Sten Stensen

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Sten Stensen
Sten Stensen in 1973
Personal information
Birth nameSten Einar Stensen
NationalityNorwegian
Born (1947-12-18) 18 December 1947 (age 76)
Drammen, Norway
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
Country Norway
SportSpeed skating
ClubDrammens SK
Turned pro1969
Retired1978
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)500 m: 39.03 (1977)
1000 m: 1:23.4 (1973)
1500 m: 1:58.72 (1976)
3000 m: 4:13.6 (1977)
5000 m: 7:05.04 (1977)
10 000 m: 14:38.08 (1976)
Medal record
Representing  Norway
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1976 Innsbruck 5,000 m
Silver medal – second place 1976 Innsbruck 10,000 m
Bronze medal – third place 1972 Sapporo 5,000 m
Bronze medal – third place 1972 Sapporo 10,000 m

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 skaters in the 1970s and early 1980s. Stensen excelled at the longer distances, especially the 5,000 m and 10,000 m, and set two world records. He was World Allround Champion in 1974 and European Allround Champion in 1975. He also won Olympic gold on the 5,000 m in Innsbruck in 1976. For his accomplishments, he received the Oscar Mathisen Award in 1974 and 1976.

During the 1976 European Allround Championships in Oslo, Stensen (the defending European Champion), set a new world record on the 10,000 m, but he still lost his title to fellow Norwegian Kay Stenshjemmet by a tiny margin of only 0.005 points (equivalent to 0.10 seconds on the 10,000 m).[1]

Stensen won gold on the 5,000 m at the 1976 Winter Olympics the next month, a race in which Piet Kleine won silver and the world record holder on that distance, Hans van Helden, won bronze. Still being the world record holder on the 10,000 m, Stensen was the favourite for that distance three days later, but he was beaten by Kleine in a close race. Again, Van Helden finished third.[1]

After ending his speed skating career in 1978, Stensen became a Norwegian broadcasting commentator at speed skating events.

Medals[edit]

An overview of medals won by Stensen at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:

Championships Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal
Winter Olympics 1976 (5,000 m) 1976 (10,000 m) 1972 (5,000 m)
1972 (10,000 m)
World Allround 1974 1973
1976
1977
European Allround 1975 1976
1978
Norwegian Allround 1973
1974
1976
1977
1978
1971
1972

Records[edit]

World records[edit]

Over the course of his career, Stensen skated two world records:[2]

Discipline Time Date Location
10,000 m 14.50,31 25 January 1976 Norway Oslo
10,000 m 14.38,08 21 March 1976 Soviet Union Medeo

Personal records[edit]

Event Result Date Venue
500 m 39.03 19 March 1977 Medeo
1,000 m 1:23.44 7 January 1973 Kongsberg
1,500 m 1:58.72 21 March 1976 Medeo
3,000 m 4:13.6  17 December 1977 Hamar
5,000 m 7:05.04 19 March 1977 Medeo
10,000 m 14:38.08 21 March 1976 Medeo
Big combination 165.316 20 March 1977 Medeo

Stensen has an Adelskalender score of 165.011 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a fourth place.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sten Stensen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Sten Stensen". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.

External links[edit]


Awards
Preceded by Oscar Mathisen Award
1974
Succeeded by
Preceded by Oscar Mathisen Award
1976
Succeeded by