Fearnley award

The Fearnley Olympic Award (Fearnleys olympiske ærespris) is a Norwegian Athletics Award. The award is given for outstanding achievements by a Norwegian Olympic participant. No competitor may win the award more than once. In 2021, it was decided that the prize would also be awarded for achievements at the Paralympics. [1]

Discobolus of Myron in bronze
Grete Waitz, award winner in 1984.
Johann Olav Koss, award winner in 1994.
Ole Einar Bjørndalen, award winner in 2002
Andreas Thorkildsen, award winner in 2004.
Kjetil André Aamodt, award winner in 2006.
National team handball with Marit Breivik as head coach, became award winners in 2008
Marit Bjørgen, award winner in 2010.

History

The award was initiated by Norwegian ship owner Thomas Fearnley (1880–1961) in connection with the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo. Thomas Fearnley was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1927 until 1948 and an honorary member from 1948 until 1950. [2]

The Fearnley Olympic Award includes a statue in bronze by sculptor Per Palle Storm (1910–1994). It is modeled after the Discobolus of Myron, the Hellenic statue dating from ca. 460–450 BC. [3] [4]

The Fearnley Olympic Award has been awarded for every Olympic Games since 1952, with the exception of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (where no medals were awarded to Norway) and the 1980 Summer Olympic Games at Moscow (which was boycotted by Norway and other countries). The first prizes went to speed skater Hjalmar Andersen (1923–2013) at the 1952 Winter Olympics at Oslo and to shooter Erling Kongshaug (1915–1993), who won a very close competition in the 1952 Summer Olympic Games at Helsinki. [5] [6] [7] [8]

In 1991, the prize was awarded to Norwegian sports official Arne Mollén (1913–2000). Mollén was the president of the Norwegian Athletics Association from 1953 to 1955, vice chairman of the Norwegian Olympic Committee )Norges idrettsforbund) 1965 to 1969 and chairman from 1969 to 1985. Mollén is so far the only person to have received the award other than for participation in an Olympic event. The award extended to Mollén was also the only one made outside of Olympic years. [9] [10]

Past winners

[11]

References
  1. Rolf Bryhn. "Fearnleys olympiske ærespris". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  2. Audun Grimstad. "Thomas Fearnley – skipsreder". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  3. Elsebet Kjerschow. "Per Palle Storm". Norsk kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  4. "Discobolus of Myron". onartandaesthetics.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  5. "Helsingfors 1952". Norges Olympiske Museum. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  6. Rolf Bryhn. "Hjalmar Andersen". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  7. Svein-Erik Tosterud. "Erling Kongshaug". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  8. "Fearnleys olympiske ærespris" [Fearnley's Olympic Honorary Award] (in Norwegian). Norges idrettsforbund. Archived from the original on 25 March 2015.
  9. Rolf Bryhn. "Arne B. Mollén". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  10. Rolf Bryhn. "Norges idrettsforbund". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  11. "Fearnleys Olympiske Ærespris". Norges idrettsforbund og olympiske og paralympiske komité. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
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