver, behind club fellow Ernst "Kruska" Larsen. Saksvik also set several Norwegian records. In the 3000 metres, he beat Martin Stokken's record in 1952 with the time 8:22.4, and broke his own record four times. His last record, 8:10.8 achieved at

Bislett stadion Bislett Stadium () 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. The original stadi ...

in August 1955, stood for a year until overcome by Ernst "Kruska" Larsen. Saksvik is still the oldest record setter in the event. In the 5000 metres, he also broke Martin Stokken's record in 1952, improved it once, lost it to Stokken in 1954 and then regained it before the same thing happened with Ernst Larsen. Saksvik held his last record, 14:12.2 achieved at Bislett, from September 1955 and thirteen months until Larsen regained it. Lastly, he broke Stokken's 10,000 metre record in August 1952 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, a record which was only a week old. Saksvik improved it from 29:48.4 to 29:43.2 in September 1955 in

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Marchian dialects, Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With a ...

. It stood until 1959 when overcome by Tor Torgersen. Saksvik also dominated Norwegian cross-country running in the early 1950s. His first medal was a silver in the cross-country forest course, achieved when he represented IL i BUL in 1949. He proceeded to win the race in 1953, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960. He won the 3 kilometre cross-country championship in 1952, 1953 and 1955 with silver medals in 1950, 1957 and 1958, and the 8 kilometre event in 1956 and 1957 with a silver medal in 1951. He represented the club

Ranheim IL Ranheim Idrettslag is a Norwegian alliance sports club from Ranheim, Trondheim. It has sections for association football, team handball and track and field. The football club plays in the 1. Divisjon of Norway General history The club was founde ...

. His personal best times were 8:10.8 in the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

, 14:12.2 in the 5000 metres and 29:43.2 in the 10,000 metres. In middle distance races he had 3:54.6 in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

. All these personal bests were set in 1955. Saksvik was also a good cross-country skier, winning a national championship gold medal in relay in 1953.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saksvik, Oeistein 1925 births 1998 deaths Athletes from Trondheim Norwegian male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Norway Norwegian male cross-country skiers 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen