Norway goes to the Summer Olympics

Norwegians to look for in Paris

Michael Kleiner
Business & Sports Editor
The Norwegian American

The circumstances for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris will be vastly different from 2021 in Tokyo. The Games were delayed a year by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, but the Games in 2021 were still conducted under the cloud of the disease. The stands were empty and when not competing athletes wore masks.

The City of Lights is open: the outdoor cafes along the Champs-Elysées; the Eiffel Tower; Louvre Art Museum; L’Arc de Triomphe; ferries along the Seine River; the fashion district, the Métro. Most importantly, the venues for the Olympics will gladly welcome spectators.

Norway met its goals of eight medals–four gold, two silver, two bronze–in 2021, with a couple of records set. More than 90 Norwegian athletes in 15 sports will be participating. That includes 28 on the men’s and women’s handball teams. Some spots are still to be determined.

Here’s a look at the prospects:

 

MEN’S TRACK

Dates: 400m Hurdles: Aug. 5, 6, 7, 9; 1,500m: Aug.  2, 3, 4, 6, 10

Norwegians: 400m hurdles: Karsten Warholm, 28; 1,500m: Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 23, Narve Gilje Nordås, 25.

Notes: At the 2021 Olympics, Warholm broke his world record time, set two months before at Bislett in Oslo, and became the first to record a time under 46.0 (45.94). Remarkably, silver medalist Rai Benjamin (USA) and bronze medalist Alison dos Santos (Brazil) also broke the record. Dos Santos edged Warholm at Bislett May 30, 46.63 to 46.70, the best time of the season. On June 10 at the European Championships in Rome, Warholm defended his title with a record time of 46.98. Others to watch: Kyron McMaster (British Virgin Islands), Rasmus Mägi (Estonia), Joshua Abuaku (Germany), and CJ Allen (USA).

1,500m: Ingebrigtsen set the European and Olympic record of 3:28.33 in 2021, obliterating the record set by Kenya’s Abel Kipsang in the semifinals by 3.32 seconds. Timothy Cheruiyot (Kenya), Josh Kerr (Great Britain) Kipseng, Adel Mechaal (Spain), and Cole Hocker (USA) all broke the record. In the Bowerman Mile at the Steve Prefontaine Classic, Eugene, Ore., May 25, Kerr edged Ingebrigtsen with a British record 3:45.34 to 3:45.60. In the 1,500m at Bislett, Ingebrigtsen (3:29.74) nipped Cheruiyot (3:29.77). Kipsang, Azeddine Habz (France), Isaac Nader (Portugal), Elliot Giles (Great Britain), Oliver Hoare (Australia) and Nordås are ones to watch.

MEN’S BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Dates: July 27-Aug. 10

Norwegians: #7 Anders Mol, 27 on July 2, Christian Sørum, 28

Notes: At 24 and 25, Mol/Sørum were the youngest Olympic beach volleyball gold medalists ever. They were Norway’s Team of the Year in 2023. On May 26, they were holding down the second spot in the world rankings. After the last qualification tournament before the Olympics ended June 9, they dropped to seventh. They had played in only seven tourneys with one gold. Top-ranked David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig (Sweden) have six golds, two silvers in eight tourneys, while second-ranked Andr Loyola Stein/George Wanderly (Brazil) one gold, one silver and three bronze in 16. Brazil has two teams in the top 8.

WOMEN’S HANDBALL

Dates: Group A: July 25 vs. Sweden; July 28 vs. Denmark, July 30 vs. Korea; Aug. 1 vs. Slovenia; Aug. 3 vs. Germany; Aug. 6 Quarterfinals; Aug. 8 Semifinals; Aug. 10 Bronze and Gold Medal Games

Notes: Norway is in a tough group but is still a top contender. They’ve medaled in four straight Olympics. They’ve added the 2021 World Championship in and the 2022 European Championship, and silver in 2023 WC. The over-30 players are still dominating: Camilla Herem, 37 (896 goals/306 national team games; 14-1G/35A for Sola this season). Nora Mørk, 33, (875/182); Stine Brede Oftedal, 32 (726/259; World Player of the Year 2019); Veronica Kristiansen, 33 (568/175); Sanna Solberg-Isaksen, 33 (381/201); Kari Bratsett Dale (304/120); and youngster Henny Ella Reistad, 25 (335/82), who was World Player of the Year in 2023, MVP of the Champions League Final Four 2021; MVP of the European Championships 2022 and MVP of the World Championships 2023. In goal is 44-year-old stalwart Katrine Lunde (144 saves, 38.4% for Vipers Kristiansand).

