Tønsberg Friidrettsklubb is a Norwegian

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

club from

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

Organization

On 25 November 1981 it was established as a merger of the athletics departments of Tønsbergs TF with IF Tønsberg-Kameratene. This was the fifth attempt to conduct such a merger; the previous attempts had all stranded. The club hosted the Norwegian Championships in 1993. The home field is Greveskogen.

National champions

The club has been successful in distance running. In the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

Morten Rønnekleiv became national champion in 1989, 1990 and 1992, and world-class skier

Anders Aukland Anders Aukland (born 12 September 1972 in Tønsberg) is a retired professional Norwegian cross-country skier who won both Olympic and World Championship gold medals. He lives in Oslo. He competed in the last race of his career on April 2, 2023. ...

won silver and bronze medals in 1993, 1994 and 2001. Aukland also became

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

champion in 1995, and won silver in 1994. Rønnekleiv became national champion 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 earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

in 1988 and 1990 (3 km). Roy Andersen became national

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

champion in 1987 and

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

champion in 1988. He won the 5000 metres silver medals in 1982 and 1983, won the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

silver in 1982, and a bronze in 1985. In cross-country running Andersen became national champion in 1982, 1985 and 1986 with a silver in 1988 (10 km), and in this distance Aukland won a silver and bronze in 2003 and 2006. The club is also known for their throwers. Then- national record holder Richard Olsen won the

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

in 1982 and 1983, and a bronze in 1984; Knut Vikne won the bronze in 2000. Arne Pedersen won the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

gold and the discus throw bronze in 1985; Trond Ulleberg won the shot put silver in 1983. For women, Marianne Thorsen won a shot put bronze in 1988 and discus bronzes in 1985 and 1987. Birgit Brosø won the shot put silver and bronze in 1990 and 1993, and a

heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...

silver in 1993. Katharina Hopen has won the club's only

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

medal to date, a silver in 1990. In sprints, Lisbeth Pettersen (née Andersen) is the most prominent. She became national 400 metres champion in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990, and won three other medals. She won a 200 metres bronze in 1987. Jon Nicolaisen won silver medals in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic Sport of athletics, athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a ...

in 1985 and 1990, and a bronze in 1988. In the jumps, Thomas Røkenes won a

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

silver medal in 1992. Marianne Vikne won silver medals in 1984, 1985 and 1995 and a bronze in 1993. Harald Vikne won the silver medals in the

standing long jump The standing long jump, also known as the standing broad jump, is an athletics event. It was an Olympic event until 1912. It is one of three standing variants of track and field jumping events, which also include the standing high jump an ...

and

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

in 1990, the bronze medal in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

in 1989, Even Hytten won the decathlon in 1991.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonsberg Athletics clubs in Norway Sport in Tønsberg Sports clubs and teams established in 1981 1981 establishments in Norway