Arthur "Art" Matthew Longsjo Jr. (October 23, 1931 – September 16, 1958) was an American Olympian

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marath ...

and

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

. He was the first American to compete in the Summer and Winter Olympics in the same year.

Biography

Longsjo was born in

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fitchburg State University is located here. History ...

. In 1953, he won the 1 mile, 3 mile, and 25 mile races at the Massachusetts State Cycling Championships after riding his bicycle 1.5 hours to the race (from Fitchburg to

Westborough, Massachusetts Westborough is a New England town, town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the N ...

). In 1954, he won the Quebec-Montreal Road Race and was named the Canadian Cyclist of the Year. He won the race again in 1956. Longsjo won the 5,000 m speed skating event at the United States national championships to make the Olympic team at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

. In 1956, he competed in both the Winter Olympics as a speed skater and the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

as a cyclist. Due to a knee injury before the games, he placed outside the medal stand. Longsjo was the first American to compete in both the Winter and Summer Olympics in the same year. In 1958 Longsjo won three races, the

Tour of Somerville The Tour of Somerville is an annual, three-day series of bicycle races held in and around Somerville, New Jersey, during Memorial Day weekend. The featured Memorial Day event, the Kugler-Anderson 50-mile race for professional and elite cyclists is ...

, the Tour du St. Laurent stage race and the Quebec-Montreal Road Race. Longsjo died in 1958 following a

car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

. He had been returning from the Quebec-Montreal Road Race.

Awards and honors

In 1960 the

Fitchburg Longsjo Classic Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, also known as the Longsjo Classic, was an annual road bicycle racing, bicycle stage race, race held in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States. The race began in 1960 as the Arthur M. Longsjo Jr ...

was held in Fitchburg in memory of Longsjo. The race was a

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The ...

stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a racing, race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day race, multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages ...

that was held annually until 2019. On March 18, 2020, event organizers announced that the event was being retired. Longsjo was inducted into the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in 1970, and the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1988.

References

External links

Fitchburg Longsjo Classic (official site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longsjo, Art 1931 births 1958 deaths American male cyclists American male speed skaters Olympic speed skaters for the United States Olympic cyclists for the United States Speed skaters at the 1956 Winter Olympics Cyclists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Fitchburg, Massachusetts Road incident deaths in Vermont American track cyclists 1958 road incidents Cyclists from Massachusetts 20th-century American sportsmen