MEN’S HANDBALL

Dates: Group B: July 27 vs. Argentina; July 29 vs.. France; July 31 vs. Hungary; Aug. 2 vs. Egypt; Aug. 4 vs.. Denmark; Aug. 7 Quarterfinals: Aug. 9 Semifinals; Aug. 11 Bronze and Gold Medal Games

Notes: The men’s appearance in the 2021 Summer Olympics was their first since 1972 and those are their only appearances. Could this be the tournament they break through? They’re in a tough group but took silver at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, bronze at the 2016 and 2020 European Championships and 5th in 2022. Sander Sagosen, 28, is the star (835 goals/167 national team games, 5.0) and for champion Kolstad this season had 92G/3.8 and 181 assists, so he involves others. There are plenty of scorers including Kolstad teammates, the league’s third leading scorer Simen Ulstad Lyse, 24, (152G/5.8/143A), Gabriel Ask Setterblom, 26, (93G/3.9pg/59A), and goalie Torbjørn Bergerud (201 saves, 35.1%). Alexander Blonz, 23, already has 214G/85 games for Norway. Tobias Grøndahl, 23, (Elverum) was the second-leading league scorer (164G/6.3 pg), was tops in 7m goals (69) by far and dished out 149 assists. Teammate Magnus Sødenå, 32, (96G/69A) joins him. From Arendal are Sondre Gjerdalen, 24, (116G/4.5pg) and Mario Matic, 29, (53G/132A), while veteran national teamers Kristian Bjørnsen, 35, (709G/197 international games) and Harald Reinkind, 31, (360/168) return.

WOMEN’S TRACK

Dates: 400m: Aug. 5, 6, 7, 9; 400m Hurdles: Aug. 4, 6, 7, 8; 4×400 Relay: Aug. 9, 10; 5,000m: Aug 3, 6; 10,000m: Aug. 9

Norwegians: 400m hurdles: Amalie Iuel, 30; 400m: Henriette Jæger, 21, Lina Kloster, 34; Distance: Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal 4x400 Relay (Josefine Eriksen, 23, Iuel, Elisabeth Settum, 37, Jæger).

Notes: Norway’s best chance at a medal might be in the 4×400 relay. Eriksen just graduated from the University of Utah as a second-team All-American. On May 4 at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas, the Stavem, Norway, native ran the opening leg of Norway’s 4×400 relay team, which set a Norwegian record in finishing second to the United States. It’s the first time since 1920 Norway qualified a relay team for the Summer Olympics. Though they finished fifth in the final, they broke their record (3:26.88).

SAILING

Sailing and Shooting have earned the most Norway medals at the Summer Olympics with 32 each (17-11-4 sailing, 13-8-11 shooting). Sailing qualified four boats: Men’s one-person dinghy (Herman Tomasgaard, 30, bronze winner in Laser at Tokyo), Aug. 1-6; Women’s Windsurfer (Mina Mobekk, 20), July 28, 29, 30, Aug. 1, 2; Women’s One-Person Dinghy (Lin Flem Høst, 28), Aug. 1-6, and Women’s Skiff (Marie Rønningen Tønsberg, 30, Helene Næss Tønsberg, 32, Sailors of the Year 2019), July 28-Aug. 1.

 

SHOOTING

Shooting qualified second-ranked Jon-Hermann Hegg, 25, in Men’s 50m Rifle, 3 Positions, Aug. 1, 2; top-ranked Jeanette Hegg Duestad, 25, and second-ranked Jenny Stene, 26, in Women’s 50m Rifle, 3 Positions, July 31, Aug. 1); 27th-ranked Erik Watndal, 44, in Men’s Skeet, Aug. 2, 3, and fourth-ranked Duestad in Women’s 10m Air Rifle (July 28, 29).

 

 

For this year’s Summer Olympics, Team Norway also has qualified athletes in men’s and women’s rowing, cycling, boxing, co-ed triathlon relay; track and field events; men’s swimming, taekwondo, women’s wrestling, weightlifting, paddling, and equestrian.

This article originally appeared in the July 2024 issue of The Norwegian American.