Hans Engnestangen
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Norway
| ||
| Men’s Speed skating | ||
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 1933 Trondheim | Allround |
| Bronze | 1935 Oslo | Allround |
| European Championships | ||
| Silver | 1937 Davos | Allround |
Hans Engnestangen (March 28, 1908 – May 9, 2003) was a Norwegian speed skater and world champion. He held the world records on both the 500 and 1500 meter distance for more than ten years.
He hailed from Brandbu, but represented the speed skating club Hamar IL.
International championships
At the 1932 Winter Olympics he participated in the 10000 metres event but was eliminated in the heats.
Four years later he finished eights in the 1500 metres competition. He also participated in the 500 metres event but did not finish.
Engnestangen won a gold medal at the 1933 World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men, and a bronze medal in 1935.[1] He won the 500m distance in 1933, 1938 and 1939, and the 1500m in 1937 and 1938.
He received a silver medal at the 1937 European Allround Championships, where he also won the 500m distance.
World records
In January 1933 Engnestangen improved Clas Thunberg's previous world record on 500m speedskating, with 42.5, a record which lasted until 1936. Engnestangen improved the time in January 1937 (42.3), and again in February 1938 (41.8). The last record was unbeaten for 14 years, until 1952.[2]
In January 1939 Engnestangen improved the 1500m time with the new world record 2:13.8. The record was unbeaten for 13 years, until 1952.[2]
| Discipline | Time | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 0.42,5 | January 21, 1933 |  Davos |
| 500 m | 0.42,3 | January 30, 1937 | Davos |
| 500 m | 0.41,8 | February 5, 1938 | Davos |
| 1500 m | 2.13,8 | January 29, 1939 | Davos |
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[3]
Second World War collaboration
Along with fellow speed skater Finn Hodt, Engnestangen had been one of the few leading Norwegian athletes not to follow a nation-wide boycott of sports events (the "sports strike") during the occupation. The boycott had been launched by the Norwegian sports leadership in response to attempts from 1940 onwards by the collaborationist Quisling regime at nazification of all sports events in Norway.[4]
References
- ↑ Medal Winners in World Allround Championships – International Skating Union (Retrieved on April 9, 2008)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Historical World Records – International Skating Union (Retrieved on April 9, 2008)
- ↑ "Hans Engnestangen". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ↑ Fretland, Frode (1997). Sogn og Fjordane fotballkrets 75 år: 1922-1997 (in Norwegian). Førde: Sogn og Fjordane fotballkrets. p. 71.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Clas Thunberg |
Men's 500 m World Record Holder January 21, 1933 – January 18, 1936 |
Succeeded by Allan Potts |
| Preceded by Allan Potts |
Men's 500 m World Record Holder January 30, 1937 – January 6, 1952 |
Succeeded by Yury Sergeev |
| Preceded by Michael Staksrud |
Men's 1500 m World Record Holder January 29, 1939 – January 20, 1952 |
Succeeded by Valentin Chaikin |