Knut Østby (12 November 1922 – 6 August 2010) was a Norwegian

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

who competed from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. Participating in three

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, he won a silver medal in the K-2 10000 m event at

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

and another in the K-2 1000 m event at the 1950 World Championships.

Career

Østby was born in

Modum Modum is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area has a long tradition of ...

, but grew up in

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

, and was a member of Bærum KK. He was a new name in Norwegian and international kayaking after 1945, as most of the pre-war organized sporting activity had been put on ice during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Already in 1948, before the

that year, Østby and his teammate Ivar Mathisen were considered as having the highest medal hopes in the Norwegian canoeing squad. Østby and Mathisen proceeded to win the silver medal in the K-2 10000 m event and finished fourth in the K-2 1000 m. At the 1950 World Championships he won another silver medal in the K-2 1000 m event. Two years later he finished fifth in both the K-2 1000 m and the K-2 10000 m events at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

. Ivar Mathisen remained his partner in the K-2 canoe during these years. In 1953 Østby competed in the

Canoe Slalom Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a Spraydeck, decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on Whitewater, river rapids in the fastest time pos ...

World Championships in

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Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He was considered as being without any sporting hopes for the competition, having no prior experience with

whitewater kayaking Whitewater kayaking is an outdoor adventure sport where paddlers navigate a river in a specially designed kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles: river running, creeking, slalom, playboating, and squirt boating. Each style offers ...

—the newspaper ''

Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...

'' quoted him as saying "I don't even know what kind of boat to use". The participation was essentially regarded as a test to see whether slalom kayaking should be taken up in Norway—where it was largely unknown, despite the country's abundance of whitewater locations. Østby was the only competitor from Norway, but the vice chairman of the Norwegian Canoe Association traveled with him to help evaluate the championship. The stay and the travel to Italy were paid for in full by the Italian arrangement committee. As it turned out, whitewater kayaking did not reach Norway until the 1960s and was not organized within the Norwegian Canoe Association until 1972. Østby continued his career in sprint canoeing. At the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

he finished eighth in the K-1 10000 m event, and competed without reaching the final in the K-1 1000 m event. In domestic competitions, he took fifteen national titles between 1946 and 1959, and won the King's Cup for best canoeist in 1955, 1956 and 1957. Østby lived in

Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a List of cities in Norway, city by the municipal council (Norway), municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately ...

. He died in August 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostby, Knut 1922 births 2010 deaths Sportspeople from Bærum Canoeists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Norwegian male canoeists Olympic canoeists for Norway Olympic silver medalists for Norway Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics People from Modum Sportspeople from Buskerud 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen