Johann Olav Koss

Johann Olav Koss

Johann Olav Koss (2007)
Medal record
Men's speed skating
Competitor for  Norway
Winter Olympics
Gold 1992 Albertville 1,500 m
Gold 1994 Lillehammer 1,500 m
Gold 1994 Lillehammer 5,000 m
Gold 1994 Lillehammer 10,000 m
Silver 1992 Albertville 10,000 m

Johann Olav Koss (born 29 October 1968) is a former speed skater from Norway, and current assistant coach of Norway's speed skating team. Koss is currently ranked as number 16 on the all time speed skating world cup medal table.[1] Johann Olav Koss resides in Toronto, Canada.

Biography

Johann Olav Koss was born in Drammen, Buskerud County, Norway. Johann Olav Koss became the Norwegian Junior Champion in 1987, but he could not compete with the world top skaters in the 1986 and 1987 World Junior Championships. In 1988, he debuted with the seniors at the World Championships in Alma-Ata, but failed to qualify for the final distance. The following year, he finished eighth in the same tournament (after a fifteenth place in the European Allround Championships), placing second on the 1,500 m. His breakthrough came in 1990, winning the World Allround Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. The following four years, he would win two more world titles (1991 and 1994), while finishing second in 1993 and third in 1992. He won the European Allround Championships in 1991 and finished second in the next three editions. Koss had a total of twenty-three World Cup wins, while winning four overall World Cup titles (the 1,500 m in 1990 and 1991, and the combined 5,000/10,000 m in 1991 and 1994).

Koss made his Olympic debut at the 1992 Winter Olympics, finishing seventh on the 5,000 m, five days after undergoing surgery because of an inflamed pancreas. He would recover to win gold on the 1,500 m (by only 0.04 seconds over his countryman Ådne Søndrål) and silver on the 10,000 m (behind Dutch skater Bart Veldkamp ).

In 1994, the final year of his speed skating career, Koss also gained fame outside the speed skating world by winning three gold medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics in his native Norway, winning all races in new world records, two of which would remain unbeaten until the clap skate era. For his performance, he was named Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year in 1994, together with Bonnie Blair. In addition, he received the Oscar Mathisen Award three times: in 1990, 1991, and 1994.

After his speed skating career, Koss trained as a physician at the University of Queensland in Australia.[2] He became a UNICEF ambassador and a member of the International Olympic Committee (until 2002). He married Canadian businessperson and politician Belinda Stronach on 31 December 1999, but they divorced in 2003. Koss is now the CEO of the Canadian based International Humanitarian Organisation, Right To Play, which uses sport and play as a tool for the development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world. From his adopted home in Toronto, Canada, Koss directs seven regional Right To Play offices in Europe and North America with 64 paid staff and 90 volunteers.[3]

He married his second wife, Jennifer Lee, in New York on May 23, 2009. Lee's friend Chelsea Clinton was one of the bridesmaids.[4] Lee, 36, is a Harvard College, Oxford University and Harvard Business School graduate. She is the Co-Founder of an e-commerce business called BRIKA which sells products from under-the-radar artisans and makers.[5] She is a former management consultant and most recently a private equity investment professional at Ontario Teachers' Private Capital in Toronto. They have two children together, a son Aksel and a daughter Annabelle.

In November 2009, after American Peter Mueller was stripped of his coaching role with Norway for an inappropriate comment to a female team member, Koss was appointed head coach, despite no previous coaching experience. Association sporting director Oystein Haugen told Reuters that Koss has been a revelation despite no previous coaching experience.[6]

Koss completed his Executive MBA at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management in the University of Toronto in Canada. He has Honorary Doctor of Laws Degrees from Canadian universities - Brock University and University of Calgary.

Medals

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

Championships Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal
Winter Olympics 1992 (1,500 m)
1994 (1,500 m)
1994 (5,000 m)
1994 (10,000 m) 		1992 (10,000 m) –
World Allround 1990
1991
1994 		1993 1992
World Cup 1990 (1,500 m)
1991 (1,500 m)
1991 (5,000 m / 10,000 m)
1994 (5,000 m / 10,000 m) 		1992 (1,500 m)
1992 (5,000 m / 10,000 m)
1993 (5,000 m / 10,000 m) 		1990 (5,000 m / 10,000 m)
European Allround 1991 1992
1993
1994 		–
Norwegian Allround 1991
1992
1993
1994 		1989
1990 		–
Norwegian Single Distance 1989 (1,500 m)
1989 (5,000 m)
1990 (1,500 m)
1990 (5,000 m)
1990 (10,000 m)
1991 (1,500 m)
1991 (5,000 m)
1991 (10,000 m)
1993 (1,000 m)
1993 (5,000 m)
1994 (1,500 m) 		1989 (1,000 m)
1990 (1,000 m)
1992 (1,000 m)
1992 (5,000 m) 		1988 (10,000 m)
1991 (1,000 m)
1992 (1,500 m)
1994 (5,000 m)
Norwegian Marathon – 1988 –

Records

World records

Over the course of his career, Koss skated ten world records:

EventTimeDateVenue
3000 m3.57,52March 13, 1990Netherlands Heerenveen
5000 m6.41,73February 9, 1991Netherlands Heerenveen
10,000 m13.43,54February 10, 1991Netherlands Heerenveen
Big combination157.396February 10, 1991Netherlands Heerenveen
5000 m6.38,77January 22, 1993Netherlands Heerenveen
5000 m6.36,57March 13, 1993Netherlands Heerenveen
5000 m6.35,53December 4, 1993Norway Hamar
5000 m6.34,96February 13, 1994Norway Hamar
1500 m1.51,29February 16, 1994Norway Hamar
10,000 m13.30,55February 20, 1994Norway Hamar

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[7]

Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Koss skated his personal records.

EventResultDateVenueWR
500 m37.987 January 1994Hamar35.92
1,000 m1:14.9 10 January 1993Hamar1:12.58
1,500 m1:51.2916 February 1994Hamar1:51.60
3,000 m3:57.5213 March 1990Heerenveen3:59.27
5,000 m6:34.9613 February 1994Hamar6:35.53
10,000 m13:30.5520 February 1994Hamar13:43.54
Big combination157.2579 January 1994Hamar156.882

Source: SpeedskatingResults.com[8]

Koss was number one on the Adelskalender, the all-time allround speed skating ranking, for a total of 1,998 days, divided over three periods between 1992 and 1997. He has an Adelskalender score of 155.099 points.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.isu.html.infostradasports.com/cache/TheASP.asp@PageID%3D103237&SportID%3D103&MedalTableType%3D69&CompetitionID%3D-1&CompetitionSetID%3D5&EventID%3D-1&TaalCode%3D2&StyleID%3D0&Cache%3D2.html?317318
  2. ↑ Olympians at UQ
  3. ↑ Visscher, Marco. "A Man With Balls" Ode Magazine Issue 32
  4. ↑ "-Verdens beste brud" Dagbladet 24. mai, 2009
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ "Johann Olav Koss". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Johann Olav Koss". SpeedskatingResults.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.

Other sources

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Netherlands Leo Visser		 Oscar Mathisen Award
1990–1991 		Succeeded by
United States Bonnie Blair
Preceded by
Netherlands Falko Zandstra		 Oscar Mathisen Award
1994 		Succeeded by
Germany Gunda Niemann
Preceded by
Spain Miguel Indurain		 United Press International
Athlete of the Year
1994 		Succeeded by
United Kingdom Jonathan Edwards
Preceded by
Norway Atle Skårdal		 Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year
1991 		Succeeded by
Norway Vegard Ulvang
Preceded by
Norway Norway national football team		 Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year
1994 		Succeeded by
Norway Bjørn Dæhlie